28mm 1st Carlist War-Carlists: 5th Guipuzcoan aka Chapelzuris (white hats)

Again a hotch-potch of uniforms as I think the Carlist might well have looked. This time a famous unit the Chapelzuris whose most noteable encounter was at the Battle of Oriamendi where the British Legion was defeated.

 

28mm 1st Carlist War-Carlists: 4th Guipuzcoan

 

This unit has the same uniform as the 1^st but I have given them white trousers, summer wear, to distinguish them from their colleagues. As for the missing 3^rd, I have no information about them.

Note the inclusion of a monk with a blunderbuss.

28mm 1st Carlist War-Carlists: 2nd Guipuzcoan

This is the 2nd Guipuzcoan with a variety of uniforms and civilian clothes plus the blue boina or beret. It's worth noting that the cleric is showing his political allegiance by wearing the boina as well as holding a pistol in his right hand. I really like the mix of clothing.

 

28mm 1st Carlist War-Carlists: 1st Guipuzcoan

 

Here is the first of four battalions for this brigade. They wear the frockcoat and red boina although I have mixed them up with civilian type dress for variety. I have given them a cleric too for added fervour! I plan to do the 1st (red boina), 2nd (blue boina), 4th (red boina) and 5th (white boina).

Eighteen figures in the battalion plus 3 skirmishers. I think that Carlist battalions were likely to be larger than Liberal ones so I may well add an extra 6 figures in due course. My Liberal battalions will be 20 figures strong and 2 skirmishers.

28mm 1st Carlist War-Carlists: 2 x 3pdrs Mountain guns.

 

This represents a small 2 gun battery as might have been attached to a Carlist Infantry brigade. These guns were carried on the backs of mules to get them over the mountains quickly. The Carlists were very short of artillery at the start of the war but, as it progressed, they managed to make their own, capture others from the Liberals as well as smuggle pieces over the porus Pyrenean border.

I have painted the mule as per the attached illustration. I also attach a very atmospheric picture I took off the web which looks like it might be of re-enactors. But I have no idea of where or when this photograph was taken. I have used the gun colour shown to paint mine a pale blue-grey.

Next up will be Guipuzcoan infantry.

28mm 1st Carlist War-Carlists: Guipuzcoan Lancers

 

The last Carlist post on my blog was back in 2018 and I showed two infantry units. But I was never totally happy with them and I sold them. With this post I return to the subject and there will be a number of new units over the following weeks as I aim to assemble my first Carlist Guipuzcoan brigade which will have 4 battalions of infantry, one cavalry regiment (here) and a single mountain battery.

Looking at various sources, the Guipuzcoan lancers appear to have had two uniforms. The Perry website shows this uniform with a green coat while another source shows a red coat. For the purposes of variety I have gone for the green.

1st Carlist War: 2nd Guipuzcoan

This is my best shot at the colour Garance which seems to have been very popular in the 19^th century, especially in Spain and France.

Although Perry make a number of less “uniform” chaps, I am making this first brigade (the Guipuzcoans) as close to regular looking as possible. The Navarrese, the second brigade, will be much more irregular looking. I will shortly have bought all the figures for this brigade (4 battalions, 2 squadrons, one battery and one general) so progress is being made, if slowly.

In the bottom picture you can see the difference between the two shades of red.

1st Carlist War: 1st Guipuzcoan

Now that I have sold my ACW armies (some lots still remain on eBay see https://www.ebay.com/itm/112849660134?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649


that means I have no 19th century armies and so I thought I would start a new period.

I have long been interested in the 1st Carlist War since the Perry brothers made their range and published the uniform guide.

This is why:


1) great figures from the Perrys

2) Fancy uniforms

3) Small armies

4) I live close to the Basque area

5) Nice International angle as there are French, British and Portuguese legions serving on the Government side (Isabelinos)


Had I lived at the time I would probably be aligned politically with the so-called Liberal side (the Isabelinos) but culturally I sympathise with the Carlists.

Here is the first painted unit – the first Basque Guipuzcoan battalion of four planned. The Carlists of the Northern army were recruited from the countryside (the cities and towns largely remained pro-Government) and must have been incredibly fit as their marching prowess was noted by many commentators. On one occasion a unit was known to have marched 60 miles in one day which is quite incredible as most of the countryside of Northern Spain is mountainous.

The Carlist main headwear was the beret or boina or txapela which could be in a wide choice of colours but were probably one colour in a battalion. The first I show here has red but the second I will paint shortly will have blue. They wear the winter colour trousers which were red, white being used in the summer. The colour should be garance (a particularly dark red much in fashion in the 19th century around Europe) but I am not sure mine is quite dark enough.

Figures are from the Perry brothers and the flag is from Adolfo Ramos.