"Captured British Colors From The American Revolution" Topic

I have been trying to find-out what happened to the British and German [Hessian, Brunswick, etc.] colors that were surrendered during the American Revolution. A Google search proved fruitless. What colors were actually surrendered and where are they now?

RJ,
they are in the chapel at West Point – or that's what I've been led to believe. When you actually try to research which colours they have there, and whether (to take just one example) it tallies with the Yorktown surrender regiments, you don't get very far. Or I didn't…
Perhaps some knowledgeable person who knows the US Military Academy well might enlighten us whether they're still there and whether there is a listing of captured colours still in their possession available somewhere.
EC

All the Hessian flags captured at Trenton were cut up into souvenirs by the Continental Congress.

The British surrendered the color red, and the Hessians surrendered the colors blue and straw. These colors were last seen on Sesame Street.

The British surrendered the color red,

No it was the colour red!

Americans did not seem to have had as much "reverence" for the colours as the British did.
For example, Tarleton sent the ones he captured back home. They were recently auctioned off, and were in grteat condition.
The colour for Butler's Rangers, possibly carried in the Revolutionary War, was captured in Canada by the Yankee invaders during the War of 1812, and ended up in a closet at West Point for years until re-discovered. Much of it is missing.

Ironically, many of the best preserved American colors were captured by the British.
The flag of the Philadelphia Light Horse is very well preserved. Possibly because of how the men of the unit saw how the politicians in Philadelphia chopped up the Hessian colors.

I would be very surprised if ANY of the captured British or German colors survive as more than hacked up scraps.
It seems that anyone who wanted a piece, got a piece.

Slightly off topic but there are two American flags from the War of 1812 in the Shropshire Regimental Museum (in Shrewsbury Castle), James City Light Infantry and the Harford Light Dragoons. Both were captured at the Battle of Bladensburg.

link

war1812.tripod.com/cblade.html

Regards,
Matt
ubique-matt.blogspot.com

Galvez captured at least one British color at Pensacola that is preserved in Spain.

link

His diary of the siege mentions that the Waldeck REgiment flag and an artillery flag were surrendered.

link

Rick

In 1986, the National Army Museum (Chelsea, England) displayed a standard of the Hartford Light Dragoons captured at Blandesburg in 1814 and a color of the 2nd South Carolina regiment taken at Savanna in 1778.

That the two flags were from Connecticut and South Carolina was a bit of a coincidence since I was born in South Carolina and live in Connecticut.

According Edward Richardson in Standards and Colors of the American Revolution,"In 1814, Congress called for an inventory and preservation of captured flags and other trophies. Of the forty or more British and Hessian regimental colors captured during the Revolution only six could be found; and unfortunately, two of these have disappeared since the 1920's. Such disappearances have also marked the American colors-even more so because of the lack, with very few exceptions, of any serious preservation efforts during the first one hundred and eighty years following the Revolution. Of the known originals that survived, all are now in collections and receiving proper care."

Dave

Have you tried the Library of Congress? I believe there are a couple in there collections, though not sure. Certainly an excellent place to do more research. And heed what covettek said, I have the same book.

hey are in the chapel at West Point – or that's what I've been led to believe. When you actually try to research which colours they have there, and whether (to take just one example) it tallies with the Yorktown surrender regiments, you don't get very far. Or I didn't…
Perhaps some knowledgeable person who knows the US Military Academy well might enlighten us whether they're still there and whether there is a listing of captured colours still in their possession available somewhere.
>>
Both colors of the 7th Fusiliers and a color of one of the Anspach-Beyreuth regiments is in deed at West Point,I saw them when they were put on a special display a few months ago. They are NOT kept in the chapel. In the chapel are Mexican War flags I believe.
They are in remarkably good shape I might add.

Bob C.

As the HQ and HQ Company Commander of a National Guard Infantry Battalion, I had the Bn colors in my armory and they were on my property Book, which meant if they were lost I'd have to pay for them.
Weaselhoffen.

Bob C,
I was told the Yorktown colours were at West Point. I tried to find out more because I wanted to investigate the story that the 23rd and 33rd had smuggled their colours back from Virginia, after the capitulation. I recall that I heard something similar to corvettek225's version, ie that the Yorktown colours HAD been at West Point but can no longer be found…
EC

I vaguely recall hearing a story that some colours captured by the French in the Napoleonic Wars were stolen back by cheeky Brits. Maybe something similar has happened in the USA?

Bob C,
I was told the Yorktown colours were at West Point. I tried to find out more because I wanted to investigate the story that the 23rd and 33rd had smuggled their colours back from Virginia, after the capitulation. I recall that I heard something similar to corvettek225's version, ie that the Yorktown colours HAD been at West Point but can no longer be found…
>>
The Anspach color was one of the ones captured at Yorktown. I've never seen any others of British units that surrendered there. I live only mins away,and I get up there every couple months or so.

Bob

The Pennsylvania Historical Society has a very badly cut up color from Trenton. I saw it at the Old Barracks in Trenton in 2000.

Bob is right, there is an Ansbach color at West Point.

According to Richardson, There is a British 7th fusiliers color at West Point.

I saw an Ansbach color at Yorktown years ago. Some I have photos of it.
Reportedly one of the colors from Trenton was recapture on board a ship at Charleston. I believe the Trenton colors were originally displayed in the State House (Independence Hall) until the evacuation of the city in '77. They may have been then cut up to keep them from being recaptured.

There is always the Monmouth Color

Wasn't Washington given a captured color? I read he had a couple of colors that ended up in Lee's family until a fire in the home.

Some of the colors from the PA state collection were on display at Washington's Crossing State Park.

Interesting note on the First City Troop of Philadelphia's color, is that under the silver and blue strips of the union you can make out a the Brit Union Jack.

Just found this link and this
link

<<There is always the Monmouth Color.>>

I'm afriad not. This was "outed" as a Continental flag (probably a divisional colour from a Pennsylvania regiment) many years ago; even the local historical society, which holds it, has stopped describing it as a captured British flag.

Supercilius is quite right. I saw the thing in the visitor's center in the 1980's, identified with Monkton's grenadiers--even then we thought there was something fishy about it.