I recently received an image from an organization asking for guidance about its color guard.
The members were dressed in clothing representing the 1700s. They carried four flags:
- The current United States flag
- A thirteen-star flag commonly called the Betsy Ross flag
- A modern civilian organizational flag
- The Christian flag
The flags were also mounted and ornamented differently. Most had pole hems, while the thirteen-star flag did not. The current United States flag and Christian flag had fringe. The organizational and thirteen-star flags did not. The Christian flag alone had a cord and tassels.
Unfortunately, the question came after the ceremony had already taken place. I wish I had thought to address this issue before now, but no one had ever asked me about it. That is often how ceremonial guidance develops. A real situation exposes a question that has gone largely unexamined.
The image raised a much larger issue: What flags should a period color guard carry?
The answer depends upon what the organization is actually trying to present.
The Uniforms Are Only One Part of the Message
Wearing clothing from the 1700s does not automatically create an eighteenth-century color guard. The uniforms establish the visual appearance of the formation. The flags establish something more important:
- Authority
- Identity
- Allegiance
- Historical period
- Organizational relationship
- Ceremonial purpose
A formation may look historical while carrying flags that represent several unrelated periods and authorities. That is what occurred in this case.
The thirteen-star flag suggested the Revolutionary era. The fifty-star United States flag represented the present United States. The civilian organizational flag represented a modern organization. The Christian flag was not developed until the late nineteenth century.
These flags may all be meaningful individually, but carrying them together does not make them an eighteenth-century stand of colors.
First Decide What the Formation Is
Before selecting flags, the organization must answer one question:
Are we presenting history, conducting a modern ceremony, or teaching through a historical flag display?
Those are three different purposes. The flags should not be selected first and explained afterward. The purpose of the formation should determine the flags.
Option One: A Historically Accurate Color Guard
A historical color guard should represent a specific:
- Date or period
- Nation or political authority
- Military force
- Branch
- Regiment, battalion, militia, or other organization
- Documented flag system
The correct flags might include:
- A documented national flag
- A regimental color
- A state or colonial color
- A militia flag
- A standard
- A guidon
- Another flag documented for that unit and period
The current United States flag, a modern civilian organizational flag, and the Christian flag would not normally belong in a formation presented as an authentic eighteenth-century color guard. This option requires research. There was no single universal “Revolutionary War color guard.” Different Continental, state, colonial, militia, cavalry, artillery, naval, British, Loyalist, French, and German forces used different flags and formations.
The flag must fit the organization and date being portrayed.
The Betsy Ross Flag Requires Careful Description
The Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777, established thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars in a blue field.
It did not prescribe a circular arrangement for the stars.
Several thirteen-star arrangements appeared during the period. The circular design commonly called the Betsy Ross flag may be used as a general symbol of the Revolutionary era, but it should not automatically be described as:
- The first American flag
- The flag carried by all Continental forces
- The official Revolutionary War flag
- The documented flag of a specific unit
Without evidence connecting that design to the organization being portrayed, it is better described as a period-representative thirteen-star United States flag.
Option Two: A Modern Color Guard in Period Clothing
For many civilian, church, heritage, and patriotic organizations, this may be the best solution. The members can wear clothing inspired by the eighteenth or nineteenth century while carrying flags appropriate to the present-day ceremony.
That formation might include:
- The current United States flag
- The current flag of the sponsoring organization
- A current state, municipal, institutional, or association flag
- A religious flag when relevant to the organization and event
The formation should then be described accurately as:
- A commemorative color guard wearing Revolutionary War-era clothing
- A modern color guard in colonial-style uniforms
- A heritage color guard
- A commemorative period color guard
The current flags communicate present authority and identity. The clothing provides the historical theme. There is nothing inherently improper about that approach. The mistake would be calling it an authentic eighteenth-century color guard.
Option Three: A Historical Flag Display
An organization may also wish to carry both the current United States flag and an earlier version of the national flag. That can be appropriate, but it changes the type of formation. The current and historical United States flags should not be treated as two coequal national colors in a conventional color guard. They both represent the United States, but they represent it at different points in history.
When both are presented, the formation is better described as:
- A historical flag display
- A heritage procession
- An evolution-of-the-flag presentation
- A heritage flag team
- An educational colors presentation
The current United States flag retains the position of honor. The historical flag is identified and explained as a representation of an earlier period. Narration, signage, or a printed program should explain why the flags are being presented together.
The Christian Flag Is Not an Eighteenth-Century Flag
The presence of Christianity in eighteenth-century America does not make the modern Christian flag appropriate to an authentic eighteenth-century color guard. The flag commonly called the Christian flag originated in the late nineteenth century and was developed and promoted later.
It may be entirely appropriate in:
- A modern church color guard
- A religious procession
- A Christian organizational ceremony
- A modern commemorative formation wearing period clothing
It is not historically accurate in a formation claimed to represent the 1700s. This distinction is important:
A belief may have existed during a period even though the modern flag representing that belief did not.
A Modern Organizational Flag Creates the Same Issue
A modern civilian organizational flag may be carried with the current United States flag in a present-day color guard. It does not automatically belong beside a historical United States flag. That combination can imply that the modern organization existed during, served under, or had an official relationship with the historical period being portrayed. When no such relationship exists, the presentation becomes a hybrid of historical and modern symbolism.
That may be intentional and useful, but it must be identified honestly.
The Equipment Must Also Make Sense
The flags in the image were not only from different periods. They also used different construction and ornamentation. Some had pole hems. One did not. Some had fringe. Others did not. Only one flag had a cord and tassels. This created the appearance that separately purchased flags had been assembled into a formation without a unified ceremonial plan.
A modern commemorative color guard should use reasonably consistent:
- Flag dimensions
- Staff lengths
- Staff materials
- Finials
- Mounting methods
- Fringe treatment
- Cords and tassels
- Carrying equipment
Historical formations should use documented period construction and equipment as closely as practical. Differences may be appropriate when historically documented or required by organizational specifications. They should not be accidental.
Fringe Does Not Establish Authority
You probably know this, but fringe does not make a flag more official or more important. The US Army states that fringe is an affectation and makes the flag a ceremonial color. That’s it. Read about the history of fringe and the theory of fringe.
Neither do:
- Cords and tassels
- Larger finials
- Taller staffs (many people think the US must always be higher, that’s a myth)
- More expensive materials
- More elaborate construction
Precedence comes from the authority and status represented by the flag, not from its decoration. A cord and tassels on the Christian flag do not elevate it above the United States flag or any other flag. Accessories should never be used to manufacture precedence.
The Modern Four-Person Color Guard Is Not Timeless
Another common mistake is placing eighteenth- or nineteenth-century flags into the modern four-person color guard structure of two flag bearers and two guards.
Historical color formations varied according to:
- Nation
- Military force
- Branch
- Unit size
- Period
- Number and type of colors
- Applicable drill manual
- Tactical or ceremonial purpose
The modern color guard formation should not automatically be projected backward onto every historical period. A modern four-person formation wearing period clothing may be perfectly functional for a present-day ceremony. It should simply be identified as a modern commemorative formation rather than an exact historical reconstruction.
What I Would Recommend for This Organization
For the organization in the image, I would recommend one of three corrections.
Historical
Research the exact period, force, and organization being portrayed. Carry only documented or defensible period flags with appropriate equipment.
Modern Commemorative
Retain the period clothing, but carry the current United States flag and the current civilian organizational flag. Add the Christian flag only when the organization and ceremony make it relevant. Remove the thirteen-star flag from the conventional color guard. This would probably be the clearest and most practical choice.
Educational Display
Retain all four flags but reorganize the presentation as a narrated heritage or historical flag display.
Explain:
- The current United States flag
- The historical thirteen-star flag
- The modern organizational flag
- The Christian flag
- Why they are presented together
Do not describe the formation as an eighteenth-century color guard.
The Larger Lesson
The problem was not that any individual flag lacked meaning. The problem was that the formation did not communicate one coherent meaning.
A color guard must answer:
- Which authority is represented?
- Which organization is represented?
- Which period is represented?
- Is the ceremony historical or modern?
- Why are these flags carried together?
- What relationship exists among them?
A group of meaningful flags does not automatically become a meaningful color guard. The flags must form a coherent symbolic statement. That is the central principle:
The uniforms establish appearance; the flags establish authority, identity, and time.
For detailed guidance, including historical, commemorative, hybrid, and educational options, download:
ICS DCS 12-610, Period Color Guards: Historical and Modern Flag Options