XI
THE SPANISH ARMIES, OCT.-NOV. 1808
N.B.—* signifies an old line or light regiment; † a militia battalion; ‡ a newly raised corps.
1. THE ARMY OF GALICIA [Return of Oct. 31].
General Blake.
| Officers. | Men. | |
| Vanguard Brigade, General Mendizabal: | ||
| *2nd Catalonian Light Infantry (one batt.); *Volunteers of Navarre (one batt.); *two batts. of United Grenadiers; *Saragossa (one batt.); *one company of sappers | 87 | 2,797 |
| 1st Division, General Figueroa: | ||
| *Rey (two batts.); *Majorca (one batt.); *Hibernia (one batt.); *one batt. of united light companies; †Mondoñedo; ‡Batallon Literario; *one company of sappers | 86 | 3,932 |
| 2nd Division, General Martinengo: | ||
| *Navarre (two batts.); *Naples (two batts.); †Pontevedra; †Segovia; ‡‘Volunteers of Victory’ (one batt.); sappers, one company; Cavalry: *Reina (two squadrons); *Montesa (one squadron); and one detachment of mixed regiments. [The cavalry was 302 sabres in all.] | 117 | 4,949 |
| 3rd Division, General Riquelme: | ||
| *Gerona Light Infantry (one batt.); *Seville (two batts.); *Marines (three batts.); †Compostella (one batt.); one company of sappers | 119 | 4,677 |
| 4th Division, General Carbajal: | ||
| *Barbastro Light Infantry (one batt.); *Principe (two batts.); *Toledo (two batts.); *two batts. of United Grenadiers; *Aragon (one batt.); †Lugo; †Santiago | 143 | 3,388 |
| 5th Division [from Denmark], General Conde de San Roman: | ||
| *Zamora (three batts.); *Princesa (three batts.); *1st Barcelona Light Infantry (one batt.); *1st Catalonian Light Infantry (one batt.); one company of sappers | 159 | 5,135 |
| Asturian Division: General Acevedo: | ||
| *Hibernia (two batts.); †Oviedo; ‡Castropol; ‡Grado; ‡Cangas de Onis; ‡Cangas de Tineo; ‡Lena; ‡Luarca; ‡Salas; ‡Villaviciosa | 233 | 7,400 |
| Reserve Brigade, General Mahy: | ||
| *Volunteers of the Crown (one batt.); *United Grenadiers (one batt.); †Militia Grenadiers (two batts.); ‡Batallon del General (one batt.) | 90 | 2,935 |
| Detached Troops on the line of communications—Reynosa, Burgos, Astorga: | ||
| *Saragossa (one batt.); *Buenos Ayres (one batt.); *Volunteers of the Crown (one batt.); †Santiago; †Tuy; †Salamanca; ‡Batallon del General (one batt.); and seven detached companies of various corps | 181 | 5,577 |
| Detached troops left with the Artillery Reserve: | ||
| †Betanzos; †Monterrey | 40 | 900 |
| Artillery Reserve (thirty-eight guns) | 33 | 1,000 |
| Total | 1,288 | 42,690 |
N.B.—The four cavalry regiments from Denmark, Rey, Infante, Villaviciosa, and Almanza did not join Blake, being without horses, but marched on foot to Estremadura to get mounted. They had 147 officers and 2,252 men.
2. THE ARMY OF ARAGON.
General Joseph Palafox.
| Men. | |
| 1st Division, General O’Neille: | |
| *Spanish Guards (one batt.), 609; *Estremadura (one batt.), 600; *1st Volunteers of Aragon (one batt.), 1,141; ‡1st Light Infantry of Saragossa, 614; ‡4th Tercio of Aragon, 1,144; ‡2nd of Valencia, 869; ‡1st Volunteers of Murcia, 1,029; ‡2nd ditto, 968; ‡Huesca, 1,219; ‡Cazadores de Fernando VII (Aragonese), 386; ‡Suizos de Aragon, 825; ‡Escopeteros de Navarra, 227; *Dragoons ‘del Rey,’ 169; artillery, 79; sappers, 47. | |
| Total | 9,926 |
| [From a return of Nov. 1, 1808, in the English Record Office.] | |
| 2nd Division, General Saint March: | |
| *Volunteers of Castile (three batts.); †Soria; ‡Turia (three batts.); ‡Volunteers of Borbon (one batt.); ‡Alicante (three batts.); ‡Chelva (one batt.); ‡Cazadores de Fernando VII (Valencian) (one batt.); ‡Segorbe (one batt.); *Dragoons of Numancia (620 sabres); one company of sappers. | |
| Total | 9,060 |
| [This total is from Vaughan’s diary. He was present when Palafox reviewed the division on Nov. 1, and took down the figures.] | |
| 3rd Division, General Conde de Lazan [detached to Catalonia, Nov. 10]: | |
| ‡1st Volunteers of Saragossa, 638; ‡3rd Volunteers of Aragon, 593; ‡Fernando VII de Aragon, 648; ‡Daroca, 503; ‡La Reunion, 1,286; ‡Reserva del General, 934; artillery, 64; one troop of cavalry (Cazadores de Fernando VII), 22. | |
| Total | 4,688 |
| [The figures are from a table in Arteche, iii. 469.] | |
| Reserve at Saragossa: | |
| There was a mass of troops in the Aragonese capital which had not yet been brigaded, and in part had not even been armed or clothed in October. They included the following regiments at least: 2nd Volunteers of Aragon; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Tercios of Aragon; 2nd Light Battalion of Saragossa; and the battalions of Calatayud, Doyle, Barbastro, Jaca, Tauste, Teruel, and Torrero; besides (in all probability) some eight or ten other corps which are found existing in December, when the second siege began, though they cannot be proved to have existed in October. In that month, however, there must have been at least 10,000 armed men in the Aragonese reserve, perhaps as many as 15,000. | |
Total of the Army of Aragon, at least 33,674 men, of which only 789 were cavalry.
3. ARMY OF ESTREMADURA.
General Galluzzo [afterwards the Conde de Belvedere].
| Men. | |
| 1st Division, Conde de Belvedere: [afterwards General De Alos] | |
| *Spanish Guards (4th batt.); *Majorca (two batts.); *2nd Light Infantry of Catalonia (one batt.); †Provincial Grenadiers (one batt.); one company of tirailleurs | 4,160 |
| Cavalry, *4th Hussars (‘Volunteers of Spain’) | 360 |
| Sappers, two companies; artillery, two batteries | 408 |
| 2nd Division, General Henestrosa: | |
| *Walloon Guards (4th batt.); ‡Badajoz (two batts.); ‡Valencia de Alcantara; ‡Zafra | 3,300 |
| Cavalry, 5th Hussars (Maria Luisa) | 298 |
| Sappers, two companies; artillery, two batteries | 440 |
| 3rd Division, General Trias: | |
| †Badajoz; ‡Truxillo (one batt.); ‡Merida; ‡La Serena | 3,580 |
| Cavalry, 2nd Hussars (Lusitania) | 300 |
Total of the Army, 12,846, of which 958 were cavalry.
[N.B.—From the Madrid Gazette of Oct. 21, 1808, compared with the table in Arteche, iii. 496.]
4. ARMY OF THE CENTRE.
General Castaños.
| Men. | |
| 1st Division, Conde de Villariezo: | |
| *Walloon Guards (two batts.); *Reina (three batts.); *Corona (two batts.); *Jaen (three batts.); *Irlanda (three batts.); *Barbastro (one batt.); †Jaen | (about) 8,500 |
| Out of these fifteen battalions nine were detached to the rear in or about Madrid, and were not present on the Ebro. | |
| 2nd Division, General Grimarest: | |
| *Ceuta (two batts.); Ordenes Militares (three batts.); †Truxillo; †Bujalance; †Cuenca; †Ciudad Real; ‡Tiradores de España; ‡Volunteers of Catalonia; ‡Tiradores de Cadiz; ‡Carmona | (about) 6,000 |
| 3rd Division, General Rengel: | |
| *Cordova (two batts.); *Volunteers of Valencia (one batt.); *Campo Mayor (one batt.); †Toledo; †Burgos; †Alcazar; †Plasencia; †Guadix; †Seville no. 1; †Lorca; †Toro. | (about) 6,500 |
| Out of these thirteen battalions four were detached to the rear, and were not present on the Ebro. | |
| 4th Division, General La Peña: | |
| *Africa (two batts.); *Burgos (two batts.); *Saragossa (one batt.); *Murcia (two batts.); †Provincial Grenadiers of Andalusia (two batts.); †Siguenza; ‡Navas de Tolosa; ‡Baylen; ‡5th Battalion of Seville | (about) 7,500 |
| 5th [Murcian-Valencian] Division, General Roca [vice General Llamas]: | |
| *Savoya(two batts.); *Valencia (three batts.); *America (three batts.); †Murcia; †Avila; ‡Liria; ‡Cazadores de Valencia (three batts.); ‡Orihuela (two batts.); Tiradores of Xativa and Cartagena (two companies); ‡Peñas de San Pedro | (about) 8,000 |
| [One regiment was left at Aranjuez as guard to the Junta, with General Llamas in command.] | |
| ‘Army of Castile,’ General Pignatelli [after Oct. 30, General Cartaojal]: | |
| *Cantabria (two batts.); †Leon Militia; ‡Grenadiers ‘del General’; ‡Cazadores de Cuenca; ‡1st, 2nd, and 3rd Volunteers of Leon; ‡1st, 2nd, and 3rd Tercios of Castile; ‡Tiradores de Castilla; ‡Volunteers of Benavente; ‡Volunteers of Zamora; ‡Volunteers of Ledesma | (about) 11,000 |
| The first-named four corps were made into a detached brigade under Cartaojal on Oct. 30: the others (except ‡Benavente in garrison at Burgos) were dispersed among the Andalusian divisions for misbehaviour at Logroño on Oct. 26. | |
| Cavalry: *Farnesio; *Montesa; *Reina; *Olivenza; *Borbon; *España; *Calatrava; *Santiago; *Sagunto; *Principe; *Pavia; *Alcantara. Very few of these regiments had more than three squadrons at the front, some only one. The total was not more than 3,500 sabres, even including one or two newly raised free-corps, of insignificant strength | (about) 3,500 |
Total of the Army of the Centre, about 51,000 men, of whom only about 42,000 were on the Ebro: the remaining 9,000 were in or about Madrid, and were incorporated in San Juan’s ‘Army of Reserve.’
5. ARMY OF CATALONIA.
[Morning state of Nov. 5, 1808.]
General Vives.
| Men. | |
| Vanguard Division, Brigadier-General Alvarez: | |
| *Ultonia, 300; *Borbon (one batt.), 500; *2nd of Barcelona, 1,000; *1st Swiss (Wimpfen) (one batt.), 400; ‡1st Tercio of Gerona, 900; ‡2nd ditto, 400; ‡Tercio of Igualada, 400; ‡ditto of Cervera, 400; ‡1st ditto of Tarragona, 800; ‡ditto of Figueras, 400 | 5,500 |
| Cavalry, ‡Hussars of San Narciso | 100 |
| 1st Division, General Conde de Caldagues: | |
| *2nd Walloon Guards (one batt.), 314; *Soria (two batts.), 780; *Borbon (detachment), 151; *2nd of Savoia (two batts.), 1,734; *2nd Swiss (detachment), 270; ‡Tercio of Tortosa, 984; ‡Igualada and Cervera (detachments), 245; *sappers, 50 | 4,528 |
| Cavalry: *Husares Españoles (two squadrons), 220; ‡Cazadores de Cataluña, 180 | 400 |
| Artillery, one battery (six guns) | 70 |
| 2nd Division, General Laguna: | |
| †Provincial Grenadiers of Old Castile (two batts.), 972; †ditto of New Castile (two batts.), 924; ‡Volunteers of Saragossa, 150; sappers, 30 | 2,076 |
| Cavalry, *Husares Españoles | 200 |
| Artillery, one battery (seven guns) | 84 |
| 3rd Division, General La Serna: | |
| *Granada (two batts.), 961; ‡2nd Tercio of Tarragona, 922; ‡‘Division of Arzu,’ 325; ‡Compañias Sueltas, 250 | 2,458 |
| 4th Division, General Milans: | |
| ‡1st Tercio of Lerida, 872; ‡ditto of Vich, 976; ‡ditto of Manresa, 937; ‡ditto of Vallés, 925 | 3,710 |
| Reserve: | |
| *Spanish Guards, 60; *Grenadiers of Soria, 188; *ditto of Wimpfen, 169; General’s bodyguard, 340; sappers, 20 | 777 |
| Cavalry, *Husares Españoles | 80 |
| Artillery (four guns) | 50 |
Total of the Army, 20,033, of which 780 are cavalry.
These five armies formed the front line. Their total strength was 151,243, if the 9,000 men left behind at Madrid are deducted.
TROOPS IN THE SECOND LINE.
1. ARMY OF GRANADA [MARCHING TOWARDS CATALONIA].
General Reding.
| Men. | |
| 1st Division: | |
| *2nd Swiss (Reding), 1,000; ‡1st Regiment of Granada [alias Iliberia] (two batts.), 2,400; ‡Baza (two batts.), 2,400; ‡Almeria, (two batts.), 2,400 | 8,200 |
| 2nd Division: | |
| ‡Santa Fé (two batts.), 2,400; ‡Antequera (one batt.), 1,200; ‡Loxa (two batts.), 2,400 | 6,000 |
| Cavalry, ‡Hussars of Granada | 670 |
| Artillery (six guns) | 130 |
| Total of the Army | 15,000 |
N.B.—This return is from a dispatch from Granada in the Madrid Gazette of Oct. 28, corroborated by another of Nov. 5, announcing the arrival of the force at Murcia.
2. GALICIAN RESERVES.
| Officers. | Men. | |
| Detached Troops in garrison in Galicia: | ||
| *Majorca (one batt.); *Leon (one batt.); *Aragon (one batt.) | 77 | 2,010 |
| Detached troops on the Portuguese frontier: | ||
| *Leon (one batt.); †Orense; and four detached companies | 48 | 1,600 |
| Total | 125 | 3,610 |
3. ASTURIAN RESERVES.
[N.B.—This force is exclusive of the troops under Acevedo in the Army of Blake. The numbers are from a morning state of December.]
| Men. | ||
| Detached Troops in garrison in Galicia: | ||
| ‡Covadonga,360; ‡Don Carlos, 335; ‡Ferdinand VII, 316; ‡Gihon, 586; ‡Infiesto, 489; ‡Llanes, 420; ‡Luanco, 400; ‡Navia, 528; ‡Pravia, 581; ‡Riva de Sella, 685; ‡Siero, 585. | ||
| Total | 5,285 |
4. ARMY OF RESERVE OF MADRID.
N.B.—This force, which fought at the Somosierra, consisted of parts of the Armies of Andalusia and Estremadura; its numbers have already been counted among the troops of those armies.
General San Juan.
| Men. | |
| From the 1st Division of Andalusia: | |
| *Walloon Guards (one batt.), 500; *Reina (two batts.), 927; *Jaen (two batts.), 1,300; *Irlanda (two batts.), 1,186; *Corona (two batts.), 1,039 | 4,952 |
| From the 3rd Division of Andalusia: | |
| *Cordova (two batts.), 1,300; †Toledo, 500; †Alcazar, 500; ‡3rd of Seville, 400 | 2,700 |
| From the Army of Estremadura: | |
| ‡Badajoz (remains of two batts.) | 566 |
| Castilian Levies: | |
| ‡1st Volunteers of Madrid (two batts.), 1,500; ‡2nd ditto, 1,500 | 3,000 |
| Cavalry: | |
| *Principe, 200; *Alcantara, 100; *Montesa, 100; ‡Volunteers of Madrid, 200 | 600 |
| Artillery (twenty-two guns) | 300 |
| Total | 12,118 |
N.B.—Of this force the following battalions fled to Madrid, and afterwards joined the Army of the Centre:—1st Volunteers of Madrid, Corona, half 3rd of Seville, Reina, Alcazar. The following fled to Segovia, and joined the Army of Estremadura:—Jaen, Irlanda, Toledo, Badajoz, 2nd Volunteers of Madrid, Walloon Guards, and half 3rd of Seville.
5. ESTREMADURAN RESERVES.
[Left in garrison at Badajoz, when the three divisions of Galluzzo marched to Madrid.]
| Men. | |
| ‡Leales de Fernando VII (three batts.), 2,256; ‡Plasencia (one batt.), 1,200; ‡Badajoz (one batt.), 752 | 4,208 |
| Cavalry: ‡Cazadores of Llerena, 200? Cazadores of Toledo, 200? | 400 |
| Total | 4,608 |
[For these forces compare Madrid Gazette of Oct. 21, giving organization of the Army of Estremadura, with the list of troops which marched forward to Burgos in first section of this Appendix. The above regiments remained behind, and are found in existence in Cuesta’s army next spring. See Appendix to vol. ii giving his forces.]
6. BALEARIC ISLES.
There apparently remained in garrison in the Balearic Isles, in November, the following troops:—
| Men. | |
| *4th Swiss (Beschard) (two batts.), 2,121; *Granada (one batt.), 222; *Soria (one batt.), 413; †Majorca, 604 | |
| Total | 3,360 |
7. MURCIAN AND VALENCIAN RESERVES.
[Mostly on the march to Saragossa in November, 1808. The figures mainly from a return of Jan. 1 are too low for the November strength.]
| Men. | |
| *5th Swiss (Traxler), 1,757; ‡1st Tiradores de Murcia, 813; ‡2nd ditto, 124; ‡3rd Volunteers of Murcia, 1,151; ‡5th ditto, 1,077; ‡Florida-Blanca, 352; ‡3rd of Valencia (figures wanting;? 500) | |
| Total | 5,774 |
8. ANDALUSIAN RESERVES.
| Men. | |
| *España (three batts.), 1,039; †Jerez, 574; †Malaga, 401; †Ronda, 574; †Ecija, 589 | |
| Total | 3,177 |
| ‡2nd of Seville, 500; ‡4th ditto, 433; ‡Cazadores of Malaga (one batt.), 1,200; ‡Velez Malaga (three batts.), 2,400; ‡2nd of Antequera (one batt.), 1,200; ‡Osuna (two batts.), 1,061 | |
| Total | 6,794 |
In addition, the following regular regiments had each, as it would seem, left the cadre of one battalion behind in Andalusia to recruit, before marching to the Ebro to join Castaños:—Africa, Burgos, Cantabria, Ceuta, Corona, Cordova, Murcia. What the total of their numbers may have been in November and December, it is impossible to say—perhaps 400 each may be allowed, giving a total of 2,800. Of cavalry regiments there must have been in existence in Andalusia the nucleus of the following new regiments:—‡Tejas; ‡Montañas de Cordova; ‡Granada. Their force was trifling—a single squadron, or at most two. If we give them 600 men in all, we shall probably be not far wrong. Several regular cavalry regiments had left the cadre of one or two squadrons behind.
The existence of all these regiments in November—December can be proved. The 2nd and 4th of Seville reached Madrid in time to join in its defence against Napoleon, and then fled to join the Army of the Centre. The figures given are their January strengths, when they had already suffered severely. The Malaga regiment’s figure is from Madrid Gazette of Nov. 29, recording its march out to Granada. The militia battalions Jerez, Malaga, Ronda, Ecija were all in existence in June, they did not march to the Ebro, and are found in the Army of the Centre in the spring of 1809. España was apparently in garrison at Ceuta, and only brought up to the front early in 1809. Velez Malaga, 2nd of Antequera, and Osuna are first heard of under Del Palacio in January, 1809. They must have been raised by December at the latest.
The total of the Andalusian reserves accounted for in this table is 13,371, but no such number could have been sent forward in December, as many of the battalions were not properly armed, much less uniformed. But some of the volunteers, all the militia, and the regular regiment España—perhaps 6,000 or 7,000 in all—should have been at Madrid by Dec. 1. Only 1,000 bayonets actually reached it before Napoleon’s arrival.
It would seem then that the second line of the Spanish Army consisted of something like the following numbers:—
| Men. | |
| Army of Reserve of Madrid | 12,118 |
| Reding’s Granadan Divisions | 15,000 |
| Galician Reserves | 3,610 |
| Asturian Reserves | 5,285 |
| Estremaduran Reserves | 4,608 |
| Balearic Isles Reserves | 3,360 |
| Murcian and Valencian Reserves | 5,774 |
| Andalusian Reserves | 13,371 |
| Cavalry from Denmark, in march for Estremadura | 2,252 |
| Total | 65,378 |
Some of the battalions (e.g. the Valencians and Murcians who went to Saragossa) must have been much stronger in December; on the other hand, others (e.g. the Estremadurans) are probably over-estimated: they showed no such figures as those given above, when they took the field early in 1809.
N.B.—In several armies, notably in those of Aragon and the Centre, there are doubtful points. It is impossible to speak with certainty of the number of battalions which some corps took to the front. It will be noted that all the numbers given are much larger than those attributed by Napier (i. 504) to the Spanish armies. I have worked from detailed official figures, the greater part of which seem perfectly trustworthy.