History Browser

The 1st battalion of the 9th (the East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot was sent from the Duke of Wellington's victorious army in Spain to serve in Canada during 1814-1815. This was not the first time in the country for the regiment, which had been part of Burgoyne's army during the American Revolutionary War. This contemporary illustration shows an officer with the regimental colour (in the regiment's yellow facing colour). The 183 centimetre square colour itself is partially furled to make it easier to carry. Accompanying the officer is a colour-sergeant armed with a spontoon. The rank was created in 1813 as the senior non-commissioned officer in an infantry company. These men had a special duty of protecting the colours in action, and were distinguished with a special rank badge worn on the right arm.

Since the fortifications of Montreal were too weak to withstand a siege by the British in September 1760, French commanders Vaudreuil and Lévis were forced to surrender. The terms were harsh, with the defenders being refused the honours of war.

In May of 1755, further reinforcements drawn from the French metropolitan army arrived in Canada. They were led by the mercurial Marquis de Montcalm, whose first action in the colony was to lead a successful European-style siege of the British forts defending Oswego.

This regimental colour (or 'drapeau d'ordonnance') was carried by the 2nd battalion of the régiment de Guyenne when it was sent to New France in 1755. Note the white cravat tied around the standard pole. This and the white cross were common to all French army colours of the period. The pattern of isabelle (a brownish-yellow) and vert-gris (green-grey) on the colour was the mark of the régiment de Guyenne. This contemporary print shows the regiment's European-pattern uniform, worn in New France by the 2nd battalion from 1757 to 1760. (Parks Canada)

A short bibliography relating to the history of military flags, uniforms, and traditions, which includes both French and English resources. A section of "From Colony to Country: A Reader's Guide to Canadian Military History."

The 2nd Battalion of the régiment de Cambis was sent to reinforce the garrison of Louisbourg shortly before the fortress was besieged by a large British force. When Louisbourg surrendered, outraged soldiers of this regiment burned their colours rather than surrender them. Note the white cravat tied around the standard pole. This and the white cross were common to all French army colours of the period. The pattern of green and red on the colour was the mark of the régiment de Cambis. (Parks Canada)

Among the German mercenary troops arriving at Quebec in 1776 was a unit of cavalry from Brunswick. Dragoner-Regiment Prinz Ludwig (or 'Prince Ludwig's Dragoon Regiment') was supposed to be given horses in North America, and wore high leather riding boots. Still waiting for horses, they marched south with General Burgoyne's army in 1777 and were captured after the British defeat at Saratoga. Recruits sent from Brunswick allowed the regiment to be reformed at Quebec in 1781. This man's uniform is in the traditional cornflower blue of the Brunswick dragoons. He holds a swallow-tailed cavalry flag called a guidon. Its pole is made in the form of a joisting lance, a fashion of the time. In the centre of the guidon is white horse of Niedersachsen, the crest of the Dukes of Brunswick. Confusingly, a very similar white horse of Hanover was used on British flags at this time. Reconstruction by Gerald A. Embleton. (Parks Canada)

Warned by Laura Secord, British Lieutenant Fitzgibbon ordered that the Americans be ambushed by a body of Iroquois warriors. While fewer in number, the Amerindians scared the Americans so much that the invaders surrendered with relief when FitzGibbon's British troops finally arrived.

With origins in the Wars of Religion of the early seventeenth century, an all white flag symbolized France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It was flown over military outposts and from ships' masts throughout the existence of the colony of New France.

The 38th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force was raised in Ottawa, in 1915. It served in Bermuda, and then joined the 4th Division of the Canadian Corps in France during 1916. Except for their distinctive insignia, the Colours of Canadian units were similar to those of the British until 1968. Just before the 38th Battalion left Ottawa in 1915, it was presented with the Regimental Colour shown (left) in this painting. The King's Colour was presented to the unit's successor, The Ottawa Regiment (Duke of Cornwall's Own) in 1921. (Canadian War Museum, K-73-137)