During the colonial era, warfare took on a logical and orderly form. Soldiers followed a set of rules that allowed them to fight with honor and with dignity. This was a time of extreme courage and steadfast loyalty to the different causes that served as catalysts for the wars of that time.

Each unit was assigned one very important figure: the flag bearer. This person was to work with the drum and trumpet band within the unit in so far as giving orders and maintaining morale is concerned. The flag bearer brought along a flag symbolizing the faction that the unit is fighting for as well as the principles that the faction stands for. The flag bearer is not unarmed and harmless as well. This is because the flagpole itself is a spear. Should the unit's lines break under a charge, the sight of the flag bearer fighting back would bring back some of the lost morale to the rest of the unit. This helped them reform their lines and counterattack.

These days, the different units of the modern army still retain the use of flags. The only difference is that they do not bring their flagpoles to battle. They mount their unit and faction flags during formal ceremonies but they have their flags sown into their uniforms as patches. This reduces the overall weight and therefore increases the overall mobility of the soldiers in battle. This shows that even today the flag serves an important role in the battles that our soldiers fight. They may not carry them into battle like the flag bearers of old, but they preserve the use of their flags in the most honorable of ceremonies.