Flags from Macha

They are considered to be the first physical flags created by Manuel Belgrano,[1] who in November 1813 hid the standards to prevent them from falling into enemy hands after the United Provinces' army defeat of Ayohuma.

The flag was first flown, for the soldiers to swear allegiance to it, on 27 February 1812, on the Batería Libertad (Liberty Battery), by the Paraná River.

Although it is known that this first flag had white and light blue colours, the design is unknown by historians, and could be either a blue-white-blue triband, or white-blue-white.

This gave room to another unclear detail: whenever Belgrano left the physical flag in Rosario, or took it with him to the North.

Thus, the triumvirate sent a warning to Belgrano not to fight under the flag, but by the time the reply had arrived, Belgrano had moved to the north, following the previous orders that requested him to strengthen the patriotic position in the Upper Peru after the defeat of Juan José Castelli at the Battle of Huaqui.

Still unaware about the Triumvirate's refusal, Belgrano raised the flag at San Salvador de Jujuy and had it blessed by the local church on the second anniversary of the May Revolution.

Fearing that the enemy armies got the flags, he left them to the care of the parish priest of Macha, which hid them behind a Saint Teresa of Avila's portrait in a chapel near the small hamlet of Titiri (18°57′20″S 65°58′53.1″W / 18.95556°S 65.981417°W / -18.95556; -65.981417).

Belgrano was summoned back to Buenos Aires, and sent to Europe in diplomatic mission, and the flags were considered to be lost.