This is a short article on the expeditions of Narciso Lopez to free Cuba from Spanish rule. Both of the forces consisted of mainly American filibuster troops. Most had been veterans of the Mexican-American War. Some troops in the 1851 expedition, were veterans of the Hungarian Revolt of 1848.

These are simple descriptions of the troops and battles but should provide gamers with enough information to construct units and later scenarios for the incidents. The primary source for my article is ‘FATAL GLORY” ; Narciso Lopez and the First Clandestine US War against Cuba, by Tom Chaffin, University of Virgina Press,

Other sources include:

‘Lopez’s Expeditions to Cuba 1850 and 1851’ by A.C. Quisenberry. Filson Club Publication #21. Illustrations of the expeditions anmd links to other material can be found on http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/filibusters.htm

Other good links off of that main site are the Lopez Bio which clearly shows the Italian influenced uniform, the Battle of Cardenas and the Lopez last Expedition page which all show nice battle drawings.

The material has conflicts. For example the lead illustration shows the Spanish in white but the Filibusters are shown in khaki but the illustration just beneath it clearly shows a darker (red) shirt.

Lopez had tried several times to conduct expeditions to Cuba. Earlier ones failed to materialize The last two resulted in military actions on the island which are the two expeditions that I will discuss in this article.

Lopez's Filibuster Expedition to Cuba 1850-1851

Introduction
Uniforms and Flags
Spanish Colonial Uniforms of the 1850s
Unit Organization
Battles and Scenarios 1850
Battles and Scenarios 1851
Notes for Wargamers