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Painting Guide for Cristino Cavalry, 1833-40

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Line Cavalry 

Both Line and Light Cavalry changed their uniform in 1835, including converting to lancers (Cairns,1994b).   

Item 

1824-34

1835-40 

Weapon 

Sword and Carbine

Lance 
Red over Yellow pennon

Helmet Body

Black at bottom including visor. 
Steal top. 

Black visor and top.  
Steal band at bottom. 

Helmet Comb 

Brass
Helmet Cord Yellow
Helmet Horsehair Black
Helmet Plume Red -

Jacket 

Turquí *

Yellow *

Jacket collar & cuffs 

Red

Blue 

Jacket facing & pipings 

Red

Blue 

Jacket shoulder adornments 

Brass shoulder plates 

Overalls 

Turquí 

Grey 

Gloves White -
Boots Black

Equipment 

White with Brass fittings 

Other metal 

White 

Cloak 

Grey 

Horse furniture 

Turquí edge white

Sky blue edged yellow 

Sheepskin 

White

Trumpeters 

Wore red jackets 

* Based on the illustrations below I have a suspicion that 1st Rey wore a red jacket throughout the period. 

1824-34 Uniform

Cairns (1994b) Fig. 9 

1824-34 Uniform

The original uniform was Turquí. 

 

1824-34 Uniform
3rd Principe 

 

1835-40 Uniform 

Cairns (1994b) Fig. 11.  The 1835 change brought a new uniform and new helmet,  

1835-40 Uniform 

 It also brought a new weapon - the lance with Red over Yellow pennon.  

1835-40 Uniform 
2nd Reina 
1835-40 Uniform 

This guy looks like he has light blue trousers, but the other illustrations show the trousers in grey, which agrees with Cairns (1994b).

1835-40 Uniform

The helmet looks more that of the Guard Cazadores, as the horsehair forms a crest rising over the top rather than falling away behind.  

 

1st Rey 1815 1st Rey 1824-29 1st Rey 1844
These pictures are all of the 1st (Rey) Line Cavalry regiment, but all from outside our period.  There is something interesting about them though: 1. they are consistent, despite being both before and after our period; 2. The regiment is obviously a cuirassier unit; 3. the uniform is different to that worn by other line regiments, in that they are wearing a red jacket.  I have a suspicion 1st Rey would have been the same during our period.  

Light Cavalry (except Húsares de la Princesa) 

Both Line and Light Cavalry changed their uniform in 1835, including converting to lancers (Cairns,1994b).  

Item 

1824-34

1835-40

Weapon 

Sword and Carbine

Lance
Red over Yellow pennon

Shako

Black edged White with red plume

Black edged White, with mid green pompom 

Jacket 

Mid Blue 

Mid Green 

Jacket collar & cuffs 

Red 

Mid green 

Jacket facing & pipings 

Red 

Yellow 

Jacket shoulder adornments 

Brass shoulder plates 

Overalls 

Mid Blue

Red 

Equipment 

White with Brass fittings 

Other metal 

White 

Cloak 

Grey 

Pennon 

-

Red over yellow 

Horse furniture 

Sky blue edged red

Green edged yellow 

Sheepskin 

Black edged red  

Trumpeters 

Wore red jackets 

 

1824-34 Uniform

Cairns (1994b) Fig. 8. 

 

1824-34 Uniform
Regiment of Santiago 

This regiment didn't last to the First Carlist War, but the uniform did.  Cairns has the blue of uniform slightly brighter than the blue-grey shown here. 

1824-34 Uniform 

Cairns (1994b) has the jacket and overalls in the same shade (that of the jacket in this case), but this picture has the overalls in Turquí. 

1835-40 Uniform

Cairns (1994b) Fig. 10.  In 1835 the uniform changed completely, moving to a mid-green and red combination.

1835-40 Uniform

 

1835-40 Uniform

The Light Cavalry also converted to lancers at the same time.  

1835-40 Uniform

Given the Carbine this guy is obviously from the Tiradores company of the regiment rather than a lancer company.


Princess Hussars (Húsares de la Princesa)

The Princess Hussars (Húsares de la Princesa) had a different uniform to the other Light Cavalry, and this also changed during the course of the war (Cairns, 1994b)The hussar uniform started out with a sky-blue jacket, was replaced in 1838 by red lancer coatees (ex-British?) and czapskas, then reverting to sky-blue jackets again in 1839.  I'm guess the 1833 and 1839 uniforms were essentially the same.  

Item 

1833-34

1835-37

1838 1839-40

Weapon 

Sword and Carbine

Lance
Red, yellow, red pennon

Lance
Red, yellow, red pennon

Lance
Red, yellow, red pennon

Head gear - style 

Shako 

Czapskas Wide-topped Shako 

Head gear - colour 

White with blue plume

Unknown, but probably black with a red stop like the Guard Lancers Unknown, but probably white like the first Shako

Jacket 

Sky blue dolman edged white 

White pelisse with black fur, yellow lace, 

A red and yellow barrel sash

Red lancer coatees faced white  Sky-blue jackets, faced white

The White pelisse was still in use in 1859, so was probably readopted in this period. 

Overalls 

Sky blue with yellow stripe 

Unknown 

Sky blue with yellow stripe 

Equipment 

White with Brass fittings 

Unknown 

White with Brass fittings 

Other metal 

White 

Unknown 

White 

Cloak 

White 

Unknown 

White 

Horse furniture 

Sky blue edged yellow 

Unknown 

Sky blue edged yellow 

Sheepskin 

None 

Unknown 

None 

Trumpeters 

Reversed colours.  Dolman = White. Pelisse = Sky Blue. Red lace.  

Sky blue shakos 

Unknown 

Reversed colours.  Dolman = White. Pelisse = Sky Blue. Red lace.  

Sky blue shakos 

Note

  • The dolman was a jacket worn tight to the body. 
  • The fur-edged pelisse was worn either slung over the left shoulder (historically to protect the bridle arm) in full dress, or worn over, or instead of, the dolman on campaign
1833-37 Uniform

He is wearing the white pelisse as a jacket. 

 

1833-37 Uniform

He is wearing the sky blue dolman, with the white pelisse hanging loose at the shoulder. 

1833-37 Uniform

Also showing dolman and pelisse. 

1833-37 Uniform 
Trumpeter

Notice that the colours of the dolman and pelisse are reversed, and he has a blue shako. 


Guard Cavalry 

Cairns (1994b) says the Guard uniforms were quite complicated and doesn't describe them in much detail. 

Item 

Coraceros

Granaderos 

Lanceros 

Cazadores 

Weapon 

Sword  

Sword 

Lance 
Red over White pennon

Carbine 

Head gear - style 

Cairns (1994b) says Helmet as pre-1835 Line Cavalry, i.e. black at bottom including visor.  Steal Top. Brass Comb. Yellow Cord. Black horsehair falling away. Red Plume.

The illustration had the horsehair rising over the top and a white plume.  

Black Bearskin 

Illustrations add a white plume. 

Czapska 

Red top with White metal (??) 

To 1834: Tall iron helmet with brass fittings and a high brass comb carrying a horsehair tail

From 1835: Black Shako with a white top band and plume, yellow cords and white cap-lines. 

Jacket 

Turquí 

Jacket collar & cuffs 

Red with white lace 

Red 

Jacket facing & pipings 

Red  

Jacket shoulder adornments 

White epaulettes 

Overalls 

Cairns (1994b) says Deep Red (Garance) for all. 
Illustrations show red, white, Turquí and light blue but these colours may not have been used on campaign.  Cairns, for example, gives the Grenadier foot guards white trousers for the dress uniform but red on campaign.  

Boots

Black

Equipment 

White with Brass fittings 

Other metal 

White 

Cloak 

Turquí, lined red with red collar 

Horse furniture 

Turquí edged white 

Sheepskin 

Black edged red 

White edged red 

Black edged red 

White edged red 

Trumpeters 

I know know, but probably had the Turquí and red of the jacket reversed.  

The illustrations look like Dress Uniforms, but in the absence of something else they are indicative:  

Coraceros, 1824

Cairns (1994b) says the overalls were Deep Red (Garance) but as you can see this guy has white.   

Granaderos a Caballo, 1824 

Same issue about white overalls.  

Granaderos a Caballo, 1831 

Same white overalls.  Also this guy doesn't appear to have a sheepskin saddle cover. 

Cazadores, 1830
1824-34 Uniform

NYPL says he's a guardsman of 1830.  The uniform matches the description of Cazadores in the early period, although the trousers are Turqui here rather than Deep Red (Garance) as Cairns (1994b) suggests.  Also no sheepskin saddle cover.  

 

Cazadores, 1824
1824-34 Uniform 

Ditto, although 1824.   He is in Full Dress.   

 

Cazadores, 1824
1824-34 Uniform

Ditto.  He is in walking out dress.  

Cazadores, 1834
1835-40 Uniform 

NYPL describes this guy as Light Cavalry (Caballo Ligero) of the Guard. He is almost certainly a Cazador, now in the later uniform.  He differs from Cairns (1994b) in having light blue overalls and plume, and no sheepskin saddle cover. 

Cazadores, 1824 ??
1835-40 Uniform

NYPLA calls him a Cazador of 1824, but this guy actually exactly matches the 1835 uniform (Cairns, 1994b), including correct overalls, sheepskin, shako and plume.  

Lanceros, 1824  

Unusually this guy matches Cairns (1994b) exactly - even has the red overalls.  .  Notice the Red over White pennon, which differed from that of the line. 

 


Sources

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

New York Public Library (NYPL): The Vinkhuijzen collection of military uniforms

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