Armada Infantry
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Origin and History
The regiment originated in the Terço da Armada, raised in 1641. In 1668, this unit became the Regimento do Principe. In 1682, it took back its original name of Terço da Armada. By a decree of November 24 1707, the unit became the Regimento da Armada.
During the Seven Years' War, the regiment was under the command of:
- in 1762: viscount de Mesquitela
When the count of Lippe-Bückeburg reorganized the Portuguese army in 1764, he divided the regiment into the 1st and 2nd Marine Regiments. These two regiments were abolished in 1797 and replaced by the Brigada Real de Marinha (Royal Marine Brigade).
Service during the War
On October 12 1762, auditor-general Miguel de Arriaga wrote to the count of Oeiras, and sent him, among others, these complaints by the marshal (probably the count of Lippe-Bückeburg), that "our army was under the gun with 3,020 soldiers, but the Armada and Swiss regiments have not appeared nor the small pieces with which they defended the mountains, and, finally, that success depended on the hand of God, but that he would exhaust all their efforts."
Uniform
The uniform described in this section is based on an illustration of the 1st Marine Regiment in 1764. Furthermore, it seems that green with red distinctions had been the uniform of the Armada Real regiment since 1723.
Privates

Headgear |
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Neckstock | black | ||||||||||||
Coat | green lined red with 3 yellow buttons under each lapel
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Waistcoat | red edged yellow with yellow buttons, very narrow yellow buttonholes and horizontal pockets (also with yellow buttons and yellow buttonholes) | ||||||||||||
Breeches | green | ||||||||||||
Gaiters | dark grey | ||||||||||||
Leather Equipment |
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Armaments consisted of a musket, a bayonet and a curved sabre.
Officers
The officers wore a uniform very similar to the one worn by privates with the following distinctions:
- a gold gorget
- red cuffs edged yellow
- red sash with tassels
Musicians
no information available
Colours
The exact pattern of the Portuguese colonel colours during the Seven Years' War is unknown.
The ordonnance colours were chosen by the colonel of the regiment. For the moment, we have found no source depicting specific colours for this regiment.
Please refer to our article on the Portuguese Line Infantry Colours for more information.
References
Amaral, Manuel, O Exértico Português em finais do Antiguo Regime
Condray, Pat; The Portuguese Army during the War of the Spanish Succession , 1992
Kirby, Mike, The Portuguese Army - Seven Years War, Seven Years War Association Journal, Vol. XII No. 3
Ribeiro Rodrigues, Manuel A.; 300 Anos de Uniformes Militares do Exército de Portugal 1660-1960, Exército Portugués and Sociedade Historica da Independéncia de Portugal, 1998
Chartrand, René; Bill Younghusband; The Portuguese Army of the Napoleonic Wars, vol. 3, Osprey Publishing, 2001
Acknowledgement
Manuel Ribeiro Rodrigues and Joseph O'Neil for the initial version of this article.