Ramon de Murillo and the Texas Hussars

Ramon de Murillo was a citizen of New Spain.  In 1804, according to historian Jesus de la Teja, Murillo sent a letter to King Charles IV's foreign minister, Manuel de Godoy offering his analysis of Spain's frontier forces in New Spain.  Murillo claimed six years experience as a cadet at the desk of the Interior Provinces as well as service in several Indian campaigns.

De la Teja published his analysis of Murillo's letter as well as the letter itself on the web.  Those with an interest in Murillo's proposal to modernize frontier forces in the Spanish borderlands. Murillo was highly critical of the cuera horsemen, their armament, their dress and their appearance.   The lance was too easily broken, though the shield was still valuable because it protected the horse and rider from Indian arrows.  The leather jacket, literally the cuera, was unsightly and too long.

Murillo, clearly influenced by Napoleonic military fashion proposed troop types to supplant or at least bolster the cuera militia.  First he recommended the cuera reduce their leather vest from thigh length to waist length. Murillo also suggested a reorganization of the presidial units defending the Spanish frontier.

Murillo's cuera with shortened leather jacket and leather leggings.  For all his complaints, the lance  is retained.

Finally, Murillo offered two new troop types to supplant or complement the existing militia units defending the borderlands.  First he suggested the cuera companies be replaced by a chasseur unit.  Though I am unable to provide a picture of this unit, it is it is depicted in Murilla's own watercolor on pg. 507 of the Teja article. These were to be deployed in "flying companies."  However the jewel of Murilla's reorg was to be, what he described as the heavy cavalry unit, the Texas Hussars or Usares de Tejas. I've provided several pictures of the Texas Hussars from a variety of sources, including the Murillo watercolor.

54mm figure of a mounted Texas Hussar.  The base colors are in agreement with the images that follow.  Red or scarlet Dolman with light blue pelisse and light blue trouser.  Sword and shield are deployed with carbine present.

The shield is round, unlike other depictions in modern modeling examples.  They have more of the "apple" or heart shaped shield similar to the genitor light horse of the middle ages.

I am presently working on the Texas Hussar, using the Perry French Hussars.  I'll provide you more of a play by play of their painting as they near completion.  Suffice it to say I like these miniatures very much.

Murillo's own watercolor of the Texas hussars, very similar to the example above and those that follow. 

The Texas Hussar found on a Spanish web forum.  The blue is darker, the pelisse fur is black and the "wing" of the mirliton shako is red. 

Another miniaturist's version of the Texas Hussar. 

It is unclear whether the Texas Hussars ever took the field.  Some sources say they served from 1803-05, but that would be a year before Murillo's letter to Godoy.  They are, to say the least beautifully uniformed and accoutered. However, as Teja points out, under-resourced, it is likely they would have devolved into a condition similar to the cuera: practical uniforms with practical equipage and armament according to their need.

My Mississippi Project: Defending the Spanish Border

In 1783 the United States and Spain were allies, two of the signatories of the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution.  The United States won its independence and  the vast lands west of the Appalachians to the Mississippi River.  If they could wrest them from their Indian inhabitants.  Spain won the Floridas from Britain, together with its port of Pensacola.  If they could stave off their weak but potentially dynamic young ally.

The Louisiana Regiment was  one of the few regular Spanish formations in North America.

Fast forward 15 years. By 1797 thousands of settlers poured over the Appalachians into Kentucky and Tennessee.  The American army, through stumbles and disasters, conquered a peace with the Indians.  Productive farms in the Ohio valley, unable to get their goods over the Appalachians sent it by flatboat to the Mississippi and from there to New Orleans, where it was sold or trans-shipped to the Atlantic coast or Europe.   Or not.

The stumbling block was Spain.  The Spanish controlled New Orleans, the Floridas and Mexico.  They were determined to keep the Americans, rapidly expanding west, out of Spanish territory.  To do that they established military posts on the west side of the Mississippi, established posts at Natchez and Chickasaw Bluffs on the east side of the Mississippi (against the terms of the Treaty of Paris) and made peace overtures to the powerful Chickasaw and Choctaw Indians in the Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama regions. They put oared gondolas on the Great River with orders to inspect and obstruct traffic headed to New Orleans.

Chickasaw warrior.  The Spanish made alliance with many native tribes to deter invasion by the Americans.

The Spanish empire bordering American territory was enormous.  To garrison it, the Spanish depended on a few European troops augmented by colonial militias.  The system of presidios, or military posts, was systematized in New Spain by the 1770's as was the number of cuera or presidial militia.  These soldiers were intended largely to defend the frontier from Louisiana to New Mexico, chiefly against Apache and Comanche indian attacks.  Armed with the escopeta, a short musket or shotgun, sword, lance and shield, they were deemed to be effective against clubs, lances and arrows wielded by indigenous warriors. Their clothing featured a knee length leather vest, heavy enough to turn aside many of these weapons, much like the buff coats worn by Cromwell's Ironsides. As more of the indians were armed with trade muskets from English traders, they posed a greater challenge for the cuera.

In order to maximize their troop strength to deal wit a potential American conflict the Spanish made alliances with various Indian tribes.  In order to preserve approaches to New Orleans, the Spanish enlisted the aid of Chickasaw warriors.  To the west, the Spanish were on friendly terms with the Comanches, and included some of their number in the expedition to intercept Lewis and Clark.

Traditional Cuera soldier that served in the Spanish borderlands.  This  illustration  shows  the subject with lance, shield and musket.  He is equipped with a thigh-length leather jacket. 

My Mississippi Project: American Service Dress 1792-1807

My Mississippi Project took a brief detour as I took a couple of weeks to work on figures for an upcoming Martian game. Before my trip to Mars however, I painted the fifteen unpainted Wayne's Legion figures I still had hanging around.  For some reason, I thought I had more, but no such luck.  I looked everywhere and dope-slapped myself when I realized I'd painted some of them for War of 1812 Virginia militia.  Doh!

Old Glory Wayne's Legion Line skirmishing.  Quite serviceable figures though the necks often seem a bit too long.  Posing with muskets is also a bit dicey.

A few of these figures sport the blue wool winter service trousers.  They would serve well as American infantry from 1792-1810

One might wonder why the heck Virginia militia would be dressed similar to Wayne's Legion, whose uniforms were designed in 1792.  The fact of the matter is that American uniforms changed very little from the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794 up until the eve of that other great Indian fight nobody knows anything about, the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.

Though the uniform went through several permutations, the uniform of the period was adopted with Congressional authorization of the Legion of the United States in 1792. Built on the wreckage of the army butchered at the Battle of the Wabash, the Legion was composed of four sub-units, each of 1,280 composed of dragoons, artillery, light infantry, and line troops.  Wearing a distinctive round hat with bearskin crest, each of the four sub-legions wore red facings, but distinctive markings-a colored hat band and plume.

1792 Regulation Uniforms.  Note the colored plume and hat band of the sub-legion.  They would be gone with the passing of the Legion.  Note the knee length coat. Charles McBarron illustration

After the victory at Fallen Timbers in 1794 and the triumphant Treaty of Greenville in 1795, Congress downsized the army and eliminated the Legion, reducing the army from 5,120 to 3,000 troops, discarding the light troops and forming the remainder into four regiments.  These regiments dressed alike with red facing and those troops wearing white bearskin crests changed to dark crests.

Though the uniform went through the minor changes, such as the addition or subtraction of lace here and there, and the lengthening and shortening of uniform coats allowing turnbacks or not, the United States infantry changed its dress very little.  The round hat with bearskin crest became the standard headdress for infantry and artillery, with the cavalry wearing a Tarleton helmet.

Later dress.  The infantryman wears blue trousers as part of his winter dress.  The green dragoon uniform is evident.  From MAA 352 by James Kochan and David Rickman.

There was one major  change during this time and that was for dragoons.  In 1799 they adopted green uniforms, mostly through the work of a contractor waiting on authorization from the War Department.  In 1801, the dragoons were unhorsed and became foot soldiers unless mounted troops were required.  A cost saving measure.  In 1808 the dragoons received another new uniform, this time blue with white trim and a helmet similar to those worn in the War of 1812.

In 1810, with the country preparing for war, the infantry received altogether new uniforms, one familiar to War of 1812 buffs.  They would see use in the victory at Tippecanoe and the embarrassment of Queenston Heights.