2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons

The Continental Army’s 2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons, one of four light dragoon regiments authorized by the Continental Congress in 1776, carried this blue silk standard. Light dragoons are soldiers trained and equipped to fight on horseback and on foot. Since they needed to hold their flags while on horseback, light dragoons carried standards, which are much smaller than the colors of infantry regiments.

The field of this standard features a winged cloud with thunderbolts protruding from it. The regiment is identified on the scroll above the design, while a separate scroll below bears the Latin motto, “Patria Concita Fulminent Nati” (the nation expects its sons to respond with rolls of thunder). The canton of the flag features 13 stripes representing the United States.  

The 2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons often supplemented George Washington’s Commander in Chief’s Guard by providing mounted security for the Continental Army’s headquarters. Elements of the regiment served at many of the major battles of the Revolutionary War, including Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga, Monmouth, and Yorktown. The regiment, however, primarily operated in the region north of New York City, along the Connecticut border.