Introduction

The Napoleonic invasion had a cataclysmic effect on

Spain and her Army. Even though Spain was no rival for
the mighty French eagles, she was never completely
annihilated and always managed to rise from the as-
hes, one defeat after another. When Ferdinand VII fi-
nally ascended to the throne, he gained control of a
professional army that was far from negligible. None-
theless, the kings absence during the conflict and the
assumption of power by the Juntas meant that some
sectors of the revived army, like the militia, had strong
Liberal affiliations.
Plagued by Liberal coups and Absolutist counter-
coups, the turbulent reign of Ferdinand VII witnessed
how the nations army was broken apart and its
ranks, decimated in search of enemies of the Crown.
In the 1830s, however, the tables would turn. After
Isabel was named legitimate heir to the throne, the
most conservative sectors became more radical and
Don Carlos began to win over supporters. Given this,
Ferdinand VII knew he had no choice but to turn to the
moderate monarchists and his old enemies, the libe-
rals, for support. The monarch again resorted to pur-
ging his enemies, though this time his sights were set
on the Carlists.
When the Carlist uprising broke out after the kings
death, the bulk of the army remained loyal to the new
regime. However, after nearly two decades of confron-
tation with the Crown, the government forces were not
prepared for a new conflict. Whats more, the econo-
mic crisis that affected post-war Spain had serious
consequences on the heart of the Armed Forces. Des-
pite the initial half-heartedness of the Absolutist re-
volt, the Isabelino army was unable to stamp out the
movement, allowing their enemy to reorganise and
gain strength. Concentrated in the mountains of nor-
thern Spain, the Carlist forces under the expert lea-
dership of Zumalacrregui seemed unbeatable.
However, just as it did during the Peninsular War, the
army managed to weather tough initial setbacks and
gradually acquired greater fighting versatility and ability.
The Isabelino Infantry
The geo-strategic peculiarities of the First Carlist War
(shortage of horses and money, rough terrain, etc.) re-
quired the infantry to become the backbone of the ar-
mies on both sides.
Unlike the Carlists, most of the Isabelino troops
were recruits. In theory, there must not have been sig-
nificant age differences among the new soldiers sin-
ce most of them would have come from the same
draft (and the same social class -those from well-off
families could avoid military service by paying a fee).
There were also volunteers, although these soldiers
known as peseteros- were usually posted in special
units. This nickname was directly related to their rea-
son for joining the army and gives us an idea of the
mercenary-like character of most of these troops.
Oddly enough, the sources on the uniforms of the
Isabelino army -the government army at that time- are
more scarce, confusing and contradictory than those
on the Carlists. It is actually quite easy to find litho-
graphs of this period that show these uniforms, but
what is missing are current interpretations and syste-
matizations of them. This by no means is a problem
for us. Quite the contrary, the lack of sources, in a
52
way, gives us the freedom to vary and even improvise
when painting our battalions (though, of course, wi-
thin certain limits). Even though I have chosen to fo-
llow a specific uniform scheme for each unit in this ar-
ticle, I also include possible variants and some ideas
that you can use to slightly alter the appearance of
your troops.
We will first take a look at the regulation uniforms.
Although the regulations on uniforms were in force
during the entire war, the troops gradually incorpora-
ted clothing that was more useful on campaign. The
jacket was replaced with a simple blue frock coat or
a grey greatcoat in winter. The shako, which usually
had a water-proof cover on it, was often replaced with
a forage cap which became so popular among the
soldiers that it was known simply as the Isabelino.
Fortunately for the troops, the heavy calfskin knap-
sacks were replaced with the saco-morral (a simple
linen or white-cloth bag), which was similar to the
ones used by the Carlists, and espadrilles replaced
the expensive, poor-quality and scarce shoes. Given
that, the general appearance of an Isabelino soldier
near the end of the war differed very little from their
enemies, except for the txapela (traditional Basque
beret).
We will paint all the figures with the usual techniques
over a black base. The paints we will be using are from
Vallejo Model Color (numeric references), Andrea Color
(AC references) and Citadel Colour (00-00).
Line Infantry
In 1833, the 19 line infantry regiments had either 2 or
3 battalions each, though once the war broke out all re-
giments were made up of three battalions. Nonethe-
less, as during the Peninsular War, regiments were me-
rely administrative units and their battalions often did
not fight together and were even assigned to different
theatres of operation. Consequently, the basic tactical
unit was the battalion which was made up of 8 compa-
nies (six fusilier companies, one grenadier company
and one light company -tiradores) and had a theoretical
strength of 740 men.
The uniform consisted of a deep blue jacket with
white piping on the turnbacks and cuffs, white cuff
flaps and a white collar with a blue patch on the front.
The buttons and officers lace were gold. The trousers
were white in the summer and grey in the winter. The
shoes, cartridge box and shako were black and the
shako had a brass emblem on the front, brass chins-
cales and a red cockade with a yellow loop. The com-
pany colour was worn on the top band of the shako
and the pompom: yellow for fusiliers, red for grena-
diers and green for tiradores. In addition, the prefe-
rencia (elite) companies had epaulettes in the com-
pany colour and yellow bars (sardinetas) on their
cuffs. The knapsack was made out of calfskin and the
soldiers usually carried their rolled coats stored in a
blue-and-white stripe bag on top. All belts and straps
were white.
The most common variations of the line infantry uni-
forms found in lithographs correspond to collar colours.
Sometimes they are reversed, that is, blue with a white
patch or even all blue with a white sardineta, and in
other cases they are blue with the patch in the company
colour. There are also some cases in which the turn-
backs are all white.
GARMENT BASE COLOUR 1
st
HIGHLIGHT 2
nd
HIGHLIGHT
Jacket Flat Black (AC-26) Prussian Blue (AC-22) Prussian Blue (AC-22)
+ Medium Blue (963)
Summer Light Grey (990) Light Grey (990) White (951)
trousers + White (951)
Winter Neutral Grey (992) Neutral Grey (992) Neutral Grey (992)
trousers + Flat Black (AC-26) + White (951)
Shako and Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26)
cartridge box + Neutral Grey (992)
Knapsack Chocolate Brown (872) Wood (AC-41)
Straps and Sky Grey (989) White (951)
greatcoat cover
Officers lace Wood (AC-41) Yellow Ochre (913) Burnished Gold (61-62)
Fusilier colour Wood (AC-41) Flat Yellow (953)
Tiradores Napoleonic Olive Green (AC-3)
colour Green (AC -38)
Grenadier Reddish Brown (AC-18) Red (947)
colour
Light Infantry
Given the difficult characteristics of the conflict, the light in-
fantry played an important part. The 6 pre-war regiments we-
re expanded to 8, plus a battalion of guides made up of Car-
list deserters. Each regiment had two battalions, except the
Regiment Reina Gobernadora, which had three. Like the line
infantry, each battalion had a theoretical strength of 740 men
and was made up of eight companies (six chasseur compa-
nies, one carabinier company and one tiradores company).
The uniform scheme is similar to that of the line in-
fantry, except that green was used instead of blue and ye-
llow instead of white. The jacket was green with yellow pi-
ping on the turnbacks and cuffs, yellow cuff flaps and a
yellow collar with a green patch on the front. The buttons
and officers lace were silver. The trousers were green, but
they also wore white trousers in the summer and grey
ones in the winter. The company colours were: green for
the chasseurs, red for the carabiniers and yellow for the ti-
radores. Lastly, the cockade loop and the cuff bars of the
elite companies were white. All of the equipment was si-
milar to that used by the line infantry. Please note that the
description given here does not apply to the Regiment Rei-
na Gobernadora, which had a special uniform.
The uniform variants depicted in the sources are like
those of the line infantry, with two exceptions: in some
cases the cuffs do not have flaps and one lithography
shows the line infantry soldiers wearing blue uniforms
with yellow facings.
53
Line infantry on campaign. Here you can see both regulation uniforms and
civilian clothing as well as plenty of unshaven faces and patches. On the left,
the colonel leads the advance on his horse. Next to the drummer is a corporal,
distinguished by the double red bars on his sleeves.
GARMENT BASE COLOUR 1
st
HIGHLIGHT 2
nd
HIGHLIGHT
Jacket and Napoleonic Green Napoleonic Green (AC -38) 1
st
Highlight
trousers (AC -38) + Tan Yellow (912) + Tan Yellow (912)
Shako and Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26)
cartridge box + Neutral Grey (992)
Knapsack Chocolate Brown (872) Wood (AC-41)
Straps and Sky Grey (989) White (951)
greatcoat cover
Officers lace Neutral Grey (992) Light Grey (989) Mithril Silver (61-55)
Chasseur Napoleonic Green Olive Green (AC-3)
colour (AC -38)
Tiradores colour Wood (AC-41) Flat Yellow (953)
Carabinier colour Reddish Brown (AC-18) Red (947)
Militias
During the First Carlist War there were two types of
militias, the Provincial Militia and the National Militia.
The Provincial Militia, created by the Bourbons a cen-
tury earlier, had a long tradition in Spain. It was ma-
de up of 42 regiments in one battalion and was struc-
tured like the line infantry. However, their elite
companies were permanently transferred to the Pro-
vincial Royal Guard (see below), so the battalions we-
re reduced to six fusilier companies. The soldiers we-
re recruited from the young men in each district and
their training consisted only of two hours per month.
Except for the lieutenant colonel, who was a profes-
sional soldier, officers were landowners and wealthy
people. Although the fighting capacity of these units
must have been questionable, it seems that some of
the battalions were comparable to the regular troops
since they were later incorporated into the line in-
fantry.
The Urban Militia, which was first renamed the Na-
tional Guard and from 1836 became the National Mi-
litia, dated back to the Napoleonic period. It was cre-
ated by the Juntas to resemble the French National
Guard, which is why these units had a strong liberal
influence. Ferdinand VII disbanded it when the Cons-
titution of 1812 was abolished, though it was created
again during the Liberal Triennium and, finally, when
the king died. The National Militia was made up of in-
dependent battalions, consisting of six to ten compa-
nies each. Although, in principle, they must have be-
en units of little military value, the National Militia
earned itself a good reputation. It was greatly streng-
thened after the conflict, although the truth is that Im
not sure whether this was due to its performance on
the battlefield or liberal propaganda. As an example
of their affiliation with the new regime, the battalions
of the National Militia were the first to use the red
and yellow flag (which became the flag of the State
and the entire Army in the 1840s), while the Provin-
cial Militia had the same flag scheme as the regular
Army (which was basically white with the Cross of Bur-
gundy).
The Royal Ordinances required the Provincial Militia
to wear the same uniform as the line infantry. However,
the National Militia wore deep blue jackets with yellow
facings, collar and turnbacks. The buttons were silver,
which also must have been the officers lace colour. The
regulation trousers were sky blue and the shako was
the same as the infantry.
Despite what was laid out in the ordinances, there
were probably some differences in the uniforms and
equipment, and they possibly incorporated equipment
and clothing typically worn by other troops or even civi-
lian clothing.
The Royal Guard
When Ferdinand VII came to the throne, he reorganised
the Royal Guard and turned it into a powerful and loyal
shock force. The king was fascinated with Napoleons
Guard, which is why it was the model he used to create
his own guard.
The Guard was organised into two divisions: the
Royal Guard and the Provincial Royal Guard. The first
had four regiments of grenadiers with three battalions
each, which were in turn made up of 8 grenadier com-
panies with a total strength of 826 men. Theoreti-
cally, the second division was made up of two regi-
ments of provincial grenadiers and two regiments of
provincial chasseurs, although in practice there were
only two regiments of grenadiers and one regiment of
chasseurs, each with two battalions. As I said before,
these battalions were created from the elite compa-
nies of the Provincial Militia. As the war drew on, the
second regiment of provincial grenadiers was disban-
ded and these troops were used to form the third bat-
talion of the first regiment. So, when the war ended
the Provincial Royal Guard only had two regiments
with five battalions.
Originally, their uniforms were very similar to those
worn by Napoleons Old Guard. Over time they were
gradually simplified, though they maintained a strong
French influence. During the First Carlist War, the Gre-
nadiers of the Royal Guard wore a deep blue jacket
with red piping on the collar and cuffs, red cuff flaps
and turnbacks and white sardinetas on the collar and
cuffs. Until 1835 the jackets had white lace on the
front. The buttons and officers lace were silver. The
blue full-dress trousers were replaced with white trou-
sers in the summer and red ones in the winter. The
company colour for all the soldiers was red, which was
used for the pompom and the epaulettes. From 1834
the fur cap was replaced with the shako which had a
white band around the top and a white plume that was
worn with the full-dress uniform.
The uniform worn by the Grenadiers of the Provin-
cial Royal Guard was very similar to that described
above, except the collar was all red and the buttons
and officers lace were gold. Given this, the sardine-
tas must have been yellow. They kept the yellow lace
54
Light infantry on campaign. As you can see in the photo, the regulation
uniform has been slightly altered since the turnbacks are yellow instead of
green piped yellow. The knapsacks and the various elements added to them
also stand out.
on the front of their jackets until 1835 and their fur
caps until 1838.
As for the Chasseurs, their uniform was similar to the
Provincial Grenadiers, except they wore a shako that
had a yellow band on the top. Their pompoms and epau-
lettes were also yellow. The buttons were gold and the
sardinetas yellow.
GARMENT BASE COLOUR 1
st
HIGHLIGHT 2
nd
HIGHLIGHT
Jacket Flat Black (AC-26) Prussian Blue (AC-22) Prussian Blue (AC-22)
+ Medium Blue (963)
Trousers Reddish Brown (AC-18) Reddish Brown (AC-18) Scarlet (817)
+ Red (947)
Shako and Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26)
cartridge box + Neutral Grey (992)
Knapsack Chocolate Brown (872) Wood (AC-41)
Straps and Sky Grey (989) White (951)
greatcoat cover
Officers lace Neutral Grey (992) Light Grey (989) Mithril Silver (61-55)
Grenadier colour Reddish Brown (AC-18) Red (947) -
Generals
Although the generals uniform was regulated by the or-
dinances, there were variations that reflected each com-
manders personal tastes. The full-dress uniform con-
sisted of a deep blue jacket with red lapels, cuffs and
turnbacks, gold braid and epaulettes and a crimson
sash with gold fasteners and tassel. Their trousers we-
re white in summer and red in winter with a gold strip
down the leg. However, on campaign their appearance
would not very different from the infantry colonel shown
above. In this case the figure represents Espartero in
his full-dress uniform adorned with braids and medals.
The ribbon he is wearing across his chest is the Laure-
ada de San Fernando, the highest Spanish military de-
coration established in 1811 by Ferdinand VII.
GARMENT BASE COLOUR 1
st
HIGHLIGHT 2
nd
HIGHLIGHT
Jacket Flat Black (AC-26) Prussian Blue (AC-22) Prussian Blue (AC-22)
+ Medium Blue (963)
Trousers and Reddish Brown (AC-18) Reddish Brown (AC-18) Scarlet (817)
shabraque + Red (947)
Bicorne Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26)
+ Neutral Grey (992)
Plumes and Sky Grey (989) White (951)
gloves
Distinctive Reddish Brown (AC-18) Red (947)
colour and sash
Lace Wood (AC-41) Yellow Ochre (913) Burnished Gold (61-62)
Horse Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26)
trappings + Medium Blue (963)
As for the aides-de-camp and the General Staff offi-
cers, they might have also worn a simplified uniform. In
fact, the figure of the colonel mentioned above could al-
so be used as a General Staff officer if we paint the co-
llar and cuffs of his frock coat sky blue. There is a post-
war ordinance that regulates the uniforms worn by the
aides-de-camp which most likely standardised the uni-
form used at the time. The ordinance required them to
wear a red jacket with two parallel rows of buttons, de-
ep blue trousers with gold braid, gold aiguillettes han-
ging from the right shoulder, gold epaulettes, red cloth
sabretache with gold braid and the arms of Spain in the
centre, a hat piped with gold lace and red plume, a ri-
ding sable whose belt and straps had the same gold
braid, and the same for the saddle. The Field Marshall
Aides had white collars, facings, turnbacks and bars on
their jackets, the Lieutenant Generals green and the
Field Marshalls black.
However, in this case I have based my figures on a li-
thograph from 1830 that depicts a general staff. I have
made an aide-de-camp in full-dress, for which I used the
figure of General Fernndez de Crdoba. His uniform is
sky blue, known as Cristino blue since it was the Queen
Regents favourite colour. The collar, cuffs, front and
turnbacks were red with silver braid.
GARMENT BASE COLOUR 1
st
HIGHLIGHT 2
nd
HIGHLIGHT
Jacket, trousers Prussian Blue (AC-22) Grey Blue (943) Grey Blue (943)
and shabraque + Grey Blue (943) + White (951)
Distinctive Reddish Brown (AC-18) Red (947)
colour and sash
Bicorne Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26)
and plumes + Neutral Grey (992)
Lace Neutral Grey (992) Light Grey (989) Mithril Silver (61-55)
Horse Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26)
trappings + Medium Blue (963)
Author: El Mercenario
Special thanks to Antonio Rico and Adolfo Ramos
Photographs: Beatriz Planelles
Figures from Perry Miniatures
Flags from Adolfo Ramos
55
Grenadiers of the Royal Guard, post-1835 uniform. Their neat appearance
contrasts with that of the line infantry. For their full-dress uniforms they wore
white plumes and gloves.
Espartero and his aide-de-camp in full-dress uniform.