With the close of the Napoleonic wars experienced Spanish troops were sent to the Americas to put an end to the various uprisings that had occurred since 1810 in the Spanish Colonies.

A miniature of Bolivar, by Jose Maria Espinosa.

This new influx brought additional pressure into being against the Patriot forces under Simon Bolivar and to the leaders of the other socalled Republics of Latin America.

Only in certain areas were these new Spanish troops not successful in regaining ground, notably against the Ilaneros [plains horsemen] under the command of General Jose Antonio Paez, who still controlled the vast central plains of Venezuela. With it's numerous stocks of cattle and horses this area was a valuable asset for anyone who managed to command the region.

Bolivar had seen how Gregor McGregor with his small band of some 500 volunteers, after landing in Venezuela in 1813 had fought and behaved with distinction in these early campaigns with the Republicans. On the 10th August 1816 McGregor beat the Spanish troops under the command of Quero at Quebradahonda, having advanced from Ocumare and later at San Diego. Reinforced by the chieftains Zaraza and Monagas, McGregor beat Lopez at El Alacran [in a fight in which both sides used as auxiliary troops Caribbean Indians armed with arrows] and then occupied Barcelona [13 Aug. 1816].

Then Morales, sent by Moxo with just over a thousand men, advanced onto Barcelona causing McGregor to write to a number of Republican chieftains for help. Marino was besieging Cumana at the time but Piar seized this opportunity for advancement and sent McGregor 400 men by land, while he himself took to sea to be there in time. As he had a higher rank than McGregor he knew that he would take command.

The two armies met at El Juncal, close to the sea [27 Sept. 1816]. The Patriots won the battle, in which McGregor distinguished himself by his personal courage. Bolivar also had reason to know McGregor for he had married Josefa Lovera, a niece of Bolivar. By 1817 McGregor took leave from the fighting in Venezuela to seek his fortune elsewhere, we will hear more about his exploits later.

Also during these early years Bolivar's secretary was an Irishman named Richards and in 1817 his A.D.C. was also an Irishman named Charles Chamberlain, he had resigned his commission from a British West Indian regiment to join the Republican struggle in 1815.

The dilemma that faced Bolivar was how to maintain his hold over the various local patriot leaders and have a trustworthy fighting force behind him, was it not too surprising that he turned to Europe for the latter. At this time the British Army was beginning to be reduced and taken off a war footing, thus creating officers on half-pay and numerous unemployed and unemployable other ranks with no career experience other than that of "Warfare". The time was opportune for Bolivar to try and enlist as many as possible of these veterans from Europe into the Republican armed forces, these troops would, if past experience proved correct, would remain loyal to the Government of the Republicans and not to any Regional Commander. In this way Bolivar was to find the initial backbone to his Patriot Army, those who managed to survive the first six months were to remain loyal to the cause and help to create a unison among the Patriot armed forces of Gran Colombia that was to last until 1826, enough time to topple the rule of Spain in Latin America.

The agent to whom Bolivar entrusted this recruitment mission was Luis Lopez Mendez, who established his office at 27 Grafton Street, in central London, so that by May 1817 he was able to start his enlistment drive. In the first contracts which lie drew up the Venezuelan agent offered to officers and non-commissioned officers of the British Army, either active, retired or discharged, promotions of one grade and pay equal to the same grades in the British Army.

The pay for officers was to commence from the day of arrival in Venezuela and that of the enlisted men, from the date of embarkation in England. In addition to their pay, they were to receive immediately upon their arrival at a port in Venezuela, as bonus and reimbursement for the expenses of their equipment and voyage, a sum amounting to S200 [Spanish Dollars] each to officers and $80 each in the case of non-commissioned officers [in Hippisley's expedition there were only privates in the Artillery section, all the other units were made up from officers and n.c.o's. for it was envisaged to recruit the other ranks from among native South Americans]. Their monthly pay was; Colonel $10, Lieutenant S8, and cornets $6, these Venezuelan dollars were equal to eight Reales in Venezuela which was equal to, about, two shillings and six pence English currency, though it was a base coinage made by the Republicans and not redeemable anywhere else.

The first large force of British volunteers, Linder the command of Colonel Gustavus Hippisley, amounted to some 600 troops, these landed at the island of St. Bartholomew [at that time it belonged to Sweden] in the West Indies on their passage to Venezuela, but they stayed there for five weeks! During which time the majority of troops became disenchanted with what might be in store for them on the next phase of the voyage, by the time of departure from St. Bartholomew's, only 160 men were still willing to proceed.

Although this initial movement of volunteers may not have been as momentous as first hoped, it was the beginning of a cadre that would in turn be labelled as the British Legion. These initial units of Hippisley's expedition was composed of;

1st Venezuelan Hussars, Col. G.M. Hippisley, 30 officers, 160 n.c.o.s embarked on the Emerald, 500 tons, Capt. Weatherly and a crew of 33 men & boys.

2nd. Venezuelan Hussars, Col. H. Wilson, 20 officers, 100 n.c.o.s embarked on the Prince, 400 tons burden, Capt. Nightingale.

1st. Venezuelan Rifles, Col. D. Campbell, 3 7 officers, 198 n.c.o.s embarked on the Dowson, 400 tons burden, Capt. Dormor.

Artillery, Col. JA. Gilmore, five 6lbrs and one 5- inch howitzer. embarked on the Britannia, 400 tons burden, Capt. Sharpe and a crew of 21 men. [only 2 officers and 18 other ranks arrived in Venezuela from the starting off figure of 10 officers and 80 n.c.o.s]

1st. Venezuelan Lancers, Col. R. Skeene, 20 officers, 200 n.c.o.s embarked on the Indian [Capt. and size unknown] [alas this unit perished on their outward journey during a storm].

To try and stem this flow of British servicemen, the Spanish Government made numerous complaints from it's Ambassador in London, the Duke of San Carlos, to the British Foreign Office, causing the British War Office to issue orders on the 30th September 1817, that no officer who took service under any other Government could continue to draw his half-pay, except with the permission of the Prince Regent.

While on the 4th October 1817, no serving officer was to quit the United Kingdom without the special permission of the Prince Regent, although this brought about questions concerning British officers then serving in the Spanish Army. The 24th October 1817 order said that half-pay officers must certify on their pay vouchers that they were not employed in any other office by His Britannic Majesty's Government or by any Foreign Government.

While on the 17th November 1817 the Prince Regent issued a proclamation prohibiting British subjects from taking part in the contest between Spain and the Spanish Provinces.

This was still not enough for the Spanish King who in May 1818 decreed that foreigners taken in his dominions in America, in the act of carrying arms and under the banners of the insurgents, would be considered, treated and punished as were the respective classes of the insurgents themselves, and would not be included into any acts of pardon granted to Spanish subjects.

At last the Spanish Government's constant complaints to the various British Ministries about the open recruitment and sale of articles of war to the Republicans/ Rebels succeeded in bringing about the "Foreign Enlistment Act", but this was not until the 1st August 1819. During that period over 6,500 men had sailed to join in the great adventure that was taking place in Venezuela. It would appear that Bolivar knew of this Act and either he wanted to pre-empt the British Government and gain it's good will or it could have been disagreement with his Creole Generals about this exodus of British mercenaries [who were gaining the ear of Bolivar and obtaining high rank at the detriment of Venezuelans], that motivated Bolivar to decree in September of 1819 that no more foreign volunteers were required, although he still sought arms, munitions and warships which were to continue to reach him for some years after the war was over.

It is not thought, by myself, necessary to include in this article information about the later campaigns of these British/Irish/ German volunteers although I will try to enlighten the reader on the earlier campaigns up to, but not including the Battle of Pantano de Vargas, 25th July 1819. While also trying to give details of Expedition and Unit histories as far as possible, plus data on the various uniforms worn.

The remnants of Hippisley's expeditionary force was grouped together, with other recent British arrivals from the contingents of Lt.Col. McDonald [McDonald was killed by natives on his journey to meet Bolivar at his H.Q.'s on the Apure river in 1818, he had been appointed by Mendez in London commander of the 1st. Regiment of Venezuelan Lancers but could not wait for his unit to be completely ready and sailed to Venezuela in the ship "Two Friends" with 100 other volunteers], and Lt. Col. J. Needham, who had arrived the preceding summer in charge of a corps of lancers that Col. Strenowitz had organised in Brussels, from Hanoverians that had served under Wellington [Col. Strenowitz with his staff were to remain in Europe]. Col. James Rooke was also placed into this group, having arrived in September 1817, before Hippisley's men and managed to obtain the post of Aide de Camp to Bolivar.

These men were now organised into the "British Brigade" of two hussar regiments and in late 1818 the remaining troops of this Brigade were sent to join the Army under the command of General Paez. This was altered in March 1819, placing the entire force under the command of Col. Rooke, it now comprised of the "Dragoons of the Guard", the Artillery under the command of Lt. Col. Thomas Ferriar and two Rifle Battalions, the first under the command of Col. Pigott, mainly of native troops officered by British, and the second under Major John Mackintosh, which was composed entirely of British and German volunteers.

While in 1819 some of the first units from Col. J. English and Capt. G. Elsom's expeditions were also sent to join Paez's command. By June 1819 most of the British and German volunteers were based in the central plains away from the coast. Paez with such and abundance of British officers was able to form a mounted Guard of Honour from them, in which, although retaining their respective rank, they performed duties of troopers. Meanwhile the elements of Col. D. Campbell's Rifle Regiment, now under the command of Lt. Col. Robert Pigott, were sent in July 1818 down the Orinoco to the Caroni Missions to recruit privates from the indians there.

He managed to enlist 400 indians and in 4 months these had been trained so well that they were able to take to the field [Col. Pigott was to be replaced, due to ill health, in 1819 by Lt. Col. Arthur Sandes who was to command this unit until 1825 in all of it's actions] and join the other British forces with General Paez on the plains of the Apure where a further 350 British volunteers were placed into the regiment "Rifleros Inglese" otherwise known, at this time, as the "Black Rifles" "1st Rifles". With these new volunteers arriving another "Rifle Battalion" was formed under the command of Major John Mackintosh [after the Battle of Boyaca the 2nd Battalion was renamed the "Albion Battalion", other names that this Battalion was known by are: "English Rifles" and "Cazadores Britanicos"].

These two Battalions were under the overall command of Col. James Rooke joined Bolivar's expedition to unite with the Colombian forces under General Francisco de Paula Santander that managed to fight, and win, the Royalist troops in Colombia at the Battles of Pantano de Vargas [25th July 1819] and Boyaca [7th August 1819] liberating, at last, this area.

New volunteers had arrived from the recruitment campaigns run by Col. English [Ist Hussars] and Capt. Elsam [2nd Hussars]. Col. English was promised the rank of Brigadier General plus he was to be paid Y50 for every man that he managed to land in Venezuela for the patriot cause. With this incentive he was to promise to his volunteers this bounty; for officers one third more pay than that of the same rank in the British Cavalry, with all the allowances of the British Army.

When Independence should have been gained, officers were to receive grants of land and bonuses ranging from $3,000 for a Sub- Lieutenant to $10,000 for a Colonel, while enlisted men were to be paid two shillings per day with clothing and rations, a bounty of $80 on landing in Venezuela and at the end of the war were to receive a grant of land and $500. Also this expedition differed from Hippisley's in the fact that privates were recruited in Britain.

Terry Hooker is the editor of 'EL DORADO' the magazine of the South & Central American Military Historians Society; an excellent illustrated journal that covers all periods of Military history. It is an invaluable read for anyone interested in martial activities and European involvement in that area. Write to: T.D. Hooker, 27 Hallgate, Cottingham, Noth Humberside, HU16 4DN