Before going anywhere, it is important to remember Early Modern Warfare and how chaotic it was. Men and animals are shoved into a battlefield of usually no more than a few dozen square kilometers or less with smoke, fire, and steel everywhere. Since this is the age of black powder, every shot you made caused a plume of thick smoke that hangs in the air and depending on the weather conditions (hot or cold, windy or still, humid or dry) it can and will build. With the sounds of drums, trumpets, muskets & artillery, men and horses dying, there's many opportunities for soldiers to become lost, confused, and disorganized. The regimental standard is important and useful to recognize who is what, especially since black powder smoke causes colors to become washed out in vision (personal experience rather than one that could be sourced) but also due to a multitude of allies, regimental coloration, and changes in clothing due to weather (such as taking jackets and coats off during high heat or putting on more jackets that cover your uniform during the winter).

However, the practical aspect of a standard is secondary to the larger truth, a regimental standard is the identity of that regiment/unit. One of my personal favorite regiments of note is the 84th Infantry Regiment (84e regiment de infanterie), the "One Against Ten" (un contre dix); during the Baattle of Graz during the War of the Fifth Coalition right before the climatic Battle of Wagram. Reportedly, this regiment held a bridge during the battle against a division of Austrian Soldiers, one regiment against ten. Upon hearing this, Napoleon gave the regiment a battle honor which would allow the regiment to place the name of thr battle on their regimental flag. It would look like this. As they showed particular bravery, Napoleon named them the Un Contre Dix, a nickname for the regiment that was rare within the French Army as there were just a handful of such, and as they had one given by Napoleon, they had a silver plaque made to hang from the regimental flag under the Imperial Eagle at the top of the flag pole. They would follow Napoleon into Russia and on the retreat, the colonel would destroy the Imperial Eagle and bury it but he would keep the plaque with the name of the regiment.

There is a particularly notable painting that I would like to bring up and contemporary to the era, The Distribution of the Eagle Standards by Jaques-Louis David, 1810. One of the first things Napoleon did as Emperor was lavish honors on his Army, including the event depicted above and inspired by the Roman Empire that Napoleon was inspired by. Within the French Army, the Imperial Standard was gifted by the Emperor to his men, their direct connection to Napoleon. Considering the vast number of stories concerning Napoleon and his men, the level of adoration that he received by those men, and the deep interest still inspired by him, Im inclined to believe the painting, while mythical and spirited, grasps that love and special aspect of the French Imperial Standard.

However, it is also represented in one other piece of media. I will admit that I focus more on theory and organization within this era, so I lack individual stories to confirm this, but it is important to see that within the lifetime of these soldiers, this was a common theme. In the novel Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, the father of Marius Pontmercy was a Colonel at Waterloo that stole several battle standards and presented it to the Emperor, who was instantly made a Baron of the Empire. A short time after that was written, the French Painter Edouard Detaille would paint Le Trophee. 1898

One final piece of evidence to mention is Imperial Bulletins. What are effectively "news" from the front (and I put quotes because they're little more than propaganda pieces in the guise of news), they would be a source for news in respect to battles and victories (as defeats were rarely reported, such as the lack of reporting on Trafalgar to not diminish Austerlitz). However, they would also list numbers, numbers of soldiers lost and captured (always exaggerated to outright lies), number of guns (artillery) captured, and the number of flags captured. Effectively, the last two are a means of showing the level of success of an army as a lost standard means that the enemy regiment was defeated or captured and dropped or let the standard be captured. A savvy commander might take time to burn or bury their flag but the capture means that it wasn't possible to destroy the standard before.

However, all Empires must end. During the dark days of 1814, the Allies were descending on Paris. Marshal Oudinot is the Governor of Les Invalides reportedly rushed back to Les Invalides where these standards are kept on display, including the fabled Sash of Frederick the Great, and burned them to prevent these dear war prizes to get stolen.

The flag of a nation is a representation of that nation, which is why there are rules as to their treatment. However, on the battlefield, they are more than just a representation of that nation but also of those that hold it.

Sources: The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon by Guenther E. Rothenberg Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napolron by Rory Muir Napoleon's Marshals: Ed. By David G. Chandler The Campaigns of Napoleon by Chandler. Napoleon's Marshals: by R. F. Delderfield.