Painting the Spanish Order of Battle at Talavera

I've spent too much time searching for unit-level breakdowns on which Spanish regiments saw
action at Talavera and their uniform details, so I've posted this information assembled from books
and web-sites as a public service for other miniature gamers interested in accurately painting
Cuesta's troops.

The Battle of Talavera (July 1809) is a challenging one to paint for. The previous October, British
diplomat Charles Vaughn noted that most Spanish units wore regulation uniforms: either the light
blue coats they wore before 1806 or the all-white uniforms subsequently issued. The following
month saw the Battle of Tudela, one in a series of one-sided battles that essentially destroyed the
Royal Army--and its uniformed consistency. On the other hand, from 1810-1811 onwards, Spanish
units increasingly appeared in British-supplied uniforms (blue coat/slacks, shako). During the years
1809-1810, however, the Spanish field armies were patchwork quilts of regional volunteers and
regularized guerrilla units sprinkled with remnants of the former Royal Army. As a result, they were
clothed with such diversity that even Wellington--not known as a stickler for uniforms--complained.

His Adjutant-General Charles Stewart had this to say a few days before Talavera.

But to take them all in all, it would not have been easy to find a stouter or more hardy looking
body of soldiers in any European service. Of their appointments it was not possible to speak in the
same terms of commendation. There were battalions whose arms, accoutrements, and even
clothing might be pronounced respectable; but in general they were deficient, particularly in
shoes.

The predominant colour was probably chocolate brown, made of omnipresent peasant cloth. Some
veterans might still have worn their blue or white uniforms. Painters in search of maximum realism
then can probably paint their entire Spanish army like this unit of volunteers.

On the other hand, painting the official uniforms is more enjoyable than spray-painting the army
with a can of brown paint.

The following is a detailed Order of Battle for Cuesta's Army of the Estramunda, which included six
divisions of infantry and two of cavalry. Each section lists their official uniforms, with unit-level
details where I can find them.
Infantry
According to regulations, line infantry wore white coats, black bicornes, with collar and lapels in
the facing colour--which I've listed in parentheses with each regiment where known. Light infantry
(cazadores) wore dark blue coats instead of white and regimental facing-colour turnbacks instead
of white. Provincial militias likely wore either old-style (light blue long-tailed coats) or ragged
clothing.

Vanguard Division - Jose Zayas.

According to Stewart, Zayas was the one Spanish general who didn't look too old for action.
• Cazadores de Barbastro (dark blue coat and lapels, red cuffs, collar and turnbacks, green plume
in bicorne)
• Cazadores de Campo-Mayor (dark blue coat and collar, crimson cuffs, turnbacks and lapels,
green plume in bicorne)
• Cazadores de Valencia y Albuquerque (as above but with crimson collar)

• Cazadores de Voluntarios de Valencia 2nd battalion (Chartrand: wore linen kilt instead of pants,
also blue/red criss-cross shoulder wings)
• 2nd Voluntarios de Catalonia (Unlike the others, Catalonian Light infantry wore green jacket,
pants, and a hussar-like green dolman over one shoulder, with a helmet rather than hat. Since
these were volunteers, whether they wore that uniform is open to question).
 Catalonia Light Infantry Regiment

First Division - Marques de Zayas

• Cantabria, three battalions (white collar, light blue lapel/cuffs) Regular Line
• Granaderos Provinciales (grenadiers in bearskin hats, white uniforms with red facings and
lapels) Militia Line
• Canarias (Chartrand: white coat, red collar/cuffs, green lapels, silver lace. On campaign, coat
switched to brown). Militia Line

Canarias
• Tiradores de Merida Volunteer Light
• Provincial de Truxillo (presumably peasant brown with red facings) Militia Line

Second Division - Iglesias

• 2nd Majorca (blue uniform, faced red) Militia Line
• Velez-Malaga, three battalions (white collar, dark blue facings) Regular Line
• Osuna, two battalions Volunteer Line
• Voluntarios Estrangeros (unknown, but "voluntarios" units likely wore unmatched brown clothes)
Volunteer Line
• Provincial de Burgos (Brown/red facings) Militia Line

Provincial Militia

Third Division - Marques de Portago

• Badajoz, two battalions Volunteer Line
• 2nd Cazadores de Antequera Volunteer Light

Light Infantry in shako

• Imperial de Toledo (Shako, Brown with yellow facings) Volunteer Line

 Imperial de Toledo

• Provincial de Badajoz (red facings) Militia Line

• Provincial de Guadix (red facings) Militia Line

Fourth Division - Manglano

• Irlanda, two battalions 2nd & 3rd (Irish, blue coat, yellow facings) Regular Line

Officer Irlanda

• Jaen, two battalions (white collar, dark blue facings) Regular Line
• 3rd Sevilla Volunteer Line
• Leales de Fernando VII 1st battalion (Chartrand: sky blue coatee/trousers, scarlet collar/cuffs)
Volunteer Line

Fernanso VII Volunteers

• 2nd Voluntarios de Madrid Volunteer Line

• Voluntarios de la Corona (Collar, White Cuffs & Turnbacks, Crimson) Regular Line

Fifth Division - Bassecourt

• Real Marina, two battalions, (royal marines, Chartrand has them in blue coat/pants with either
green or red cuffs/collar, but this has them with brown coat, white pants, no bicorne. Probably
the latter reflects actual campaign dress) Regular Line

Marine
• Africa, 3rd battalion (white collar, black lapel/cuffs) Regular Line
• Murcia, two battalions (white collar, light blue lapel/cuffs)Regular Line
• Reyna, 1st battalion (aka Reina, "Queen's Own," violet facings) Regular Line
• Provincial de Siguenza (New White Uniform/red facings) Militia Line

Cavalry
In general, Line cavalary wore dark blue coats and white or yellow breeches; dragoons wore jonquil
yellow coats and yellow breeches; Cazadores wore dark green coats/breeches, Hussars blue.
Hussars had Pelisse and Mirlton, Cazadores had shako.

Each unit had individual colors for horse blankets, usually either the coat color or the facing color,
edged in a contrasting hue.

First Division - Henestrosa

• Rey (Line, red) Regular Line

Rey
• Calatrava (line, red collar, sky blue cuffs/lapel) Regular Line

Calatrava

• Voluntarios de Espana (Bright green hussar uniform, sky blue collar/cuff/waistcoat) Regular
Cazadores
• Cazadores de Sevilla (Green coat/breeches, white trim, shako with red plume) Volunteer
Cavalry
• Reyna (Line, Sky Blue) Regular Line
• Villaviciosa (Dragoons, green) Regular Dragoons
• Cazadores de Madrid (Green coat/breeches, white trim, shako with red plume) Volunteer
Cavalry

Volunteer Cazadores
Second Division - Duque de Albuquerque
While this seems to contradict Stewart, Albuquerque was in his mid-thirties at the time of the
battle.
• Carabinos Reales (Royal Guard, dressed as Rey -- apprently pre-1808 dressed as Hussars)
Regular Line

Carabinos Reales
• Infante Regular Line

Infante

• Alcantara (line, red collar, green cuffs/lapel) Regular Line

 Alcantara

• Pavia (Dragoons, yellow collar, red lapel/cuffs) Regular Dragoons

Pavia

• Almanza (dragoon, red turnbacks, sky blue facings.) Regular Dragoons

 Alamanza Dragoons

• 1st Hussars of Estramadura (blue coat/breeches, scarlet pelisse and pants, green hanging cloth
on colpack)
• 2nd Hussars of Estramadura (as 1st regiment) Volunteer Hussars

Artillery
General Officers
Field Marshal (Captain General)

Based on a portrait of Marshal Rafael Manglano. Lapels open, the style imposed by the French generals. Notice
braid gold cuffs, as a sign of rank.
Lieutenant General

The jacket is the Uniform Rules of 1805 dark blue with gold braid trim. Notice the two rows of gold braid on
the sleeves, which are the hallmark of his rank.

Brigadier General

He usually wears a dark blue coat. The Levite was a rank unknown in the Spanish army until the arrival of the
French. Unless the Levite, the rest of your outfit (cocked hat, breeches, sword ...) is fully consistent with the
1805 regulations unlike earlier, the braid and the overall decorations are silver. No sash because their use was
reserved for senior officers. Based on a portrait by Goya.

Print Sources
Rene Chartrand. Spanish Army of the Napoleonic Wars: 1808-1812 (Men-at-Arms) (v. 2) (Osprey:
1999)
Philip Haythornthwaite. Uniforms of the Peninsular Wars: 1807-1814 (Blandford: 1978) British-
centric.
Otto von Pivka, Michael Roffe. Spanish Armies of the Napoleonic Wars
Otto Von Pivka. Armies of the Napoleonic Era (Taplinger: 1979) an excellent source for minor state
armies.
Martin Windrow. Military Dress of the Peninsular War: 1808-1814 (Hippocrene, 1974) wider variety
of color plates than Haythornthwaite, but not well organized.
Peter Edwards. Talavera: Wellington's Early Peninsular Victories (Crowwood, 2005). No pictures,
but good maps and description of the campaign. The author served in a British regiment that fought
at Talavera and his patriotism shows throughout the book.
Fields, Andrew. Talavera: Wellington's First Victory in Spain(UNC Press, 2006) Similar to Edwards,
but more objective and well illustrated (particular the various generals and a photographic tour of
the battlefield).

Web Sources
Balagan's Penisular War Painting Guide
Guerra de la Independencia | Uniformes Españoles
Unit-level Order of Battle for Talavera