Auxiliary Legion
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The British Auxiliary Legion, also called the British Legion (''La Legión Británica'') or Westminster Legion, existed from 1835 to 1837. It was a British military force sent to
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
to support the Liberals and Queen
Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...
against the
Carlists Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty – one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855) – ...
in the
First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...
.


History

Under the
Quadruple Alliance Quadruple Alliance may refer to: * The October 1673 alliance between the Dutch Republic, Emperor Leopold, Spain, and Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, during the Franco-Dutch War. * The 1718 alliance between Austria, France, the Netherlands, and Great ...
, Great Britain had controlled maritime traffic along the
Cantabria Cantabria (, also , , Cantabrian: ) is an autonomous community in northern Spain with Santander as its capital city. It is called a ''comunidad histórica'', a historic community, in its current Statute of Autonomy. It is bordered on the east ...
n coast since the beginning of the war. In 1835 the war was not going well for the Liberal side and they asked their allies to become more involved in the war. The French sent their Foreign Legion which landed at
Tarragona Tarragona (, ; Phoenician: ''Tarqon''; la, Tarraco) is a port city located in northeast Spain on the Costa Daurada by the Mediterranean Sea. Founded before the fifth century BC, it is the capital of the Province of Tarragona, and part of Tar ...
on 17 August with around 4,000 men and was renamed the
Spanish Legion For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the Foreign Regiments () - such as the Regiment of Hibernia (formed in 1709 from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of the Flight of the Earls and the penal ...
. Although the British refused to send troops directly, in June 1835, they decided to form a military volunteer corps, and that became designated an auxiliary to the Spanish Legion. The corps was to be funded and their soldiers paid by the Spanish crown. By the end of the summer of 1836 a force of 10,000 men under the command of
De Lacy Evans General Sir George de Lacy Evans (7 October 1787 – 9 January 1870) was a British Army general who served in four wars in which the United Kingdom's troops took part in the 19th century. He was later a long-serving Member of Parliament. Life ...
had assembled in San Sebastian ( Basque Country). They fought near Hernani and
Vitoria Vitoria or Vitória may refer to : People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Steven Vitória (b ...
, but were pushed back and had to hold the fort on Mount Urgull de San Sebastian, to prevent the Carlists from taking the city. In November 1836 they were put under the command of
Baldomero Espartero Baldomero Fernández-Espartero y Álvarez de Toro (27 February 17938 January 1879) was a Spanish marshal and statesman. He served as the Regent of the Realm, three times as Prime Minister and briefly as President of the Congress of Deputies. ...
and helped to lift the siege of
Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...
. In 1837 the Legion suffered a serious defeat in the
Battle of Oriamendi The Battle of Oriamendi (Basque: ''Oriamendiko Gudua'') was a battle fought on 16 March 1837 during the First Carlist War. The battle was an overwhelming victory for the Carlists. Prelude The battle was part of a campaign in spring 1837 when ...
, but later they led a successful offensive on the Carlist rearguard along the
Biscay Biscay (; eu, Bizkaia ; es, Vizcaya ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilbao. B ...
coast, launched in response to the ''Expedición Real'', an attempt by the Carlists main force to march on
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. In the course of the offensive, Legion and Spanish loyalist forces managed to take over
Irun Irun ( es, Irún, eu, Irun) is a town of the Bidasoaldea region in the province of Gipuzkoa in the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. History It lies on the foundations of the ancient Oiasso, cited as ...
. The volunteers had signed on for a tour of two years and by July 1837 most of the men had returned home. The transport carried some 520 men to Greenock. The transport carried 200 to Portsmouth. Some 1,500–1,700 men remained under the name of New Legion, commanded by
Brigadier-General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Maurice O'Connell. Their casualties were so heavy, especially during their defeat at the
battle of Andoain The Battle of Andoain (Basque: ''Andoaingo Gudua'') was a battle fought on 14 September 1837, during the First Carlist War in northern Spain. The action took place in Andoain, south of the main Liberal stronghold of San Sebastián. Liberal troop ...
on 14 September, that in practical terms the new unit ceased to exist as an operational force after this action. ''Prince regent'' carried some 600 men to Cork and Greenock. The New Legion was formally disbanded on 10 December 1837. In total a quarter of the force – some 2,500 men – died, only half of them in combat. Their presence had not been well received by the Carlists; one former soldier wrote
"To our foes, we of the British Legion were the most odious of all; strangers, mercenaries, heretics, scoffers, polluters of their sacred soil; so they did term us. For us there was no quarter; in the heat of battle, or by cold judicial form, it was all the same: to fall into their hands was certainly a tortured death."


Organization

It would appear that most of the 9,600 men forming the Legion were volunteers from
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
line regiments. The only "regular" troops who served in the war were men of the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
,
Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
,
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
, and
Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
. Recruiting and training began in 1835. The Legion was to comprise 8,500 infantry (in 10 battalions), 550 rifles, 700 cavalry and 300 artillery.


Units


Legion Units

* Cavalry – Consisted of two Regiments: ** 1st Reina Isabel Lancers – English ** 2nd Queen's Own Irish Lancers – Irish * Infantry – Consisted of ten battalions organised into "English", "Scottish" and "Irish" brigades. All foot units were single Battalion Regiments with six Battalion/Centre companies, one Light Company, and one Grenadier Company. ** 1st English Battalion ** 2nd English Battalion ** 3rd Westminster Grenadiers – English ** 4th Queen's Own Fusiliers – English ** 5th Scotch – Scottish ** 6th Scotch Grenadiers – Scottish ** 7th Irish Light Infantry – Irish ** 8th Highlanders – Scottish ** 9th Irish Grenadiers – Irish ** 10th Munster Light Infantry – Irish Note - the 7th "the Irish Light Infantry", 9th Battalion, the Irish Grenadiers and 10th battalion, Munster Light Infantry, were brigaded together under Brigadier-General Charles Shaw, a veteran of 1815 and the
Portuguese Civil War The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War (), the War of the Two Brothers () or Miguelite War (), was a war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 1 ...
. The brigade quickly won a reputation for being one of the toughest units of the Legion. * Light Infantry – The Rifle Brigade, British Auxiliary Legion * Artillery – English * Corps of Sappers and Miners – multiethnic * Hospital Transport Corps – multiethnic


British regulars attached to the Legion

On occasion some regular British troops were attached to the Legion, including: *
Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...
– 400 men Duncan, 1997 **
Royal Marine Artillery The history of the Royal Marines began on 28 October 1664 with the formation of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot soon becoming known as the Admiral's Regiment. During the War of the Spanish Succession the most historic achi ...
*
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
* The
Chapelgorris Chapelgorris (; eu, txapelgorri, "Red Caps"), also called Peseteros, were a type of volunteer unit during the First Carlist War, raised at the beginning of the war in the province of Guipúzcoa. They fought against the Carlists. A soldier of th ...
, a Cristino volunteer unit, was attached to the Legion from 1836. The first British Marines under Lord John Hay (the British Commodore) landed to garrison
Portugalete Portugalete is a town lying to the west of Bilbao in the province of Biscay in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, northern Spain. The town has 45,766 inhabitants (2019 census) and is part of Bilbao's metropolitan area. It is located a ...
in Apr 1836. In May the Royal Marines were expanded to a full battalion under Major Owen. Small detachments of Royal Marine Artillery, Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers were subsequently added. In November 1836, 39 officers and men of the British Royal Artillery joined the Naval force supporting the British Auxiliary Legion. 60 additional men arrived in Jan 1837. There were also 100 men of the Royal Marine Artillery. Cairns says all British Artillery used 9-pounder smoothbore field pieces and 5 1/2” howitzers, along with a few
Congreve rocket The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve in 1808. The design was based upon the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the East India Company during the Second, Third, an ...
launchers and light mountain pieces. Somerville (1995), however, gives the British Auxiliary Legion 6-pounders and short 12-pounders (presumably howitzers) and the Royal Artillery larger pieces including large howitzers. Legion artillery organisation: British Royal and Marine Artillery: * 1 x Field Battery: 2 x light 6-pounders and 2 x 12-pounder howitzers in total; wagons drawn by mules * 1 x Mountain Battery (Royal Artillery): 4 x 12-pounder mountain howitzers; some 12-pounder rockets; mules * 1 x Royal Artillery Rocket detachment * 1 x Reserve Artillery: 2 x 18-pounder guns British Auxiliary Legion Artillery * 1 x Field Battery with two light 6-pounders and two 12-pounder howitzers in total Spanish artillery: * 1 x Mountain Battery with 4 guns


British Auxiliary Brigade (1838–39)

After the withdrawal of the British-commanded Auxiliary Legion and New Legion in 1837, a smaller 400-men unit of British volunteers was established in March 1838 within the ranks of the Spanish army. The battalion was led by Irish-born Spanish Colonel Federico Ricardo Lasaussaye and designed ''Brigada Auxiliar Británica'' ("British Auxiliary Brigade"). Early into its existence, the Brigade was struck by a fever outbreak, which left one soldier dead and 30 hospitalised. The Brigade was made of the remainders of Reina Isabel Lancers and the Legion's field battery. The unit, specially its cavalry component, was part of the Spanish forces that captured the Carlist stronghold of Barasoain, and successfully engaged the Carlist cavalry at Sesma.


See also

* Foreign legion *
Foreign volunteers The armed forces of many nations have, at one time or another, used foreign volunteers who are motivated by political, ideological or other considerations to join a foreign army. These may be formed into units of a given nationality or may be fo ...


References

{{Reflist, 2


Bibliography

* Brett, Edward M. The British Auxiliary Legion in the First Carlist War 1835-1838: A Forgotten Army. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2005. * Bullen, Roger and Strong, Felicity (Eds.). Prime Minister Papers Series I. Palmerston: Private Correspondence with Sir George Villiers (afterwards 4th Earl of Clarendon) as Minister to Spain 1833–1837. London: Royal Commission of Historical Manuscripts, HMSO, 1985. * Cairns, C. (1995, December). ''A Savage and Romantic War: Spain 1833–1840. Part 5: The Battle of Oriamendi''. Wargames Illustrated, 99, pp. 24–30. * Chant, R. H. (1983). ''Spanish Tiger: The Life and Times of Ramón Cabrera''. New York: Midas. * Coverdale, John F. The Basque Phase of Spain's First Carlist War. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984. * De Porras y Rodríguez de León, Gonzalo. La Expedición de Rodil y las Legiones Extranjeras en la Primera Guerra Carlista. Madrid: Ministerio de Defensa, 2004. * Duncan, F. (1997). ''The English in Spain: The story of the War of Succession between 1834 and 1840'' (Vols. 1–6). UK: Pallas Armata. (Original work published 1877.) * Evans, Sir George De Lacy. Memoranda of the Contest in Spain. London: James Ridgway, 1840. * Field, C. (1995, Sept). ''Some account of the British operations against the Carlists, 1836–1837''. Tonbridge, UK: Pallas Armata. Reprinted from the ''Journal of the Royal United Service Institution'' LXII:446, May 1917, pp. 209–223. * Holt, E. (1967). ''The Carlist Wars in Spain''. London: Putnam. * Parsons, P. (1996, Nov). ''The British Auxiliary Legion of the First Carlist War (The First Legion 1835–37)''. Wargames Illustrated 110, pp. 18–19. * Pirala, Antonio. Historia de la Guerra Civil. Madrid: Turner SA / Historia 16, 1984. (6 Volumes). * Rodriguez, Moises Enrique. ''Under the Flags of Freedom: British Mercenaries in the War of the Two Brothers, the First Carlist War, and the Greek War of Independence (1821-1840)''. Lanham, Maryland, 2009. * Shaw, Charles. Personal Memoirs & Correspondence of Col. Charles Shaw, comprising a Narrative of the War for Constitutional Liberty in Portugal and Spain. London: Henry Colburn Publishers, 1837. (2 Volumes). * Shelley, Ronald G. The British Legion in Spain during the First Carlist War. Brighton: Spanish Philatelic Society, 1975. * Somerville, A. (1995, Aug). ''History of the British Legion and War in Spain''. Tonbridge, UK: Pallas Armata. Reprinted from the edition published by James Pattie, 1839. * Spiers, E. M. (1983). ''Radical General: Sir George De Lacy Evans 1787–1870''. Manchester University Press.


External links


Site by the Zumalakarregi Museum dedicated to the First Carlist War


19th-century military history of the United Kingdom Military history of Spain Military units and formations established in 1835 Military units and formations disestablished in 1837 Military units and formations of the United Kingdom Expeditionary units and formations Spain–United Kingdom military relations