V

THE SPANISH ARMY IN 1808

[Mainly from the table in Arteche, vol. i, Appendix 9.]

N.B.—The numbers are taken from returns made on various days between March and June, 1808. They include only rank and file. The officers should have been ninety-eight to a regiment of guards, seventy to a line regiment, forty-one to a light battalion, thirty-four to a militia battalion, forty-two to a cavalry regiment. But most corps were under strength in officers, no less than in men, in June, 1808, and Arteche, giving every regiment of infantry a complete staff of officers, is clearly over-estimating them. He gives e.g. 2,450 officers of line infantry, the possible maximum, while the Estado Militar for 1808 gives only 1,521 present; so with the militia he gives 1,887 officers, while apparently there were only 1,230 actually existing. It would seem that his gross total of 7,222 officers ought to be cut down to 5,911. For the rank and file we get:—

ROYAL GUARD.

Cavalry.
Numbers.   Quartered in
Life Guards 615 } Old Castile and Madrid.
Royal Carabineers 540
Total 1,155    
Infantry.
Numbers.   Quartered in
Halberdiers
(one compy.)		 152 } Madrid.
Spanish Guards
(three batts.)		 3,294 } 1, 2 Barcelona.
3 New Castile.
Walloon Guards
(three batts.)		 2,583 } 1 Madrid.
2 Barcelona.
3 Portugal.
Total 6,029    

INFANTRY OF THE LINE.

N.B.—Each regiment had three battalions of four companies, and should have numbered 2,186 bayonets.

Numbers.   Quartered in
Africa 898 { 1, 3 Andalusia.
2 S. Sebastian.
America 808 { 1 New Castile.
2, 3 Valencia.
Aragon 1,294   Galicia.
Asturias 2,103   Denmark.
Borbon 1,544   Balearic Isles.
Burgos 1,264   Andalusia.
Cantabria 1,024   Ceuta (Africa).
Ceuta 1,235   Ceuta (Africa).
Cordova 793   Andalusia.
Corona 902   Andalusia.
España 1,039   Ceuta (Africa).
Estremadura 770   Catalonia.
Granada 1,113   Balearic Isles.
Guadalajara 2,069   Denmark.
Jaen 1,755 { 1, 2 Andalusia.
3 Ceuta (Africa).
Leon 1,195   Galicia.
Majorca 1,749 { 1, 2 Portugal.
3 Estremadura.
Malaga 854   Andalusia.
Murcia 1,762 { 1, 2 Portugal.
3 Andalusia.
Navarre 822   Galicia.
Ordenes
Militares		 708 { 1 Estremadura.
2, 3 Andalusia.
Princesa 1,969   Denmark.
Principe 1,267   Galicia.
Reina 1,530   Andalusia.
Rey 1,353 { 1 S. Sebastian.
2 Portugal.
3 Galicia.
Saragossa 1,561 { 1, 2 Portugal.
3 Andalusia.
Savoia 936   Valencia.
Seville 1,168   Galicia.
Soria 1,311   Balearic Isles.
Toledo 1,058 { 1, 2 Galicia.
3 Portugal.
Valencia 923   Murcia.
Volunteers
of Castile		 1,487   Murcia.
Voluntarios
de la Corona		 1,296 { 1 Portugal.
2, 3 Galicia.
Voluntarios
del Estado		 742   Madrid.
Zamora 2,096   Denmark.
Total 44,398    

LIGHT INFANTRY.

N.B.—The regiment had only a single battalion of six companies. It should have numbered 1,200 bayonets.

Numbers.   Quartered in
1st of Aragon 1,305 { Madrid and
Saragossa.
2nd of Aragon 1,225   Balearic Isles.
Barbastro 1,061 { ½ Andalusia.
½ Portugal.
1st of Barcelona 1,266   Denmark.
2nd of Barcelona 1,300   Balearic Isles.
Campo Mayor 1,153 { ½ Portugal.
½ Andalusia.
1st of Catalonia 1,164   Denmark.
2nd of Catalonia 685   Galicia.
Gerona 1,149 { ½ Portugal.
½ Andalusia.
Tarragona 1,142 { ½ Pampeluna.
½ Estremadura.
Volunteers
of Navarre		 963 { ½ Portugal.
½ Galicia.
Volunteers
of Valencia		 1,242 { ½ Portugal.
½ Andalusia.
Total 13,655    

FOREIGN INFANTRY.

N.B.—The Swiss Regiments had two battalions, the others three.

Numbers.   Quartered in
Irish.
Irlanda 513 { 1 Estremadura.
2, 3 Andalusia.
Hibernia 852 { 1 Asturias.
2, 3 Galicia.
Italian.
Naples 288   Galicia.
Swiss.
1. Wimpfen 2,079   Catalonia.
2. Reding Senior 1,573   New Castile.
3. Reding Junior 1,809   Andalusia.
4. Beschard 2,051   Balearic Isles.
5. Traxler 1,757   Murcia.
6. Preux 1,708   Madrid.
Total 12,981    

MILITIA.

N.B.—The four grenadier regiments had two battalions each, and should have been 1,600 strong; the rest one battalion, 600 strong.

Numbers.   Quartered in
Prov. Gren. of
 Old Castile 1,605   Portugal.
 New Castile 1,430   Portugal.
 Andalusia 1,413   Andalusia.
 Galicia 1,377 { 1 Galicia.
2 Portugal.
Alcazar 595   Andalusia.
Avila 574   Valencia.
Badajoz 589   Andalusia.
Betanzos 599   Galicia.
Burgos 577   Andalusia.
Bujalance 594   Andalusia.
Chinchilla 577   Andalusia.
Ciudad Real 575   Andalusia.
Ciudad Rodrigo 585   Andalusia.
Compostella 599   Galicia.
Cordova 584   Andalusia.
Cuenca 596   Andalusia.
Ecija 589   Andalusia.
Granada 553   Andalusia.
Guadix 588   Andalusia.
Jaen 584   Andalusia.
Jerez 574   Andalusia.
Laredo 571   Santander.
Leon 591   Galicia.
Logroño 558   Andalusia.
Lorca 562   Andalusia.
Lugo 589   Galicia.
Majorca 570   Balearic Isles.
Malaga 401   Andalusia.
Mondoñedo 591   Galicia.
Monterrey 591   Galicia.
Murcia 564   Murcia.
Orense 584   Galicia.
Oviedo 543   Asturias.
Plasencia 593   Andalusia.
Pontevedra 568   Galicia.
Ronda 574   Andalusia.
Salamanca 600   Galicia.
Santiago 596   Galicia.
Segovia 591   Galicia.
Seville 547   Andalusia.
Siguenza 579   Andalusia.
Soria 582   Valencia.
Toledo 579   Andalusia.
Toro 553   Andalusia.
Truxillo 567   Andalusia.
Tuy 583   Galicia.
Valladolid 562   Galicia.
Total 30,527    

CAVALRY.

N.B.—Each regiment had five squadrons, and should have numbered about 700 sabres.

1. Heavy Cavalry.
Regiment. Numbers. Quartered in
1st Rey 634 Denmark.
2nd Reina 668 Old Castile.
3rd Principe 573 New Castile.
4th Infante 615 Denmark.
5th Borbon 616 Catalonia.
6th Farnesio 517 Andalusia.
7th Alcantara 589 Portugal.
8th España 553 Andalusia.
9th Algarve 572 Denmark.
10th Calatrava 670 Andalusia.
11th Santiago 549 Portugal.
12th Montesa 667 Andalusia.
Total 7,232  
2. Light Cavalry.
Cazadores. Numbers. Quartered in
1st Rey 577 Madrid.
2nd Reina 581 Portugal.
3rd Almanza 598 Denmark.
4th Pavia 663 Andalusia.
5th Villaviciosa 628 Denmark.
6th Sagunto 499 Andalusia.
Hussars. Numbers. Quartered in
1st Numancia 630 Valencia.
2nd Lusitania 554 Madrid.
3rd Olivenza 558 Portugal.
4th Voluntarios
de España		 548 New Castile.
5th Maria Luisa 680 Estremadura.
6th Españoles 692 Balearic Isles.
Total 7,208  

A scheme was on foot for converting eight of the light regiments into dragoons. Several of them are designated sometimes as dragoons, sometimes as cazadores or hussars.

N.B.—The 14,440 troopers had only 9,526 horses!

ARTILLERY.

1. Field.
  Numbers. Quartered in
1st Regiment 1,143 Catalonia.
2nd Regiment 1,146 Valencia and Murcia.
3rd Regiment 1,078 Andalusia.
4th Regiment 1,043 Galicia.
Total 4,410  

Each regiment consisted of ten batteries; of the whole forty, six were horse-artillery. 477 men (four batteries) were in Denmark.

2. Garrison.

Two ‘Brigades’ and fifteen ‘Compañias Fijas’ at various places, in all 1,934.

Adding general staff, &c., the total of the artillery, field and garrison, was 292 officers and 6,679 men.

ENGINEERS.

169 officers and a battalion of sappers. The latter was quartered at Alcala de Henares, and had a strength of 922 men, besides 127 detached in Denmark.

GENERAL TOTAL (Rank and File only).

  Infantry. Cavalry. Artillery.  Engineers.
Royal Guard 6,029 1,155      
Infantry of the Line 44,398        
Light Infantry 13,655        
Foreign Infantry 12,981        
Militia 30,527        
Cavalry   14,440      
Artillery     6,679    
Engineers        1,049  
  107,590 15,595 6,679  1,049 =  130,913

Add 5,911 officers, and we get a gross total of 136,824.