Belgian Legion (Liberal Wars)

The Corps of Belgian Riflemen (French: Corps de Tirailleurs Belges, Portuguese: Corpo de atiradores belgas) or Corps of Portuguese Riflemen (Corps de Tirailleurs Portugaises, Corpo de atiradores portugueses) was a military unit of volunteers from newly independent Belgium raised to fight for the Portuguese Liberals in the Liberal Wars between 1832 and 1834.

Portuguese canon presented to Tournai by Pierre-Joseph Lecharlier in 1835 in recognition of the city's contribution to the Legion

The unit, often known as the Belgian Legion, was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Pierre-Joseph Lecharlier (1797-1847) and consisted of between 1,000 and 1,500 volunteers.^[1] It notably fought in the Siege of Porto.

References

1. Willequet 1950, p. 100.

Citations

• Willequet, Jacques (1950). "Léopold I et le Portugal. Une mission de Van de Weyer en 1836". Revue belge de Philologie et d'Histoire. 28 (1): 97–130. doi:10.3406/rbph.1950.1860.

Further reading

• Laethem, Jean Alexandre van (1834). Campagne de six mois dans le royaume des Algarves en Portugal. Brussels: de Mat.
• Timmermans, J. J. Th. (1900). Les tirailleurs belges au service du Portugal en 1832 et 1834. Ghent: -.
• Ferreira Lima, Henrique de Campos (1935). Corpo de atiradores portugueses ou corpo de atiradores belgas (1833-1834). Lisbon: Boletim do Arquivo Histórico Militar.
• Maziers, Michel (June 1975). "De la Hulpe à Rhode-Saint-Genèse en passant par la France, l'Angleterre et le Portugal, ou l'Odyssée du General Lecharlier" (PDF). Le Folklore brabançon (206): 157–175.