The (English, "leather-jacket soldier") served in the frontier garrisons of northern

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

, the '' Presidios'', from the late 16th to the early 19th century. They were mounted and were an exclusive corps in the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

. They took their name from the multi-layered deer-skin cloak they wore as protection against Indian arrows. When New Spain's visitador (inspector general) José de Gálvez organized the

Portola Expedition Portola may refer to: * Portola (album), ''Portola'' (album), a 1998 album by Rose Melberg * Portola, California * Portola, San Francisco, California * Portola Music Festival People with the surname * Gaspar de Portolá (ca. 1717-aft.1784), Spanish ...

, he was accompanied by a party of 25 soldiers, the "finest horsemen in the world, and among these soldiers who best earn their bread from the august monarch whom they serve".

Equipment

They were armed with a

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...

(), pair of

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

s (), bow (),

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually one or two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a cutting or stabbing, thrusting weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or ...

(),

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

(), and

lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...

(). They also carried a bull-hide shield () or a small round metal shield () for defense against weapons such as swords, spears, javelins, and arrows. Each soldier had six horses, a foal, and a mule (until 1720 they had 10 horses). Equipment and animals belonged to the soldier personally and they had to pay for them out of their own purse.Bueno, José María, ''op. cit.'', p. 20.

Recruitment

These frontier soldiers were recruited from among the

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

population and Hispanicized Native Americans. Most of the officers were

Criollos In Hispanic America, criollo () is a term used originally to describe people of full Spanish descent born in the viceroyalties. In different Latin American countries, the word has come to have different meanings, mostly referring to the local ...

and

, whereas very few of the enlisted men had this distinction. The manned the

presidio A presidio (''jail, fortification'') was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire mainly between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word ''praesidium'' meaning ''pr ...

s that stretched from Los Adaes, Louisiana, in the East, across Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, to the Pacific Coast of

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

in the West. There was no lack of volunteers for the service. Recruitment took place mainly among the local population, accustomed to the local climate, who were expert horsemen, and expert trackers who knew the country. For the poor general population the service as a was attractive, with many perks; besides a regular pay, also medical care, the possibility land grants and promotions.

Assignments

Possible Navajo charcol cave draving of soldado de cuera cira unknown

When not on campaign against hostile Indians, the escorted convoys of travelers or merchandise. They also had to take care of watching the enormous remudas of the presidios from native horse thieves; a fifty man garrison had over 500 horses and mules. This constant vigilance reduced the number of men available for other missions.

Villasur expedition

In August 1720 a detachment of about 40 ''soldados de cuera'', accompanied by indigenous allies, undertook an exploratory incursion into what is now Nebraska. Ambushed by

Pawnee Pawnee initially refers to a Native American people and its language: * Pawnee people * Pawnee language Pawnee is also the name of several places in the United States: * Pawnee, Illinois * Pawnee, Kansas * Pawnee, Missouri * Pawnee City, Nebraska * ...

and

Otoe The Otoe ( Chiwere: Jiwére) are a Native American people of the Midwestern United States. The Otoe language, Chiwere, is part of the Siouan family and closely related to that of the related Iowa, Missouria, and Ho-Chunk tribes. Histori ...

tribal groups the column was destroyed with only a few horseholders amongst the ''cuera'' soldiers escaping. This defeat marked the end of Spanish expansion eastwards into the Great Plains.

Organization

In Santa Fe, the governor of

Santa Fe de Nuevo México Santa Fe de Nuevo México (; shortened as Nuevo México or Nuevo Méjico, and translated as New Mexico in English) was a province of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory of independent Mexico. The first capital was San Juan d ...

was the captain and commander of the company of He normally held the rank of , that is Lieutenant Colonel by brevet. In addition there were two lieutenants (the first lieutenant normally captain by brevet) with a pay of 700 pesos annually. There were also two sergeants with 350 pesos each; six corporals with 300 pesos each; and 69 privates with 290 pesos each. Among the privates were also an armorer, a drummer, and six carabineers. The (flying companies) raised in 1767 were used as a mobile reserve, but had the same equipment as the normal companies. The (light troops) raised in 1778, did not use the leather armor, the shield or the lance, but were otherwise equipped like normal except their hats were white. The normal strength of the light troops were 19 per company. In Santa Fe they were commanded by a second ensign with 450 pesos annually in pay, and a second sergeant with 320 pesos; light dragoon privates received 216 pesos annually.

Strength

1701

1717

1764

Presidios and their strength in the several provinces: ;Texas *Bahía del Espíritu Santo, 51 *Adaes, 61 *San Sabá, 101 *Trinidad, 31 * Bejar, 23 *Nuevo México *Santa Fe, 81 *El Paso, 50 ;Nayarit *Nayarit, 43 ;Nueva Vizcaya Junta de los Ríos, 50 Janos, 51 Guajoquilla, 51 ;Coahuila Rio Grande. 33 San Francisco de Coahuila. 36 Santa Rosa del Sacramento. 52 ;Nuevo León San Agustín Ahumada, 27 ;Sonora Corodeguachi, 51 Guebavi, 51 Horcasitas, 51 Tubac, 51 Caborca (Altar), 51 Buenavista, 51 ;California Loreto, 30 San José del Cabo, 30 ;Nuevo Santander *Santa Ana Calnargo, 13 *Villa de San Fernando, 10 *Villa de San Antonio Padilla, 5 *Nuestra Señora De Loreto de Burgos, 12 *Santa Maria de Llera, 12 *San Francisco de Güemes, 8 *San Juan Bautista Horcasitas, 11 *Dulce Nombre de Jesús Escandan, 9 *Soto la Marina, 11 *Cinco Señores de Santander, 22 *Reinosa, 11 *Santa Maria de Aguayo, 1 *San Antonio Padilla, 12 Source: Bueno, José María, ''op. cit.'', pp. 11-12.

References

Notes

{{Reflist Military history of Mexico New Spain Military history of Spain