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"Company Colors" Topic


7 Posts

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207 hits since 4 Nov 2009
©1994-2009 Bill Armintrout
Comments or corrections?

fsultana04 Nov 2009 3:10 a.m. PST

Excuse my ignorance, but would every company in a regiment carry colors?

historygamer04 Nov 2009 4:30 a.m. PST

What period are you talking about?

fsultana04 Nov 2009 12:31 p.m. PST

Sorry – mid 1700's.

historygamer04 Nov 2009 12:46 p.m. PST

Can't speak for other nations, but the British did not carry company colours. I seem to recall that the Guards companies may have each had a two colours, but they certainly didn't carry them in the field like that, and they probably didn't even bring them in the AWI period.

Each British regiment/battalion, had a set of colours, paid for by the Colonel. It is debatable whether they actually carried them in the field, especially in the AWI period, as the records seemed to indicate mixed use on that.

Regiments also had camp colours, used to mark out their spot in the camp area, but these were not carried in battle.

I can also say that Provincial units in the F&I period did not carry colours at the company level either.

Can't speak for other nations. Hope that helped.

Personal logo andygamer Supporting Member of TMP04 Nov 2009 3:50 p.m. PST

Not by mid-century. The carrying of company colours is more of a WSS Era (and earlier) style.

dbf167604 Nov 2009 4:43 p.m. PST

Prussians did. Austrian did not. The Prussian colours were carried together in the center of the battalion.

Musketier05 Nov 2009 10:47 a.m. PST

In the French army, the native French regiments switched from three colours per battalion to two in 1749. This also applied to Irish and Scottish regiments apparently. German regiments, though organised on the French model, kept company colours until 1753; this may have been the case for Lorraine and Walloon units too. Swiss regiments were organised differently and still carried one colour per company, i.e. 4 per battalion, throughout the Seven Years War, only conforming to two colours in 1764.

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