Established in the early 1790's, the National Guard ended up fighting on both sides of the French Revolution, initially with the Royalists before a shift in membership brought them over to the Revolutionary cause. Though later disarmed by Napoleon, the Guard was maintained as a reserve force, being mobilized in 1809 and 1814. Of the 100 planned Cohorts, only 88 were actually formed, and of that number only 5 known flags survive. A traditional French tricolor, measuring approximately 38 inches square, with gold lettering reading "85.ME COHORTE/DU I.ER BAN/DE LA GARDE/NATIONALE" on the front. Set on black matting in a gold painted frame, with a photocopy of a Certificate of Authenticity from Steven Flood, President of AAG International.