| A moth-eaten rag, on a worm-eaten pole, It does not look likely to stir a man's sole, 'Tis the deeds that were done 'neath the moth-eaten rag, When the pole was a staff, and the rag was a flag. |
| Sir Edward Hamley on seeing some old Colours of the 32nd Foot in Monmouth Church |
Today, Regimental Colours are the visible memorials to great deeds of a regiment, and symbols of its spirit as expressed in those deeds. Colours are no longer carried on active service, as their battlefield function has long since disappeared; but when they were, they became the rallying point of a regiment and acts of heroic self-sacrifice were often performed in their defence.
The history of distinctive symbols to identify military units is as old as war itself. They were carried in the ancient armies of Egypt, Macedonia, Greece and Rome. In the armies of Japan and China, they were more colourful, as they usually took the form of a flag or banner.
The term "Regimental Colours" is descriptive of the infantry flags which evolved in the British Army, and refers to the two flags of a battalion, the senior of which is called the Queen's (or King's) Colour, and the junior, the Regimental Colour. Together they are referred to as a "stand" of colours.
The design and form of colours of the Canadian Forces today traces its history to a document entitled "Regulations for the uniform Clothing of the Marching Regiments of Foot, their Colours, Drums, Bells of Arms, and Camp Colours, 1747." In general, the regulations put a stop to a former practice wherein Colonels of regiments had placed a device or coat of arms on colours and appointments of regiments under their command. The new instructions gave the design of colours as:
This regulation of design, with modifications, is still the basis of the design of Regimental Colours in the British Army today. The design of colours of the Canadian Army, although basically following the same rules as the British, now use the National Flag of Canada as the Queen's Colour (with the exception of Regiments of Guards).
The use of the term "King's Colour" in the 1747 regulations is the first recorded instance where it is used to describe the "First Colour" of a regiment.
Today, it is the custom to place on colours the names of distinctive battles in which the regiment took a prominent part. That custom did not originate until 1784 with the granting of the Battle Honour "Gibraltar." No Battle Honours were awarded for the American Revolution, as that war was basically a civil war, and a defeat for British arms.
BUTLER'S RANGERS, 1777-1784
In the museum of the Military Academy at West Point, there is a Union Flag with the centrepiece cut out. In 1840 it was identified as having been found after the Battle of Wyoming (now Wilkes-Barre, PA) and associated with Butler's Rangers. In 1921 it was noted that the flag had been captured by the Americans at Fort George, Upper Canada, on 27 May 1813, but historians have pointed out that the Union Jack was that of the period of 1707-1800, the design being changed in 1801 to incorporate the Cross of St Patrick.
There is some rationale, however, to claim that it is, in fact, a King's Colour of Butler's Rangers, and was captured in 1813, for in his claim for war losses for the War of 1812, James Muirhead, who had married John Butler's daughter, stated that the Americans had looted from his house, "a stand of silk Colours formerly of belonging to Butler's Rangers, which Mr Muirhead saw taken up to the Government House in possession of General Dearborne."
THE COLOURS TODAY
Honourary Colonel Lorne Butler (a direct descendant of John Butler) has presented the Corps with a stand of re-created colours. They are of the pattern set out in the Warrant of 1768, that is:
The colours are not consecrated. They were presented on 12 May 1996, two hundred years to the day of the death of John Butler, to McDonell's Company at Butler's Burying Ground in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
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