Delaware Militia

Brought to England as a war trophy, this flag is often known as the “Dansey Flag” after the name of the British Army officer who captured it in September 1777.     

That summer, the British Army set its sights on taking Philadelphia, the capital of the American Revolution. The British invaded Pennsylvania from the south after disembarking from ships in Maryland at the northern end of the Chesapeake Bay. Skirmishes erupted as the army advanced through Delaware into Pennsylvania. Captain William Dansey (pictured here), commander of the light infantry company of the 33rd Regiment of Foot, and his men traded shots with Delaware and Pennsylvania militiamen along their route. In one encounter, Dansey’s unit took the baggage belonging to a Delaware militia officer. Dansey himself recounted the capture in a letter to his mother:  

 Dearest Mother, I must tell you of a piece of good luck I had a few days before the Battle of the Brandywine. On a flanking party I took the horse, arms, colours, and drums belonging to a rebel colonel of the Delaware Militia, made his brother prisoner and caused all his baggage to be taken, which the general very politely sent back again but the horse, arms and colours came to my share, the latter I hope to bring as a trophy…    

Dansey sent this flag home to England where it remained in his family’s possession until they sold it (along with Dansey’s wartime letters) to the Delaware Historical Society in 1927. Now faded, the flag was originally dark green.