On the 22nd April 1815 Napoleon issued a decree ordering the formation of various volunteer 'Corps Franc' in the Departments along France's frontiers. Needless to say all of these units had only an ephemeral existence and have left little or no trace of their service and passing. Amongst these units was that of the 4th Military division (Nancy) which on the 15th June 1815 mustered 96 officers and 1,054 men, including the '1er Corps Franc de la Meurthe'. In a letter from the prefect of la Meurther, dated 12th June is a description of the First Free Corps' flag: The field was of black silk, in the centre of each face was a white 'death's head' skull with, on the obverse, the motto La Terreur Nous Devance La Mort Nous Suit; and on the reverse the motto Premier Corps Franc de la Meurthe/Vaincre ou Mourir, also in white. As Pierre Charrie [1] remarks in the article upon which this note is based the design of this flag is very reminiscent of the many 'Noir' or 'De La Mort' Revolutionary volunteer units but may also have been influenced by the Prussian "totenkopf'. Footnote [1] Un Drapeau Noir sous le ler Empire: Pierre Charrie. In emblems et Pavillions Numero 5, Fevrier 1986: Paris 1986 Reply Letter to Editor: Translation (FE19) Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #16 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1994 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com