Fireymonkeyboy | 28 Jul 2016 4:15 p.m. PST |
Hi, Starting to paint my first unit of SYW brits, using Baccus 6mm. The command strip for the infantry has two colour bearers – more than is usual for the other armies (French, for eg., have one). Did the Brits in this period use a greater density of flags, or something? FMB |
spontoon | 28 Jul 2016 4:22 p.m. PST |
Most countries in Europe used at LEAST two flags per battalion during the SYW. Some used one per company. The single flag thing is Napoleonic. |
Winston Smith | 28 Jul 2016 4:34 p.m. PST |
British regiments carried 2 colours. The King's Colour which was the Union. The Regimental Colour had the Union in the upper staff position. The field was in the regimental facing colour. In the middle was the regimental number in a wreath, or the regiment's "ancient badge" if it had a well known emblem. |
Fireymonkeyboy | 28 Jul 2016 4:46 p.m. PST |
Yep – I get the two flag system – my understanding is that the french carried a king's flag and colonel's flag as well. So is it that the French only carried one per regiment, but had multiple battalions per regiment in the field, while the Brits had only one battalion per regiment (with a couple of exceptions – Royal Americans, I think, had multiple). |
Winston Smith | 28 Jul 2016 4:53 p.m. PST |
See this site for the colours carried by each regiment. fifedrum.org/crfd/BD_1.htm The same site has flags for the American Revolution. |
rmaker | 28 Jul 2016 6:32 p.m. PST |
No, each French battalion carried two flags as well, but only the 1st battalion carried the white (Royal) color, the others carried two colored (Ordnance) colors. This was down from one color per company in earlier periods. And while most British regiments had only one battalion in peacetime, they sometimes raised extra battalions in wartime. |
Fireymonkeyboy | 29 Jul 2016 4:12 a.m. PST |
Hmmm. Okay, thanks for the info |
Winston Smith | 29 Jul 2016 6:59 a.m. PST |
One caveat about British regiments with several battalions. They very rarely, if ever, appeared together. The Royal Americans at Quebec is the only example that I can think of. Usually the extra battalion was a training or depot battalion. |
ColCampbell | 29 Jul 2016 7:23 a.m. PST |
And when you paint the British colors, please be sure to place them in their proper positions with the King's (Union) color to the right as you are standing behind the unit facing the enemy and the regimental color to the left. This is the same positioning for the French King's and Colonel's colors in the first battalion. Jim |
JimDuncanUK | 29 Jul 2016 8:58 a.m. PST |
Unless you are a Guard unit where the Union Flag is the Regimental Colour which is the reverse of the Line infantry. |