The Forces of King Charles III Cavalry: Line, Light, and Dragoons Don Carlos III of Spain

The Forces of
King Charles III

Cavalry: Line, Light, and Dragoons

By Danny O'Hara

Line Cavalry

The Spanish cavalry had two Inspectorates - that of Line Cavalry and that of Dragoons. Dragoons were classified as a "mixed arm," partly infantry and partly cavalry, but were actually used as cavalry by this era. The Line Cavalry had previously been cuirassiers, but in the reforms of the early 18th Century had been converted to heavy cavalry without cuirass. They wore the infantry style tricorne. Musicians wore "reversed" uniforms (i.e. blue coat and trousers with red facings for Regimiento de la Reina). There were 20 line regiments at this time:

Regiment Coat &
Trousers Lapels Facings Buttons

Reina Red None Blue Gold

Principe Blue None Red Silver

Milan White None Red Silver

Borbon Blue Red Red Silver

Ordenes Blue None Red Silver

Farnesio Blue None Red Gold

Alcantara White Red Red Gold

Extremadura White Red Red Gold

Barcelona White Blue Blue Gold

Malta White White Lt Blue Silver

Brabante White Blue Blue Silver

Flandes White None Blue Silver

Algarve White None Blue Silver

Andalucia White None Blue Gold

Calatrava White None Red Gold

Granada White None Red Gold

Sevilla White None Blue Gold

Santiago Blue None Red Silver

Montesa White None Blue Silver

Costa de Granada Blue None Yellow Silver

Dragoons

There were 10 Dragoon Regiments at the start of Charles III's reign, with the following uniforms (all wore black tricornes):

Regiment Coat &
Trousers Lapels Facings Turnbacks Buttons

Reina Red None Blue None Silver

Belgia Yellow Gold Red Red Silver Braid

Batavia Yellow Blue Blue Blue Silver

Pavia Yellow None Red Red Silver

Frisia Yellow Red Red Red Gold

Sagunto Yellow None Blue Yellow Silver

Edimburgo Yellow None Blue Blue Silver

Numancia Yellow None Blue Blue Silver

Lusitania Yellow None Black Yellow Silver

Merida Yellow None Blue Blue Silver

The Edimburgo Rgt had a (blue?) collar on the coat, and the Lusitania Rgt wore a yellow waistcoat. Waistcoats otherwise in facing colour. Some uniform alterations were ordered by a Royal Ordnance of 9th September 1760.

According to the reorganisation of 18th November 1748, Dragoon Regiments were organised as Rgt HQ and 2 squadrons, each at 4 companies of 40 men. This gave approximately 300-350 men to the Regiment, which was in line with the general reductions being carried out at that time, and was later "doubled up" to give a 650-700 man unit. However, it would seem that the reduced Regiment was the pattern used during the SYW.

Light Cavalry

Various light cavalry squadrons were raised for the Portugal campaign on an ad-hoc basis. There was no apparent uniform regulation for these.

The Forces of King Charles III

Introduction

Infantry and Household Troops

Light Infantry and Provincial Militia

Cavalry: Line, Light, and Dragoons

Artillery, Engineers, and Standards

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