Any area of the Historical Miniature Wargaming Hobby is a new adventure for me. But basically I stick to sort of "running the business" end of it and prefer to use my tactical skills and having fun to excursions on the ivories of the piano. However, part of the business is developing new figure lines, new building ideas, new rules, educating and marketing. You really can not market without educating. So, not being a historian, I have to start at the very beginning of a project with an open mind and a willing heart and Vincent has to hope that I think the idea will work. This article will deal with very basic questions and answers that I had concerning the "idea" and the "research" behind our new figure line. But it can also be used as very "basic" historical information that can lead to "EXPANDING OUR KNOWLEDGE, TACTICAL SKILLS AND HAVING FUN! WHY THIS PARTICULAR IDEA? With Mike Lowry and Vincent sining around our dining room table, many ideas are explored and hashed and re-hashed! Both are really into this "history" thing and look for challenging ways to expand their fun. In all due respect, I think it was Mike that came up with the name SPANISH BOURBONS. To me, it just meant a group of Spanish soldiers. Please keep in mind that I am not history literate! So, my first question was "what does "Spanish Bourbon" mean. And the simple reply was that "it is the name of our new figure line". Nothing more and nothing less. But that was not good enough f or me. Things have to be explained to me in more concrete terms. So these next paragraphs will have to do with my questions and answers and hopefully you will learn something too. WHY WOULD THIS ARMY CATCH ANYBODY'S INTEREST? The Spanish Empire was rather large. They had their fingers in a lot of different pies. They were by no means the "biggest and best" but they were scrappy, unique and colorful. They mixed religion with savagery. They fought the most savage of all Indians in the North American West and yet a friar, monk, priest and missionaries were there to try to convert those that were captured. In my mind's "eye" they were more of a renegade type army more than a "proper" army. It was part of their job to contain the barbaric Indians of the northern tribes, who were much like modern day guerrillas, and who used hit and run tactics. They moved in small groups, raiding unsuspecting peaceful settlements in an orgy of massacre and destruction. Most often leaving behind ashes and terror. Well, I liked to play cowboys and Indians when I was growing up - so this caught my eye as bein more adventurous because this occurred during the time tht the west was "really" wild. Most people hve the impression that all was wilderness until about 1850. Then along came the U.S. Cavalry or the Canadian Mounted Police, the settlers, thc grain elevators and the railways. And by 1900 everything was pretty much civilized. To the contrary!!! For as early as 1600 in North America, there were Spanish soldiers posted hom the Gulf of Mexico on the Atlantic to the Gulf of California on the Pacific. The Spanish got a really nasty name because of their so called "wicked cruelty" against almost anyone. Their excesses against Indians during the early part of the 16th century gave rise to the Black Legend" in Protestant Europe. But, it was as a result of the Spanish reaction to the abuses in America that the slavery of Indians was forbidden by the king in 1542. One of the resulting compromises was the importation of blacks from Africa to be slaves in America! So - You have savagery, Christianity, slavery and adventure! What more could you ask for!!! TELL ME ABOUT THESE STRANGE UNIQUE SOLDIERS! Soldados de cuera The main soldiers that fought in North America were called Soldados de cuera. They got their nickname from the leather jackets they wore. Therefore being know as the "leather jacket soldier". Their leather jacket consisted of several thick layers of buckskin, considered the best protection against arrows. They are also known as "Cuera" cavalry of the American south-west. The arms, equipment and uniforms of these troops are among the most unusual to be found anywhere in military history! Based on the hide painting of the 1720 Villasur expeditions's disaster now in the Museum of New Mexico, the uniform shows that they had adopted by then, the main elements of their unique dress and equipment. The leather jacket was knee-length and of white leather. The color of clothing could be any combination of red and blue for the coat, breeches and stockings. However, the first cuera soldiers, back around 1600, were likely to have wom steel as well as leather for protection. By around 1772, regulations called for a blue short coat with red cuffs and collar, which appear to have been a short-skirted affair with brass buttons. But being in the wild west a lot of liberties were taken with the dress. However, the clothing was usually blue and red, with short blue coats with scarlet cuffs and waistcoats and silver buttons. In about 1767 there were drawings of presidia! cavalry which show the soldier wearing a white leather jacket with decorative stitching including a crown, shown in yellow, on the pocket. The jacket is shown as scarlet. The breeches are shown to be blue. The rawhide shield is white with decorative stitching and a yellow crown at the centre. White drawers are allowed to show below the knee and the soldier wears leather botas instead of stockings. They also wore a black wide-brimmed hat. Some even wore a fine woven serape cloak over the shoulder. Well, as you can tell, the uniforms are different and paint up really well. Their tools of the trade were: shields, lances, leather coats. swords, and escopetas, which were light muskets carried in a leather case called a "funda". Fighting Tactics They fought from "presidios". This appears to have had its origin in the Latin "praesidium" meaning a garrisoned place. However, by about 1560, the word "presidio" was found in the Spanish language mainly in reference to such Spanish posts found in North Africa. A presidio was not much more than a thick adobe wall with turrets and living quarters for men and animals within. It was not meant to repulse a large army but was an excellent fortification for hostile environments. It was the centre of a military command for an area, usually headed by a captain, with a number of soldiers, and the home of a number of dependents, senlers and Indians who had been converted. Fighting such Indians as the Apaches, the Navahoes and the Comanche required more mobility. The detachments of Spanish "cuera" cavalry were patrolling the borderlands more frequently and using their "presidios" as bases to keep an eye on any intruders who would try to slip into Mexico. The line of 'presidios were not supposed to be like the great wall of China, but were to be used as bases for patrolling soldiers and to protect the settlers and missionaries. They were also used to curb territorial ambitions, real or imaginary, of other powers. The "leather jackets" were known to be some of the most superb horsemen in the world. They did as much with a musket and lance as the U.S. cavalry did with a breech loading carbine. Their stamina was exceptional and they were highly skilled with a lance. The main problem with them was the amount of heavy equipment they took which made it difficult for them to bring the Indians to bay. However, they still did their job!!! FINISHING UP PART I Am I leaving you in the lurch? Well, there's more to all this than I am telling. Vince has already called my hand on an "error." He wants to make sure that you know that the Spanish army was not a "renegade" army. Only the "leather jackets" were sort of "renegade". Anyhow, I liked the idea myself! Well, there are a lot more players than the "leather jackets" in this army and they fought in more places than the wild west. For instance - They fought in Florida in the battle of Jenkins Ear against the British forces in Georgia. And there was the War of the Austrian Succession in Italy and southeastern France; the War of the Polish Succession in Italy; War of the Spanish Succession; they fought in South America against the S.A. Indians and Jesuits; in North Africa against the Moor's and in the Philippines against the Moros. Busy little bees, weren't they!! In the next arhcle, if I attempt this again, maybe I can try describing the other members of this army, their uniforms and maybe some of the tactics they used in other wars. Vince is going to publish a book on the uniforms and how to paint them and we have several rule sets that are about ready to release. This article is not intended to be used as an in-depth source of information. Especially since the author is rather "shallow" about such things. But I do hope you have enjoyed some of the tidbits of information and it will prompt you to think of new ways to learn and have fun. Back to MWAN #94 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1998 Hal Thinglum 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