I was in Gloucester cathedral today looking at their relatively large (in comparison to other cathedrals) collection of regimental colours from units within the county. I'm very much aware of the significance of the colours to the men of a regiment (being a military man myself).
Accompanying the colours (which unfortunately were not in the best of conditions considering the status at which they were held by soldiers) was a poem written by Sir Edward Hamly:
"...Tis the deeds that were done 'neath the moth-eaten rag, When the pole was a staff, and the rag was a flag."
This got me thinking, are there many accounts of soldiers defending their colours to the death? I.e. The enemy being in and around the colour party.
I can think of only one of the top of my head, at the battle of Isandlwana, where the officer attempting to save the colours was awarded a VC.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
I might be able to give you a little help, but there is a caveat: I have not done very much reading around the topic, so I can only give you a glimpse.
One thing to keep in mind is that the flags of the regiment were considered by the men to be the regiment. They fought for the regimental colours and died to protect them. The regimental flags also served as a rally point for the men if they got separated during battle.
I did a little reading around the taking of the French eagle of the 8th Ligne near Cadiz in the Battle of Barrosa by Ensign Keogh (KIA) and Sergeant Masterson (WIA). The incident is described in Sharpe's Fury by Bernard Cornwall. Sharpe's Eagle describes the loss of one of the colours of a fictional regiment. Although they are fictional works, Bernard Cornwall has put a lot of research into the battles he describes and he tries to stay pretty close to historical events.
*Edit: