Belgian Legion (Liberal Wars)

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

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.

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. It notably fought in the Siege of Porto.

References

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.