Flag, British King's Colour, 96th Regiment of Foot
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This King's Colour was one of two used by the 96th Regiment of Foot in the four years of its existence from 1761 to 1765. The other Colour would have been the Regimental Colour. Formed in India early in 1761, command of the 96th was given to The Hon. George Monson (1730-76), third son of 1st Baron Monson, who had distinguished himself at the siege and capture of Pondicherry in 1760. As part of the Seven Years War (or the French and Indian War, as it was known in America), the 96th Regiment saw action in Bombay, Madras, Tellicherry, and Manila in the Philippines. From August to December of 1763, the 96th besieged the province of Madura. The small patched holes in this Colour are evidence of the hard service both on and off the battlefield that it saw. Monson sailed home in May 1764, and it's likely that he brought this Colour home with him. By 1765 the regiment had been disbanded.
King's Colours of exactly the same design, made by the same contractors, were carried by British regiments in America during the French and Indian War.
