Table Of Contentn~iQ;JM MEN-AT-ARMS SERIES 334
MILITARY
SPANISH ARMY OF
THE NAPOLEONIC
WARS (3) 12-1 15
SPANISH ARMY OF THE
NAPOLEONIC WARS (3)
1812-1815
THE STATE OF THE SPANISH ARMIES
AI'THE BE(;I:'-l:\'[~GOF J812 the French still occupierl most ofSpain.
King FernandoVII, 1814. From lhal lime, however, the British anrl Portuguese anl1ies
The'desired one'wasfreed by under the Duke or '''ellington - joined by illt:reasingly large
Napoleon In lateMarch 1814 contingenlo;; ofSpanish In)()pS- slowly butsleadil)'drove the French out
andmadeatriumphantreturn to
ofSpain. By the spring of18J4lheAllieswere invading-sOllthern France.
SpaininApril. Inthis print after
For a delailed account of the unfolding story of these campaigns, the
Goya, hewears the uniform of
acaptain-general: blue coat, reader is referred lO Sir Charles Oman's superlaLive A llislury oj lite
scarletcollar,cuffs, lapelsand PflllIHu{ar \iVar. In 181~-1814 lhe siluauon and service of the Spanish
tumbacks, gold buttons,lace armies W"'LS gCl1crall}' as follows:
andembroidery, scarlet sash
The 1stArmy (or Army of Catalonia) hac! heen largely dispersed by
withgold embroidery,white
waistcoat,buffbreeches,black lhe French in IHII. HO\"rCVCT", it rose again, and byJlIl1e J813 had ]6,000
bootsedgedwithgold laceand men ullder Ceneral Capons.
tassel, hatlaced withgold and The 2nd Army (Army of Valencia) nnc!'T C;eneral ~Iake wa.< 17,000
edgedwithwhiteplumes, gilt strong on 9January 1812 whell iL ~lIITt'lldcn.~d al Valencia to i\1arshal
swordandscabbard,
Slichel. However, another 7,I00 rnen ofthe 2nd Army rallicclatAlicante.
gold-laced
belts. RyJlIlle IHI~ it lTlustcrcrl OVCI-30,600 mell underCeneral Elio. lLS 5Lh
Division was the former guerrilla force led by EI Empecinado.
The 3rd Army (Army of Murcia) was weak, with barely 5,500
lTIen inJalluary 1812. rising to 8.000 in October. [nJune 1813 il
was led by the Duke del Parque and had 12,000 men. ByApril
1814 il was 21,()()()st.rong \\'hcn it. crossed into France under
the Prince ofAllglolla and uccupied Pau.
The 4th Army inilially cO\'ered the troops al Cadiz and
Aigecirao;,;which, hyJulle U-n:1,had grown toa fctl-cc ofon:r
25,000. Led by Gelleral Giron, who had replaced General
Caslanos, it was aU3ched (0 ''''ellington's arm)'. It wa"
reinfOl-ceri hy Don Carlos ric E.spana·s di\~sion of 3,300
men and CUUlll Arispal's Arm)' of Reserve ofAndailicia
of 17,500 men in July. Thlls, hy August 181~, ovcr
4fi,OOO Spanish t.roops had beell auached LO the
Anglo-Portuguese army. This did not include Espoz y
Mina's force of aboul R,OOO operating in ...\ragon and
eastern Navarre.
Now led by General Freil-e. Lhe 4lh Army was 35,000
strong in the allllll11n of 1813, decreasing 10 ~(),OOOh)' April
1814. This was the f(lrCe that. Si:l\\l lhe most service with
"Vellington, its eighl divisions heing kd by ~Iorillo. Carlos de
Espana, Losadaand lalerDc! Ban..:o. Barcenaand laterEspe1eta,
and the guerrilla leaders Parlier, Longa and Espoz)' Mina. Pan of
these troops were left in Spain, but several divisions sen'ed at
Toulouse and Ba}'onne heft-we hcing senl hack. 3
TheArmyofReserve ofAndalucia led by General Girun W,l"l
allachc.rl to ,"Velling-ton's ann~' from slimmer 1813. I'educing
to auout 10.000 men in AugllSL. 8.000 ill (\"ow"mher and
9.200 in April IR14. II served with the Anglo-Portuguese
anll) up to Toulouse.
The 5th Army (Army of Estramadura and Castilla)
wa~ only about 8.000 strong. and sened with
\\'e1lington's army in 1812. Most WCIT ah"lorhNi into
lhe 4lh Armyill 181~.Th"6th Army (ArmyofCalicia),
about 15..000 strong. S(.'r\·cd \\;th \\'ellington's army in
Hn~..\1ost weill inlo the 4th Arm,. ill 181:1.
The 7th, 8thand 9th Armiesof 1812 \\ere ~olllcwhat
1heoretical forces. They includerl moslly the ~uerrillasin
lIurth-t:aSlern Spain led byMina. Long-d. r..ampillo, Porlier
and olhcl- smaller hanrls, and could hardly be expecled to
function as reg-ular field fonTlauons. .\1ost were absodx:d inLO
the 4th Ann> in the Sllmmel'of 1813,
\\'hillinghalll'sSpanish Uidsion from ~lallorcasencd in Valencia
ArthurWellesley, Field dUling 181~-HH:l, aholtt 4,000slrong, later Jising 10 5,000.
Marshal the Duke ofWellington, B)' the middle of IHl~, the Spanish forces 011 regular sen'ice
commanderofBritish and amounted to about J60.000 men. Of these, about a third wcre scn'ing
Portuguese forces in the
Peninsula, was named with \Vcllington's Anj?;lo-POrLllgllese ann,.. Another 10,000-20,000 \\(;IT
Generalissimo orsupreme deployed in conjunction ",ilh Ihe An~lo-Sicili~Ulforcc in Valf'l1cit1.
commanderoftheSpanish As of1December 18J4 the Spanish peninsularanllY was reorganized
armiesbythe Cortes on b) a provisional regulalion. This \\las a first SlCP towalTls ratioll::ali7itlg- the
22September 1812, numerous and extnlurdinary c'ollcction of units raised 3il1cC IHOH. For
(Detailfrom printafter
lllc Hrsl limesince the French invasiun lhc /~sl(ufn,Vli/ifa,.ripI:,s/Jana- the
J.Jackson.National Archives
or
ofCanada, C11191) register the Spanish Army which normally afJpcarcd ycarly- \\'a.~ once
again puhlished in acompletecdition earlyin lHI5'. No doubt cOJllpilt:d
largely frum inf{>nnalioll obtained from corps cumrnancicrs and review
reports, il p;a\'e a gCl1cl"dl listing of the field officers of the llI~tn>'uniL~,
and ,...hat uniforms wen" being- \\'orn.
UNIFORMS AND EQUIPMENT
From 18J2 Britaill <':ullsiderahl)'augmented its all'ead~ significantaid to
the Spanish annie. As regards wcapons, some 100,000 firearms (of
which Y5,OOO were infantry muskets and 3,000 ca''alry carhines) were
sent to Spain oct·ween April 1812 and .Mal-ch J8J3 - up from ahollt
40,000standsofallusill 1811. In IR1.::\another50,000 musketsweresent.
n,ooo
To these were added thousands ofcavalrysahr", - in 1812 alone
- and thOll'\ands of pairs ofcavall} pistols. Tht:~c figurcs represcnted a
considerahlecommilment; the 1812shipmentaccounted for \\l~1I uvera
third of the year"3 pruduuiun of India Pattenl muskets. (No significant
numbers of rifles \.,.'ere supplied for the Spanish forces. which harl no
lifle uniL~as sHch.)
Ordnance \\'as also sent 10 Spain, though not in such masshe
numbers. 1t would seem lhallarg-c calibrc pieces were already available,
1IncompleteEstadosWllI"BpublIShed11'1theGulaPatnot/CsdeEspanaandtheGumPoIItJeadelasEspanasof1811
and1812.Ontythei¥llformsoftheGeneralSlaffC<lrps.GuardSInfantry.artillery.englfMM!l"SlWldsapperbattaloons
4 wedesalbed.
butlightcalihre 'mountain' cannons were in much demand by guerrilla
bands,and the British u'ied to deli\'er these in numbers. ""hen onc adds
uniforms and camp equipage for 100,000 inhllltry in 1812, for 50,000
men in 1813 and again in 1814, adderl to cavalrysaddleryand supplies,
the LOtal log;istical aid from Britain to Spain in the £inal years of the
Napoleonic \lVar.Iiwas very impn.:ssivt'.
TheSpanish madegood use ofitall, and theirarmieswcre logisLically
transformed from 1812. Howevel-, the Spanish themselvesalsu continued
to make arms ann clothing. 13)' 1814 the British supplied the
requiremenL"i of 50,000 to an army of 154,000 men. ()1II1iuing the
remainder must ha\'e called rar a lI-emendolls effort in acountry almosl
totally ruined by war, and whose population was traumatized byyears of
privations, hloodshed, instabilityanti more or less arbitrary terror.
The scarlet national cockade of Spain was worn by all troops.
However, from about 1812 a black cent.re was sometimes added tu
denote thealliance with the British; ami ayellow edgt'st'cmsalso to have
been used by some, thus rcpruducing the scarlet and g-old of Spain's
national standard (possibly to differentiate the patriots from the General FranciscoBallasteros, a
renegade troops ofJoseph-Napoleon's forces, who also displayed scarlet veteranofmanybattles, Captain
cockades). General ofAndaluciaand
commanding general ofthe
4thArmyIn 1812. Outraged by
Generals and Staff
Wellington'selevationto
The official full dress ofgcncral officers did not chang-e, but lhe trend generalissimo oftheSpanish
was towards fairly simple field unirorllls. Surviving examples ann armies, he called foramilitary
portraits show simple single-breasted blue coaLs or coatecs with scarlet uprisingin October1812,but
had considerably overestimated
collar and cuffs edg;ed wiLl, g-old lace. However, a French slyle all-hhle
hisownInfluenceand popularity.
coat with gold emhroirlererl enging was also worn by some gcnerals.
AttheorderoftheCorteshe
Aides-de-camp seem lu ha\re had a free rein to indulge in a variety of was arrested bythe Princeof
dress, a phenomenon not exc1llsive to Spain. Anglonawith abattalion of
SpanishGuards on30October;
hisowntroopsdidnot stir, and
The Royal Guard
Ballestroswasexiled to the
During the Peninsular',\lar the Spanish Royal Guarrl had a veryskct.chy AfricanpresidioofCeuta,
existence. From l80H to 1809 palacegual-d units such as the I-Ialberdiers (Printafterportrait)
vanished, while the Guardia de Corps disintegrated as its personnel
often becarne cadres for newly raiserl 1.111itJi_ However, the infantry Ilnit~
survived and c1crncIlL~ofthe Spanish and v"alloon Guards continued to
be fOllnd in Spanish armies during- the war, each adding a 4th Battalion
in 1810anda5th in IH14. ',Vith the return ofKing FernancloVII in IH14
tlle Guard was reformcd, resuming much the same organization as
before the French invasion, complete with Halberdiers.
Guardia de Corps The unit was revived in Cadiz to provide guarc1s for
the Cones hy iI.' decree of25 May 1813. This called for a corps of tlVO
squadrons each having- three brigades, each brigade h;1Ving 60 officers
and men, all to have pre"iously sen'erl in the linc cavalry or dragoons.
Onesquadron wouldatt.endthc Corteswhile the otherwasserving-in the
field, the squadrons rotating at intervals. Following the return of the
king in ]814 the unit went to Madrid and was expanded to four
squadrons- two ofmounted grenadiers and two oflightcavalry- and a
brigadeofflankers. Uniform: From 1813, the bandoleers were no longer
ofvaried coloun todistinguish squadrons; all wereordered to bescarlet,
laced with silver. In 1814-1815 blue coat,scarlet collar, currs, lapels and
turnbacks, sihrer buttons and lace; white waistcoat and breeches; hicorn 5
laced silver; hille housings lacccl silver.
Grenadiers. silver aiguillettes and tall hlack
bearskin caps ,,·ith sih·er t:ords .anrl white plulllc;
crested helmets for liglll cavalry, and shakos for
the flankers, wcre taken into wear from IHI5"
Guardias Alabarderos From IS14 thc Guard
Halberdiers were back in the palace, wearing a
blue <:oat with scarlet <.:ollal", cufTs. lapels,
turnbacks and \\·aislcoal. silver bUllons, silver blll
tonhole and edging lace at collar and cuA's; hlue
waistcoat and cape also laced sih'cr, scarlet
slOckings, bicorn laced silver.
Guardias de Infanteria Espanola The Spanish
Guards were reorganiLcd in 1815, but in 1818
both the Spanish and \,Valloofl Guards were
united into Lhc lsI and 2nd Guards Inhllltry
Regiments, losing' their disrinni\'e tilles. The
Guards Infantry Regiment was disbanded four
years later. Compiledin 1811-1812, the 1812 Guin
describen. its uniforms as blue coalee. pantaloons
and gaiters: scarlel cufTs, tlll'nbacks ana waistcoat;
white bUllonhole lace .(probably puinled and
Set in threes), while metal hlltlons with lhe
ciphel" (or inili<'lls) orthe regiment's name; shako
with a plate bearing" the same cipher as lhe
bULLons, ann. a red cockade. In 1814-1815, blue
coal and breeches, scarlet cuffs, lapds and
waistcoat, pewter bUllons, white lace sel in pairs.
Omcers' dn.:ss was as the Guardia de Corps but
with a blue collar.
Guardias de [nfanteria Walonna Part of the
\VaHoon Guards Regiment was in Madrid when it
UndressInfantryuniformof was fil'st occupied by Lhc FI"cnch inJune 180S.and manyofitS men were
General Espor.VMlna,c,1814, incorporated, often forcibly, into the French forces, Afler Bailen the
Blue withscarletcollarand reg-imeIlL's battalions in Barcelonaand Aragon, bolstered byvolunteers,
cuffs, white piping, goldbuttons;
reorganized into four bartalions in various parl":; of Spain. These
threenarrowgoldlacebandsat
participated in mall)' b,lttles oycr t.he years, and were reduced to two
theendsofthe cuffs, belowtwo
broad embroidered lacesofa battalions inJanuary 1812, finishing the war in Andalucia. Reorganized
lieutenant-general.The sliver into a flvc-baualion regiment in 1814. Uniform: In 1811-1812, according
laceand scarletbandoliershown to the ISI2 GUill, the unifonn \\"as the same as for the Spanish Guards
here isinerror;itdoesnot
dcsClibed above except fO!" U1C cipher on the butlons and shako plate.
belongtoMina'suniform, butIs
whi<:h was to be to the regiment's name, and the scarletshako cockade,
'ortheGuardia deCorps.
(MuseDdelEjercito,Madrid) which W<.L'; cn.gcci with black. The while bUllonhole lace was probably
pointed alld setin pairs. For c.1813uniform, see Plate I). In 1814-1815,
the same as theSpanish Guardscxceptfor the blackcockade burdcl"and
a small hutton at each pocket.
Carabineros Reales Reorgani7..ed in 1814 into a squadron ofgrenadiers
and a squadron of cuirassiel"s; r1isbanded in 1822. Uniform: Blue COal,
pant.aloonsand cape; scarieLcollar, lapels, waistcoat andlufnbacks;silvcr
buttons, silver lace edging the collar and cuffs; blue housings laced
white. Grenadiers with bearsk.in cap. cuiras...iers with cuirass and sleel
6 cuirassier helmel.
CAVALRY
Organization
As in previous years, lht:n: were scores of cavalry units of all sizes and
descriptions, ulltil 1813-1814. Some of these were fleeting corps aboul
whic:h there is liule on record. Others would change naIlles or
u<.::signalions, e.g. becominghussarsafterstartingoutas heavyCC\vaiJ1'.or
vice-versa. The organization remained officially the same in 1812-1814
as pre\;ously. follo\\lin~ the 1808 regulations (sec l'vlAA 321), Each
n:gimelll was supposed to have four squadrons, each squadron hm'ing
two companies. In reality, many units had onlya couple ofsqlladronsor
Alejandro Ramirez, Intendantof even onl}' a single company.
Cuba, c.1815.This portrait On I December L814 a new 'provisional' OI-ganization ofthe cavalry
showsthe evolution in the
Slfcallilined the manycorpsdown to 16 heavycaval'l'ITt-,rimcnLS, three of
uniformsoftheadministrative
'officersofthequillpen'towards 1110uIlled fUzadores, and three ofhussars. All were to have five squadrons
theend ofthe PeninsularWar each of (wo companies, each company having four otllcers and 5H
andlater.Theall-bluecoatcutin troopers. 'rhe hc;,wy cavalry re~iments were as follows: Rcy, Reina,
astylishmannerhasregulation Principe, Infante, Barbon. Farnesio, Alcantara, Espana, Algarve,
silverembroidered edging, two
Calatrm'a, Santiago, Montesa, Costade Granada, Voluntarios de Espana,
bandson thecuffsdenotingthe
rankofIntendant.(Museode18 I.egion ESlrcrnclla and Coraceras Espanoles. Rey and Reina were
Culdad,Havana) hellcefunh also equipped as cuirassier regiments. The mOlilltcd
cazanores wcre: Madrid, Guadal~iaraand Burgos.
The hussars were: Espanoles, Esu"amadura
(Bailen from ]!;Jllne 181!;) and Iberia.
Olher units continued Lo exist but were to be
altcl"ed or dishanclecl later. For instal1u,:, the
Cazarlores de Scvilla werc sent to Amcl'ica as the
Cazadoresdel Rey.
Already existing \\'crc the eight dragoon reg
iments: Re}'t Reina. Alamanza, Pa,ia, Villaviciosa,
Sagunto, :"Jurnancia and I.usiwnia.
Cavalry Uniforms
By the lauer part of the Peninsular \-Var the dress
Oflhccavalryhact changed considerably. The long·
tailed coalS were generally replaced by coatee ,
often blue for cava1l'y and yellow for dragoons,
with regimental hldngs at the collar, cuffs and
LUrnbacks. Leather helmets with fur crests
somewhat resembling the Blitish Tarleton type
were nowused by manyheavycavalryand dragoon
rc.:gilllcnLS. Mounted cazadoreshad emeraldgreen
dolmans with shakos, ancl hussars wore v".:trious
colours with fur busbies or shakos. Be ides
breeches, all generally had I(rel" o\'eralls strapped
with leatherand suiped with the facing colour.
The Peninsula veteran G.R.Gleig left a fine
impressiol1 in The Subaltern of some elements of
this cavalry•.seen on campaign nearSan Sebastian
in August 1813: '... some were arrayed in green
jackeLS, with slouched hats and long feathers,
others in blue, helmerccl w1th Tarleton helmets 7
like ouryeomanryorartillerydri....ers. whilstnol a tC\\'wore cuirassesand BELOW General Car10s Favre
brazen head pieces such as they had pluudcn.:d from their slaughtered d'Aunoy,c.1815. Anative of
enemies ...'. Glcig lhoughl them imposing, and admired lhcir .... loose Louisiana,Favred'Aunoygreatly
distinguishedhimselfduringthe
and independent march', adding thatthe}'Kere well mOUllled.
PeninsularWar. Hejoinedthe
Manyofthe ncw uniLsl-aiscd from 1808 left few recordsoftheirdress.
LouisianaRegimentasanofficer
The informalion given belowcomesf,-om a variety ofsources but mainly cadetIn 1796,latertravelling to
from the 1815 register. except for hea\)'cavalry uniforms,which restpri· SpainandjolnlngtheWalloon
marily on a more detailed deSCriptive list appended lO lhe orders of Guards.In t808hefoughtthe
French at Menjibar,Bailen, and
I December 1814.
InthedefenceofMadridIn
December. Stilia captain In
Heavy CavalrY' 1811,hisoutstandingconductat
All '-egimenLS had buffwaistcoat and breeches, and cloaks were of the Albuera madehima national
coat colour. heroand hewas promoted. Later
thatyearhewasatLujarand
Rey Blue coat; scarlet collar, cufTs and lapels; yellow buttonhole lace,
Moroidro.Senttosouth-eastem
brass bUllons. Sled cuir.asscs and steel cuirassier helmet trimmed with Spain,heservedwiththearmy
brass, with black mane and red plume. from Oeccmher 1814. besiegedbySuchetuntilIts
Reina Scarlet coat; blue collar, cuffs and lapels; while buttonhole lace, surrenderInJanuary 1812,
becominga prisonerofwar. He
pewter bultons. Sleet cuirassesandsteel cuirassier helmel u'immed with
waslaterpromoted, andis
brdSs. with black mane and red plume. from December 1814.
shown wearingthefull dress
Principe Bluecoal;scarletcollar, cuflsand lapels;white bUltonhole lace, regulaUon uniform ofMarisc.al de
pewter buttons. Campo(ma)or-general).The blue
Infante Blue coat; while collar. cuffs and lapels; }'c1low buttonhole lace, coathasscar1et collar, cuffsand
lapelsembroideredwtthgold, a
brass bUltons.
singlebroadembroidered gold
Borbon Blue coal; collar. scarlet collar, clltfs and (continuedOPfXH1te)
lapelS; pewter bitttons.
Farnesio Scarlet coat; white (ollal-, cuffs and
lapels; brass buttons.
Alcantara ''''hite coat; green collar, cufTs and
lapels; brass bUllons.
Espana Scarlet coal; black collar, culTs and lapds;
brass bUltons.
AJgarbe Scarlet coal; yelluw collar. cufts and
lapels; pewter buttons.
Calatrava \tVhile coat; searlel collar, cufTs and
lapels; pewter bUlLOns.
Santiago Blue coat; scarlet collar, cuffsand lapds;
pcwter butt.ons.
Montesa White coat; blue collar, culls and lapels;
pewter bUllons.
Costa de Granada Blue coat: yellow collar, culTs
and lapels; pewte,- buttons.
Voluntarios de Espana Green coat; scadel collar,
cuffs and lapels. buffpiping; pcwtcr hUltons (see
Plate G).
Legion Estremena See also MAA 332 for prcvioll
historyann dress. The 1814 listing for the legion's
cavalry, which was made a distinct rCbrimcnt on 1
December.was a blue coalee.su-aw-coloured cuff:
and piping edging the lapels, green lapels. green
piping enb';ng the collar and culls, and a blue
greatcoat.
S Coraceros Espanoles See MAA 332, Plate U.
bandedging the cuffs indicating Dragoons:
hisrank, and scarletturnbacks. AJI had the crossed sword and laurel branch badge on the collar, in Ihe
Thecrimson sash hasgoldtrim: button colour. The cloaks were 01'the coat. colour.
thebeltislaced and buckled
Rey Blue coal.ee and hn:eches; scarlet cuffs ..md waistcoat; yellow
gold;whitebreeches,highblack
huu.onhole lace, brass butlOllS.
boots,andablackbicom laced
Reina Scarlet (oatee: blue cuffs. waistcoat and breeches; yellow
goldcompletetheuniform.His
young sonIspictured in a utlonhole lace, brass bunons on bOlh sirles.
miniatureunifonnoftheWalloon Almansa Yellow coatec, waistcoat and breeches; blue cuffs, pewter
Guards:bluecoateewith scarlet butlOl1S.
cuffs andtumbacks,white
Pavia YeIlO\\' CatHee. waistcoat and breeches; scadel ClIfts, pewt.er
buttonsand lace:heholdsan
buttons.
all-blueforagecapwithwhite
Villaviciosa Ycllow coatce, waistcoat and breeches; scarlet cuffs, brass
laceand tassel.(LouisianaState
Museum, NewOrleans) butlOrts.
SagunlO Yellow coatee. waistcoat and breeches:
green cliffs, pewter buttons.
Numancia Yellow CO<1lCC, waiSlcoat and breeches;
blue cuffs, brass butlOllS.
Lusitania Yellow comee, waistcoat and breeches;
hlack cllff", pewlcr bll1tons.
Hussarsand Cazadores:
These regimenrs were rlressed in hussar ta"hion.
All had white curds, alld ule crussed swurd alld
laurel branch badge on the collar in white.
Extramadura Hussars All-scarletdolman; sky hlue
pelisse, pantaloonsand gl-eatcoat; pewterbuttons.
EspanolesHussars AII-emerald green dolman; sky
blue pclissc, pantalouns and greatcuat; pewter
buttons.
Fernando VII Hussars (1808) Raised as Horse
CI-enadiers of feruando VII from 8 September
1808brCount Fernan-Nunez, to have 540 men in
three sCluarlrons. Convened into Fernando VII
Hussars frum I r\'la)' ]811. Present al hattie of
Sagunm!l1 in 1811. Disbanded in 1814. Vn~furm:
Sec Pial<' D.
Burgos Hussars (1809) Squadron of 150 men
raised in the pl·ovince of Burgos, later expanded
to a regimenl from 6 April 1811. Comrnandcd by
ABOVE Hussarofficer, DonJulian Sanchez, one of the leadjn~guerrilla leaders. Convened to
unidentifiedregiment, mounted ca7.adores in December 1814. Uniform 1814:All-buff dolman;
c.1812-18tS. Scarletdolman sk)' blue pclisst: and pantaloons; pewter bUllons, white cords. 1815.
with skybluecollarand curts;
All-emerald green dolman; buffpelisse and pantaloons; pewter bUllons,
skybluepelisseedged with
while cords; emerald green housings edged whil-e.
blackfur; scarle1 breeches; gold
Iberia Hussars (1809) Raised as hussars - sec l\!lAA 332 for organization
cordsandbuttons: crimsonand
goldbarrel sash;black busby and dress. Convened to rnounted cazadores in December 1814. Uniform
withscarletbag;beltscovered /8/4-/8/5: Crimson dolman, collar and culTs; sky blue pelisse,
withgold lace:blacksabretache panu'lloons and greatcoat; pewter buttons.
laced gold and edgedwith '0
Almanza Hussars (1810) Raised in Cadiz by Colonel \\~liltingham a
scarlet;gilt.hllted sabre, steel
strength of about 400 u·oopcrs. Transferred !.o M:allorca in 1811 with
scabbard. Thehousingsappear
tohavebeenskybluetrimmed Wbillingham, who was promoted general LO command lhere. Served in
withgold.(PrintafterGiscard) eastern Spain in ]813as part or''\'hittingham'sSpanish division with the 9
lkiti~h-Iwlian corps under Lord \Nilliam Bentinck. Disbanded in 1815.
Unifar11l:Sent.from Britain in L810 hussarclothingincluding400 pelisscs
and sashes with sabl-es, sabretaches, saddlesand appointments. Dressed
'as the LOth Regimellt of Hritish Hussars', according to \Voolcombe's
diary. Rlue dolman with scarlet collar and cuffs; blue pelisse trimmed
wilh whire fur; white cords, pewter hU1LOns, crimson and }'cIlO\\' sa,;h;
while breeches, black boots; fur busby with scarlet bag and yellow. white
o\'er red plume. In June 1811 '351 hussar caps' were ordered for
Mallorca, most likely illlellded lor this rel\imelll (PRO, WO 1/848).
LineInfantryprivates, 1812. Ashipment of500 hussar unifurmssent 10 t"lalla in early 1812 may ha"e
Left, grenadier, distinguishedby been for Lhis regiment; Ihis consisted of blue jacket wlth ball and
the red plumeand ribbonsand halrball bUllons, whiLe thread cOI-d, pairs of blue pantaloons, pairs of
the brassgrenadebadge on the
booL'" with fixed spurs, cavalry sword \\·ith knots and belts, hussar caps
shako,andbluewingswith red
wilh fcathers (PRO, T 28/9 and WO 1/850).
fringes.
Olivenza Cazadores Sec Plate B.
Centre, tusilier:whiteplumeand
ribbons,brasslionplate, blue Guadalajara Ca.adores (1811) Raised by Don Juan Manin,
shoulderstrapspiped red. 'EI Empecillado', ancl approved by the provisional governrnent on
Right, cazadororlightcompany
24 December 1811; continuedas rel\tdar regimenton 18October 1814.
man: greenplume and ribbons,
Converted to Illl~5ars in June 1815. Unifonn: Emerald Kreen dolman,
brass buglehombadge, blue
wingswithgreenfringes. All pantaloons and greatcoat; white collar, culTs and waistcoat; pewter
weartheuniformordered on 12 hutlons.
December1811,and have British Madrid Cazadores (1811): Raised by '1::1 I::mpecinado' and appmved on
white accoutrementswith plain 24 Decemucr 1811; contirmed as regular J-egiment on 18October 1814.
brass oval beltplates. (Printafter
UniJonll: Emerald green dolman, pantaloons and greatcoat, crimson
Giminezpublished InClonard's
Historia Organics...1 collar. cutIs and waistcoat, pewter buttons.
INFANTRY
Organization
Officially, line infantry reg
iments were supposed La
h..lVe had three battalions
since July 1810; but \'ery
few, ifany, could boastsuch
numbers. In reality a
regimenl often fielded
barely the equivalent of a
single balmlion, with lOa
manyofficers. A ne\\' order
reorganizing the compo
sition of infanu)' units was
issued on 8 March 1812;
this acknowledged the true
situation. The regiments
were now to have only one
battalion; only in excep
tional circumstances uf
extra manpowercould U1CY
form a second. The bat
talion was to have six
10 companies of fusiliers, one
company of light infantry (cazadorcs) and one of g-renadiers. Each
company had a captain, two lieutenants, two sub-lieutenanIS, a sergeant
first class, four sergeanlS, eight corporals first class, eight corporals
second ChL'iS, and 96 privates. Fusilier companies each had three
drummers, light infantry three buglers, and grenadiers two drummers
and a fifeI'. The battalion sratfconsisted of a commander (who might
hold either colonel's or lieutenant-colonel's rank), a first major (lJ7i,ner
smgt'lltn maJor)and a second m£!jor (secondosnrgenln maJor), Iwoadjutants
(eIJue/elUlo) who held the rank of lieutenant. two sergeanl·majors
(SGlW!"10S de brigndl'-'), a chaplain (capellaII), a surgeon (cirujll/w), a
dnlm·major (lambar maJor) and a master armorer (maeslrrJilnnero).
Attached to the grenadier campan}' was a detachment of six sappers
undera sapper-corporal. This organization applied to both the line and
light infant')' hattalions.
During this final period of the Peninsular ''''ar the Spanish Army
had aboul 168 rel'(imenLS of various sorts. Some were pre-1808 'old'
regiments, some were embodied pro\inciaJ militia, and manywere 'new'
regiment, raised since 1808, In March 1814 a muster was made which
rc\·ealedsome reKimcnLS- e.g. Plincesaand Ceuta- a.Ii ha\ingover 1,200
men, while others might ha\'c less lhan 300 - e,g. the Rivagorza
provincials and the Gerolla LightInfantJ)'. In all, the infa1ll11' regiments
amounted to 153,238 men.
Infantry Uniforms
The Spanish infant1)r had, O\1lofnecessity and in a few shonyears, gone
from iL'i traditional while uniform to an extraordinary motley ofstyles
and colour - as illustrated in MAA 332. As lhe naliomll arm)' emerged
yetagain from it, ashes t.o be reorganized and J'c-<::quipped wilh massive
British help from late 18JI and especially in 1812, the neerllor a more
common unil"orll1 was addresserl.
Tht: Rcgency of the Kingdom issued 011 12 December 181 1a 1'0)'(\1
order to re-establi h the principle of uniformity in dress. It statecl that
Lieutenant-General Charles\Villiam Doyle had recognized 'the necessity
of adopting a unifofm fOf all the infaillry', and the Regency council LineInfantrygrenadiersergeant,
accordingly approved a proposal, made previously on 9 Septemher by 1812: red plumeand ribbonsand
Mariscal de Campo ~'Iartin Gonzales de Menchaca, for a national brassgrenadebadgeonshako,
redepaulettes.IPrin1after
infantry unironll:
Giminezpublished inClonard's
'For the troops of the line: sholl. coat or coatee without lapel!oi, hut
HistoriaOrganica...)
toning up the front.. wide pantaloons \\ith half-gaiters worn underneath
the pantal<Km', ofsky blue cloth,scarletculIs, collar and tllmback with
gilt buttons, ",hite waistcoat with s]eeycs. FOI- light trOOps, Lhe same
uniformwith collarandclltI~orthesameskyblue colour,white llirnbaeks
and ,,·hite metal but.t.ons. Both the line and the light infanu)rwith a cap
in the shape ofa u"lll1C3ted cone"ith a wide circlearound lhe bottom: a
golden metal lion (shako) plate in from for fusiliers, a grenade for
grenadiers,anriawhite metal buglchornfor light troops,with also each
a(
sideoflhe collartheinilialsofthe regiment. Finally, the forage cap ofthe
samecloth as thatoftheeoalee.,,,ithscarlet pipingfor theline,and white
for the light troops. Knapsack of painted can\'as, and bF]'C)' 1,JTeatcoal.·
These ne\\' uniformswere to replace theold when the)' wore out.
Thc ahove order is unfortunately unclear, in SpaniSh or in
translation, as to the colour of the coatee. Did sky blue mean the 11
