Readers of recent issues of EEL might recall several references to French "Eagles" or other flags captured in action or otherwise acquired by the British army in Spain, originating with a discussion authored by Jean Lochet in issue 76, Subsequent notes have given suggestions towards the identity of the French standards which were lost in various ways in 1812, without providing the exact identity of the flag in question, which Jean requested. Since writing my comments (which appeared in Issue 79) I have traced what is perhaps the only eyewitness account surviving of the reception of these flags in England, which goes some way towards providing an exact identity of at least some of the flags, and proves (as was suspected) that probably only a minority were actually captured in action.
The newspaper Edinburgh Evening Courant of 5 October 1812 carries a lengthy report of the deposition of the captured French standards in Whitehall Chapel, London, an event accompanied by much ceremony. The final paragraph describes the "Eagles" and other flags:
- "The eagles were five in number: two of them taken at the memorable battle of Salamanca, and were dreadfully mutilated and disfigured in the conflict, one of them having lost its head, part of the neck, one leg, half the thunderbolt on which it is perched, and the distintive number. The other is without one of its legs, and the whole of the thunderbolt. The two which were taken at Madrid are in a more perfect state, though injured, and without the square flag, or standard; the fifth, we understand, was found on the recent advance of the combined army on their march towards Ciudad Rodrigo, in the channel of a river (dried up by the heat of the summer) into which it was thrown, when the rear of Massena's army was so closely pressed by the British cavalry, on his retreat from Portugal. Four of the eagles are numbered 13, 22, 39, 51.
There were also four standards; but they were in such tattered and mutilated state, that there was not a device or letter legible; and the garrison flag of Badajos, which was like a sieve, and great part of it quite red with human blood"
The "four standards" were, presumably, battalions fanions as I suggested in Issue 79; whilst perhaps the "garrison flag of Badajos" may have been that hauled down from the San Roque bastion by Lieut. Macpherson of the 45th Foot, which he presented to Wellington on the following day. Interestingly, the most modern work concerning Napoleon's "Eagles" (Drapeaux & Etandards de la Revolution et de l'Empire, Pierre Charrie, Paris 1982) confirms the loss of all four of the numbered "Eagles" mentioned above, those of the 22nd Line (captured by the British 30th at Salamanca), the 39th Line (thrown into the River Ceira at Foz d'Aronce on 16 March 1811 and recovered by the British in 1812), and thoseof the 13th Dragoons and 51st Line (found by the British in Madrid on 12 August 1812).
Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 1 No. 84
Back to EEL List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1985 by Emperor's Headquarters
This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com