Last modified: 2009-02-28 by ivan sache
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A street in the north of the city of Dijon is called Avenue du Drapeau (Flag Avenue). The origin of this name dates back to the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian war.
During the battle which took place on 23 January 1871, the 4th Franc-Tireur Brigade of the Vosges Army*, a group commanded by Riccioti Garibaldi (the son of the famous Italian patriot Guiseppe Garibaldi) was attacked by the German troops. Following a counter-attack, the German 61th Regiment finally retired from the battlefield and abandoned its standard, which was triumphally carried back to Dijon.
A commemorative stele was erected on the place where the flag had been captured and the street was named Avenue du Drapeau.
Source: Website of the Rectorate of Dijon
*After the disaster of Sedan and the capitulation of Napoléon III, the French (Third) Republic decided to carry on the fight against the Prussian invaders and funds were raised to set up regiments, which eventually capitulated in 1871.
Ivan Sache, 19 July 2001