Military Flags 1701-1843 (Spain)

Last modified: 2005-02-26 by santiago dotor
Keywords: military |
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• Introduction
• Colours of the Royal Guard 1704-1841
• Regimental Colour 1706 model
• Regimental Colour of Swiss Regiment Nideröst 1719-1735
• Regimental Colour of Regiment Sicilia 1728 (Royal Ordinance on Flags of 1728)
• Regimental Colour of Regiment Galicia 1734 (Royal Ordinance on Army Flags of 31 January 1734)
• Regimental Colours of Swiss Regiment Reding 1742-c.1749 (Flag Regulation of 1749)
• Louisiana Infantry 1779-1781 (Regimiento de Infanteria de Luisiana)
• Colours of the Galician Volunteers in Argentina 1806 (Tercio de Voluntarios de Galicia, Tercio de Gallegos)
• Colour of the 6th Infantry Regiment Málaga 1810-1812 (Royal Decree on Flags of 24 March 1809)
• King's Colour of the Barcelona Regiment of Light Infantry 1810 (Regulation on Flags of 1 July 1810)
• Regimental Colour of the 5th Regiment of Foot Artillery 1810-1867
• King's Colour of the Ciudad Rodrigo Provintial Militia Regiment 1814-1815
• Colour of the National Militia Battalion from Cabeza de Buey 1820-1823
• King's Colour of the Regiment of Peninsular Light Infantry of Tarragona 1833-1845
• Unidentified Colour of a Unit deployed in Mexico ca. 1823

See also:

• Historical Flags 1701-1785 (Spain)
• Historical Flags 1785-1931 (Spain)
• Spain

Other sites:

• Banderas Militares (Military Flags, Spanish text only) by Sergio Camero:
  • Período Borbones hasta Guerra de la Independencia (The Bourbons until the War of Independence i.e. 1701-1812)

The overwhelming majority of Spanish 18th and early 19th century military flags, followed this pattern: a Burgundy Cross —usually but not always on a white field— and a coat-of-arms upon the end of every branch of the cross. These arms would identify the particular unit; Irish units, for example, would bear coats-of-arms with the Celtic harp.

Juan Morales, 23 January 1999

The Regimental flags (...) were to made out of taffeta, and with the main colours used by the respective province's Arms or of the City where the regiment was quartered. Following the precepts of the House of Bourbon, by an official notice of 1734, it was ordered that every regiment had three flags, all on white taffeta: the Coronela [Editor's note: Colonel's Colour, equivalent to King's Colour], with the Royal Coat of Arms centered on it, and the other two [Capitanas or Captain's Colours, equivalent to Regimental Colours] with the Burgundy Cross; on their four corners, the Coat of Arms of the Province and the Crown, and on the two top quarters the name of the regiment itself. Source: Vargas 1981, pp. 28-29.

Guillermo T. Aveledo, 16 January 2000

The regulations for Line Infantry established that sencilla flags (Regimental Colours) would not bear the royal arms (cf. the Louisiana Infantry 1779-1781 colour). Source: Antonio Manzano Lahoz, Las Banderas Históricas del Ejército Español.

Sergio Camero, 15 September 2001