I received a letter from Kevin R. Young, two in fact, that related to Mexican firearms (Fusiles, Tercerlos and Carabinas) of the 1800-50 period, the initial letter was to a number of friends who it was thought might be able to assist in answering the question of 20th century translation of 19th century Mexican firearms terminology, and how it may have been misinterpreted. These notes by Kevin in his second letter to me, could, I believe, be of some interest to readers of El Dorado. Subject: Fusiles, Tercerlos and Carabinas. From: Kevin R. Young While I do not pretend to be an expert on Spanish translations, I would like to show concern about some of the ways 19th century military terms are being translated. This started when Ed Dubrasvsky brought up a concern about the use of the Baker Rifle in the Mexican Army, noting that he did not see many period references to rifles in the Mexican service. David Jackson also expressed a similar misgiving, while at the same time Pedro Santoni also contacted me regarding translation of terms for weapons that he had found during research into his work on the Polka Regiments of 1847. At Gary Zaboly's urging, I went back and double checked every English translation term of "rifle" with the original Spanish account or document. The results were that in most cases, the English term "rifle" had been translated from the Spanish/Mexican term "fusil" or "fusile". I also noted that the term "tercerlos" was being translated into "carbine". I then inspected three important documents; - an 1836 ordnance report form, an 1839 report on the state of the army, and a similar report/document for 1841. It quickly became apparent that the term "fusiles", was being used in regard to muskets, as both the 1836 and 1839 reports designated "fusiles", "rifles", "carabinas" and "tercerolas" as separate weapons. The 1839 report even went so far as to designate "fusiles ingleses", "fusiles espanoles" and "fusiles de diferentes fabricas". This may not have solved the Baker rifle issue, but it did mean that most of the translations had been in-correct, as "fusiles" was the term for musket and not rifle. The "tercerlos" issue was a bit more difficult. As noted, there was apparently a difference in the reports between a "tercerolas" and a "carbina", but what was this difference? Pedro Santoni's problem of the weapons ("fusiles" and "tercerolas") that were used by the Polka Regiments came to mind, why would a infantry unit be armed with carbines? The key came with the 1841 Return, which listed weapons and equipment by regiments and branch of service. I quickly noted that the Lina Regts. had large numbers of "fusiles" with small numbers of "tercerolas" (example: 11th Lina , 1st Battalion 602 fusiles, 15 tercerolas, 2nd Battalion 659 fusiles, 19 tercerolas) while the opposite was true for the Liegero (Light) Regts! Then when I looked at the Cavalry Regiments there were no "tercerolas" issued at all or even listed on the form, but instead "carabinas". This strongly suggests that "tercerolas" is not a term for a carbine, but then what? Because of the small numbers in the Lina Regiments and the larger number in the Liegero Regiments, it would appear that the term is for a light infantry musket (often called a carbine) or musketoon. This would explain the Polka Regiment issue of muskets and light infantry muskets (or even musketoons) as opposed to the translated "rifles" and "carbines". Now there is one little problem here, in 1833 there is a regulation for the arms of the cavalry that notes; "carabina o tercerola", but again, this separates the two as different weapons, and I still believe that the "tercerola" is a light infantry musket or musketoon. By the way, it looks like they may have found a Baker Rifle lockplate at the Urrea Campsite in Wharton County, Sam, Alan and myself have seen it and it looks right, although we need to make a final comparison to an original. My sources are: Recopilacion de Leyes, Decretos, Banos, Reglamentos, Circulares y Providencias de los Supremos Poderes y Otras Auordades de la Republica Mexicano formada de orden del Supremo Gobierno por el Lio, Basilio Jose Arrillaga, 1836, page 17. Memoria del Ministerio de Guerra y Marina Presentade a las Camares del Congreso Gen. Mexicano en enero de 1841. ( If any member or reader has any other data or information on this subject, be it from Spain, Mexico, Chile or Argentina, I will be pleased to pass it on to Kevin or/and include it in El Dorado, for us all to read. I have often wondered about English/American translations of 19th century Latin American military terms, and how easy it is to assume a modern term that fits, rather than try and get hold of somebody who could be helpful in the understanding of the translation, as you all may know my Spanish and Portuguese is very sketchy, so being able to correctly define which weapon/weapons were used for the various periods and countries of Latin America can be a task and any data is a true boon to any military researcher, not just myself. T.D.H. ) Kevin also enclosed a flyer for the "Soldado Mexicano Workshop, being held on the 24-25 January 1998, at the Landmark Inn State Historical Park in Castroville, Texas. There will be feature speakers on various topics related to the study area, with a roundtable discussion forum on Saturday night. For living history personal, a period 1830's camp will be established with work on drill etc. For the first time in 162 years the colours of the Battalions Permanente, Aldama, Jimenez, Matamoros and the Active San Luis and Toluca will be planted on the banks of the River Medina. If interested in attending please contact; Landmark Inn State Historic Park, 402 Florence Street, Castroville, Texas 78009, or e-mail kry1846@juno.com. I'm sure that this meeting would be of interest to anybody who would like to know more on this period, it is a pity that I happen to have other things planned for these days, otherwise I could well be tempted to fly over and listen. Hope this workshop goes as planned. T.D.H. Back to Table of Contents -- El Dorado Vol VIII No. 1 Back to El Dorado List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by The South and Central Military Historians Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com