In the two years that followed the battle of Waterloo the British army saw a drastic reduction in its strength, so much so that in April, 1817, the London Times reckoned that the population of Britain, some 25,000,000 people, would somehow have to absorb about 500,000 ex-soldiers. Naturally, these men, used to years of fighting against France and her allies, were faced with poverty and an uncertain future at best. The wars of liberation in South America, therefore, provided many of them with an opportunity to continue their military careers and escape from the prospect of inactivity at home. As one of Wellington’s former officers put it after being retired upon half-pay, it was ‘......South America, flags, banners, glory, and riches!’

The British volunteers were recruited mainly in London by one of Bolivar’s agents, Luis Lopez Mendez, who had established himself in No.27 Grafton Way and by the end of May, 1817, he had begun to enlist active, retired or discharged officers and non-commissioned officers of the British army for service in South America. During the previous month Mendez had asked for an interview at the Foreign Office, perhaps to hear what the official view would be to the recruitment of British volunteers, and it was around this time that Wellington arrived in London on a visit from Paris. It has since been suggested that this was no coincidence and that he was putting his mind to the problem of disbanding his large army of occupation. It is almost certain that he gave more than a passing thought to the possibility of a large number of his men joining the Patriotic Armies in South America as a way of easing the problem of demobilisation. Indeed, one of the first to visit Lopez was Gustavus Hippisley, a cavalry lieutenant on half-pay, who claimed he had been asked to raise a regiment of hussars by a friend, ‘an officer of high rank in the British army whose experience was as distinguished as his name was honoured, loved and respected!’. It is not impossible that this was Wellington although it was probably Sir Robert Wilson.

The volunteers were encouraged by promises of pay equivalent to the British army and by promotion to one rank above that which they had held in the army. Pay was to commence upon arrival in Venezuela and when the call was heard on the streets of London thousands began to volunteer for the expedition and soon the first regiments began to take shape amongst which were the 1st and 2nd Venezuelan Hussars and the 1st Venezuelan Lancers. One of the first to join the ranks of the 2nd Venezuelan Hussars was Daniel Florence O’Leary who later rose to the rank of general following many years service as A.D.C. to Bolivar and whose memoirs are now recognised as one of the most important sources for the study of the campaigns in South America.

There was fierce competition for commissions in the 1st Hussars and soon money began to change hands for them. The majors of the regiment were selected from captains and former captains in the British army, the captains from lieutenants of cavalry, and the lieutenants from cornets in active service or from lieutenants of infantry on half-pay. The junior ranks were filled by discharged sergeants whilst a few ‘gentlemen’, who had never held commissions before, were appointed cornets. The first major detachment of volunteers destined for Venezuela were as follows;

1. 1st Venezuelan Hussars. 30 officers and 160 NCO’s, commanded by Colonel Gustavus Hippisley.

2. 2nd Venezuelan Hussars. (Red Hussars). 20 officers and 100 NCO’s, commanded by Colonel Henry Wilson.

3. Ist Venezuelan Lancers. 20 officers and 200 NCO’s, commanded by Colonel Robert Skeene.

4. Ist Venezuelan Rifles. 37 officers and 200 NCO’s, commanded by Colonel Donald Campbell.

5. Brigade of Artillery. 10 officers and 80 NCO’s, commanded by Colonel Joseph Gilmour. 5 6-pounders, 1 5½ howitzer.

In the 1st Venezuelan Hussars, uniforms, arms, saddlery and accoutrements were provided by two contractors, Thompson and Mackintosh, who also had to provide a ship for the journey to Venezuela. Everything was to be ready by August, 1817, but in their rush to complete arrangements for their respective regiments the other colonels had also contracted Thompson and Mackintosh who, in their eagerness to make as big a profit as possible, soon realised they would never be able to complete everything in time and so departure dates were put back.

Before the expedition sailed many farewell dinners were held in the regimental messes and at one such dinner the regimental standard of the 1st Venezuelan Hussars was displayed at the head of the table. It showed a yellow field ornamented with green and gold fringe around the edges. In the centre was a belt or garter with the motto Union, Constantia, y Valour, and within the belt were the words 1 Huss de Venezuela. In the field around this circle were seven blue stars representing the states seven provinces.

The formation of the regiments was not without its problems, however, and there was much bad feeling, jealousy and a lack of co-operation between the colonels with the question of seniority usually at the centre of the arguments as was the question of expenses which was a sore subject between the agents, contractors and colonels. Also, it wasn’t long before the Spanish authorities in London began to protest to the British government, calling on it to prohibit British subjects from taking part in the contest between Spain and the Patriotic armies. However, in spite of the many problems the five regiments comprising the first contingent finally embarked for South America in December, 1817. Unfortunately for the 1st Venezuelan Hussars, under Colonel Skeene, their transport ship Indian went down in a storm thus depleting the force somewhat. The recruitment of these first five regiments constituted the first real success by the South American agents to enlist British help for although some British adventurers, such as Gregor Macgregor, who was probably the most famous, had been fighting alongside the patriot forces for some years this was the first time that large contingents had been raised in Britain.

The first recruits from Britain made a good impression on Bolivar who was anxious to secure the services of more British volunteers and in order to do so meant that someone would have to return to England to raise more regiments. The man chosen for the task was Lieutenant-Colonel James Towers English who had so impressed Bolivar that he in turn promised to give him command of the second batch of recruits for South America, for each of whom English was to be paid fifty pounds sterling. English set to work with great vigour, the task being made much easier by the fact that many regiments of the British army had just returned from France and Belgium and had been demobilised. George Elsom, who had formerly been an ensign with a militia regiment near London and who had sailed with Hippisley’s expedition, also returned to London to recruit. Amongst his recruits were some 110 Hanoverians, many of whom were veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, and who were commanded by John Uslar who saw action at Waterloo with the King’s German Legion.

The force was to be known as ‘The Second British Legion’ and the motto Morir o vencer (Die or Conquer), was adopted by them as well as a Legion anthem, composed to the tune of Ye Gentlemen of England which was continually played by the Legion’s band. English’s muster rolls show an effective strength of 1050 men and by July, 1818, the first of the British Legion were ready complete with uniforms similar to those worn by the British army which had been supplied by the firm of Herring and Richardson who had also fitted out the ships. English’s expedition sailed for South America between January and April, 1819, whilst 900 men recruited by Elsom followed shortly after.

Whilst both English and Elsom were recruiting there was a similar large scale exercise in progress in Ireland. This was organised by John D’Evereux, an adventurer who had taken part in the rebellion of 1798 and who had been living in exile in the United States. D’Evereux had met Bolivar in 1815 and had offered to raise 5000 men with arms, ammunition and stores on condition that he be given command with the rank of general. His offer was at first refused but in 1818 he returned to Ireland to find a letter of acceptance from Bolivar and recruitment began at once. By the end of 1819 the muster rolls showed that D’Evereux enlisted 1700 men known as the Irish Legion.

When English arrived at Margarita Island, near the coast of Cumana, on April 7th, 1819, he found that things were in a bad way. The island was a hot, unhealthy place with unsuitable quarters and a lack of water. Food was so scarce that many of the soldiers cut the buttons from their uniforms in order to pass them off as money to the local people in payment for bread and fruit. To make matters worse, typhus fever, which was raging in England and Ireland at the time, broke out and others were struck down by yellow fever. Within five weeks some 250 men, women and children had died. By this time, Colonel Gilmour had recruited about 100 natives and after some intense drilling had managed to weld them into a fairly cohesive unit. They sheltered beneath tents made from canvas which had been used by the British army in the Peninsular War. What the British Legion wanted most of all, however, was a spell of action and it came as a great relief when, on July 14th, 1819, the whole force of about 1000 British and 300 natives at last sailed for the mainland of Venezuela.

Many skirmishes, battles and campaigns would be fought before Bolivar’s forces finally defeated the Royalist Spanish armies and the British Legion played a large part in his victory. However, to follow the fortunes of all of the British units that were engaged in the struggle would be impossible in this short article. Therefore, we will concentrate on the Rifle battalion as it saw much action from the battle Boyaca until the final victory at Ayacucho. First of all, however, it has to be said that one of the great problems in following the British Legion in South America is that as there were no official records kept one has to rely on dates given in the various journals and diaries of those volunteers who fought and survived and as such many dates differ. Consequently, we have had to use our judgement as to the correct date.

The Rifle battalion, some 200 strong, had left England at the beginning of 1818 under the command of Colonel Campbell. The battalion suffered much from yellow-fever on its arrival in the West Indies and Campbell’s son was amongst those who died. This affected him so much that he returned home to England almost immediately and command of the Rifles fell upon Lieutenant-Colonel Pigot. On his arrival at Bolivar’s headquarters Pigot was ordered to Misones de Guayana in order to enlist enough natives to bring the Rifles’ strength up to 400 which was duly done and the unit took the name Rifleros Ingleses, commanded by British officers. The battalion was also known as the ‘Black’ Rifles. Some say this was because of the many natives in the battalion but it is more likely to be because of the dark green colour of their jackets which turned almost black following active service. It is also worth stressing here that the term ‘battalion’ should not be thought of as having the same strength as that of it’s equivalent in the British army of around 1000 men but is merely used to describe the unit.

The Rifles joined Bolivar’s army on the Plains of Apure towards the end of 1818 but saw no serious action until March 19th, 1819, in a skirmish in the woods of Gamarra. The same month saw Bolivar reorganise his forces and the Rifles, reinforced by another 350 British troops who had recently arrived in South America, were formed into two battalions. The first was to be commanded by Colonel Arthur Sandes and the second by Major John Mackintosh. Both were under the orders of Pigot but he was shortly to retire from the army due to ill-health and was succeeded by Colonel James Rooke.

On July 25th, 1819, the Rifles saw action at Patano de Vargas. During this action Bolivar found himself in a difficult position hemmed in by swamps and hills. The left flank of the Patriot army was outflanked and withdrew in disorder upon which Rooke led the 2nd Rifles against the Spanish positions on the hills. A ferocious bayonet charge regained the positions for the Patriots but Rooke fell mortally wounded. Sandes was also wounded twice on a day when the British troops distinguished themselves but paid very dearly with a long list of killed and wounded. Following the battle the Patriot army took the town of Tunja where valuable supplies were captured and this enabled Bolivar to pursue the Spanish army, under Barreiro, before it was able to reorganise.

Bolivar finally caught up with the Spanish army at the bridge of Boyaca and here, on August 7th, 1819, was fought one of the bloodiest battles of the war. The Rifles were again in the thick of the action, no more so than when they advanced uphill in the teeth of a heavy enemy fire to silence the Spanish guns. The day ended in a complete victory for the Patriot army and the Spanish commander, Barreiro, actually gave himself up to a private of the 1st Rifles. 39 Spanish officers and 1600 men surrendered whilst about fifty escaped. The Patriots suffered just thirteen killed and fifty-three wounded in a battle that was won in less than two hours. When news of the victory reached Bogota the Spanish viceroy fled and Bolivar was able to enter the capital without opposition. On entering the city a crown of laurels was placed upon Bolivar’s head but he took it off and held it towards the Rifles saying "those soldier liberators are the men who deserve these laurels" and later conferred upon each of the British soldiers the Order of Liberators.

In December, 1819, another reorganisation took place with recruits being formed into new units and others being incorporated into existing battalions. The 2nd battalion of Rifles under Mackintosh was renamed the Albion battalion and stayed that way until the end of the war. The 1st battalion, however, underwent much change and many of its officers were sent into the interior to recruit. The battalion remained under the command of Sandes, however, and was honoured with the title of First Battalion of Rifles of the Guard, the reason for this being that it was assigned to act as Bolivar’s bodyguard.

Following the occupation of Bogota the Rifles were kept busy on the Venezuelan border for the first few months of 1820 and saw action at Cuenta, Bailadores and Lagrita. Following this they took part in the campaign of Magdalena. During this campaign the Rifles suffered badly as they hacked their way through the oppressive atmosphere of the jungle. Swarms of mosquitos attacked them in the swamps as did hostile Indians and every day saw some sort of skirmish.

Following the Magdalena campaign the Rifles were sent to help capture the city of Santa Marta. In order to approach the city they had to cross the Rio Frio which they did, wading across in the face of a well directed fire from the Spanish defenders who withdrew to Fort Cienga, a palisaded outwork in the suburbs of the city. The Spanish defenders twice made determined sorties from the fort but were repulsed each time. The Patriot army took the fort on November 10th in a sharp action which involved some 800 men of the Rifles who assaulted the earthworks and carried them at the point of the bayonet. During the attack they suffered forty killed and sixty wounded, the Spaniards losing some five hundred. The next day Bolivar entered the city and thanked his troops. Diplomas granting the use of chevrons of honour to the army of Magdalena were awarded to 170 men of the Rifles battalions.

On June 24th, 1821, the decisive victory of Carabobo was fought and although the Rifles played only a minor part in the battle and in the pursuit afterwards the British Legion itself distinguished itself with great honour. At this time Bolivar was engaged in operations in north-west Venezuela and his army of 7500 faced some 5000 Spanish troops under General Miguel de la Torre who held the southern foot of the valley of Carabobo. The Spaniards were in a strong position with wide open grassy spaces behind and around it, ideal cavalry country. The Patriotic army looked out across a series of low hills, in and out of which flowed the Carabobo brook which was in some places merely a dry water bed. Any frontal attack by Bolivar would have to be made uphill in the face of heavy enemy musketry and therefore he decided to make a flank attack against the Spanish right.

The attack began with a native regiment, the Bravos de Apure, which moved against the royalist right flank followed by the British Legion. The troops wound their way along a narrow track through the hills which sheltered them from enemy fire. The track then dropped down to the bed of the brook. As the Bravos jumped down into it to cross and climb out the other side three royalist battalions, Burgos, Hostalrich and Barbastro, opened up a galling fire on them with about 3000 muskets as well as artillery. The Bravos wavered and broke, fleeing in terror through the British troops following behind.

It was now time for the British Legion to face this storm of lead. They waited until the Bravos had passed through their ranks before climbing out of the brook. They then formed up and opened fire on the royalists who advanced on them. When the Spaniards were just a few paces from them the Legion’s grenadier company, under Captain Minchin, gave them a taste of what the French had experienced in the Peninsular War as the British poured out a devastating fire to stop the enemy dead in their tracks. The rest of the British Legion formed up and a few more volleys were enough to send the Spaniards scurrying back uphill to their original positions. However, this left the Legion in a bad situation. Outnumbered and exposed they waited in vain for Bolivar to send reinforcements to support them but for some reason none were forthcoming. After an hour or so of bitter fighting the Legion’s ammunition began to run out and it seemed as if it would be only a matter of time before each man was either killed or wounded. Colonel Thomas Ferriar, in command, sent word again for help but the other division’s of Bolivar’s army simply watched as the slaughter continued.

From the hills above the fighting the rest of the Patriot army could see the British ‘springing’ their ramrods above their heads to signal for ammunition until at last a supply came but not before Ferriar himself had fallen. Captain Scott, who had assumed command from Ferriar, also fell and command passed to Minchin. The colours of the Legion were said to have changed hands seven times and it is said they were shot to ribbons and dyed with the blood of the men who carried them. In spite of all this, however, they remained firm until finally the word was given to advance. The charge that followed was one of the greatest feats seen on the battlefields of South America. One account describes it beautifully as

".....a slow painful climb up a steep hillside, during which the blazing sun made their temples throb, and the effort of dragging with them their muskets and packs used up in short, quick gasps what little breath was left in their lungs. To climb those 200 yards of sun-baked hillside takes all the strength and endurance that one who is unencumbered and ready for the task can muster. Even under the best conditions it is an exhausting undertaking, but when those British soldiers climbed the hill, they had to carry with them the extra weight of their muskets and equipment, their packs and their rations, and to do so in the face of a hostile fire which stretched one out of every ten men of them dead or wounded on the ground. Hot, thirsty, sweaty and dirty, they had to leave behind the shelter of the stream bed with its cool waters, to force their weary muscles and empty lungs to drag them ever upward into the heat and turmoil. No doubt many a man wished for a friendly bullet in the brain to give him an excuse to lie down and rest. It was a task that required not only heroic courage, but herculean endurance and bull-dog determination to keep on while the last spark of life and strength was left."

Despite the fearful losses the British Legion reached the enemy position and with a loud cheer were upon them. The Royalists stood their ground bravely but the bayonet in the hands of an angry British soldier is a fearful weapon. At last they had a chance to hit back at their enemies and they pushed home their attack with extreme violence. The odds were stacked against the British but there was no stopping them; they were irresistible. The Royalists gave way and finally broke and fled and it was only now that Bolivar saw fit to launch the rest of his men into the attack to pursue the Royalists whilst the British legion collapsed exhausted where it stood. On the main road the Rifles, under Sandes, had waited impatiently to get into the action and their turn came when they attacked the Valencey battalion which was trying to form a junction with another Royalist battalion. The day ended in complete victory for Bolivar and whilst the Royalist army dissolved into a fleeing rabble the capital, Caracas, surrendered to him. Independence for Venezuela was assured but for the British Legion the cost was high. It had been in the hottest of the action and had won the day for Bolivar, a fact borne out by the casualty figures. Out of 200 patriot 11 officers and 119 men belonged to the British Legion. After the battle Bolivar called them Salvadores de mi Patria!, ‘saviours of my country’.

The beginning of 1822 saw the Rifles march 1500 miles into the interior and on April 22nd of that year they took part in the battle of Bombona. Bolivar’s men were some 2500 strong and slightly more superior in numbers to the Royalists who were strongly posted behind cheveaux-de-frises and field pieces. The Rifles had to climb a steep hill and used their bayonets to cut footholds whilst the Patriot army made slow progress owing to the steepness of a gorge and by the heavy enemy fire. The only way across the gorge was by way of a narrow bridge but this was heavily defended and the attacks on it resulted only in heavy casualties, nearly every Patriot soldier being cut down at its defences, and so it remained until after about an hour the smoke of battle cleared to reveal the Spanish defenders retreating with the Rifles behind them in hot pursuit. It appeared that they had climbed a crest way above the Royalist positions, descended about hundreds of feet to cross the gorge and then climbed a similar distance on the other side. They were exhausted but fixed bayonets and fell upon the Spaniards who were fast running out of ammunition. Upon seeing this Bolivar launched the rest of his force which routed the Royalist army until nightfall forced a halt. The Royalists suffered 300 casualties whilst Bolivar lost 116 killed and 341 wounded, the Rifles themselves losing 5 officers and 50 men killed.

The British Legion and the Rifles continued to fight on under Bolivar for independence although by the end of the wars their number had been sadly much depleted. Carabobo was probably the high point of their achievements in South America but they still showed their worth to Bolivar by distinguishing themselves at the final victories at Pichincha in 1822, which secured independence for Ecuador, and at the last great victory at Ayacucho in Peru, 1824, which destroyed Spanish rule in South America forever.