More Revolutionaries - AWI/Revolutionary War

 

Above, the General.  I need to add three Brigadiers or thereabouts.  The Revolution was not really a cavalry war but they had their moments.  These are my American Dragoons so far.

Above and below Dragoons from QRF and Minifigs.  

Sometimes the American cavalry outnumbered the British ones.  I might have to get some more.

A mainly Minifigs Rifle unit here. 

Below, my second Rifle unit. Very handy fellows, although you need to keep them out of trouble.  

They needed to keep their distance.

The serious fellows here.  My second Baltimore unit above.  All Minifigs with a Polly Oliver standard bearer. Generic Continentals below mostly from Essex.

More Militia.  "One volley boys, give me one volley."  I cannot recall which American General said it. Indeed, on reflection, he may have asked for two volleys. That's one of David from Not by Appointment's flags below.

The British could nearly always break the Militia. It tended not to matter.  The Militia would, terrain permitting, regroup and return to the fight. I was interested to read a British Officer's opinion that the Militia fought better than they had against the French.

While we are considering the Revolutionaries one of Washington's missives on deserters is of interest.  Like most of us I tend to paint the Revolutionaries with a lot of Homespun clothes.  Washington's 3 deserters wore respectively, a red overcoat, a green overcoat and a blue coat.  A bit brighter coloured than I had thought.

Poking through the lead pile I find that the rifles and militia are done.  Another 2 or three battalions of uniformed troops look possible. Added to that I have 3 units of Light Infantry nearly done.

I was interested to read Washington's opinions on his Army.  The men he thought would do well enough.  The officers were a cause of serious concern to him. The whole thing deserves a post.  Should time provide we will have one. For the sake of brevity and verity it could encompass the splendid squabbles of the British Command.

Revolutionary War British - Part 2

 Let us start with the Guards. These ones are from Peter Pig. I nearly painted this unit in full fig. It is a striking uniform and I was strongly tempted. Instead, I followed the historical record.  The Guards were ordered to remove the lace from their uniforms and were issued with brown trousers.  Brown covers a multitude of sins so I opted for a light shade.  

Turning aside from an insistent Clio I decided that they would carry their colours. Wrong, I know, but it looks nice. As they say, even Homer nodded.  David at Not By Appointment kindly provided the flags.  I have a second Guards unit to do.  The Guards were used as attack troops throughout the war.

All in I have 3 units of elite attack troops, 4 once the second Guards unit is done. I had thought this perhaps too many.  Seemingly not my reading indicates.  The nature of campaigning meant that the line regiments often arrived worn out on the battle field.  Much depended on the elite units.

Tarleton's British Legion next.  These are from Polly Oliver. Ray at Don't Throw a 1 tells me a lad he knows has bought the range.  When it becomes available I will add another 2 bases to this unit.  I mentioned Indian allies of the British last time.

Above and below these Indians are from QRF with 2 Essex figures in the mix. I have had them since Pontius was a Pilot.  Or so it seems. It is good to see them ready for use at last.  Note they are small units.

HM 4^th Regiment. Mostly, and appropriately, from Essex. I chose this one because David (Not by Appointment) has a nice pair of flags for the 4th. You see them here.

HM 5^th Regiment and the Royal Highland Emigrants are to do next. A tartan challenge for sure.  A battery of guns is needed too.

That should have been it.  However, an ebay bargain intervened and I have enough Peter Pig for 2 more battalions.  Ever the way it seems.  Happily so.

Revolutionary War British-Part 1

 

Combined Grenadiers here.  All from Peter Pig. I have learned that such units could be bigger than the normal British unit strength. I might manage another two bases. Lovely figures I think. Grenadiers, as ever, were the boys for dangerous jobs.  Martin at Peter Pig originally produced charging British Grenadiers.  He thought it more appropriate given their role.  Quite so.  Yet in due course the marching Grenadiers were added.  These are they.

British Dragoons, you have seen these before.  Shortly they will be joined by Tarleton's British Legion Cavalry. My British cavalry will be comprised of two units only.  Essex figures above.  I have 2 more of them.  With the strategic deployment of a gabion or a stricken foe I could add another base. In Land of the Free terms that would raise them from a small unit to a medium one. I might do it.

Combined British Lights above. During the revolution these formations were used as attack troops.  Often engaging with bayonet alone.  Very much elite troops. They could fire very effectively too.  What they couldn't do, I was surprised to learn, was operate as Light Infantry.  The British skills in that regard learned in the French and Indian Wars had been lost.  My Lights are all Essex and Polly Oliver.

My first line regiment.  The 42nd, AKA "the Black Watch".  These ones are mainly in trews,/trousers so the challenge of painting tartan was limited.  A mixture of figures, Polly Oliver, Peter Pig, QRF and Minifigs.  Still to come The Royal Highland Emigrants, lots of tartan to do there. Below, QRF's Highland Light Infantry.

Why so many Highlanders? Simply, it is  what I accrued over the years, Likewise, so far, all of my British units have blue flags and facings. It wasn't planned it just turned out like that.

The Welsh Fusiliers, bear skin caps and all. Mostly from Polly Oliver.  A few years ago I found out that "Welsh" was what all Migration Period Germans called any and all inhabitants of the old Roman Empire. I had thought it an insular thing but the name "Vlach" indicates otherwise.  The Vlach were notably fierce. If I ever do a very Late Byzantine Army I will have some Vlaches.

I think I have another 5 British infantry units to do.  I'm also going to give them some Indians. 

I came across a quote from an AWI clergyman explaining why he was a tory. He said he preferred one tyrant who lived two thousand miles away to two thousand tyrants who lived one mile away.  

That's why Indians turned out for the British.

Part 2 of the Revolutionaries next.

Continentals and Militia- The Revolutionary War

 

When I bought the unit above 15mm figures still came in packs of ten. They are veterans then regardless of their game rating.  These days they are available from QRF. I’m not sure which regiment they represent but the uniform is attested.  To play it safe I gave them a generic revolutionary flag rather than a State one.

 

Next we have figures from Essex.  This unit is firmly identifiable. It represents a New Hampshire regiment.  Again the uniform is a real one, as is the flag. Fifer and standard bearer QRF.

Essex have some very nice Rifles and Militia figures. The regulars are pretty good too.  I’d exempt their British Grenadiers from that. I find them a bit disappointing.

To Maryland for the next regiment. I intend to do two Maryland regiments. This one is a generic rendition. Save for the QRF Fifer all the figures are from Essex. As you can see both manufacturers offerings are highly compatible.

I have enough figures for at least another two Continental units. To these I will add some regular Light Infantry.

I have some Minifigs rifles.  Nice figures but single pose strikes again. The Command pack offers some variety.  I have some by Essex too. We will see them both in part 2 of the Revolutionaries.

My first two Militia units.  The Tree of Liberty flag prominent. The figures are a mix of QRF, Essex, Minifig and Polly Oliver.  I think they work nicely together.

I have another Militia unit to do.  David at Not by Appointment has supplied me with another Militia flag.  Happy days, it means each Militia unit will have a different Liberty Tree flag. No table top mix ups.

Next we will see Part 1 of the British.  I have been busy and much progress has been made.

Revolutionary War Hessians

 

Above, my entire Hessian contingent so far.  The figures are mostly Essex 15mm.  They should make for a strong presence on the table top.  Should I add to them it will be solely to increase the size of the units you see below.  I am tempted to give them a couple of cannon.  We will see.

Von Donop's musketeer regiment above.

The Losburg Fusiliers here.  Or at least I think that is who they are. They were painted an aeon ago.

Combined Grenadiers above.

The Hessian Jagers. I will end up with 6 bases of these.  Giving me two units.  These ones above are from Essex.  The additional figures will be from Peter Pig. 

The Hessian Brigadier is from QRF.

I have been busy painting more British units. We will see my progress shortly. Still to do are HM 5th, HM42nd and the Royal Highland Emigrants. I consider all three tricky to paint what with a good Gosling Green and, of course, tartan. More straight forward are the Guards, the 4th Foot and the combined grenadiers. All of which are coming on nicely.  Next time we will see the revolutionaries.

Now, a note to Jonathan. I had thought I could contact you through an email on your blog.  Seemingly not. Could you suggest an email address or drop me a line via the email on this blog.  Thanks.

Land of the Free

 

Over the years I have accrued a fair few figures for the American War of Independence/ Revolutionary War. The figures tell their own story.  The earliest ones are from Frei Korps, then come the Essex, Peter Pig and happily Polly Oliver.  The basing likewise tells a tale. WRG Horse and Musket 15x40mm, round for Rebels and Patriots.  It is a visual reminder of an on, off interest.  Never brought to fruition.

I wondered if I should give them away or put them in order and sell them.  I also have a copy of Land of the Free, Osprey’s AWI rules.  It is a nice hard back and, like the figures, neglected by me.  

I gave Land of the Free a google that took me to Palouse, Jonathan’s blog.  See the side bar for the link.  He has a full Land of the Free 15mm game there.  I read it through, I read Land of the Free. I read it again. I decided to keep the collection, put it in good order and do some Land of the Free games.

This is the result so far.

 

Above Essex Hessian Grenadiers.

 

Accompanied by Essex Hessian Jagers seen here, note the QRF officer.

I will end up with a Hessian Command Group of 3 battalions Grenadiers, Muskets, fusiliers and the Jagers.  All from Essex save some Frei Korps standard bearers..

I have started to tackle the British. Mine are a mixture of Essex, Frei Korps , Minifig, Peter Pig and Polly Oliver.  I have read that British flags were 6ftx6ft in the AWI. 

Some one should have told the Manufacturers.  Mostly those provided could not accommodate flags that size.  The lads with the mini staffs are going to be relegated to spontoon services.  Unless I can manage to successfully do some hand drilling. Always tricky with the smaller fellows.

I know many British formations didn't carry their colours.  Mine, though, mostly will.

I think I will end up with 5 battalions of line infantry, 1 of combined Lights and ditto Grenadiers. To this I will add a small unit of Light dragoons and British Legion cavalry of the same size.  One battery of 2x Guns will provide the artillery.

The Light Dragoons are done.  These from Essex.  Combined Light Infantry below.  Essex and Polly Oliver.

Much more to do. Not least I need some British Grenadiers.  I'm havering between Peter Pig or Minifigs.  I would have liked Polly Oliver but they have disappeared again.

Then it is on to the Revolutionaries. Of these I have many more figures.

I have noticed that whenever I decide to get rid of a collection I realise why I wanted it in the first place. Then I buy the missing bits.  It really doesn't help with cutting down the number of my collections.  A price we must all pay for a rewarding hobby.