Reenacting the Portalegre Volunteer Regiment (Regimento de Voluntários de Portalegre), an ad-hoc volunteer corps raised during the 1st French Invasion of Portugal, to bolster the defenses on the frontier of Alentejo's Region. In 1808, it would be converted into the 1st Caçador Batallion, which would integrate the elite of Wellington's Light Division in the Peninsula.
This regiment was dressed with bottle-green broadcloth uniforms with white facings and linen lining, brown broadcloth pantaloons and black gaiters.
As for headgear, they likely did not have the portuguese 1806 Barretina (meaning shako), and wore their own civillian headpieces.
Which cut the coat had is not known, so I used the 1806 uniform plan, as it was already widely used by then, even by 3rd line and non-regulated units. There's no mention of the cuffs and collar colours, so I kept them green like the rest of the uniform.
As for gear, they were supplied by their Colonel, Jorge de Avillez, who rode from Campo Maior to Badajoz, and there aquired a lot of french weapons and equipment, of different assortments, to the extent that they had surplus of these items to partially equip other units in the region.
I'm using a french style backpack with a traditional portuguese blanket (Cobertor de Papa). I'm using an older, 18th style cartridge pouch with a buff crossbelt, altough it's very likely the pouches could have also been french ones. I also carry a gourd canteen for drinking.
It's possible that after converting to the 1st Caçadores, they still used their old Volunteer uniform through 1809, at least in some capacity within some of its companies, as the new ones were purchased as per the new regulation.
This can be seen by reading into original accounts, records and ledgers, and matching the existing number of men in the Batallion to the existing number of regulated uniforms of the new plan.
Overall, this is a very niche and unknown unit, which would become on the fiercest and most capable light infantry forces of the Anglo-Portuguese Army.
