"Wellington's Mysterious Mounted Guides" Topic

Wellington's Mysterious Mounted Guides

They seem like an interesting bunch to begin a game with. Not exactly special forces, but nonetheless spying the countryside behind enemy lines, inciting guerillas, translating for officers, carrying dispatches the French would love to get their mits on, liaising with villainous guerrillas, chatting up the village girls and even getting involved in a major battle.

Try as I might, direct information on how the troopers' uniforms changed over the campaign is ambiguous and hard to come by. Does anyone have a better direct source? Trouble is, they weren't on the Army lists of either the British or Portuguese armies, but were a creation of Quartermaster General Murray's, in theatre ; a product of the Anglo-Portuguese Army.

Failing a better source, we have to apply reasoning to these sources:

1854 Army Memorandum used by Mark Urban (U.S.I.?).

Francis Larpent (Provost).

The Scovell Papers.

The reasoning bit needs some history. So,

9/1808 The Corps of Guides was raised ad hoc as part of Moore's headquarters staff and then served with the various brigades. They eventually included famous exploring officers like Colquhoun Grant who penetrated deep in enemy territory and Andrew Leith-Hay, who helped organise guerrillas. These Staff officers could wear their regimental uniforms or blue frock-coats. Some preferred native dress, like John Grant. Troopers, whose horses were of unknown quality, were composed of "a few dozen" Portuguese, Spanish, plus Italians and even a French deserter. They acted as orderlies, guides, carrying messages, doing reconnaissance and gathering information from locals and for map-making. They were the direct responsibility of Capt. George Scovell, the cipher expert whose dream was to command a troop of light cavalry. Reasoning tells me a uniform would have been composed, initially, of what they could get hold of. This may have been just infantry or blue light cavalry trooper jackets from the divisions they were attached to, with either stovepipe shakos or tarleton helmets.

Scovell, their leader, was a captain by virtue of his commission in the 57th Foot and he retained that uniform:

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Pure reasoning, no special knowledge, but I'd be a little surprised if officers on deep recon were wearing a uniform, unless it was under some sort of native costume. (I've run into that routine in a number of wars. It might keep them from being shot as spies if they could shed the native costume quickly enough.)

Couriers and guides not British officers and actually with British columns, though, would need uniforms to keep from having trouble with the British--and to cadge rations. If I had to make up something at a guess, I'd go for a red coat, probably without coat-tails--distinctively British and relatively easy to obtain--and a "Tarleton" helmet. Again, locally available, and Wellington himself mentioned it as a way to identify his horsemen from a distance. (There would be some less distinctive outer garment and a wide-brimmed hat in the saddle bags, just in case they had to scout ahead.)