The Spanish line cavalry and dragoon regiments that operated in Italy in the course of the wars for the Polish and Austrian successions represented the major part of the Spanish army serving in Europe at that period. Line cavalry and dragoons, as in the case of infantry, were composed of Spanish as well as foreign regiments such as Walloon, Italian and Irish.

Guidon of the Numancia Dragoons (from Banderasde Espana by Jose Luis Calvo Perez)

Each regiment was composed of a regimental staff and two or three squadrons. Each troop had a captain, a lieutenant, a quartermaster and about 30 troopers.

Besides line regiments there existed also Royal Household mounted units: 4 companies of Guardes de Corps (2 Spanish, one Italian and one Walloon), a company of Horse Grenadiers and a brigade of Carabiniers.

Cavalry and dragoons were employed on all the major battlefields in northern Italy (Lombardy) where they operated with the French and the Sardinians (in 1734) and in southern Italy where a Spanish army conquered the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily from the Austrians. Don Carlos, son of Phelipe V and Infante of Spain who was at the head of the army in Italy, was proclaimed king of the Two Sicilies.

The expeditionary corps to Italy in 1734 included the following mounted troops : Cavalry Brigade of Caravineros Reales, Regiments of Borbon, Ordenes, Famese, Alcantara, Malta, Estremadura, Andalucia, Barcelona, Milan, Flandes; Dragoons :Royal Horse Grenadiers, Pavia, Tarragona, Edimburg, Francia, Batavia, Frisia.

Among the cavalry regiments that took part in the expedition against the Austrians in Naples were, besides the Brigade of Caravineros and the Royal Horse Grenadiers, - Andalucia, Bourbon, Estremadura, Flandes, Milan and Malta and the dragoons regiments of Pavia, Tarragona, Edimburg and Francia; in the course of the carnpaign other cavalry and dragoons regimentsjoined the expeditionary corps.

At Bitonto, the largest and deciding battle of thecampaign , the following regiments saw active service: Estremadura, Andalucia, Malta, Milan, Borbon, Flandes; Dragoons Pavia and Francia.

In 1737 a regiment of cavalry (Rossellon) and one of dragoons (Tarragona) were transferred to the army of the new kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

UNIFORM

The uniform of cavalry regiments was generally comprised a coat of white cloth, vest, cuffs and lining of regimental colour. Trousers could be either the coat or lining colours, (many regiments had also buff trousers); some regiments were the exception to this rule , being dressed in red or blue (see table 1 for details of cavalry uniforms' colours). Many regiments had also a narrow lapel of facing colour on both sides of the front of the coat.

Table 1 Regiments of Cavalry 1734 - 1748
Regiment	Dress	cuffs, vest, lining
Principe	blue	red
Famesio*	blue	red
Ordenes	blue	red
Borbon	blue	red
Rossellon	white	blue++
Malta	white	blue
Alcantara	white	red (1734)
Andalucia*	white	red (1737 blue)
Granada*	white	red
Salamanca (Montesa)	white	blue (1734)
Calatrava	white	red
Estremadura*	white	red
Milan	white	red
Sevilla	white	red
Barzelona*	white	blue
Algarve	white	blue
Brabante	white	blue
Flandes	white	blue
Santiago	blue	red
Quantiosos de Andalusia	white	blue
Corazerlos Real Aleman	blue	red (1735)**

Key

* yellow buttons and lace (gold)
** steel breast armour
++ In 1737 the regiment was transferred to Neapolitan service

The above table shows the colours of dress and facings of the regiments of the line cavalry. Hats were bordered with a lace of the same colour as buttons. Cockades were normally red for Spanish regiments and black for the others. Belts were natural leather. Mounted troopers had black riding boots, and for walking out white or regimental colour stockings. Carabiniers wore black leather gaiters as dragoons. Officers, who wore dresses of a finer quality of cloth, were further distinguished by silver or golden aiguillettes on the right shoulder and by the use of regimental colour belts edged silver or gold.

In 1735 a new cavalry regiment was raised with prisoners taken to the Imperial forces in Italy and, due to the large amount of breast plate armour captured from Austrian Cuirassier regiments, it was similarly equipped and named Coraceros Real Aleman.

Nearly all cavalry regiments were equipped with a buffalo coat ("coleto") to wear on carnpaign above the uniform, as the French and Sardinian cavalry ("buffle").

Dragoon regiments had coats of a yellow cloth, and the vest, cuffs, front lapels when worn, and lining of regimental colour. Trousers could be yellow or regimental colour. The Queen's (Reyna) regiment was clothed in red and in blue. Grenadiers wore a bearskin cap with a cloth bag in the lining colour, laced in white (silver for N.C.O.'s and officers). A metal grenade was on the front. Shabraques and holsters were generally of regimental colour with a white or yellow border according to the buttons (silver or gold for officers) (see table 2 for details of dragoons uniforms colours).

Table 2 Regiments of Dragoons 1734 - 1748
Regiment	Dress	cuffs, vest, lining
Reina	red	blue (1735)
Frisia	yellow	red
Lusitania	yellow	black **
Tarragona	yellow	red ++
Pavia	yellow	red
Francia	yellow	blue
Belgia	yellow	red
Numancia	yellow	blue
Sagunto	yellow	green
Edimbourg	yellow	green
Batavia	yellow	blue
Merida	yellow	red
Italica	yellow	black
Rivagorsa	yellow	red
Villaviciosa	yellow	iron grey
Palma	yellow	blue
Extremadura	yellow	red
Oran	yellow	black
Almansa	yellow	sky blue

Key

** vest, lining, shabraque and holsters yellow
++ In 1737 the regiment was transferred to Neapolitan service

The above table gives the details of regimental colours of the Dragoons. Buttons were white metal for all. When mounted dragoons wore black leather gaiters. Grenadiers had bearskin caps as infantry, with a metal grenade on the front and a regimental colour cloth bag, decorated and bordered and with an end tassel of white wool (silver for sergeants and officers). The trooper was armed with a carbine, a sabre and two pistols.

Many regiments had on the right shoulder a fringed lace shoulder strap ("dragona") that was for most the lining colour often mingled with others. The riding cloak was generally in the coat colour with lining in the facing colour.

Trumpeters or drummers and musicians were generally dressed with reversed colours to those of the troopers and their coat was richly decorated with various types of lace. Officers wore a dress in the same colours as the soldiers, but of a finer quality of cloth, their coats and vests were often bordered and decorated with silver or gold lace. N.C.0's, Carabiniers; and Grenadiers wore one or more bands of silver or golden lace on the cuffs and sometimes on the sleeve.

Troopers were armed with pistols and swords in the cavalry, and muskets, pistols, sabre and bayonet in the dragoons.

STANDARDS & GUIDONS

A royal order issued in 1728 stated that in each squadron there was to be a crimson-red standard or a guidon carrying a red Burgundian cross in the centre and four royal crowns at the corners. The results of inspection reviews carried out in these years (Archivo General de Simancas) and an original document in the Anne S.K. Brown's collection show that most standards bore the Royal Arms and also the regimental mottos and badges for certain regiments the standard was not the regulation crimson-red colour (in the Brown's collection it is white for Granada, blue for the cavalry regiments of Principe, Andalusia, Barcelona, Algarve and Flandes; dragoons had generally red guidons with the exception of the regiment of Belgia that had the guidon for the colonel's squadron white on one side and black with a golden lion on the other).

In many regiments the Colonel's standard was, against regulations, white in the tradition of the past century. The belt for carrying the guidon was in regimental colour bordered with silver or gold lace, according to the buttons.

SOURCES

1) A. Portugues "Colleccion de [as Ordenanzas Militares..." Madrid 1764.
2) Archivo General de Sirnancas (Spain) Guerra Moderna leg. 2828, 3823, 5352, 5353, 5354, 5355. 5356,5357.535&5359,5360,536l.
3) Brown's Military Collection. Providence R.I. U.S.
4) Archivio di Stato di Napoli Carte Monternar Ms. 15, 36. 5ibis, 97 et 98.
5) Biblioteca Nazionale Napoli Ms. "Conquista delos Reinos de Napoles y Sicilia..." 1735.
6) M. Goiriez Ruiz. V Alonso Juariola "El Ejercito de los Bortiones" Madrid 1989.