"Flags for the Old and Middle Guard?" Topic

I'm getting set to do a regiment of Guards – either French Old or Middle Guard – and need some help with the flags.

Now, I know that regular French Regiments carried only one National flag in the first battalion and White, Red and Blue fanions for their second, third and fourth battalions.

But what about the Guard?

The Old and Middle Guard regiments had two battalions each (foregetting the velites for the time being). Did they have one national flag and a white fanion? Two national flags (but only one eagle), or one national flag only?

Anybody…?

IIRC, the guard grenadiers and chasseurs were considered one regiment each and old, middle and young guard were just battalions. So since only the senior battalion had an eagle, only the 1/grenadier and 1/chasseurs a pied of the Old Guard carried the eagle. Fanions for the rest

I wonder if the old pattern flags might get passed down to the 2eme. battlion when new patterns were brought out?

Spontoon, this would be unlikely as the embroidery on those flags directly referred to the granting of the Eagle to the regiment concerned i.e. 'L'Empereur Napoleon au ….' 'From the Emperor Napoleon to …'. In other words the flag and the Eagle were linked. Some regiments used the same pattern flag as a fanion with the junior battalions, but the reference to the Emperor was not present as it had not been presented by him.

Ahem, I'll try to remember my French flag research.

In the original 1804 issue of flags and eagles, the guard infantry received five. One for each battalion of Grenadiers and Chasseurs, and one for the Marins. These are the 1804 version, with large eagles on the reverse side in the white losenge, and in the corners: grenades for the Grenadiers, hunting horns for the Chasseurs, and anchors for the Marins.

Perhaps because these were made with one layer of silk and all "embroidery" simply painted on, they were replaced (I don't know when) by similar flags, but without the eagles painted on the reverse, and numbers in the corners. When the Dutch Grenadiers were admitted to the Guard in 1810, They were given the eagles of the (formerly) French second regiment, since those had been disbanded earlier. The second French Grenadiers and Chasseurs were re-created for 1812, so the Dutch Grenadiers, who had been the 2nd regiment, were renamed the third regiment. This is the only instance I know of where any eagles or flags were "passed" to another regiment.

If memory serves, in 1812, the guard alone were issued the 1812 model flags with real embroidery and a tricolor background, with battle honors on the reverse (the line would have to wait until 1813, but I could be wrong). It was at this point that it was decided that only two eagles would be carried by Guard infantry – one each for Grenadiers and Chasseurs. All other Guard infantry carried only fanions.

Try this: link

11 ACR,

Good link for general info, but I would make one correction. The light regiments had a slightly different pattern of flourishes for the 1804 model. The flags on this site don't make that distinction, although they do correctly put silver infill in the wreaths for the light regiments.

Remember in 1812 only one Guard Grenadier battalion of the old Guard of all 3 grenadier regiments carried the eagle, the same for carabiniers, the rest of the Guard infantry did not carry any – along with the eagle the usual thre coloured flag was carried.