On 21 November 1811, Lieutenant Samuel Dikes King, 13th LD, was escorting Capitaine Margen, taken at Arroyomolinos, to Badajoz to exchange him for Captain Brinsley Nixon, 85th Foot. Under a flag of truce King met the French escort, but then came under fire from Spanish guerrillas. He rode up to them to explain the situation but was shot in the chest and killed. General Hill wrote in a letter ‘I fear he has lost his life in consequence of his own disobedience of orders relating to Flags of Truce.’

The account of the incident implies that the presence of trumpeters with both the British and French parties signified their status as being under a flag of truce. The entry for flags of truce in the alphabetical edition of Wellington's orders deals only with ensuring flags of truce are approved and communicated through the chain of command rather than saying what form any indication or actual flag was to take.

Does anybody know if flags of truce were metaphorical, or actual flags? Were there any conventions to be observed? Was King's error simply not ensuring the guerrilla commander was informed?

Thanks, Rob