"Spanish colours again" Topic

When Spain ordered, in May of 1812, that the infantry regiments were to consist of one battalion each. I assume that they would carry both the Coronela and Ordenanza?

If they had new flags then it would be a combined Coronela and Ordenanza as can be seen in our book. Only one flag was carried by this period.
Stephen

Which book would that be?

Hi Major
There were different designs combining the features of Coronela & Sencilla (Royal coat of arms with cross of Burgundy), often supported by lions each side. This was the style of the flags carried by Guards battalions other than the first (which had weird flags) – and so it's also a kind of 'inflation' as well as a consolidation down to one flag.
I have two or three examples I could mail you if you mail me on bjnorth (at) eurocentres.com

Would that be similar to the surviving 1814-15 flag of the Provincial Militia Regiment Cuidad Rodrigo?

From Alfons website ""LA ASTURIAS GUERRERA " por Jose Mº BUENO. – Una colaboración de Jose Domingo Ramirez Garcia.

Bandera "Batallona " del Rgto. Castropol, 1814.

Abanderado del Rgto. de Cangas de Tineo. 1813

Very nice Prince.
Major, I have (from where I know not):

- Princesa 1810?
- Badajoz
- Barcelona 1810
- Provincial Ciudad Rodrigo (that you mention)
- unidentified (in this style)
+ 2 that are photos of actual flags of this style
I'm afraid I do not have a weblink to post them with.

With regard to Castropol here above carrying a sencilla, it is a sencilla of Malaga regiment. There is a particular strange story behind that connected with a D. José María Navia-Osorio, D. Gregorio Piquero-Argüelles, who was colonel of Malaga (and maybe of Castropol) and who appently gavr it to them in 1812 because they didn't have a flag (Source: the Asturian wesite menetioned).

Actually, it was not so uncommon for new regiments to carry a sencilla of an existing provincial or regular regiment. When the Spanishreduced from 2 to 1 flag per battalion (1788??????), the surplus flags were sometimes put in local churches, and new regiments apparently sometimes took them. One of the new Asturian regiments carried the sencilla from the Provincial Oviedo – but I can't remember which one.

On the uniforms above, Cangas de Tineo got that one, (sent to Malaga to get it) in summer 1813 (July I think) because their (1809??) uniform was utterly in tatters – not surprising if it was from 1809 – hard to swallow. Castropol's uniform evolution is well documented (in Chartrand: Osprey) as I am sure you know.

Last comment: Shakoes
I'm very sceptical about the Spanish ever having worn stove pipe shakoes. Never come across any evidence for it. It is conjecture by Bueno that one now finds everywhere.
Exceptions: Muerte 1808 (PoWs from Buenos Aires repatriated to Galica, dressed much as KGL lights); Tiradores de Doyle (British colonel – contemporary watercolour in Reynolds manuscript at V&A Museum library); Cazadores of Majorca (1812-13, dressed as 95th Woollacombe's diary)
All 3 above had close ties to British army.

Stephen (Summerfield)
As Major S asks, which book are you talking about. Ordered the cavalry one (loved the infantry one).

Is this a third book on the later period??? Hope so!