The national flag of Argentina dates from 1812. It is a triband, composed of three equally wide horizontal bands coloured light blue, white and light blue. In 1818, a yellow Sun of May was added. According to tradition, during the War of Independence General Manuel Belgrano was commanding a battle near Rosario. He noticed that both the Crown's forces and the independence forces were using the same colors. Belgrano created a new flag using the colors that were used in the May Revolution of 1810.