Mohawk Valley Collection - Albany and Tryon County Militia

The work on the paint bench this month and part of February has been focussed on completing my first tranche of the Albany and Tryon County Militia that will form the core of my Rebel American army to oppose the Crown forces in my Mohawk Valley collection of AWI figures.

With a solid core of Crown forces completed, that has seen the build of the Kings Royal Regiment of New York, Butlers Rangers, British regulars and light infantry, Jaegers and the allied Mohawk Indian forces, I decided to shift the focus on to the American troops so that I could have a start to the collection that would allow some practice games, prior to doing something big with a much larger collection.

That work started last year with a few trial builds of some plastic and metal Perry options for American militia, but more thought was needed, together with some scratch building to complete the force I was looking to build.

With a lot of work put into the Age of Sail collection of model ships brought to a conclusion with the completion of the first part of the collection at the end of last year, I found myself with time to start work on my planned militia build that would see me constructing a force of some one hundred and forty four militiamen, to allow an eventual fighting of Klock's Field, perhaps one of the most significant engagements in this bloody conflict on the northern frontier of New York state in the AWI.

Obviously with this number of troops I was looking for the most cost effective and attractive option to build a militia army with character that would capture the look and spirit of the Rebel forces that formed the frontline defence in the Mohawk Valley in the 1780's and the idea of the Perry's to adapt their plastic Continentals for this option had a strong appeal, with plenty of scratch building options on offer, as covered in my post over Xmas and linked below.

JJ's Wargames - Mohawk Valley Collection American Militia Scratch Build

The Xmas work schedule also saw the completion of my Jaegers together with some metal militiamen to add even more variety to my plastics build, link below.

JJ's Wargames - Mohawk Valley Collection, Jaegers & Militia

In addition, if you are interested in seeing some of the other units built prior to this work, I did a summary post capturing the key build with a link also below.

JJ's Wargames - AWI Mohawk Valley Collection

So, back to the militia, and introducing the first twenty five percent of my militia army for the Mohawk Valley ready to take on my Crown troops and Indian allies.

On March 8th 1772 the Province of New York passed a bill for the establishment of organised militia in each county in the colony, and four years later with the start of the American War of Independence, the Tryon County militia had become an army of rebellion under the control of the Tryon County Committee of Safety, fighting in the Saratoga Campaign of 1777 at the Battle of Oriskany.

The Battle of Oriskany, August 6th 1777

The battle would herald the ongoing struggle between the rebels and loyalists of the Mohawk River valley in New York state, as the 800 strong Tryon County militia column of Brigadier General Nicholas Herkimer found itself ambushed by a loyalist force of some 400 Iroquois Indians and 100 men of the King's Royal Regiment of New York led by Colonel Sir John Johnson, with the former marching to the relief of Fort Stanwix under siege by a British force under the command of Lt. Col. Barry St Leger, supporting operations by General Burgoyne, marching down the Hudson Valley.

The ensuing battle was a disaster for the Tryon County men losing some 465 casualties to just 28 on the loyalist side, with the survivors forced to flee under the pursuit of the vengeful Mohawks.

The Saratoga Campaign of 1777 - Map courtesy of Wikimedia
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burgoyne%27s_March_on_Albany,_1777.svg

Burgoyne's campaign ended in failure and his subsequent surrender in September brought France into the war and would see a change in leadership in British Canada as the forces there went over to the defence, until a lack of direct French involvement in the region prompted a more aggressive response in 1780 as the Mohawk Indians and Crown forces returned to the Mohawk Valley and beyond, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.

The Champlain and Mohawk valleys would be the access routes of the loyalist columns and with the Continental Army otherwise engaged in operations around New York, Philadelphia and having to commit forces to defend the south, the defence of the New York, Northern Department fell on the shoulders of local leaders and local forces in the form of the five regiments of New York and two regiments of Massachusetts State Levies and the five regiment of Tryon and sixteen regiments of Albany County militia.

The Battle of Oriskany gave the militiamen an early inoculation to the shock of battle and the battles to come and I wanted my representation of these men to reflect their experience and better preparedness for the actions that followed in 1780 and 1781, with these men kitted out for the marches they had to conduct often in pursuit of enemy raiding columns.

Thus these soldiers carry the blanket rolls and packs more often seen on the regulars as part of that preparedness and in amongst the soldiers I have sprinkled a few rifle armed volunteers who can readily stand in as my Militia Ranger options, clad in hunting shirts and able to form into small skirmish groups.

In 1779 the Tryon County militia was combined with the Albany County militia and on March 20th 1780, Brigadier General Robert Van Rensselaer was given command of the second brigade and in 1781 Marinus Willett was appointed in overall command of New York militia.

Colonel Marinus Willett - Ralph Earl

By the time Willett was appointed to command the militia, the Mohawk Valley had been ravaged as part of Sir John Johnson's 'Great Raid' in September and October 1780, with supporting operations the previous May along the Champlain Valley; during which the militia had been given the run around suffering defeats at Stone Arabia and Klock's Field and failing to intercept and decisively defeat the invading columns, and leaving the Tryon County militia reduced from about 2,500 men to just over a thousand men at arms but with very low morale.

The state of affairs prompted Willett to remark on assuming command that 

"I don't think I shall give a very wild report if I say, that one third have been killed, or carried captive by the enemy; one third removed to the interior places of the county; and one third deserted to the enemy."

However in June 1781 the combative style of Willett took immediate effect with his leading an attack against Lieutenant John Doxstader of the Indian Department, himself leading a mixed force of seventy rangers and Indians on a raid up the Schoharie Creek, skirmishing with rebel militia on the march, and attacking property and livestock close to Corrystown.

After removing 120 cattle and horses, the raiders set fire to twenty homes in the area and the smoke from the attack alerted Colonel Willett at his headquarters in Canajoharie, who immediately set forth with 170 odd militiamen and getting in front of Doxstader laid an ambush.

However Doxstader was warned of his peril by a scout and he ordered his men to disperse and attack the ambush site, but recognising he was outnumbered called a retreat, getting his men clear and taking six prisoners but being forced to abandon the livestock captured earlier.

 

The autumn of 1781 was dominated by another large raid into the Mohawk Valley, this time to be lead by Major John Ross commanding the second battalion of the KRRNY and, with Sir John Johnson on leave in England to settle financial matters, commander of the expedition of 734 troops and Indians.

4 Companies, 2nd Battalion KRRNY             - 198 (Major John Ross)

8th Regiment                                                   - 36   (Lt. Thomas Coote)

34th Regiment                                                 - 76 (Capt. William Ancrum)

84th Regiment, Royal Highland Emigrants    - 36

German Jaegers                                               - 12

3 Companies Butlers Rangers                         - 167 (Capt. Walter Butler)

Indians, mixed tribes                                       - 109 (Capt. Gilbert Tice)

Indians from the Genesee River Country        - 100

Ross, a Seven Years War veteran, would lead his force on a similar route to that chosen a year earlier by Johnson but was destined to meet stiffer opposition and to find less to destroy than Johnson, with many people having left and those few remaining able to take refuge in nearby strong posts, with twenty four such places in the sixty-three miles between Schnectady and German Flatts.

Colonel Marinius Willett was in command of the defenders, himself based at Canajoharie, having abandoned Fort Stanwix and he had on call some 1,200 regulars and 800 militiamen.

The raiding force marched swiftly to enter Corrystown on October 24th but did not burn it this time to avoid alerting Willett and his defence forces and making use of the surprise to enter the Mohawk Valley before the rebels could organise a large enough force to meet them. 

Suspecting that the rebels may well guess his force would exit yet again along the Mohawk to Oneida Creek and discover his hidden cache of food and munitions ahead of his force, Ross decided to change his plans with a more direct withdrawal to Carleton Island via the Black River and making best use of his surprise crossed the Mohawk at one o'clock on the 25th October, with rain teeming down and rebel militia already gathering on the opposite bank, his troops and Indians skirmishing with the militia and attacking and burning property on their march to Johnstown.

However it became clear to Ross that he would not be able to outmarch the rebel pursuit column organised by Willett, and entering the woods east of Johnstown, he determined to make a stand.

Colonel Willett's advance party appeared and retreated when fired at, but with the main body close behind them Willett led the advance across an open field supported by a single piece of artillery.

Ross's men stood their ground and as the rebels wavered, Ross ordered an advance causing a running fight as Willett's men broke and fled abandoning their gun.

Ross later wrote of the action,

'I lamented the want of a good Body of Indians, (few of those present venturing to engage), in which Had I been so fortunate, it would in all probability have crushed the Spirit of Rebellion on the Mohawk River, on our left the Rebels had planted a Field Piece with another Body of men, and in our following the enemy out of the Woods they kept up a brisk fire, the Troops advanced to attack, the very countenance of which made the rebels give way.'

It seems Ross's advance was brought short as his right flank was attacked by another 'body' of the enemy, and Ross ordered his own 3-pounder turned on them as the afternoon closed out to evening with this last rebel attack driven off and Willett able to disengage, whist Ross's men sheltered in the wood, destroying abandoned enemy ammunition before resuming their march north.

Ross reported that his men acquitted themselves well stating more than 1,200 rebels had pursued them, 400 of them Continentals, and his casualties as negligible whilst the enemy lost many officers and at least twenty men.

Willett pressed his pursuit of the Crown force and caught up with their rear-guard at West Canada Creek, with Ross having just got his column across at 2pm on the 30th October. He went on to report;

'Just as the Troops had all got over, the Rebels made their appearance, and fired upon our Rear, the fire was returned. Captain Butler who commanded the Rangers covering the Line of March was unfortunately killed, several men were also killed and wounded. The Enemy had greatly the advantage of Ground and their favourite object of firing at a distance, wherefore I ordered the Troops to move forward in order to take possession of the first favourable Spot that offered which was accordingly done, the sick and wounded were sent on.'

The Battle of Johnstown would be one of the last battles of the war in the north as news spread of the British surrender at Yorktown effectively seeing the running down of major operations, as the peace negotiations moved into full swing.

With a stiffening of regulars among their ranks the Albany and Tryon County militia proved they were a force to be reckoned with under the right leadership and with them not being asked to do more than their capabilities offered.

In time I plan to create a large force of these chaps, stiffened with the odd gun or two, some state levies and occasionally the odd group of Continentals with a refighting of Klock's Field a key objective.

I am really pleased with the way these plastics have turned out and I think readily provide a very cost effective and attractive alternative to building a large fore of rebel militia.

Sources referred to:

The Burning of the Valleys - Gavin K. Watt

King's Men, the Soldier Founders of Ontario - Mary Beacock Fryer

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tryon_County_militia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marinus_Willett

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Butler_(Loyalist)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albany_County_militia

Lot's more to come on JJ's as I'm off to club today to play in the follow up game of Maurice featured in my previous post, before setting off tomorrow for a short break in Yorkshire, where I am planning to visit HMS Trincomalee in Hartlepool, the last surviving British Napoleonic Wars type frigate of the Leda Class and sister ship to HMS Shannon, and the second oldest warship afloat.

More anon

JJ