Caçadores - The first six Battalions

The first six Battalions of Caçadores were raised by 14th October 1808 Decree.

 They were:

1st Battalion: "Batalhão de Caçadores de Castelo de Vide"

2nd Battalion: "Batalhão de Caçadores de Moura"

3rd Battalion: "Batalhão de Caçadores de Trás-Os -Montes"

4th Battalion: "Batalhão de Caçadores da Beira"

5th Battalion: "Batalhão de Caçadores de Campo Maior"

6th Battalion : "Batalhão de Caçadores do Porto"

Uniform specifications were regulated by 11 November 1808 Decree.
The uniforms were made in Portugal, of  also locally produced wool cloth called Saragoça.
Medium to dark brown, its discreet colour and sturdy texture made it ideal for skirmishing.


Every Battalion had a different jacket, with collars and cuffs sporting its distinctive colours:

The jacket was trimmed with yellow cords, green piping edging the collar, cuffs and shoulder straps. The buttons were round and yellow.

 The Elite companies of Atiradores (literally, "Shooters") had additional green fringes to the ends of the
shoulder straps. The waistcoat and trousers were Saragoça-brown in the Winter, or white in the Summer  The short gaiters were black.

 Similarly to the Line Infantry Regiments, the Caçadores originally wore the 1806 "barretina".
It had green cords, and the distinctive brass bugle horn badge. The Battalion number was stamped in the
brass lower band. On the left side, the ordinary Caçador´s barretina had a green plume, while the Atiradores had a black one.

This directives would last until 1811, when the number of Battalions was doubled, and General Order of 30 July 1811 introduced several changes.