Shakos and Bayonets 1798 -The United Men

 

We had an earlier look at the United Irishmen and suggested some Shakos and Bayonets unit statistics. Today we can look at our units to date. 

For convenience I'm using a blanket set of statistics. In reality after the first few victories even those initially too timid to Rise turned up for duty. Such men would not be trained as the United Irishmen were. Something for later I think. 

Above, four units of pike men each with a scattering of muskets. I do wish I had bought another four cavalry men. Ah well.

Our first two units with their officers. The mounted fellows might be the Irish Republicans returned from France. They were ardent revolutionaries and mostly Protestant. The rank and file except in Ulster were mainly Catholic. The "People of No Property" as Wolfe Tone said. The combination of Catholic, Protestant and Dissenter accounts for their designation as the United Irishmen. This is the period when green becomes the Irish national colour. It had appeared earlier of course in the flags of the the Confederation of Kilkenny. This time it envisaged no foreign allegiance.  As the song has it " I joined the United Men to fight for the Green."

Our second two units. I had thought to provide one unit with a Father Murphy figure by way of period flavour. In keeping with the instruction of the Catholic Hierarchy Father Murphy evinced no sympathy for the Revolutionaries. That changed when the Yeomanry burned down his chapel. With the heather blazing he called his parish to arms. One to ponder.

I think I can manage to put together another 12 figure unit of Pike Men. A more singular unit is the men of Shelmalier with their long barrel guns. Their function is clear they operated as skirmishing marksmen. Obtaining suitable figures is beyond me. I'm substituting these musket armed lads from Chariot and Lancashire Games archive range. True 15mm and excellent.

Of course the above unit only vaguely resembles the actual men of Shelmalier. No long barrel guns. The Revolutionary Phrygian/Liberty caps are not attested in Ireland so far as I know. 

The French Revolutionaries seem to have adopted it as it was worn by by Roman Freedmen. A sartorial "Slave No More" if you like. British cartoonists of the period loved the image of a monkey faced man in a Liberty Cap as visual shorthand for the United Men. So that is a sort of period connection. Likewise the striped trousers could only have been obtained from French allies.

The figures themselves are very nice. Two from Chariot and three from Lancashire Games Archive Vendee range. 

That's it. I'm grateful to Ian Kay at Irregular Miniatures for making the '98 Range above.  I'm frustrated by John at Khurasan for not releasing his '98 Range below. 

John let us see the first 15mm samples. 

A species of cruelty really.