Craufurd's Light Division
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The Light Division was an elite division of infantrymen and skirmishers in the British army during the Peninsula War in Portugal and Spain, a campaign in the Napoleonic Wars.
The Light Division was primarily aimed at disrupting and harassing the enemy in light skirmish engagements beore the two opposing armies clashed. Most of the Light Division were the famous Green Jackets, the elite 95th Rifles. Armed with the Baker rifle and wearing dark green uniforms, the Green Jackets were hard to spot and spent their time picking off officers, sergeants and any other figure of authority in an enemy formation. Though nowhere near as devastating as a musket volley from the line infantry, a well-aimed shot could bring down an enemy commander with ease, lowering morale in the enemy. The Baker Rifle enjoyed far greater accuracy and range than the standard muskets of the time and the men using them were considered marksmen, trading devastating firepower for superior accuracy and range.
The Light Division was commanded by General Robert Craufurd, a stern disciplinarian known as 'Black Bob'. Craufurd was mortally wounded at the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in 1811.
One of the strongest divisions in the British army in the Peninsula War, the Light Division proved its tough nature in numerous actions from the infamous retreat to Corunna right up until the invasion of France in 1814 and the conclusion of the war at the Battle of Toulouse.
