"The Loyal Lusitanian Legion During the Peninsular War" Topic

"The Loyal Lusitanian Legion was part of the British Army. Though manned principally by Portuguese troops, there were also Germans and British soldiers among its ranks and, as one might expect, its commanding officer, Colonel Robert Thomas Wilson, was British. The creation of the unit was the initiative of two Portuguese army officers who were exiled after the domination and occupation of the Iberian peninsula by Napoleon's French Army. This light infantry regiment, with a battery of artillery attached was, of course, to fight the invading French during the Peninsular War. The ‘LLL' had a comparatively short existence, between 1808 and 1811, but it fought in both Portugal and Spain most notably in battles at Busaco and Talavera. However, battlefields were not the best places to employ troops of this kind and their services were best performed in conducting raids behind enemy lines in concert with guerrilla and other Portuguese and Spanish forces—the covert operations of the day. Upon disbandment ‘LLL' troops were transferred into Caçadore battalions of the Portuguese Army where they continued to be a highly valued and efficient part of Wellington's Army in the field."

See here
link

Amicalement
Armand

Nice find Cousin.

One of my favorite 'odd' units.

Happy for that my dear cousin!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

you could also look at google books, and this I recommend for Tango as well – before he thows recommandations without checking and get

A Narrative of the Accounts of the Loyal Lustinian Legion by William Mayne for free download.

Re: Hats

Belgic, Portuguese belgic, stovepipe or conical?

I've seen some people giving the LLL the Portuguese version of the belgic shako – a shako with a raised front. And although they were outfitted anew within the same year as the main army that were given Portugal's belgic-type; unlike the Portuguese army, the LLL were first raised in Britain under independent command and given uniforms of their own. What's more, we have versions of a special conical shako in museums – slightly narrower at the top than the British standard.

So which is it?

The conical shako was actually the first hat given by the Portuguese to their Caçadore light infantry in 1800, before the French-Spanish invasion. They later adopted Portugal's belgic-type in the 1808 re-organisation. What's more, since the LLL were designed to fight behind enemy lines, it's likely they were envisaged as a type of Caçadore unit by the Portuguese and certainly by the British, who gave them green uniforms like their own rifle regiments, including hussar-like frogging (in white cord) redolent of a specialised unit. The British also equipped a fifth of them with baker rifles.

To add to the confusion, the stovepipe Shako was standard headgear for all British infantry until 1812 or 1813.

The trouble is, figures made with either the Portuguese belgic-type or the conical shako are hard to come by and so one ends up having to choose compromise figures with either the belgic or stovepipe hats.

On balance, I believe the stovepipe is a better approximation to what they wore during their short but interesting existence.

Did they have cavalry?
TMP link

Article posted on "The Napoleon Series"
The Loyal Lusitanian Legion by Richard Tennant
Editor's Note: This article first appeared in First Empire Magazine #91 (November December 2006) and is used with the permission of the author. PDF link

A narrative of the campaigns of the Loyal Lusitanian legion, under Brigadier General Sir Robert Wilson …
Captain (John Scott) Lillie, supposed author.
William Mayne, editor
T. Egerton, London 1812
PDF link