Arrival and Departure

Recently 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.

Cuesta's Army of the Estramunda included six divisions of infantry and two of cavalry.

Infantry
Line infantry wore white coats, black bicornes, with collar and lapels in the facing color--which I've listed in parantheses with each regiment where known. Light infantry (cazadores) wore blue coats instead of white and regimental facing-color turnbacks instead of white. Provinical militias likely wore either old-style (blue long-tailed coats) or ragged clothing. One caveat: Spanish soldiers often wore whatever clothes were handy, especially during 1808-1809, after the old army had been crushed by the French and before the new army began recieving British supplies en masse. Even Wellington--who cared little how his own redcoats dressed--complained that Spainish troops needed uniforms.

Vanguard Division - Jose Zayas.

• 2 Voluntarios de Campo-Mayor (light, crimson)
  
• Cazadores de Barbastro (light, red cuffs and turnbacks, dark blue lapels)
  
• Cazadores de Valencia y Albuquerque (light, probably crimson)
  
• Cazadores de Voluntarios de Valencia (light, crimson)
  

First Division - Marques de Zayas

• Cantabria (white collar, light blue lapel/cuffs)
  
• Granaderos Provinciales (provicial grenadiers. red facings)
  
• Canarias
  
• Tiradores de Merida
  
• Provincial de Truxillo (red facings)
  

Second Division - Iglesias

• 2nd of Majorca (blue uniform, faced red)
  
• Velez-Malaga (white collar, dark blue facings)
  
• Osuna
  
• Voluntarios Estrangeros (unknown, but "voluntarios" units likely wore unmatched brown clothes)
  
• Provincial de Burgos (red facings)
  

Third Division - Marques de Portago

• Badajoz
  
• 2nd of Antequera
  
• Imperial de Toledo (white collar, light blue lapel/cuffs)
  
• Provincial de Badajoz (red facings)
  
• Provincial de Guadix (red facings)
  

Fourth Division - Manglano

• Irlanda (Irish, blue coat, yellow facings)
  
• Jaen (white collar, dark blue facings)
  
• 3rd of Sevilla (black facings)
  
• Leales de Fernando VII (Unknown but royal name suggests violet facings)
  
• 2nd Voluntarios de Madrid
  
• Voluntarios de la Corona (Crimson)
  

Fifth Division - Bassecourt

• Real Marina (royal marines, this has them with brown coat, white pants, no bicorne)
  
• Africa (white collar, black lapel/cuffs)
  
• Murcia (white collar, light blue lapel/cuffs)
  
• Reyna (I think this is Reina, "Queen's Own," violet facings)
  
• Provincial de Siguenza (red facings)
  

Here is a picture of my Murcia Regiment. The figures are 15mm Battle Honors, basing is for NB.



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. Horse blankets matched primary uniform color, with trim in facing color.

First Division - Henestrosa

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

Second Division - Duque de Albuquerque

• Carabinos Reales (Royal Guard, dressed as Rey -- apprently pre-1808 dressed as Hussars)
  
• Infante (line, white)
  
• Alcantara (line, red collar, green cuffs/lapel)
  
• Pavia (Dragoons, yellow collar, red lapel/cuffs)
  
• Almanza (dragoon, red turnbacks, sky blue facings)
  
• 1st Hussars of Estramadura (blue coat/breeches, scarlet pelisse and pants, green hanging cloth on colpack)
  
• 2nd Hussars of Estramadura (as 1st regiment)
  

Here is a picture of my Almanza Dragoons. The figures are 15mm Battle Honors, basing is for NB.


By comparison, here is my Infante Regiment of line cavalry in their dark blue uniforms. These are the same figs as the dragoons, just painted differently.


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. 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.

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