Painting Guide for Portugal’s Liberal Wars

A short painting guide for the Portuguese Liberal Wars.

A note about Portuguese colours:

• Dark Blue (azul ferrete) was the base uniform colour for the Line Infantry and Cavalry; it was a very dark-blue almost Prussian, and was the colour of Napoleonic Portuguese uniforms.
• The Caçadores used Nut Brown (Saragoa) instead.
• The Portuguese Red (Encarnado) literally translates to the colour of meat.
• The Yellow was sugar cane color.
• White grey (Alvadia) was a greyish off-white and was described as a dirty white in the 17th Century,

1834 Uniform guide

This is the uniform of the regulations of 18 Oct 1834, i.e. after the Liberal Wars had ended. There are significant similarities, and significant differences, from the Napoleonic uniform. The same colours are used, although particular collar, cuff and facings may differ. The shape of the Shako (Barretina) had evolved considerably, and following international fashions flat forage caps had been introduced.

Note: Apparently during the Liberal Wars the two sides used an enormous variety of uniforms, with little standardisation.

Item	Description
Czapka Style hat – lancers only	Black lower; red upper. Blue and Yellow stripes on ribbon between upper and lower portions. Blue and white rosette. Black plume. Yellow/Gold metal and braid.
Shako (Barretina) and Officer’s Bicorne	Black with blue and white rosette, gold metal, gold braiding. The plume, if worn, in the company colours:: Grenadiers: Red (Encarnado) Fusiliers: White Light and Caçadores: Green If covered in oil skin: Black
Forage Cap	Line Infantry and Cavalrymen: Dark Blue (azul ferrete) with band in the regimental collar colour. Regimental number in yellow metal. Cavalry had a roundel in regimental colours. Caçadores: Nut Brown (Saragoça) with black band. Regimental number in yellow metal. Light Cavalry Officers: Dark Blue (azul ferrete) with a yellow band and roundel. Officer’s caps had a black visor.
Great coat	Line Infantry: White Grey (Alvadia) Caçadores: Black
Frock coat (officers only)	Line Infantry: Dark Blue (azul ferrete), black lining, with collars and cuffs in regimental colours. Cavalry: Dark Blue (azul ferrete) including collars and cuffs.
Coatee / Jacket	Line Infantry and Cavalry: Dark Blue (azul ferrete) with collars, cuffs, piping and facings in regimental colours. Caçadores: Nut Brown (Saragoça) with black front
Epaulettes coats and jackets	Line Infantry and Cavalry Officers: Gold/yellow Grenadiers: Red (Encarnado) Fusiliers: White Light: Probably Green ?? Caçadores: Black with a yellow metal half moon
Jacket/coat Buttons	Yellow metal
Trousers	White Grey (Alvadia) Some uniforms had a Light blue-grey (Azul acinzentado) trousers or a dark blue (judging from the pictures), but White Grey was probably used in the field.
Shoulder & waist belts	Line Infantry: White Caçadores: Black
Shoes	Black
Officers sword	Line Infantry: Sword with Gilt hilt and black scabbard Caçadores: Iron hilt and scabbard.
Officers Sash	Red (Encarnado)
Officers Gloves (if worn)	White
Ammunition box	Black
Bayonet & Scabbard	Black with brass fittings
Gun Barrel	Bright metal
Strap for musket	Probably white
Lance (lancers only)	Natural bamboo with a blue over white pennant.

Regimental Colours

Collars, cuffs and facings were in regimental colours:

Line Infantry Regiment	Collar	Cuffs	Tabs on the sleeve cuffs *	Lining and Piping
1	Red (Encarnado)	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	Red (Encarnado)	White
2	Crimson	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	Crimson	White
3	White	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	White	White
4	Sky Blue	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	Sky Blue	White
5	Orange	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	Orange	White
6	Yellow	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	Yellow	White
7	Red (Encarnado)	Red (Encarnado)	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	White
8	Crimson	Crimson	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	White
9	White	White	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	White
10	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	White
11	Orange	Orange	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	White
12	Yellow	Yellow	Dark Blue (azul ferrete)	White
Light Infantry Regiment	Collar	Cuffs	Tabs on the sleeve cuffs *	Lining and Piping
1	Red (Encarnado)	Black	Red (Encarnado)	Black
2	Black	Red (Encarnado)	Black	Black
3	Black	Black	Black	Black
4	Sky Blue	Black	Sky Blue	Black
Lancer Regiment	Collar	Cuff	Tabs on the sleeve cuffs *	Lining and Piping
1	Red (Encarnado)	Red (Encarnado)	N/A	Red (Encarnado)
2	Crimson	Crimson	N/A	Crimson
Light Cavalry (Caçadores a Cavalo) Regiment	Collar	Cuff	Tabs on the sleeve cuffs *	Lining and Piping
3	White	White	N/A	White
4	Sky Blue	Sky Blue	N/A	Sky Blue
5	Orange	Orange	N/A	Orange
6	Yellow	Yellow	N/A	Yellow

* The tabs on the sleeves were called Carcelas in Portuguese and Sardinetas in Spanish.

Pictures

I’ve included a selection of the pictures from the Viriatus Miniatures site and the Lisbon Military Museum. Browse through the Viriatus pages for more pictures and much more detail on the types of uniforms:

• Viriatus Miniatures: Os Uniformes de 1834 (the Line Infantry)
• Viriatus Miniatures: Os Uniformes de 1834 II: Regimentos de Infantaria Ligeira Ou Caçadores
• Viriatus Miniatures: Os Uniformes de 1834 III: Regimentos de Cavalaria

Glossary

And just for the record, the names used for various types of uniform (thanks to Nuno Pereira for explaining them to me):

Uniform	Meaning
Uniforme, farda or fardamento	All equate to uniform
Grande Uniforme	“Big Uniform” i.e. parade dress
Pequeno Uniforme	“Little Uniform” i.e. walking dress
Serviço de Quartel	“Quarter Service” i.e. working uniform; for every day cleaning, etc of the barracks.
Serviço de Polícia	“Police Service” i.e. guard duty uniform
Uniforme de campanha	Campaign Dress

References

Cairns, C. (1994b, November). A Savage and Romantic War: Spain 1833-1840. Part II: The Cristino forces. Wargames Illustrated, 86, 36-46.

Kannik, P. (1968). Military Uniforms in Colour. London: Blandford.

Lisbon Military Museum

Nuno Pereira kindly sent through some postcards from the Lisbon Military Museum.

Viriatus Miniatures [Portuguese].

Thanks to Nuno Pereira for bringing this material to my attention. Check out the links under “Guerras liberais e constitucionais – Século XIX: Plano de uniformes de 1834” on the uniforms page http://www.viriatus.com/uniformes.asp. The relevant sub-pages are:

• Os Uniformes de 1834 (the Line Infantry)
• Os Uniformes de 1834 II: Regimentos de Infantaria Ligeira Ou Caçadores (Light Infantry)
• Os Uniformes de 1834 III: Regimentos de Cavalaria (Cavalry)