Spotlight on
L'incomparable 9e Leger
L'Incomparable Drapeaux
by Terry Crowdy and Martin Lancaster,
Illustrations by Terri Julians
Photos by kind permission of 9è Légèr and Mëck Hoffmann
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'......Arriving in front of the 9è demi-brigade d'infanterie légère, he [Bonaparte] made the officers and sous-officers asssemble. Three flags were brought by a detachment of veterans. The First Consul delivered these flags to the chefs de brigade and bataillons of this demi-brigade, and said: "Soldiers of the 9è Légère, here are your flags. They will always serve as your rallying point. Be worthy of the inscription I have had put there. Never, no never, can the flags of the 9è Légère fall to the enemies of the state. Do you swear to sacrifice your life for their defence?" The officers and sous-officers responded: "We swear it!" The fate of these three flags is uncertain. According to a Capitaine Flamant who served in a later 9è Légère in the 1820's, the flags were destroyed all except a fragment which was still preserved in the salle d'honneur of the 84è régiment de ligne in 1905. It is almost certain that one of the flags had been lost earlier in 1807 in Poland. At the combat of Mohrungen, the drapeau of the second battalion was taken after the escort was all killed. It seems though that the Eagle had snapped off the flag several days before, but what the Russians took was the silk. Unfortunately for the 9è Légère, it looks like they mounted their eagles, not on top of the tricolour silk but their consular period flag instead. Therefore the loss was equal to the loss of an Eagle. Napoleon was not happy when he found out! More Spotlight on L'incomparable 9e Leger
Re-enactment Recreation L'incomparable Drapeaux Claude-Marie Meunier (1770-1846) Mathieu Labassee (1764-1835) Joseph De Barroussel (1729-1791) Unit Commanders (1788-1815) Uniform Illustrations (slow: 141K) Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #53 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 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 |
Designed by Challiot de Prusse; the exact model being chosen in favour of other designs encorporating chimera heads and a coq Gallois. The design was particularly nostalgic for many of the older veterans who had served in pre-revolutionary times. The use of the colour green (the traditional chasseur colour) and the use of the cors de chasse ensigna was far more preponderant than the National tri-colour or any Republican symbolism. Le Monnieur reported the actual ceremony held on the 15 Prairial Year 10 at the Tuillerier Palace, Paris ,as Bonaparte presented the three new flags.