In our recently released “Fire and Discipline: Wars in the America” rules set that uses a 1:15 scale we include an extensive set of army lists for the forces of the Latin American Independence Wars. This section includes basic data on the demographic, character of the troops and the military organization of forces involved in the wars.

ROYALIST

Forces included any units that were loyal to the rule of the Spanish Crown. For the most part these were units from the regular Spanish army manned by primarily European born soldiers. Loyalist could be viewed as a term used to describe the limited number of supporters of the Crown that could be found among the Creole and native Indian population. In some cases local towns people may be drafted to serve in the militia but these troops were not very reliable especially if service involved participating in an arduous campaign. Most of the Royalist soldiers were from Spain. However the Loyalist units drawn from mainly the lower classes (they distrusted the Creoles more than the Spaniards) of mulattos, Negroes, and mestizo population. Late in the war native Indian tribes were hired as mercenaries to provide scouting information but the relations with the tribes varied between Viceroyalties and individual commanders.

CREOLE

Forces include any units that supported independence from rule by the Spanish Crown. Most of these soldiers were drawn from the Creole and mestizo population but could also include mulattos, native Indians and European mercenaries.

ARMY OF ARGENTINA

Aka Buenos Aires. Having secured independence in 1815, the Argentine area became the focal point of resistance to Royalist rule. Their forces conducted campaigns in Upper Peru, Chile and Peru, as well as in Paraguay and Banda Oriental. Their best-known general was San Martin. They were often referred to as Andean or Portenos.

ARMY OF CHILE

The Chile army followed the Creole practice of not mixing ethnic types in the same unit. They maintained separate Patria and Pardos companies and battalions. In 1814, they had five battalions that consisted of six center companies plus a Grenadier company with 120 men authorized per company. In reality the veteran Valparaiso Battalion averaged only 77 in its six companies. The Hussar Gde Rgt consisted of two squadrons of six troops (84 men) each. The unit strengths of the army fielded by Chile reflect the problems faced by Creole powers. In 1817, a report of unit strengths listed the 1st Bn with 591 men, the 2nd Bn with 736 men, the 3rd Bn with 603 men, the Patria Bn with 523 men, the Concepcion Bn with 300 men, the Cazadore Bn with 535 men, the Mounted Cazadore Sqdn with 119 men, the lancer Troop with 51 men and the Plaza Cavalry Sqdn with 100 men.

ARMY OF GRANDE COLUMBIA

These are the Creole forces used in the region of Venezuela and Columbia. Their main opponents were the troops of the Viceroy of New Granada. Their most well known General was Simon Bolivar. In 1815 army battalion organizations were standardized to consist of four center or fusilier companies plus a Grenadier company and cazadore (light) company. Special units included an eight company Rifle battalion and a six company Guard Voltiguer battalion that was ‘light’ trained. The cavalry regiment was standardized to consist of three squadrons which contained two troops (companies) each.

BOLIVAR’S BRITISH LEGION

After the Anglo-Spanish alliance ended with the defeat Napoleon in 1815, the British government began to allow Creole officials to recruit British veterans in 1817. The initial units included the 1st (190 men) and 2nd (120 men) Venezuelan Hussars, the 1st Venezuelan Lancers (220 men), 1st Venezuelan Rifles (237 men) and 6 guns (5 x 6pdr + 1 x 5 1/2 ” How) with crews (90 men). The lancers were disbanded due to losses when their transport ship sank. The Second British Legion of all infantry companies was raised in 1819 and included 900 men plus 300 ‘natives’ in auxiliary company. The Irish Legion was also raised in 1819 and included 1,700 men in infantry battalions.

The strength of British units was always low with companies averaging less than 80 men and a battalion could have as low as 180 men. The Rifle battalion was an exception and was maintained at a high strength level but was later divided into two battalions. The 2nd Battalion was known as the Albion Battalion. It’s strength was raised to 400 men by recruiting local ‘natives’ (I am not sure this refers to Creoles or Meztizos or native Indians but I would I doubt that it refers to Indians as the Creoles were hesitant to provide allied rebel tribes with guns.) . Losses due to combat and disease resulted in the three contingents to be merged in 1821 to create a single legion with about 1,100 Anglo-Irish soldiers in 1821.

BOVE’S ROYALIST LLANEROS

Prior to Paez rallying of the region, many Llaneros supported the Royalist caudillo Boves. The core of his force was the Legion Infernales AKA Legion of hell. They were 4,000 lance-armed cavalrymen. Their uniform varied among the troops. They carried a solid black flag. Boves’ troops were of several ethnic variations and he preferred Negro officers.

GAUCHO ARMY

The Gaucho army had an impact in the interior region of Argentina from 1814-1821. The Gaucho forces formed the backbone of many of the independent towns and caudillos that rose up to challenge the power of the government in Buenos Aires. They were anti-Royalist but also maintained strong feelings of provincial rather than centralized government control. The gaucho army did not focus on standardized unit strengths. Unit sizes were based on a commander’s ability to recruit soldiers. Most units were based on mounted systems including foot units. Many units may refer to themselves as squadrons or regiments but their field strengths were more in line with troops and squadrons levels. The more notable units included the five squadron (17 total troops) strong ‘Salta Regiment’ and the 1000 man strong ‘Salta Horse Grenadier Regiment’. The gauchos wore a civilian dress but adopted several distinctive characteristics, which tended to be common among the soldiers. These were a white shirt, red blossomed pants, hide leggings and hats of various colors. The ‘Infernals’ were troops that dressed in all red clothing.

GUERRILLA

Bands in Upper Peru. There were seven main bands that operated in the region between 1809 and 1816. They constantly disrupted Royalist communication routes and silver production in the region. In 1816 the Royalist government in Lima conducted and extensive counter-insurgency operation which destroyed all but one of the guerrilla groups. The surviving band under Miguel Lanza continued to operate in the Ayopaya area until 1825 when independence was achieved. These bands operated independently of each other and often in smaller untrained and undisciplined sub-groups. The strongest of the bands never numbered more than 300 fighters who were mainly Creole and meztizo people. If any Native Americans were used, they were formed into small tribal groups of 20-30 warriors and armed with traditional weapons of lance, mace and sling.

NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS

The Native tribes in Latin America had the potential of providing either side with a substantial manpower reserve. However neither side would nor could not utilize this resource. They had an inherent fear of the native tribes due to the recent serious tribal revolts of the 1780s. Both the Royalist and Creole leaders treated the local tribes poorly. Often they were used for forced labor in a local area or as porters of supplies in a long expedition. If a tribe did rise up in revolt, the Creole leaders refused to provide adequate support or arms. It became clear to many tribal chiefs that conditions could not be expected to change regardless of who they supported or who won. As a result Indian raids were conducted against the forces of both sides. In Peru, the Royalists used Indian allies as scouts and flank guards to offset their inferiority to the Creole cavalry. (Please note that the above comments are generalizations. These were the common practices and attitudes but minor exceptions occurred.)

PAEZ’S PATRIOT LLANEROS

Hard riding frontiersmen of mainly mulatto and mestizo decent composed the majority of Paez’s troops. After the death of Boves, many Llaneros , who were unhappy with imposed Spanish discipline, joined the ranks of Paez’s forces. Their dress was the same as other Llaneros troops being only a jaguar cap, cloak, shirtless and shorts with protective leggings. Paez recruited a number of Indians from the Cunaviche tribe to act as infantry. The force numbered about 10,000 in 1818.

PERUVIAN LEGION

In 1821 a Creole infantry battalion of six center companies (150 men) plus a Grenadier company (150 men) and a Cazadore company (120 men). In 1822 a second battalion was raised. In 1823 the Legion was reorganized and reduced in strength from six to four center companies. In addition a third battalion was raised. The cavalry contingent consisted of three squadrons with two troops (companies) per squadron. Each troop had 94 men assigned. The artillery element included three Foot and one Horse battery. Each battery averaged six guns.

Latin American Wars of Independence

Background Data
Key Terms and Definitions
Organization and Character of the Armies
Operations in Columbia, Ecuador, Venezuela
Operations in Upper Peru (Bolivia) and Argentina
Operations in Chile and Peru
Key Leaders
Bibliographic Appendix