The Majorca Division or Whittingham’s Spanish Division consisted of the following infantry units – Cuesta Granderos, Burgos, Cordoba, Murcia, Guadalajara and the Cazadores de Mallorca; the following cavalry units – Almansa Hussars and Olivenza Dragoons; as well as some artillery, albeit without guns. (Source: Clinton Diary – GB 133 CLI p. 72.)
The following details were provided from Lieutenant Richard Woollcombe’s Diary p. 164:
22nd July: A fine body of Spanish troops is joined, whose uniforms are as follows: Majorca Grenadiers: blue jackets, skyblue facings, buff cape and cap, red feather, blue cloth pantaloons, buff leather accoutrements; Murcia Grenadiers: blue jacket, yellow facings, cuff and cape, sky-blue pantaloons, black leather accoutrements; 2nd Regiment Murcia: blue jacket, red cuff and cape, blue leather accoutrements, blue pantaloons; Cazadores of Majorca: uniform the same as the 95th Regiment; Battalion of Light Companies: same as their respective regiment above mentioned with the addition of two companies of Cordova, who have blue jackets, crimson facings, buff cape and cuff; Grenadier Companies of Guadalajara: blue jacket with buff cape and cuff, buff accoutrements. All the regiments have also buff pantaloons, and their caps are broader above than below. Almansa Hussars: as the 10th Regiment of British Hussars; Olivenza: yellow jackets, red cuff and cape, helmet like the British light dragoons, red feather. The Artillery: blue jackets and red facings and cuff and cape, the same cap as the infantry, red feather.
Calabrian Free Corps was raised in 1809 from among the Calabrian refugees in Sicily who had fled there after the region was overrun by the French. The commanding officer and all the field officers were British. They took part in the battle of Castalla, the siege of Tarragona and the Combat at Ordal. The corps was disbanded in October 1814.
Dillons (Edward’s – not to be confused with Henry’s) was raised by Edward Dillon in 1795 and were the longest serving of all the foreign/mercenary regiments. Dillon had served in the Irish Brigade in the French army of the ancien régime. He raised the force in northern Italy for the protection of Corsica. Most of the officers were French émigrés but the soldiers were a mix of French, Italian and a few Corsicans. By 1812 the regiment had changed completely and comprised (mainly) Spanish and Italians. In June 1812 five companies deployed to the east coast of Spain and joined up with three companies of De Roll’s to become a single battalion denominated as Roll-Dillon.
Foreign Hussars was raised in Sicily about 1810 and the entry requirement was simple – to be able to ride. Thus the unit consisted ‘of natives of almost every country under heaven’. The unit never exceeded a strong troop and during the east coast operations their numbers never exceeded about 75 men/horses. They were involved in a sharp action at the combat of Ordal. The unit was disbanded in Genoa in late 1814.
King’s German Legion was formed in August 1803 after Napoleon’s troops overran Hanover. George III, King of Great Britain (and Ireland), and Elector of Hanover, decided that the Hanoverians should have the opportunity of serving against Napoleon under the British flag. The King’s German Regiment and Halkett’s foreign corps were established to become the King’s German Legion (KGL) in December 1803.
Increases were sanctioned over the years and the final strengths of the KGL (in order of precedence, which was different from that of the British Army) included a corps of engineers, two batteries of horse artillery, four of field artillery, two regiments of dragoons, three regiments of hussars, two battalions of light infantry, eight battalions of line infantry and a Foreign Veterans’ Battalion.
The 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th Line battalions were in Sicily; the 4th and 6th Line battalions along with the grenadier companies from the 3rd, 7th and 8th battalions all landed in 1812 as part of the Anglo-Sicilian force on the east coast. The companies and the 6th KGL were withdrawn in April 1813. The KGL was disbanded in February 1816.
(De) Rolls was formed in 1794 by Baron de Roll although the first official recording of the unit on British muster rolls does not appear until 1803. De Roll was a captain in the Swiss Guards who had escaped the massacre at the Tuileries in 1792 and then fought in the Flanders campaign in 1793–94. He had difficulty recruiting his fellow countrymen as both Spain and Austria were also establishing Swiss regiments. In 1799 the unit deployed to Minorca and then in 1801 it accompanied Abercromby’s army to Egypt. Following a spell in Malta the unit was transferred to Sicily in 1806 before going back to Egypt as part of Fraser’s illplanned expedition in 1807. The regiment returned to Sicily in 1807 from where it never deployed as a complete unit again. Some companies accompanied Maitland to the east coast of Spain in 1812: they played a key role in the withdrawal from Biar, prior to the battle of Castalla, and were heavily engaged again later that year at Ordal. The unit was eventually disbanded in 1816 having survived nearly all the other foreign corps.
De Watteville’s was formed in 1798 from a number of units after the defeat of the Swiss by the French that year. Following the Peace of Luneville in 1801 the British decided to use this ad hoc group and it was formalised under Lieutenant Colonel Baron Louis de Watteville. It deployed to Trieste and thence to Malta. After service in Egypt and other parts of the Mediterranean they found themselves in Sicily in 1806 and took part in the battle of Maida that year. The following year they were despatched to Gibraltar and elements of the battalion were sent to Cartagena in 1812. The unit was reunited the following year and sent to Canada where it remained until 1816 where it was disbanded in situ.