he Flagstaff Cavalier stands, almost opposite and a little to the North East of the Mysore Gate, the main South entrance to the Fort at Seringapatam.. It was one of the conspicuous landmarks on the Seringapatam skyline, and is clearly identifiable in contemporary watercolours and engravings, including those by Robert Home (1794) and Robert Colebrooke (1793-94).

It was from here, on the 4th May 1799, that the colours of the 23rd Regiment were shot down during the assault - to be replaced immediately by a soldier's red jacket, fixed there by a group of British soldiers. From the cavalier, Major Allan later 'had a distinct view of the palace and plainly discovered a number of persons assembled in a kind of Durbar…and saw the terror and confusion as Baird drew up his troop in the gateway.'

Some contemporary views show a Tipu flag flying from the mast. The same flaming sun motif, on a red ground, appears on two standards presented to the Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, after the Fall of Seringapatam, and described as 'standards which were borne in state before the Sultans Haidar Ali and Tippoo Sahib.' The same 'sun' banner is shown, lowered in obeisance, as Tipu's sons emerge from the palace to surrender to General Baird in 1799. The pennants which accompanied these banners were triangular, with yellow bubris on red and green grounds, or black with silver/grey ground. The Royal Hospital examples were apparently fixed to the front and rear of the howdah of Tipu's state elephant, but another of Gold's aquatints (1806) suggests that they were also carried in procession. Gold shows a number of these triangular flags being held in salute as Tipu prepares to mount his state elephant outside the Lal Bagh palace at Seringapatam.