Carlists: Carlist Organisation, 1833-40 

Infantry - Carlist Army of the North

* At the death of Zumalácarregui. 

** Said to be 24 battalions in the summer of 1837 - unlikely. 

Line battalions (Batallons de Linea) were numbered consecutively within the province.  Battalion size was 600 - 800; 850 for Guipúzcoan battalions.  The Line Battalions had 6 companies of Fusileros, and one each of Granaderos (right flank) and Cazadores (left flank).  The Guías had 6 companies of Cazadores, one each of Carabineros (right flank) and Tiradores (left flank).  The Granaderos del Ejército had 8 companies with no flank companies. 

Elite units

• 3^rd Navarra            Cited, along with Guías de Navarra, as the best in the army. 

• 6^th Navarra            Favoured by Zumalácarregui, but not notable otherwise. 

• 5^th Guipúzcoa  

• 6^th Guipúzcoa        Based on their performance at Oriamendi

• Granaderos del Ejército

• Guías de Navarra   Cited, along with 3^rd Navarra, as the best in the army. 

• Guías de Alava       no evidence for this, but seems reasonable

Cavalry - Carlist Army of the North

Aug 1834 (10 months into the war)

• 200 men in three weak squadrons (Cairns, 1995b)

24 Jun 1835: Death of Zumalacárregui (Cairns, 1995b)

• 4 Navarrese squadrons

• 1 Vizcayan squadron

End of 1836 (Cairns, 1995b)

• 1 Castillian regiment

• 4 Navarrese regiments with 4, 4, 2, 4 squadrons respectively

• Other squadrons being organised: 2 Navarrese, 1 Guipúzcoan, and some Aragonese. 

Early 1837 (Cairns, 1995b)

• 1500 men in 10 squadrons including the 120 man Alavese squadron 

At start of Royal expedition in the summer of 1837 (Cairns, 1995b)

• 9 Navarrese squadrons (probably 4 real Navarrese, 4 Castillian and 1 Alavese) 

• 2 Aragonese squadrons

• Esuadrón de La Legitimidad (probably a small unit) 

• 25 men of the Guard of Honour (Guardias de Honor) 

15 Jul 1837: Battle of Chiva, Royal expedition - 

• 4 Navarrese squadrons

• 4 Castillian squadrons

• 1 Alavese squadron

• 2 Aragonese squadrons

• 2 squadrons from Cabrera’s army

Mid 1838  (Cairns, 1995b)

• 426 men in four Navarrese squadrons

• 127 in the Alavese squadron (Húsares de Arlabán)

• 419 in a Guipúzcoan squadron (Seems very big for a “squadron”??) 

• 62 man general’s escort

4 Dec 1838:  Battle of  Carascal  (Cairns, 1995b)

• 12 squadrons

Artillery and Engineers - Carlist Army of the North 

24 Jun 1835: Death of Zumalacárregui (Cairns, 1995b)

• 2 gunner companies 

• 2 sapper companies

End 1835  (Cairns, 1995b)

• Battalion of 6 companies (two permanently in garrison) 

• 2  train companies 

• 1 sapper company 

• 1 arsenal worker company 

• 1 cadet company 

1837  (Cairns, 1995b)

• 2 gunner companies 

• 2 train companies 

• 40 guns 

Carlist Army of the North, 1 Feb 1935 

Probably from Duncan (1997, somewhere around p. 20-21): 

The Carlist force in Navarre was as follows: 

Carlist Army of the Centre

Alcalá (2006) gives the Army of the Centre: 

• Distinguished Troops 
  • The Ordenanzas of the General 
  • The Miñones 
  • A company of 100 Tiradores 
  • The escort company of the HQ
• Infantry 
  • Division of Tortosa 
    • Brigade of Mora 
    • Brigade of Tortosa 
  • Division of Aragon 
    • 10 Battalions 
  • Division of Valencia 
    • 7 Battalions 
  • Division of Turia or of Murcia 
    • 5 battalions 
• Cavalry 
  • 1st Lancers of Aragon 
  • 2nd Lancers of Aragon 
  • 1st Lancers of Valencia 
  • 1st Lancers del Cid
  • independent squadrons of La Mancha, Toledo and Cosacos del Tajo
  • Hussars of Ontoria 
• Artillery 
• Engineers 
• Marine Company 

In August 1839 Cabrera had 16,000 foot, 2,000 horse, and 108 guns. 

Royal Expedition, 20 May 1837

When the Royal Expedition crossed the river Ebro on 20 May it comprised (Alcalá, 2006; Cairns, 1994a, 1995b; Zumalakarregi Museum).  . 

• 11,000 Infantry in 16-18 battalions 

• 1,200 Cavalry in 3 regiments with 10-12 squadrons in total.  

• Some gunners with either zero or two guns (Chant, 1983), 

Don Sebastián had four divisions under his command (Alcalá, 2006): 

First Division (General Sanz) 

• Guias de Navarra (Oteiza)
• 9th (Siaz), 10th (Carmona), and 12th Navarra (Hermonsilla)

Second Division (General Sopelana)

• Guias de Alava (Roy)
• 3rd (Vasco), 4th (López Opacoa) and 5th Alava (Calahorra)

Third Division (Ignacio Alonso Cuevillas):

• 1st (Neguerula), 2nd (Linares), 3rd (Caño), and 4th Castilla (Pujol) 

Fourth Division (Brigadier Quilez)

• 1st (Baldaviu) and 2nd Aragon (Bart) 
• The Foreign Battalion (Sabatier) - the 450 ex-Argelinos from the French Foreign Legion

Cavalry (General Count del Prado) 

• Brigade (López Felpan)
• Brigade (Pascual Real y Reina)

According to Alcalá (2006) the Carlists squadrons were made up of: 

• 3 squadrons of 1st Lancers of Navarra (Colonel Lucas)
• 3 squadrons of 2nd Lancers of Navarra (Martinez Tenaquero) 
• 2 squadrons of 3rd Lancers of Navarra (Barbadillo)
• 3 squadrons of 4th Lancers of Navarra (Garcia Segova) 
• 2 squadrons of Lancers of Aragon (Colonel Añón)

Cairns (1995b) paints a different picture of the Carlist Cavalry contingent that started with the Royal Expedition: 

• 9 Navarrese squadrons (actually probably 4 Navarrese, 4 Castillian and 1 Alavese*) 

• 2 Aragonese squadrons

• Esuadrón de La Legitimidad (probably a small unit) 

• 25 men of the Guard of Honour (Guardias de Honor) 

* This breakdown is based on the order of battle given by Cairns (1995b) for the Battle of Chiva (15 Jul 1837): 

• 4 Navarrese squadrons

• 4 Castillian squadrons

• 1 Alavese squadron

• 2 Aragonese squadrons

• 2 squadrons from Cabrera’s army

When combined with the Army of the Centre the Royal Expedition had 16,000 foot and 2,000 horse (Cairns, 1994a). 

Sources

Alcalá, C (2006). 1^a Guerra Carlista [ Guerros y Batallas 31].  Madrid: Almena.  [Spanish]

Cairns, C. (1994a, Oct). A Savage and Romantic War: Spain 1833-1840. Part I: The Course of the First Carlist War. Wargames Illustrated, 85, 26- 32. 

Cairns, C. (1994b, Nov). A Savage and Romantic War: Spain 1833-1840. Part II: The Cristino forces. Wargames Illustrated, 86, 36-46. 

Cairns, C. (1995a, Feb). A Savage and Romantic War: Spain 1833-1840. Part 3a: The Carlist Army of the North (Infantry). Wargames Illustrated, 89, 20-25. 

Cairns, C. (1995b, Mar). A Savage and Romantic War: Spain 1833-1840. Part 3b: The Carlist Army of the North (Cavalry, Artillery, etc). Wargames Illustrated, 90, 32-37. 

Cairns, C. (1995c, Sep). A Savage and Romantic War: Spain 1833-1840. Part 4: The Carlist Army of the Centre. Wargames Illustrated, 96, 42-47. 

Cairns, C. (1995d, Dec). A Savage and Romantic War: Spain 1833-1840. Part 5: The Battle of Oriamendi. Wargames Illustrated, 99, 24-30. 

Notario, I. (2006, Nov-Dec).  The Origins of the First Carlist War.  Wargames: Soldiers and Strategy, 18, 24-29.  

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