Uniform and colonel's flag of the Hibernia Regiment in Spanish service, mid-eighteenth century
TheRegimientoHibernia (Hibernia Regiment) was one of the Spanish army's foreign regiments (infantería de línea extranjera). Known by many in Spain as "O'Neill's Regiment", it was formed in 1709[1] from Irishmen who fled their own country in the wake of theFlight of the Earls and thepenal laws and who became known as theWild Geese - a name which has become synonymous in modern times for Irish mercenaries and soldiers throughout the world.
Although the Wild Geese are more associated with the French Army and are indeed seen as the precursors of theFrench Foreign Legion the Hibernia regiment[2] was one of many Irish regiments to serve in the Spanish army. The Wild Geese began fighting for Spain during theEighty Years' War. The first Irish units in the service of Spain were formed in 1587 as theTercio Irlanda ("Irish Brigade"), formed from defectors from the English army.
Due to the number of wars Spain was involved in during the early 18th century the country could not provide itself with enough soldiers for its own campaigns. This was also exacerbated by the severe loss of manpower as a result of aplague epidemic. Diplomatic approaches were made to a number of countries with requests for the recruitment ofmercenaries to fight for Spain. Swiss, Germans, Italians and Walloons were recruited but the Spanish were particularly keen to engage Irishmen because of their reputation as soldiers. TheConfederation of Kilkenny established licences for the recruitment of Irishmen to fight for the King of Spain.
The Irish regiments in Spanish service were disbanded in 1818 at the request of their British allies.
The three "Irish" regiments, like other units before them, such as theIrish Tercio (Tercio de irlandeses), also known as the Irish Brigade,[note 1] which was raised in 1605 byHenry O'Neill to be incorporated into Spain'sArmy of Flanders,[3][4] were raised from among the thousands of young Irishmen who, due to thePenal Laws, left their homes to take service with France and Spain.[5][4]
The first of these regiments to be formed,Irlanda, was raised by levies in Ireland in 1638.[6] The Hibernia Regiment was raised in 1703 (or 1709[7]) by order ofPhilip V, from troops and officers from Spain's forces in France and Ultonia was raised later that same year.[6][note 2]
Although the service records give no reasons for the transfers, there was a certain amount of mobility among the three sister regiments, which may have been due to the need to raise the number of men under arms before a specific military action.[8] One notable case is that ofAlejandro O'Reilly (1723-1794), who enlisted in the Hibernia Regiment in 1735 and worked his way up to lieutenant general (1767) before transferring to theIrlanda Regiment in 1772.[8]
The Irish regiments, as foreign troops, originally wore the same red jacket as the Swiss and Neapolitan troops in their service - except they had green facings. This was worn with anathwart (worn sideways) black bicorne hat for all ranks; enlisted men wore a red plume and officers wore a red cockade and fringed epaulets. Their regimental symbol was the Arms of Ireland - a gold harp on a sky blue field.
In 1806 the uniform was changed to a sky-blue coatee with yellow lining, turnbacks and trim worn with a white vest and breeches, perhaps to differentiate them from their red-coated British allies. TheRegimiento Irlanda (Irlanda "Ireland" Regiment, raised in 1698) had a yellow collar and lapels and gold buttons; theRegimiento Hibernia (Hibernia Regiment, raised in 1709) had a sky blue collar, yellow lapels and silver buttons, and theRegimiento Ultonia (Ultonia "Ulster" Regiment, raised in 1709) had a yellow collar, sky blue lapels and silver buttons.
Private of the Hibernia Regiment, in typical red jacket and green facings, late 18th century(Bueno Correa 1986)
One facet of so many Irishmen fighting for opposing nations in Europe was that they occasionally faced each other as enemies on foreign battlefields. The Hibernia Regiment found itself in this position at thesiege of Badajoz, in 1811, when they faced theIrish Legion under the command of the French.
Alburquerque, Ramón: Commander of the 1st battalion (1817–1818)[9]
Fitzgerald (colonel): Mentioned inQueipo de Llano'sHistory of the Rising, War and Revolution of Spain (1953 edition) as not having joined the uprising in Oviedo and being "undaunted" when faced with the prospect of being executed by a firing squad.[9]
Madrazo Escalera, Clemente: A court martial in 1819 (after the regiment had been disbanded) ordered him to be reinstated to his previous rank in the Hibernia Regiment. He later joined the Carlists and was promoted to brigadier in 1839.[11]
Casway, Jerrold (1973). "Henry O'Neill and the Formation of the Irish Regiment in the Netherlands, 1605".Irish Historical Studies.18 (72):481–488.ISSN0021-1214.JSTOR30005574.
