Last modified: 2017-05-31 by ian macdonald
Keywords: militia | color | standard | dragoons | infantry | minas gerais | para | colonial |
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image by Joseph McMillan
The oldest colonial military flag shown in Cl&ocute;vis Ribeiro's Brazões e bandeiras do Brasil is the standard of the Regimento dos Dragões Reaes das Minas (Minas Royal Dragoons), a militia unit from Minas Gerais, dated 1720. Ribeiro describes his illustration as a reconstruction. The flag is gyronny of eight, red and yellow, with a wide counterchanged border. On the center is a device showing an arm issuing from a cloud, the hand grasping a bolt of lightning. Above this emblem is a blue scroll inscribed Cædere aut cædi. Below the emblem is another blue scroll inscribed with the name of the regiment. The initials of the regiment, DRM, royally crowned, appear in gold in each corner. The flag is trimmed on all four sides by a narrow strip of gold lace and on the upper, lower, and fly edges by gold fringe. Joseph McMillan, 16 April 2003
image by Joseph McMillan
image by Joseph McMillan
Ribeiro also shows two flags from 1777 for an infantry unit, the 1° Terço de
Infanteria Auxiliar do Pará (1st Pará Auxiliary Infantry Battalion. The first flag like
that of the Minas Royal
Dragoons, is gyronny of eight with a wide border, this time in red, white,
and blue. Two diagonal bands, each divided diagonally, overlay the gyronny
field, one white over blue from upper hoist to lower fly and the other red
over white from lower hoist to upper fly. On the center overall is the
Portuguese royal arms in gold and in each corner the crowned royal monogram,
also in gold, JR. The other flag of this unit is solid red
with the same coat of arms and crowned monograms. Neither of these flags
has fringe or other trim.
Joseph McMillan, 16 April 2003