Painting Carlist Infantry: A Guide to Uniforms and Miniature Coloring

T
his is the first in a series of articles whose

content falls somewhere between a how-to
on painting and a uniform guide. Although
this means I wont be concentrating on
painting techniques and procedures as
much as before, I will be covering other aspects that
hopefully you will find useful. Our intention is not to
play down the importance of this area, the magazi-
nes flagship content, but quite the contrary. The
idea is to avoid covering areas that have been repe-
ated time and time again. Instead, we want to enrich
the text with other value added information, such
as, in this case, the description of uniforms of some
of the most characteristic units of the Carlist ar-
mies. In fact, this type of article does not represent
a break with previous material, but rather the natu-
ral evolution of this section over the last few issues.
Those of you who would like more in-depth informa-
tion on painting techniques, I recommend you have
a look at the articles How to Paint Miniatures I and
II published in Wargames: Soldiers & Strategy 10
and 11. If you are interested in supplementing this
article you should consult the superb and exhausti-
ve uniform chart included in the article on Carlism
published in the last issue.
Introduction to Carlist Uniforms
The main aspect of Carlism that we have to take in-
to consideration is that, from its inception, it was a
traditionalist political movement with a firmly-rooted
popular base. This greatly conditioned the develop-
ment of the war and, of course, the uniforms and
equipment of its soldiers. While most of the countr-
ys wealthy figures who had greatly benefited from
the sale of Church lands aligned with the Crown,
the Pretenders support base consisted mainly of
an impoverished low nobility, a resentful clergy and
the common people of northern Spain; these com-
mon people were small landowners who feared their
properties would fall into the hands of the greedy
large estate owners. For that reason, Carlism had a
distinct rural nature. This was a determining factor
when the royalist uprisings broke out all over the
Peninsula after the death of Ferdinand VII. Despite
some exceptions (like Bilbao, which eventually fell
into the hands of the government), the uprisings
were quickly crushed in the major cities, forcing
Don Carlos followers to seek refuge in the country.
Consequently, the main production centres (which,
in any case, were devastated after the Peninsular
War) were beyond the Carlists reach. Lastly, their
pronounced absolutist nature earned them signifi-
cant enemies among Western nations (Great Bri-
tain, France and Portugal, all with liberal tenden-
cies). They were only able to obtain limited support
from the conservative powers that were members of
the Holy Alliance.
The Army of the North
Since the Carlist troops lacked practically everything,
the thought of equipping them with uniforms of the pe-
riod was absurd. Given the critical situation of the Ex-
chequer of the recently-created Carlist State, they ne-
eded uniforms that were cheap to produce and useful
on campaign and that could be adapted to the guerri-
lla fighting style which was suggested at first. It se-
50
ems as though Zumalacrregui carried a lot of weight
both in this decision and in the selection of which gar-
ments the uniform would consist of. The only items
the uniforms had in common were the txapela, the ca-
nana and the saco-morral.
The traditional Basque beret, or txapela, was de-
eply-rooted in the north, which made adopting it as the
Carlists military headdress quite easy. It was warm in
the winter, protected the men from the sun and rain
and must have been far more comfortable than the
shakoes worn during those times. Sometimes a metal
ring insert was used to make its shape more rigid, al-
though normally it was simply filled with pieces of
cloth. As you will see below, these berets came in dif-
ferent colours depending on the regiment or as a dis-
tinction of rank.
The cananas, cartridge belts that were widely used
by hunters, had already been used by the army during
the Peninsular War. Worn around the waist instead of
across the chest, they were lighter than the conven-
tional cartridge belts as their weight was distributed
and did not rest entirely on the mens shoulders. They
were made out of leather and were usually black or na-
tural-coloured.
Lastly, the saco-morral was a simple linen or white-
cloth bag that was carried on the back. Just like the
rest of the Carlist gear, it was much lighter and more
comfortable than the awkward
military backpacks of the pe-
riod, which took a toll on the
shoulders and backs of the poor
men carrying them.
The Carlist soldiers regular
uniform consisted of a coatee
that was normally blue with red
facings -though it was often re-
placed with a simple grey great-
coat- and trousers that were
usually red in the winter and
white in the summer. As for their
footwear, the shoes and boots
were a luxury and only available
to very few men. Given this, es-
padrilles became widespread
amongst the troops. Even
though they were very comforta-
ble and better suited to the Car-
list fighting style (remember
that at this time most footwear was
made from the same mould and had
cardboard soles), espadrilles provi-
ded little to no protection for the
mens feet from the cold or rain. So-
me say that this type of shoe cau-
sed more casualties than enemy bu-
llets.
The uniform worn by Carlist offi-
cers was very similar to troops.
The rank distinctions included: the
gold lace that was piped on the
cuffs of their jackets and someti-
mes on those of the frock coat; the
epaulettes which were only worn
from the rank of captain up, though
they were quickly eliminated; and
the berets which were initially red
with a gold or silver tassel but were also abandoned
given the excellent target they made for the enemy
shooters.
For the sake of being thorough, it would be worth
making some relatively obvious clarifications on this
point. First of all, not all units were lucky enough to
receive uniforms, which made the txapela the only
distinguishing piece of clothing for many soldiers.
Secondly, given the production and supply problems
mentioned above, the appearance of the uniformed
battalions was probably not far from that of previous
forces. Whats more, these hardships turned the Car-
list army into a predatory force which lived largely off
of equipment captured from the enemy. As a result,
the true appearance of the legitimist soldiers must
have been a mix of their own uniforms, captured ge-
ar and civilian clothing, with the txapela as the only
garment they had in common.
The Army of the Maestrazgo
When the Carlist uprising broke out in 1833, the
commanding officers and the civil service attached
to the Pretender sought refuge in the north, where a
regular army could be organised relatively quickly. Al-
though the revolt in the Maestrazgo was forcefully
crushed, the Carlist cause was so firmly-rooted in
this region that it reappeared as active guerrilla
51
These soldiers are riflemen of a battalion of Tortosa. Save for a couple pairs of trousers, one brown (civilian) and
the other grey (captured), they are all wearing the regulation uniform.
bands. The isolation of both Carlist centres greatly
restricted communications (Carnicer, leader of the
guerrillas of the Maestrazgo, was captured and exe-
cuted in 1835 while attempting to reach Navarre).
This meant that it was practically impossible for the
Carlist State to exercise direct authority over the re-
gion. In fact, the Army of the Maestrazgo as such
was not actually united by the charismatic figure of
Ramn Cabrera until 1836. Given this, the diverse
origins of these troops largely conditioned the variety
of their uniforms, which was accentuated by the re-
gions traditional lack of resources.
The uniforms worn by the Carlist troops in the Army
of the Maestrazgo were inspired by those of the Army
of the North, though the use of captured and civilian
clothing was much more pronounced and included
everything from greatcoats, coatees and trousers to
the peculiar zaragell (typical skirt worn by peasants
from Valencia). Not even the txapela was widespread,
despite Cabreras efforts to introduce it. Since the
txapela was not common in these areas, regional
hats were worn instead, including barretinas (Catalan
cap) and simple headscarves.
Other Carlist Groups
In the rest of Spain, Don Carlos followers formed re-
latively active guerrilla bands. In Catalonia these
groups achieved a high degree of organisation and
towards the end of the war they could be considered
as the Army of Catalonia. However, in many other ca-
ses they were never more than groups of bandits
and highwaymen. Although many of these units joi-
ned the regular troops during the Carlist expeditions
on the Peninsula, it is highly unlikely that they were
given equipment. Consequently, there was practi-
cally no uniformity among these men. They mainly
made use of captured equipment, especially civilian
clothing with distinct regional styles. For example,
while some Castilian groups wore berets as a dis-
tinguishing element, in Catalonia the headdress of
choice was the barretina.
How to Paint Carlist Infantry
The aim of the second part of this article is to put
the abovementioned information into practice using
five examples. I have chosen these examples be-
cause of their military importance and the variety of
the uniforms. In spite of the wide array of equipment
used by the Carlist soldiers, I decided to paint them
more or less the same to give the figures some co-
hesion and to make them representative of the bat-
talion they belonged to. Nonetheless, I will use the-
se units to show you some elements that can
generally be used on any Carlist troops, such as
rank insignias for officers and NCOs, drummers and
buglers, civilian clothing, adapting garments to cam-
paign life, etc.
Before talking about the uniforms themselves, it
would be good idea to give a brief description of the
soldiers personal appearance. These men were ge-
nerally from rural areas and must have been extre-
mely weather-beaten due to the harsh climate in the
inland and northern regions of Spain. In addition,
their tough living conditions would have contributed
to premature ageing. Do not forget that in Carlist
Spain battalions were mainly manned by volunteers,
though there was some recruitment. This meant the-
re was a wide range of ages among the men in their
ranks. For that reason, we can paint their faces a bit
darker than usual (but without overdoing it, we dont
want them to look like Berbers!) and play with their
features to create everything from adolescents to
men in their 40s or 50s. As for their hair, I have cho-
sen to paint them all with black or chestnut-coloured
hair, even though there were certainly some blonde
and even redheads among the troops. However, I ha-
ve added some grey to their hair and moustaches to
accentuate the age differences.
We will paint all the figures using the typical techni-
ques over a black base. For this, we will use paints
from Vallejo Model Color (numeric references), Andrea
Color (AC references) and Citadel Colour (00-00).
Battalion of Guipzcoa
The infantry of Guipzcoa was, in the Pretenders
opinion, the backbone of the Army of the North. At
one point, they had eight battalions with 1,000 men
each. Except for the 5th Battalion, which had the
privilege of wearing white txapelas (hence their
nickname Txapelzuris or Chapelgorris), the rest wo-
re the same uniform: blue berets with a white tas-
sel, grey greatcoats with red collar patches and red
trousers in winter or white in summer. This uniform
was common to most of the battalions of the Army
of the North.
GARMENT BASE COLOUR 1st HIGHLIGHT 2nd HIGHLIGHT
Greatcoats Neutral Grey (992) Base Colour + White (951) 1st Highlight + White (951)
+ Flat Black (AC-26)
Trousers Reddish Brown (AC-18) Reddish Brown (AC-18) Vermillion (947)
+ Vermillion (947) or Scarlet (817)
Chocolate Brown (872) Wood (AC-41) Wood (AC-41)
+ Wood (AC-41) + Tan Yellow (912)
Jacket Prussian Blue (AC-22) Prussian Blue (AC-22) 1st Highlight + White (951)
+ Medium Blue (963)
Txapelas Prussian Blue (AC-22) Base Colour + White (951)
+ Medium Blue (963)
52
These soldiers from Guipzcoa are wearing the regular winter uniform. The
standard bearer is wearing the regulation coatee with fine gold lace on the
cuffs. The officer has the same uniform as the troops with the sabre as the
only rank distinction.
Cananas Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26)
+ Dark Brown (AC-17)
Saco-morral Light Grey (990) Light Grey (990) + White (951) White (951)
Espadrilles Wood (AC-41) Tan Yellow (912)
Guides of lava
The guide battalions were the Carlist armies true eli-
te units. The Guides of lava formed a powerful bat-
talion with a theoretical strength of 900 men. Their
uniform was similar to the one described above, ex-
cept that they did not have coloured patches on their
greatcoats and their txapelas were red, a colour that
was in principle used only by officers. Just like in the
rest of the army, the musicians uniform was similar
to the troops, although sometimes they could have
some type of emblem on the collar (a lyre or some-
thing similar).
Greatcoats Neutral Grey (992) Base Colour + White (951) 1st Highlight + White (951)
+ Wood (AC-41)
Trousers Light Grey (990) Light Grey (990) White (951)
+ White (951)
Jacket Prussian Blue (AC-22) Prussian Blue (AC-22) 1st Highlight + White (951)
+ Medium Blue (963)
Txapelas Reddish Brown (AC-18) Reddish Brown (AC-18) Vermillion (947)
Cananas and Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26)
reinforcements + Dark Brown (AC-17)
(supports)
Saco-morral Light Grey (990) Light Grey (990) White (951)
+ White (951)
Battalion of Tortosa
The three battalions of Tortosa, along with the three
of Mora, formed the First Auxiliary Division of the
Army of the Maestrazgo. They had 1,000 men each
and were by far Cabreras best troops.
Their uniform consisted of a blue greatcoat with a
coloured patch on the collar, white beret and white
trousers (the most common in this region). The six ri-
fle companies had a yellow collar patch and tassel;
the colours reserved for the two companies of prefe-
rence, grenadiers and shooters, were red and green
respectively and were found on the collar, the tassel
and the characteristic epaulettes. The battalions of
Tortosa were identified by the skull and crossbones,
a symbol of all-out war. This emblem was found on
their famous flag and on the drums, whose rims were
the company colour.
The battalions of Mora wore a similar uniform, ex-
cept they had cuff flaps and, according to some sour-
ces, sardinetas (cuff bars) in the case of the compa-
nies of preference.
Greatcoats Prussian Blue (AC-22) Prussian Blue (AC-22) 1st Highlight + White (951)
and shabraque + Medium Blue (963)
Gold Thread Wood (AC-41) Yellow Ochre (913) Burnished Gold (61-62)
+ Dark Leather (AC-48)
+ White (951)
Neutral Grey (992) Base Colour + White (951) 1st Highlight
+ Flat Black (AC-26) + White (951)
Reddish Brown (AC-18) Reddish Brown (AC-18) Vermillion (947)
53
When painting this unit I opted for white (summer) trousers and greatcoats in
a dirty grey shade.
Officer Detail: The officer is wearing a regulation coatee with gold lace
depicting the rank of lieutenant around his cuffs. He is also wearing civilian
clothing, such as a headscarf, a sash and brown trousers with leather patches
on the inside leg.
Command Group detail: The drummer is wearing the uniform of the Royal
Household with red and white chevrons on the sleeves. Besides having a red
collar and tassel, the standard bearer is distinguished by a sergeant chevron
on the left sleeve.
Below officer detail: This officer has lace depicting the rank of lieutenant
colonel on his cuffs. His riding pants are those typically worn by the Carlist
cavalry, red with black leather reinforcements.
Txapelas Light Grey (990) Light Grey (990) White (951)
+ White (951)
Cananas and Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26)
reinforcements + Dark Brown (AC-17)
+ White (951)
Battalion of Valencia
There were seven battalions of Valencia in all, each
with 800 or 900 men. Only the first four were provided
with uniforms which consisted of solid blue greatcoat
and txapela and white trousers. I have not been able to
find any information on the colour of the tassels, so I
opted for white. The rest of the battalions wore captu-
red gear and typical clothing of the region, like the za-
ragell. Since Cabrera did not think very highly of them,
it seems like they were the worst troops of the Army of
the Maestrazgo.
Greatcoats Prussian Blue (AC-22) Prussian Blue (AC-22) 1st Highlight
+ Medium Blue (963) + White (951)
+ White (951)
Txapelas Prussian Blue (AC-22) Base Colour + White (951)
+ Medium Blue (963)
Chocolate Brown (872) Wood (AC-41)
+ Wood (AC-41)
+ White (951)
Battalion of Aragn
There were as many as 10 battalions from Aragn du-
ring the war that served in the Armies of the North and
the Maestrazgo. They had a theoretical strength of 800
men each. The general opinion is that they were good
troops, very reliable and aggressive.
The uniform worn by the first four battalions consis-
ted of a brown coatee with red facing or a brown great-
coat, blue beret with red tassel and white trousers. The
rest of the battalions wore civilian clothing.
Greatcoats Chocolate Brown (872) Wood (AC-41) Wood (AC-41)
Trousers Light Grey (990) Light Grey (990) + White (951) White (951)
Reddish Brown (AC-18) Reddish Brown (AC-18) Vermillion (947)
Txapelas Prussian Blue (AC-22) Grey Blue (943)
+ Grey Blue (943)
+ White (951)
Carlist Generals
The regulation uniform for the Carlist generals consis-
ted of a blue jacket with blue collar and blue or red
cuffs with gold piping. The trousers were white or red
with a gold stripe on the side. The berets, for both ge-
nerals and aides-de-camp, were white with a black tas-
sel. The uniform was completed with a red sash with
gold fringe. The shabraque was blue with gold piping.
On campaign it was common for them to wear blue
frock coats, though the leather Spencer jackets that we-
re popular amongst the officers were worn more often.
The full-dress trousers were usually replaced with ones
that were normally red with leather reinforcements.
Zumalacrregui and his Aide-de-camp
The uniform normally worn by Zumalacrregui was a
simple blue jacket that he covered with a black she-
epskin Spencer jacket, red sash, red full-dress (with
gold stripes) or campaign (with leather reinforce-
ments) trousers and red txapela with a white or silver
tassel.
Greatcoat Prussian Blue (AC-22) Prussian Blue (AC-22) 1st Highlight
and shabraque + Medium Blue (963) + White (951)
54
To give them a different look I have painted the blue berets with a greyish tone
to show that they were worn out from prolonged use. The trousers are
characteristic of different parts of the country.
Detail: This soldier has red chevrons depicting the rank of first officer on the
top part of his sleeves.
Given the quality of these battalions I
wanted to try to make them look
unmilitary like... and dirty! I attempted
to achieve this by giving them
captured greatcoats and trousers, a
lot of patches and two to three-day
beards.
Detail: This man is a sergeant,
distinguished by a gold chevron on the
lower part of the cuff on his greatcoat.
Spencer Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26) 1st Highlight
Jacket + Neutral Grey (992) + White (951)
Txapela Reddish Brown (AC-18) Reddish Brown (AC-18) Vermillion (947)
Silver Thread Neutral Grey (992) Sky Grey (989) Mithril Silver (61-55)
His aide-de-camp is wearing a full-dress uniform of a
general staff officer.
Greatcoat Prussian Blue (AC-22) Prussian Blue (AC-22) 1st Highlight
and shabraque + Medium Blue (963) + White (951)
Trousers Prussian Blue (AC-22) Grey Blue (943) Grey Blue (943)
+ Grey Blue (943) + White (951)
Txapela Prussian Blue (AC-22) Base Colour + White (951)
+ Medium Blue (963)
Cabrera and Don Carlos
Although the Pretender and Ramn Cabrera were separated
from each other most of the war, this vignette represents the
encounter of the two figures during the Royal Expedition of
1837.
Cabreras uniform consists of a green coat over which he
wore a black wolf-skin Spencer jacket and a white cape or
overcoat with red lining. His trousers were red with gold or sil-
ver stripes and the txapela was white with a gold tassel. He
wore a red sash and the stripe of the Great Order of Isabel
the Catholic on the breast (yellow with a white centre). Ca-
brera never carried a sabre and, if he did, he fastened it to
his saddle and never to his waist. Given that, I have removed
the scabbard that was poking out from under his overcoat.
Coat Napoleonic Green (AC -38) Napoleonic Green (AC -38)
+ Tan Yellow (912)
Spencer Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26) 1st Highlight
Jacket + Neutral Grey (992) + White (951)
Overcoat Light Grey (990) Light Grey (990) White (951)
and Txapela + White (951)
Shabraque Prussian Blue (AC-22) Prussian Blue (AC-22) 1st Highlight
The full-dress uniform of Don Carlos Mara Isidro
was spectacular. He wore a blue coat with red fa-
cings and gold embroidery on the collar, sleeves,
cuffs and turnbacks, a red and gold generals sash,
a white txapela with a gold tassel and sky blue trou-
sers with gold stripes depicting the rank of colonel
of the Corps Guards. He wore multiple medals,
everything from the Golden Fleece on the collar to
the band of the Great Cross of Carlos III (sky blue
with a white centre) on the breast. However, on cam-
paign he usually wore civilian clothing with a simple
black frock coat and a top hat or bicorn. That is how
this figure is dressed. To give him a touch of colour
we have kept his trousers of the Corps Guards.
Frock Coat Flat Black (AC-26) Flat Black (AC-26) 1st Highlight
and Bicorn + Neutral Grey (992) + White (951)
Trousers Prussian Blue (AC-22) Grey Blue (943) Grey Blue (943)
+ Grey Blue (943) + White (951)
Shabraque Prussian Blue (AC-22) Prussian Blue (AC-22) 1st Highlight
Author: El Mercenario
Photographs: Beatriz Planelles
55

Painting Carlist Infantry: A Guide to Uniforms and Miniature Coloring

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Painting Carlist Infantry: A Guide to Uniforms and Miniature Coloring

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

T

his is the first in a series of articles whose

You might also like