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Inmilitary tactics, acamisado orcamisade is a surprise attack occurring at night or at daybreak, when the enemy are supposed to be asleep.[1]
The term comes from Spanishcamisa (shirt): when theTercio had actions (skirmishes) of around fifty men attacking at night with minimum equipment, only sword and dagger (although some soldiers could carryarquebus ormusket), and they were dressed only with a white shirt (thus the Spanish wordes:encamisada), in order to kill in silence as many enemies as possible while they were sleeping. This is reflected in the filmAlatriste, based on the main character ofThe Adventures of Captain Alatriste (Las aventuras del Capitán Alatriste), a series of novels written byArturo Pérez-Reverte.
For I this day will lead the forlorn hope,
Thecamisado shall be given by me.
— The Four Apprentices of London byThomas Heywood
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "Camisado".Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al.