Redcoats at WAR

Tavington return's

2011-11-03T02:43:00.000-07:00

I find it hard to believe that it has been just over a year since my last post! But now having returned to these fair shores and with a change at work I plan on spending time on my neglected hobbies, so watch this space.

Col.T

40’s in your 40’s, Wargaming in 40mm.6

2010-10-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

Found this is in a file on my laptop, I wrote this way back in the early years, this was going to be part of the introduction for the re-written "Rebellion in the Colonies" rules by Peter Helm, he once asked if I would be interested and that was a very long time ago!!

Col.T

THE BRITISH ARMY IN NORTH AMERICA 1774-1784:

The Infantry was made up of field regiments or battalions comprising of ten companies consisting of roughly forty to fifty men, each company was then divided into platoons.There were eight companies of "HAT" men,one of "GRENADIERS" and one of "LIGHT INFANTRY".If we take a look at the break down of a company we find its strength at peacetime as 1 Captain,2 Leiutenants,2 Sergeants,3 Corperals,1 Drummer and 38 Privates, the company was then divided into two platoons roughly two per company.When on active service(at war) some battalions actually feilded companies at a strength of 1 Captain,2 Lieutenants,3 Sergeants,3 Corperals,2 Drummers,2 Fifers and 56 Privates, but we should remember thet there was a shortage of manpower for this unpopular war.What we know from returns show us that most battalions were never feilded at full strength owing to the lack of recruits, they mustered between 300-400 men.Some Regiments were brought upto full compliment when other Regiments were transfered home as this was mainly done on paper the returning men were offered enlistment in other regiments unless being despatched else where.

Some regiments infact fielded two battalions,like the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment(THE BLACK WATCH) and the 71st Highlanders (FRASERS), returns show the 71st even had a third battalion, there seems to be a high rate of enlistment in Scotland, this was due to the impoverish state of the country after the rebellion of 1745.

Most regiments had infact two other companies billeted at home for recruiting, it seems that when ordered to depart for overseas duty some of these companies marched with their regiments.Evidence shows that some regiments had a feild strenght exeeding the ten company (about 400 strong) battalion, during the "1777 SARATOGA CAMPAIGN" the army under General John Burgoyne had with him atleast two regiments with a feild strength of about 530.

GRENADIER COMPANY: were the elite hand picked and stoutest men of the Regiment.The Grenadier had been in the army for quiet some years, they were placed on the right flank of the regiment this being an honoury position.Their duties had changed some what over the years, infact they know longer carried any grenades the only accroutement worn was the match case, but they still wore the mark of distinction which was the Hanger and now the headress of the Bearskin.The company provided a shock force at company or when paraded as a composite Grenadier Battalion, this was unpopular as it was felt that the Regiment suffered without its best men..

CENTER COMPANIES: (HAT MEN) made up the mainstay of the battalion, their were upto eight companies. The men of these companies carried out all the general duties of the battalion, it would be they who would carry the war home to those rebellious colonists.In the early stages of the war we could question their ability unlike the flank companies, but as was proved when "GENERAL WIILIAM HOWE" unleashed his newly trained army upon New York in 1776 they seemed unstoppable. All enlisted men were trained using the 1764 Manual of Arms, each man was expected to be of good bearing and adapt within the exercise at arms.

LIGHT INFANTRY COMPANY: this element of the British army was still relativly young, it was only added to the establishment in 1771.During the French Indian War or Seven Year War it was felt that a lose organisation of infantry was required, especially in the American colonies.Of these "GAGES and HOWES light battalions were formed".The light company would be positioned on the left flank of their regiment and part of their duties would be to protect the battalion in a skirmish line while they changed formation.They would also act as an advance or rear gaurd as well as the eyes and ears of their parent regiment given these rolls the company would have to consist of men who were agile and able to act independently of the regimental chain of command.As we can see the standing trend of the period was to detach the various Light companies into composite Light Battalions these would be the same strength as a normal battalion and again used en-masse as the Light Company.

CAVALRY: was only represented by the 16th & 17th Light Dragoons from the British establishment,but during the war other mounted units were formed from loyalists units, such as "TARLETONS LEGION" & "THE QUEENS RANGERS".The 17th arrived in Boston before Bunker hill, but without horses.General Gage the British commander had to procure mounts or use them as light infantry.A light dragoon regiment consisted of headqaurters staff and six troops of about fifty men a total of about three hundred and twenty men.One thing we must remember that during the "Rebellion" the 16th & 17th mostly served in detached units, both Regiments did infact march with "HOWE" to Philidelphia in the summer of 1777 as they were present at the battle of "BRANDYWINE".

THE BOARD OF ORDANANCE : consisted of the Royal Artillery it was made up of four battalions, at the outbreak of hostilities the fourth battalion were already serving in America and suffered the brunt of what was really to become an infantry war. Infantry regiments were usually accompanied by two light "BATTALION GUNS" crewed by men of the Royal Artillery, the light guns were of 1 1/2 to 3 pounders.As for most engagements during the war battalion pieces were deployed in support of infantry in batteries of roughly three to four guns.Ordanance varied in calibre,there were guns of various sizes,most heavy guns were used for sieges or deployed in fortifications. The composition of the Artillery will be reflected latter in the Army Lists to follow.

40’s in your 40’s, Wargaming in 40mm.5

2010-10-13T21:54:00.000-07:00

The organisation and economics of an infantry regiment of 1775 – 1777, Part 5: The British

Front Rank 40’s - Figures and Company details, 1:1 37th Regiment of Foot

8 Line Companies, 32 Rank and file, split into 4 sections, 2 sections per platoon of 12

3 Corporals, 2 Sergeants, 1 Drummer and 2 Officers

Centre company marching - company composition (x 4)

Figure Code Description Qauntity

40a1 Centre Coy marching 32

40a2 Corporal marching 3

40a14 Drummer boy adv shouldered drum 1

40a17 Sergeant Fusil 1

40a21 Officer marching with fusil 1 or

40a22 Officer marching with sword 1 or

40a24 Sergeant charging with fusil 1

40a20 Officer advancing waving sword 1 or

Centre company firing - company composition (x 2)
Figure Code Description Qauntity

40a2 Corporal marching or use 40a5 3

40a4 Centre coy firing 24

40a5 Standing at porte 3

40a6 Handle cartridge 3

40a7 Biting cartridge 3

40a13 Drummer, playing 1

40a17 Sergeant, fusil 1

40a18 Officer, spontoon 1 or

40a19 Officer, fusil waving hat 1 or

40a21 Office, fusil marching 1 or

40a25 Sergeant, halberd 1

Centre company advancing “charged bayonets” - company composition (x 2)
Figure Code Description Quantity
40a2 Corporal marching or use converted figures 3

40a8 Adv, musket at low porte 11

40a9 Adv, musket at porte 10

40a10 Attacking, leveled musket 6

40a11 Attacking, musket at porte 5

40a12 Attacking, musket at porte hat falling off 1

40a17 Sergeant, fusil 1

40a20 Officer advancing waving sword can also be used 1or

40a22 Officer marching with sword 1or

40a23 Officer / Std Bearer, charging spontoon / flag pole 1or

40a25 Sergeant, charging fusil 1

40a26 Drummer charging 1

Notes.

40a5 can be used for an Nco with the addition of a Corporals knot to the shoulder, also a sash can be added for a Sergeant, late war use of the sword may have or would have been dropped by many sergeants there is some evidence to suggest this.

Front Rank produce 3 figures for standard bearers, we didn’t want two figures the same in the colour parties of each regiment therefore I did a couple of alterations on 3 of the figures.

40A15 right arm was removed at the elbow as was Officer 40A18 right arm these were then put on the others “stump” giving me two standing flag bearers, I plan to do the same with the figures for the fusilier colour parties, also head swaps will also be needed.

The other figure was Officer 40A23, this figure is listed as “Officer/Standard Bearer charging with spontoon/flag pole”, if a flag is fitted/glued to this figure the flag pole is at an odd and somewhat low angle in my opinion, this figure has been paired with “40A16 Standard Bearer advancing” in a colour party for the 38th Foot, so with a bit of cutting and filing the right arm has been raised up to give a near vertical flag pole, some back filling was required and green stuff was used.

With Fusiliers now available in the range head swaps on both the Fusilier Sergeants (40A109/40A110) and Officers (40A113 & 40A114), also the centre company corporal figure “40A2” can be used to give a Fusilier Corporal, when purchasing Front Rank British Fusiliers you will get three heads to choose from this gives plenty of scope.

Also we are going to do a conversion on the Sergeant figure “40A25”, this centre company figure comes armed with a Halberd, he will be given a suitable fusilier head, the 5th Foot were not an official fusilier regiment at the time, it appears they were given the honour of wearing the fusilier caps after the SYW.

So expect to see both the 5th and 23rd Foot on the table when we finally field our troops, these two regiments have been raised on a 1:10 strength, both Messer’s Miles and Stevens are currently raising each respectively.

With these conversion’s done I left it up to the afore mentioned to paint them.

Col.T

It's been a while.........................................

2010-10-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts what with one thing and another, we are currently working on a couple of posts at the moment, Captain "Darling" Stevens was supposed to be working on a series of threads relating to his visit to Boston and Saratoga and his partner (not literally, although close but not that close) Redcoat37th have both supposed to have supplied me with something to post.

Summer visit’s have been to Colours, Fairford, Tankfest, Blue Licks and Fort Necessity so there is plenty to fill you in on as well as anything RevWar thats is brewing in the pot. There is also the “MylesStevens” Boer War project and I also believe an ACW one (I can’t understand the interest in either personally!!??!!)

I have also been away for a while sunning myself in various parts of the Kings Colonies.

Col.T

40’s in your 40’s, Wargaming in 40mm.4

2010-06-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

The organisation and economics of an infantry regiment of 1775 – 1777, The British, Part 4:

So our company of 1776 is at field strength of around thirty eight of all ranks! Our company is also performing manouevres in two ranks owing to the changes implemented by the army commander General William Howe.

The company has now been split into two platoons each of 16 soldiers and then sub-dived into two sections! The section is the sub unit for movement and forming up. The lead platoon has two Corporals forming on the right and left, the second platoon has the third Corporal formed up on the left, when the company is formed into line there are three Corporals formed in the same rank, the Sergeants take post ready to coerce the enlisted men to carry out the given command.

These orders are given by the Company Officers which were then passed on to the rank and file by the Sergeants with the assistance of the company drummer and Corporals, all maneuvering was done in two ranks by the sub-sections, it has been mentioned in some books that owing to the class system of the time the officers did not directly speak with the common soldier, they communicated through the Nco’s.

The 18th Century battlefield is a noisy and hectic place, two bodies of soldiers would march and maneuver to bring about a solid front to face off against one another to deliver a steady disciplined volley, the idea was to force the other body to break either by being forced to retire or run and rout.

A steady wall of soldiers advancing with bayonets leveled after delivering steady fire could be quite unnerving to inexperienced soldiers, as time went by during the war the opposing regulars would virtually become on an even par with one another.

The current plan then is to form a complete regiment on 1:1 based on the information that I have stated in the previous post’s, the time given for painting the figures is quite time consuming and we want to be able to get on the table to game, we have two companies completed for this purpose.

Moving forward we have decided to game using smaller formations, the 1:1 project will come to pass as time goes by and as the figures slowly get painted. Phase 1 will be to field a Brigade on the table, our main period of interest is between 1775-1777 and the war in the northern states and seeing as we have the 37th Foot as our main core unit we are looking at the New York campaign of 1776.

New York 1776, the 37th were formed up into a brigade of four line regiments under the command of Major General Valentine Jones, the 3rd brigade consisted of the foot regiments of the 10th, 37th, 38th and the 52nd, these other three line regiments had already been in the colonies for some months, either all or part of these regiments had already seen some action, the flanks companies had already been in the fight against those rebellious colonists, the 38th and 52nd Foot had even been at the battle at Bunker Hill the previous year.

Also with the 10th & 38th Foot Regiments having yellow facing’s will help in our ultimute goal of a complete 1:1 37th Foot, although the 38th facings were designated a darker (more orange) yellow in the 1768 Royal Warrant, we will use a darker colour when painting up this unit, the other slight problem being that the 37th yellow has been described as canary yellow in clothing returns that we have seen from the PRO (National Archives) at Kew, either way I am pretty sure we can live with this.

Colonel Tavington.

Grand Manner

2010-06-07T11:52:00.000-07:00

Just managed to get hold of my very own 28mm Hartwell Tavern from Grand Manner and to be honest well worth every penny, what next? Well painting it! Now that's going to be fun!

One thing I have looked at is scaling it up for use with 40mm figures, to be honest it won't look out of place as a back drop for one of our games!

As for a demonstration game we failed to make Partizan with anything, I have issued an apology to the show organisers as there was some confusion over whether we were attending and they left out space on the day for us, unfortunately I was on my way back from Atlanta Georgia the previous day and was pretty wiped out by Saturday and just about hanging in there on the Sunday having thought we had cancelled.

So purchases of late have been the 28mm Hartwell Tavern on the terrain front and 50+ 40mm Continentals from Trident Designs and their Eastern "Mohawk" Indians, personally I like the Indians, very nice!! My oppo Mr "Tarleton" Stevens ordered some smugglers to mix in with his "Bunker Hill" Militia and also a firing line of Virginian Continentals and Riflemen.

Have to admit I really like Trident's Captain Parker figure, well worth $6.00USD.

Col. Tavington held off on purchasing anything of late owing to the current economic climate (so he say's), personally I think he is starting to get a bit tight in his old age as I am sure he is starting to squeak, those purse hinges will definately need oiling, however I believe he is saving his pennies up for some of the Front Rank 40mm Hessian's!!!

As a footnote, Trident and Front Rank 40's really work well together, the Militia really mix in...................

Redcoat 37th.

Grand Manner

2010-04-01T05:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I managed to get into the GM workshop for a chat and a cuppa!

The Hartwell Tavern (Battle Road) and the Guilford Courthouse set (both in 28mm) have now been completed and are waiting to be "rubberised", I last saw the incomplete Tavern back before Christmas!

The master models of these building's were done by Tony of GM, to be honest they are aboloutely outstanding! Although I have switched to 40mm AWI I still have a large collection of 28's, so much so that these buildings have now been pre-ordered from GM by myself! Please note that there is no current price in place for these items at present and to be honest I don't care, they are to be a limited run! My advice........ get your order in now!

Redcoat 37th.

Apologies

2010-03-27T05:29:00.000-07:00

We are currently finalising the Boston trip, having a free morning I have just booked the hire car, this was the last thing that needed to be arranged, the only other thing to do now is sort out the British Economy so that we can get a better rate on the $USD!!??!!

After Boston we will be planning on attending the first Partizan with a game!

Sorry to those that read our blog but owing to work and my love of another hobby I have been a bit lapse in up-dating the blog!

Heading towards the grand old age of 45 I decided to make a return to my other hobby, I have now been able to play 6 games since Christmas with weather and work allowing, this was after an 18 month lay-off owing to a bad back and a broken hand!

Redcoat 37th

Tadley 3rd team

40’s in your 40’s, Wargaming in 40mm.3

2010-03-27T05:20:00.000-07:00

The organisation and economics of an infantry regiment of 1775 – 1777, The British, Part 3:

Position of a Soldier under arms.

To stand straight and square upon he legs; Head turned to the right: heels close; Toes turned a little out; the belly drawn in a little but without constraint; the breast a little projected; shoulders square to the front and kept back; the right hand hanging straight down the side with the palm close to the thigh; the elbow not to be turned out from the body; The firelock to be carried on the left shoulder, as low down as can be admitted without constraint; the three last fingers under the butt; the forefinger and thumb before the swell (of the butt); The flat of the butt to be supported against the hip-bone, and to be pressed so that the firelock may be felt against the left side, and that it may stand before the hollow of the shoulder,, not leaning towards the head nor from it; the barrel almost perpendicular. To be very exact in counting a second time, or one, two between each motion.

An excerpt from “The Manual Exercise as ordered by his Majesty in 1764”

Note that when the firelock was held in this position with the arm extended for a period of time the soldier would find that the arm would lock-up and any move from this position would prove to be very uncomfortable, so there are other movements and positions that can be performed.

The manual covers the exercise drill required of His Majesties Army, this manual also covers the “Fundamentals of Marching and Manoeuvering”, the knowledge and experience of said manual have been lost in time, the various groups that use reproduction copies of these manuals are limited with its context, also the manual covers firings and drill in three ranks.

Whether as a wargamer or re-enactor many seem to tend to aim for the elite units and regiments of the British Army of the time, as a group we prefer a regiment what one would count as a county regiment, we adopted the 37th Foot which was later to receive the title of the North Hampshire Regiment.

As we have seen our aim is to try and balance the regiment to given returns of the day, we believe from our information that the regiment would try and achieve the platoons firings of 16 which would then be sub-divided down into sections.

To start with we believe that we should first look on how we would form our company, at first it was thought that we would form said company into 3 sections led by a corporal, because there were 3 to a company. This would then pose a problem when sub-dividing down, looking at the firings they are equal in part down to the platoon.

Also remember the “1764” was a guide for officers and each regiment would interpret it in differing ways, when performing the drill exercise we found each unit had their spin on the “64” manual, this was quite noticeable when the word of command for each movement was given.

Colonel Tavington.

40’s in your 40’s, Wargaming in 40mm.2

2010-01-24T05:19:00.000-08:00

The organisation and economics of an infantry regiment of 1775 – Part 2. The British

Roughly each stand represents a section, platoon or company depending on the national characteristic of each army whatever the nation and which figure scale we are currently using.

Like many of the regiments at the time they were very lucky to be at full strength.

Stand is the term I will use to mean a section, platoon or company depending on the scale of figures, as I am working on my 40mm collection the stand is to be a movement tray composed of one seatcion, I have mounted all my figures on 1 inch washers for regular's.

We have adopted the 37th Regiment of Foot for our purpose, basing the returns of the 37th in the period of 1775 – 1776 we have organized our regiment as follows, with a listed return strength of around 320 all ranks mustered at that time, the flank companies were on detached duty in the converged Grenadier and Light Infantry battalions so do not add toward this final figure.

The flank company strength's would be near to full as I believe from sources that they would like to keep these numbers up seeing as they were supposed to be the best of the regiment, General Howe liked his converged battalions, however in the field and on campaign numbers would drop, replacements could be drafted in from their parent regiments, it is also interesting to note that draftee's were placed into various regiments from other regiments who on paper were returning home, I thought we should aim for.

8 Line Companies

32 Rank and file including 3 *Corporals split into 2 platoons of 4 sections

2 Sergeants

1 Drummer

2 officers

*I feel that the rank of Corporal was given as a mark of distinction to the most able bodied of the rank & file, looking at various references and also experiencing the 64 drill manual the company would use Corporals as markers, it is our intention to explain our thoughts on this as we post on this theme.

Grenadier Company

32 rank and file + 3 Corporals, split into 2 platoons of 2 sections

2 Sergeants

1 Drummer & 1 fifer

2 officers

Light infantry Company

32 rank and file + 3 Corporals, split into 2 platoons of 2 sections

2 Sergeants

1 Drummer & 1 hornist

2 officers

Colonel Tavington.

40’s in your 40’s, Wargaming in 40mm.1

2010-01-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

The organisation and economics of an infantry regiment of 1775 – Part 1: The British

When looking at how to organise our new collection of the Front Rank 40mm range for the RevWar we wanted to create a more visual interpretation for the table top, the initial plan was to raise a Regiment on a 1 figure to 1 soldier ratio.

This meant that we would then end up with a table top strength of around 300-400 figures in said regiment, obviously the idea seems a little extreme to play a wargame but our purpose is to try and demonstrate the size and complexity of maneuvering a Regiment of the time of the American War of Independence.

By the beginning of 1775 the total establishment of British Regiments had been reduced, peace and politicians being the army’s biggest enemy, after the Seven Year War many regiments raised for the war were disbanded.

However the introduction around 1771 of a second flank company of “light” troops to the regimental composition would allow for greater flexibility to these battalions when in the field, the regiment would therefore consist of 10 companies of 8 centre or hat companies, one Grenadier and one Light company.

The common practice of the time was to form converged combined battalions of the various flank companies drawn from the various regiments, these combined Grenadier and Light battalions held a somewhat elite status amongst the army.

Owing to the poor military science of 18th , century weapons were of limited range, therefore the tactic of the day were for two armies, division, brigade or even just a regiment was to face one another in line of 2 or 3 ranks and trade of musketry hoping one’s resolve would break, the bayonet was an extension of these tactics.

The British Army at this time had become quite diverse in the use of the bayonet as an offensive weapon. Primarily the bayonet was introduced as a defensive weapon after pikemen were removed from the army’s establishment in the early part of the 18th Century. Taking in lessons learned during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, the British Army became one of the best; iron will and discipline were also other attributes to the strength of the Army.

Should you choose to raise your battalions on a 1:1 ratio then we are looking at dividing down into roughly 36 man (rank & file) "actual" strength companies, sources have stated that a company would consist of the correct amount of NCOs’ as these were the administrative part of the company, therefore 2 Sergeant and 3 Corporals would carry out the duties of any normal day. The company was divided into sections, some say 3 as there were 3 Corporals, however it appears that the battalion would be divided equally by wings and divisions for firing purposes, the standard was to split into 16 platoons for firings.

I am very doubtful whether the company would be split into 3 sections as the platoon firing system would divide down into even equal parts, there appears to be no information readily at hand to describe how the company was really subdivided into manageable sections however my thought and experience of drilling and the drill manual of the time would lead me to suspect that the Corporals of the company would fall in with the rank and file and act as markers for the platoons, with each platoon divided into two sections therefore we will have 4 sections to one company, the job of the sergeants was to order and bully the men into position, you must also remember the company drummer would give the correct beat for each order, all were expected to be able to read the drum beat and understand what was the next motion, thereby the order would be verbally given as well as by the drum.

Colonel Tavington.

2010

2010-01-05T04:20:00.000-08:00

Before Christmas Redcoat37th was fortunate to visit Grand Manner for the day, he says.......

The visit was to collect some items I was unable to get owing to missing Warfare (Rivermeade, Reading). The plan was to do a photo shoot on the terrain boards of Dave Bodley of Grand Manner and meet up with Tony who designed and built all the master models for the 40mm range of AWI buildings.

While there I was able to see some of the new 28mm AWI buildings due for release in the early part of 2010, some of these new buildings are in fact copies of the 40mm buildings that have been made by Tony but for the 28mm range, there are some very nice building coming and the tavern he has produced looks fantastic, it is just a shame it’s not in 40mm as I would like one, I did ask for a price on a 40mm model of this tavern as a one off...... but it is mega £££££'s, however I will settle for the 28mm one to go with my smaller 28mm AWI scale collection.

The tavern is very good, anyone who games the AWI in 28mm will want one, our very own travelling redcoat supplied some of the images that Tony used in making the master model, I don’t want to reveal what the building is but just keep an eye out on the Grand Manner website or Tony’s blog.

Redcoat37th

This image is the 37th and 42nd foot at Firle Place, this is a blast from the past, Messer's Stribling, Harris and Miles (The Travelling Redcoat) are the three members of the 37th on the right of this picture. Firle Place in Sussex was the home of Thomas Gage, this event was my first meeting with these three Redcoats, there were/are others in the group.

http://www.grandmanner.co.uk/home/index.asp?id=1

http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com/

As for 2010, well a small part of our group are planning a trip to the States and some of the others as well as the travellers plan on being at Partizan with a game in support of both Grand Manner and Front Rank.

Keep an eye on the blog as we will start to post a bit more regular as we lead up to the events planned in April and May of this year.

We also visited the National Army Museum (NAM) in London just before Christmas, the museum now appears to have completed all the refurbishment work of the last year and have moved as well as added more to the AWI section, this section is now on the lower ramp where you will find two full size figures, there is still the Queens Rangers Rifleman which has now been joined by a certain Roger Lamb in his 9th Foot uniform at the time of Burgoyne's 1777 campaign, the NAM do not allow photography sadly!?! The NAM is worth a visit just to look at these two items, the bookshop was also selling copies of Simcoe's journal in paperback, however this copy does not have the maps you will find in the hard back copy that is in the possession of some of our group.

We are also looking at a weekend of all things Revolutionary War (AWI) later in the year, are there any other RevWar enthusiasts who would like to join in and stage a game or even a lecture, please contact us at my email address.

The second image has members of both the 10th (USA) and 37th (UK) forming up to take part in the 225th at Yorktown, image supplied the travelling redcoat.

Just as a post note, the members of the 37th Foot are still about, if you would like any information relating to the AWI I would consider asking these guys, they have been together for quite a while doing this period well before many of us.

Colonel Tavington

Visiting Valley Forge, Part 2

2009-11-05T05:21:00.001-08:00

1. 2.

3.

4. 5.

1. The entrance to the visitors centre.

2. Weapons of the period.

3. Camp cookware.

4. Valley Creek, between Mount Joy and Mount Misery

5. The Potts House.

Visiting Valley Forge, Part 1

2009-11-05T05:09:00.000-08:00

On a recent business trip to Pennsylvania I headed toward Valley Forge NHP, seeing as I had a spare day I decided to allow the main part of the day walking and driving around the park.
Having seen photo’s of the “Valley Forge Huts” and having recently purchased two of the Grand Manner version of the huts (40mm models AMC40-04) I wanted to see them in the flesh for some painting inspiration.

The park is quite large probably on a scale of Saratoga which I visited some years ago, my first stop was the visitor centre (Stop 1) so I could get orientated and pick up a park guide, the visitor centre located near the park entrance has items on display, to be honest I felt a little disappointed as I thought we may a have seen a model of how Washington’s Valley Forge encampment may have been and what it looked like. After spending some time here and watching the film I set off to follow the road round the park stopping off at the various points identified on the tour map.

You never get to feel the lye of the land until you visit these places, to be honest I was surprised on how hilly and undulating the ground is, obviously the scene from “Revolution” although cinematic did not reflect the actual ground, in defence of this it did suggest how bare the land was and how it would have been when Washington’s Army marched into the area and stripped the land of materials to build the earth works and huts for the winter.

This caption was on one of the information panels which are dotted around Valley Forge.

Just 20 miles outside Philidelphia, Valley Forge was close enough to monitor the British Army activities but far enough away to prevent a surprise attack. Washingtom used this hilly country to his advantage, building defensive lines on ridges over looking Philidelphia to the east and nestling the camp against the Schuylkill River to prevent an attack from the north. From here he could protect the outlying regions, including York where the Continental Congress had fled. The area had abundant fresh water, trees for shelter and firewood, food and forage from local farms.

Stop 2, was the first set of huts located at where Mulhenberg's continental brigade of Virginia regiments formed part of the outer defenses and anchored the army. Here are the first of some of the recreated Valley Forge huts, on the day I visited there were some historical interpreters on hand to chat and answer questions, to the right of the position is redoubt no2, but on the old handout it is identified as “Ft Greene”. To the front of here are the reconstructed mounds with a field gun facing out towards the SE and Philadelphia.

I followed the road along to Stop 3, taking in the various markers of what and which brigade fell in along this outer line, behind the crest of the hill is what was the grand parade, the area is quite wooded and the ground commands the area towards where the British Army would have been, visiting in the fall made for a more pleasurable visit what with the varying tree colours.

Stop 3, this is the National Memorial Arch commemorating the American Soldier of the time, leaving here you head down hill to follow the road which rises up towards the position where the Pennsylvanian Regiments camped under the command of Anthony Wayne, stop 4 is the Wayne statue. This is the Southern outer defensive Line; again the hill falls away with the ground commanding what would have been a good view.

Leaving Stop 4 the roadway drops away towards Valley Creek and where General Knox commandeered quarters, Valley Creek runs between Mount Misery and Mount Joy, this deep ravine is a natural defensive feature, the roadway brings you out to where Washington had his headquarters at the “Isaac Potts House” Stop 5, this is right next to the Schuylkill River which was in the armies rear, the Schuylkill was crossed with a bridge constructed by General Sullivan as an escape route should the British attack, there was no way a surprise attack of any size would be reported on and seen.

The Isaac Potts house is a pleasant looking stone house, I have a fondness for historical buildings and this one is now one of my favorites, there was a park ranger here who conducted a tour and answered questions, the old Valley Forge rail station is where you should start off with first.

There is an information panel here that details the raid conducted by British Forces on September 18th 1777 when they swept through and raised the Forge, Saw Mill and Grist Mill to the ground; this was the only time there was any conflict in the area.

You leave the car park and head indirectly across the road following the winding road up Mount Joy and what was the inner defensive line, this natural feature when clear would command the area, heading down halfway you find the where redoubt No3 would have been and the remains of this and some of the inner line, there is an information panel here and another field gun marking this point.

The base of the hill opens up into the “Grand Parade” and the “Artillery Park” (Stop 8) where there are yellow barreled field guns! These look good from a distance but are very messy when viewed close up. Stop 9 is Varnums Quarter’s another old stone building, close by is a statue of Von Stueban who over look the Grand Parade, it was here in the June of 1778 that there was a grand review of Washington’s Army after it had had Stuebans simplified training in a new form of fighting in line.

Across the road from Stop 9 is redoubt No1, this was manned by Rhode Islanders, it was a star redoubt and I would expect it was quite a heavy fieldworks as it was there to guard the “Sullivan Bridge” spanning the Schuylkill River, all in all a pleasant time spent in a nice piece of countryside considering the urbanization of the area around Valley Forge NHP.

Redcoat37th

2009-09-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

These two images show some of the new 40mm AWI buildings from Grand Manner, it was good catching up with Dave, these new buildings are actually designed by "Tony" who is Dave's oppo in this venture, Grand Manner do the casting.

I spoke with both Dave and Tony about what is planned for the range, it seems that there will be around 25 models altogether, sometime ago I gave them a disc with many images I had taken to help with the design of buildings for the AWI, the ones I had taken of the re-created "Hobkirk Farm" at the Tannenbaum Historical Park NC, assisted in its design.

There are now around 16 items currently in the range, as with all Grand Manner models well worth the investment.

Visit Grand Manner at http://www.grandmanner.co.uk/shop/

Redcoat37th

Front Ranks painted 40's

2009-09-13T14:36:00.001-07:00

These two images were taken during our recent visit to the Colours Wargames Show in Newbury, Berkshire, England. These figures are from the collection of Alec Browne proprieter of Front Rank Figurines.

The range is slowly growing, for the British we have early war Centre, Light and Grenadier figures, the dress is bassed on the 1768 clothing warrant, the Light Infantry come with serperate heads with variation of different Light Infantry caps.

As for the price! Well they are more affordable than when first released, I have always collected Front Rank, my main collection is from their 25mm AWI range, I have now jumped ship to the 40mm figures, this is now the way forward for me.

Redcoat37th.

RevWar

2009-09-07T05:45:00.000-07:00

1) 2)

3) 4)

6) 7)

This is a start of our attempt to wargame the war using Front Rank 40mm figures, the images are some of those taken by various Redcoat members over the last 18 months, they detail some of the places visited.

1) Guilford Courthouse, the second line.

2) Fusiliers Redoubt, Yorktown.

3) At Kings Mountain.

4) Road marker Camden, SC.

5) Redoubt 10, Fort Benning Ga.

6) Front Rank Officer, Nco's and Drummer.

7) Front Rank firing line British.

The images of the 40mm Front Rank Figures show the figures near to completion, one thing we are seeing in converting from 25mm to 40mm is the time taken to paint them, these are going to be part of a yellow faced generic battalion for the Boston Garrison of 1775.

posted by Redcoat37th

The 45 - The Government Army

2008-12-05T19:18:00.000-08:00

GENERALS

C IN C @ 100 points only one per army.

General for the German contingent @ 50 points up to one.

Subordinate General as the second in command he can also act as an infantry or cavalry brigade commander @ 50pts up to one.

British brigade commander only 1 per brigade or “formed line” @ 50points up to three.

Field officer to command a cavalry or infantry regiment or sub section of either @ 20points up to three
two per brigade or “formed line”.

German or Dutch brigade commander @ 40points up to two per three battalions.

Up to 2 artillery officers each one to command a battery @ 40 points.

MOUNTED TROOPS AND CAVALRY

5 figures for Cumberland’s bodyguard of “HUSSARS” light trained cavalry that can also skirmish, there is no cost to upgrade as skirmishers.
@ 10 points per figure.
This unit can only be used when Cumberland is commanding the army.

6 to 15 figures of dragoons of raw line heavy cavalry, elements of 3 figures per troop, two troops per squadron.
@ 8points per figure
2 points to make raw line heavy cavalry as trained line heavy cavalry @10 pts per figure .

5 to 12 figures of trained light volunteer cavalry “Kingstons” , elements of 3 figures per troop, two troops per squadron.
@ 10points per figure.
1 point to allow volunteer cavalry to act as skirmishers, all or none of the regiment .

INFANTRY AND OTHER FOOT UNITS

12 to 24 figures of raw line infantry, elements of 4 figures per stand each representing one company.
@ 3points per figure
1 point to make raw line infantry as trained line total @ 4pts per figure
1 point to make trained line infantry as veteran line total @ 5pts per figure

6 to 24 figures of raw irregular charging soldier infantry armed with muskets @ 4points per figure, organised as a battalion.
1 point to make raw as trained irregular charging soldier infantry @ 5pts per figure.

6 to 20 raw loyalist or government militia infantry @ 3points per figure.
1 point to make them raw irregular militia infantry.

20 to 30 figures of raw line German “Hessians” or Dutch infantry @ 3points per figure.

ARTILLERY

1 to 3 light medium guns to be deployed in one battery or in a mixed battery each with 4 trained crew, 4 horses, a limber and a levy driver, @ 53 points with limber.

Up to 6 light guns with 3 crew, 2 horses, a limber and a levy driver, @ 29 points if raw, @ 32 points if trained , deployed in two batteries or issued as battalion guns up to half or all .

Up to 2 Coehorn mortars to a artillery battery, each mortar with 2 trained crew, @ 10 points per mortar

Or

One light medium howitzer with 3 trained crew, a limber, 4 horses and levy drivers @ 53 points.

CHARACTER GENERALS (at no extra cost, these in fact replace the C in C)

General Sir John Cope classed as “CAUTIOUS”

General Henry Hawley, classed as “RASH”

William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland commander at Cullodon, classed as “BOLD”

ARMY ORGANISATION

1. The C in C can only act as the army commander, unless a brigade officer is directly replaced by him or killed, there is only 1 C in C and 1 Subordinate general. They can command troops of either infantry or cavalry or both with 1 general per brigade of cavalry, infantry and artillery .
Brigades of infantry consist of up to six battalions of any foot and cavalry brigades of up to four squadrons.

2. Artillery can be deployed as a battery with its own commander or placed under the command of the subordinate general.

3. For an army of 2200 points, 1 C in C and a subordinate general are needed.

4. An officers influence is tested for before the start of the game, the test is as per the rules for the British 1 or 2 is cautious, 3,4 or 5 bold, 6 rash and for German/Dutch 1,2,3 or 4 cautious 5 bold and 6 rash.
Or you can use the character generals from the top of this page. Field officers are used to command at regimental or detached element level, they can only control the unit for which they are placed into base contact with, these officers influence can be counted as per the other officers.

5. If you choose to use the standard army list then you can have up to 18 battalions of infantry with two of these classed as veteran line, but only if the entire army is British, with only one trained to two raw battalions within the army, the army must have at least 50% of its line infantry as raw.

6. With using the army list up to 4 regiments of dragoons (line heavy cavalry) can be used, only 50% can be trained cavalry, and only 4 troops of cavalry to 3 battalions of infantry can be used. If using volunteer cavalry (Kingston’s light horse) only two other dragoon regiments can be used. The cavalry can be deployed by squadrons, but each has to be under the control of a field officer.

7. Up to 6 battalions of mercenary infantry can be used in the army but they must have their own national general commanding them.

8. Up to 2 battalions of loyalist militia can also be fielded.

9. Up to 2 battalions of Highland Infantry, one of the Argyll Militia and the other the 64th or Loudons Highlanders, up to one per six battalions of British lines.

10.There can be mixed batteries of artillery with only one light medium to two light guns fielded in the army

A Redcoat reminisces

2008-05-16T05:15:00.000-07:00

I think that most of AWI regulars of a certain age originally became interested in the period thanks to Airfix and the “Washington Army” and “British Grenadiers” packs of 1/72nd soldiers, mine were supplemented with the Napoleonic range and drawing on inspiration from films like “Waterloo”, “Northwest passage”, “Drums along the Mohawk”, “The Alamo” and “The Buccaneer”, also armed with my imagination I set about playing soldiers with Uncles, Grandad and my Father.

The older I got the more interested I became in military history, my first endeavour with metal was the Hinchcliffe and Minifig English Civil War when I was about fifteen, soon it was WWII with 1/300th scale. Dropping my interests with figures I pursued more adult past-times from the ages of 16 – 23 but still having an interest in all things military, around 1988 I met up with another chap who had the same interests as myself, Front Rank English Civil War were our first 25mm collection which was closely followed by Front Ranks AWI....... and the rest as they say is history.

We have put on various demo games since 1990, the first was The Battle of Princeton, by this time we had become interested in re-enactment and signed up with “SAR” (Society of the American Revolution) as members of the 37th Foot, the first demo game was fun as we had members of the 3rd New York and 2nd Rhode Island groups commanding Washington’s army and the 37th in charge of Mawhood's brigade. Between 1990 to around 1998 we were demo game regulars at the Colours and Warfare shows, one year we staged a Crimean game, owing to work constraints we have had to put on hold some of the games planned and have not been at Colours since the show moved to Newbury, we have however staged two WW1 games and two generic AWI games at the Warfare (Reading, Berkshire).

During 2003 and 2004 we even staged a couple of games in conjunction with the National Army Museum, the 2003 game was “Spencer Ordinary", I prepared the game using my figures and information supplied from Brendan Morrissey's knowledge of the engagement, we fought the game on a 1:5 ratio, I now have raised the Queens Rangers to fight the same engagement on 1:2 ratio using Front Rank and Perry Miniatures figures, rules set has always been "Rebellion in the Colonies" by Peter Helm, printed in 1989, with some of our changes though. The army list used is really the Novek books, we use the listed returns of the Novek books to raise regiments. Presently we re-basing and tidying up all our old Front Rank figures to mix in with the Perry/Foundry stuff, the 37th no longer participates in UK events as we have all became older (wider in some cases) and tied down to our responsibilities, however we have not yet written ourselves off.

Redcoat37th

Musgrove Mill

2008-05-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

Apart from having to work my visit to the Carolina’s was quite relaxed, having finished grafting one morning I decided to visit the “Musgrove Mill” state park which was about 35 miles from where I was staying in Spartanburg, SC.

On arrival to the park I managed a chat with one of the park rangers who was quite informative, the park being only a state park does not have the resources as say one of the national parks however I did enjoy my visit.

The visitors centre has a few exhibits relating to the period and a fibre optic diorama of the battlefield which relates to the actual engagement fought at Musgrove Mill, with a audio explanation of the fight of August 18th 1780.

An Edward Musgrove purchased a tract of land on either side of the Enoree River and by 1774 he was quite well established with a house and mill which was primarily used for “Grist” but was also used as a saw mill.

The South Carolina back country at that time was frontier land and heavily wooded, adjacent to the house which was at the top of the incline up from the river was the wagon road, the crossing as expected would be known as Musgrove Ford. There are only the ruins of the old Musgrove house that exist today as the house was mysteriously burned down during the 70’s, there are some information panels placed around the park. The area of the battle is on the Northern side of the Enoree River with the visitors centre and ruins on the Southern side, the park are hoping to gain enough funds to be able to link up both sides with a trail running up to the area of the battlefield.

The map shows the current extent and future plans of the Musgrove Mill site, the battle site was more open than the current area, the ford was just below where the highway 56 bridge is, the road in 1780 crossed at this point, the ground falls away downhill from the visitors centre and foundation ruins of the Musgrove House, the track follows roughly where the road would have been down to the Enoree river, crossing at the ford the road would slowly rise up hill towards an open area where the engagement was fought, looking at the optic diorama map in the visitors centre gives a good idea of the lay of the land, the road was open on both sides which I suspect allowed a little more freedom of movement than being confined by the woods on either side.

By August 1780 a small loyalist force had established a camp and base of operations in the vicinity of the Musgrove House owing to the road crossing and good conditions that were offered for recovering soldiers, there were around 400-600 loyalists of varying troop quality “garrisoned” here, Edward Musgrove was in fact a neutral. A group of 200-300 Patriot militiamen rode to strike what they thought was an equal number of Loyalists at Musgrove Mill on the Enoree River. Instead, they found themselves badly outnumbered, the Tories having been joined by 300 provincial regulars from the nearby British post at Ninety Six. Retreat was impossible, a frontal assault suicidal. So the Patriot forces took a strong defensive position and lured the Loyalists into a fierce fight that turned into a near rout after the British attack collapsed when they lost their commander.

I spent around 3 hours in the area and quite enjoyed my visit, must admit that it is my intention to return to Musgrove Mill one day when they have the park as per their proposed plan.

A Travelling Redcoat

Cowpens and Kings Mountain 2007

2008-04-27T07:12:00.001-07:00

I visited these two sites while working in Atlanta during July 2007, the reason I want to return is twofold weather and camera problems, back in the good old day of point and shoot film camera's I never had this kind of trouble.

Some of my shots of the interiors of the visitors centre's are a little blurry.

A Travelling Redcoat

Travelling Redcoat's

2008-04-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

So where have we been……….

The US and Canada, we try to take in as many AWI and ACW battle sites as we can and any other places of interest:-

AWI - Saratoga, Trenton, Princeton, Monmouth Courthouse, Fort Niagara, Fort Stanwix, Bordentown (occupation weekend with BAR), Williamsburg, Yorktown, Guilford Courthouse, Cowpens, Kings Mountain and Jersey the channel Islands, we did two events there with a group of re-enactors as part of the invasion of Jersey.

ACW – Fredericksberg, Gettysburg, Richmond and associated sites, Atlanta's cyclorama and Kennesaw Mountain.

War of 1812 – Fort Erie, Fort George, Fort York, Lundys Lane, Chippawa, Queenston Heights, Butlers Barracks and Stoney Creek, one of us have been in Canada for a couple of months and managed quite a few visits to the Niagara area which rates as one of our most loved areas we have been to so far, from Richmond to Yorktown Virginia rates pretty high as well.

Portland Oregon have Fort Vancouver, "the fort that fur built" this is a National Parks site and is a very good example of a stockade type fort.

We also have a deep interest with the USMC and Royal Marines, we have been to the Royal Marines museum in Eastney Portsmouth, in 2006 one of us worked out of Richmond Virginia for around a month and visited the USMC Museum at Quantico, what can be said but absolutely outstanding.

There are other places that I have visited some are listed here, there are also many other places that I have been to but not much there floated my boat, Russia – Moscow and St Petersburg (worth a weekend away), Greece – Thermopylae, Belgium – Ypres, France – Normandy, Northern Spain and Portugal, Gibraltar and South Africa.

We will post more as time goes by...................

Who are Redcoats at WAR

2008-04-21T05:25:00.000-07:00

We are small group of like minded individuals who are interested in the wars fought by the British Army between 1700 and present day. Our current projects see our group raising armies to fight the Boer War and the American Revolution, over the last few years we have accumulated a wide variety of books and relevant information relating to these two periods.

We intend to post our progress as we endeavour in preparing to hit the wargames circuit with two demostration games that we hope to show in 2009, we will also post some general information of the two periods we are currently covering, our little group is made up of wargamers and a couple of re-enactors who also like to wargame.

In the past we have staged games using 25mm figures for the American Revolution, Crimean War, 7th&8th Cape Wars and World War I, inspiration comes from Tarletons Quarter and Touching History for the AWI, these have to be two of the best sites showing a very high standard of figures and terrain.

Col. Tavington