Spanish Cazadores - The Hunters

Cazadores, or Hunters, were the light infantry companies of both the line and light infantry in the Spanish army, with the Center companies being Fusiliers and the right wing being Grenadiers.  By 1812 the regiments consisted typically of just one battalion of six companies; one Cazadore, one Grenadier and four Fusilier companies.  This was true of both line and light infantry Regiments.  Uniforms in 1812 were primarily of a British design, and often supplied by great Britain, along with shakos, muskets, backpacks and other sundries.  Coat and trousers could be light or dark blue, with some units adopting the same color trousers and jackets (light or dark blue for both), with other adopting light trousers and dark jackets.  The two light companies below are meant to represent detached Cazadores of the Del Rey Light Infantry Regiment and the 2nd Battalion of the Iberia Light Infantry Regiment.

The Spanish were apparently not well trained in skirmish techniques, though by 1812 it appears some divisions may have been more versed in sending out skirmishers to protect the main body of troops from French Voltigeurs.

I recently acquired these figures that were either recast from Hinton Hunt originals, or had their bases trimmed down.  My money is on recasts, as some of the detail was very shallow.  I did not strip these of their old paint, but rather tried to clean up what was there.  In the end I essentially repainted the whole figure, so really should have stripped them and prepped them for painting properly.

A nice detail of these is the "wings" on the shoulders, which were worn by the Cazadores and Grenadiers.

These figures were actually lovely to paint despite their provenance as Der Kriegspieler figures.  The detail was clean and the castings sharp.

I think Duke Siegfried (owner of Der Kriegspieler) simply took a British rifle figure and slapped a Spanish cask on it instead of a British Canteen, and called them Cazadores.  There is, however, no record of the British supplying the Spanish army with rifles, so I am pretending they are long enough to be muskets.  Note my attempt at painting the typical Spanish soft shoe.

All together they make a rather impressive column in their green plumes.

On the gaming table they will be deployed in loose order as skirmishers.

I was very glad to find these on eBay, as all of my existing Spanish regiments are in march order, with shouldered muskets, and I just didn't want to use a marching pose for a skirmishing company.

Up next - Guerillas or Spanish lancers - Which one will inspire me first, or will a unit of Burgundian Pikemen worm their way into the painting queue for a War of the Roses game...

Of course the real distraction has been this little guy!

Sammy is about six months old now (younger in this picture), and despite the work of raising a puppy, has been a truly delightful addition to our family.  I still miss my soulmate, our Great Pyrenees, Nyra, but she will always be with me in my heart.  Sammy has big paws to fill - literally!

Rest in Peace sweet little girl.

Not to worry, Sammy is definitely weaseling his way into our hearts!