Talavera 208 - French and British Limber Teams and French Supply Wagons

French Artillery Train

Following on from my previous post about French Horse Artillery, I decided to carry on with the momentum of completing the French and British orders of battle for Talavera by completing the extra limber teams required to convert my three model gun batteries into two model gun batteries that better reflect the footprint of the six to eight guns they represent.

The French artillery arm at Talavera numbered 66 guns in total, 36 with I Corps and 30 with IVth Corps and the guns needed a lot of limbers, ammunition caissons. support and replacement vehicles to service those guns and these models are designed to represent that support on the table.

The great aspect of using Carnage & Glory is that the rules really encourage the players to treat their gun crews with the respect that the historical commanders were forced to; namely repeat firing over several turns will fatigue the gunners and reduce their effectiveness and lethality.

The wise commander in such a large game, planned to be fought over two days, is thus forced to think about keeping some of his batteries in reserve, fresh and ready to replace batteries forced to retire and recover their fatigue.

These models will thus help to indicate those guns limbered or moving to and from the reserve and will really add to the overall look of the game.

Not only that but their completion marks the lasts models required to represent the French army in the afternoon attack scenario.

French Supply Train Drivers 

I am very lucky to have family who are only to happy to support my balmy hobby and contribute to the collection with the odd model or two at Xmas and birthdays.

This Xmas was no different and I was gifted with some great models from Blue Moon, Warmodelling and AB representing the rear area troops together with casualty figures that really help add extra drama to any game.

The Blue Moon range of support and supply wagons are a great addition to the 18mm offerings available and fill a gap that has needed filling for some while.

I couldn't resist working on a pack of these models whilst doing the limber teams and soon discovered the need to get my scratch building head on to organise horse teams and drivers for this pair of French supply wagons.

Come on you 18mm range designers, please can we have some nice drivers and other seated troops to adorn models like these.

I much prefer AB horses to any other range and so decided to use some of the left over ones from my foot limber teams to stand in for my supply wagon teams.

The drivers took a little more work to manufacture, with the decision to use a couple of spare Xan French legere. These marching infantry had their muskets removed together with their legs and back packs, then having new putty sculpted legs added to have them seated on the wagons.

I then decided to create some covered loads using bits of cork tile cut up and stuck together, covered in toilet paper lightly soaked in watered down PVA and then painted when dried.

I haven't stuck the loads in and so I can have empty wagons or different loads with barrels and boxes uncovered.

The Supply Train drivers were a vital support to the French in Spain who found it harder and harder to allow their troops to so readily loot the countryside as they tended to do elsewhere in Europe.

The wagons, whilst adding extra eye candy to the Talavera game will also come in handy for some future guerrilla ambush games and those pursuit scenarios where the French are tasked with getting their stores and ill-gotten booty away in a hurry.

The traces and driving reins were created using my trusty three ply fuse wire which allows the look of draped reins and taught traces to be easily modelled.

The original 2CV - French army style - G. Rava

British Royal Artillery Drivers

And finally the British order of battle is now finished with the completion of these two foot limber teams, using the excellent AB range of drivers and limbers.

At the start of the Revolutionary War, British artillery was still being drawn by civilian drivers with all the problems that system caused when expecting guns to be moved under fire.

It was not until September 1794 that the Corps of Captains, Commissaries and Drivers was established replacing civilians with soldiers and attaching teams of drivers to the artillery brigades; this military formation was found unsatisfactory and was replaced in 1801 by the Corps of Gunner Drivers itself replaced in 1806 by  Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers.

The new Corps reported directly to the Board of Ordnance that commanded the artillery but was a separate entity to the artillery.

The look of the drivers was very similar to the horse gun crews, with their Tarleton helmets and light cavalry style of dress and sabres.

If you are planning to add traces to your teams and get information about harness colours, which were black leather fittings for British teams, you really need a good reference source and I found Franklin's book on British artillery such a reference. 

No video clip with this post as work has taken over in recent weeks and I am off this weekend to enjoy the fun at Crusade 2017 in Penarth, my first show of the new year - post to follow.

So if you have any questions about the models shown, drop me a post on the blog, and I will endeavour to answer them.

So the Next Talavera 208 posts will be back looking at the final formation of troops, namely General Bassecourt's 5th Spanish Infantry Division and starting with the 1st Regiment of Spanish Royal Marines.

References consulted for this post
British Napoleonic Field Artillery - C. E. Franklin
Talavera 1809 Chartrand & Turner - Osprey Campaign

Talavera 208 - British General Officers

Work on finishing off the British and French collections has continued over the Xmas break and I have added the remaining British General Officers required plus another battery of French horse artillery to follow in another post.

So to kick 2017 off with the first post of the year I thought I would take a look at British General Officers, and I will cover the anachronism in the header for this post, so those eagle eyed amongst you can save sending me a comment highlighting it.

The uniform for British General Officers under the 1802 Clothing Regulations described the following dress:

• Black cocked hat, increasingly worn fore and aft, instead of athwart, having a black cockade with gilt scale loop and button, surmounted by a white feather with red base. At each corner was a gold and crimson tassel.

Graham Turner's illustration of General Wellesley's meeting with General Cuesta prior to the battle of Talavera. Wellesley is shown wearing the full dress uniform of a British General as described in the 1802 regulations. Note Wellesley's  ADC (to his left) wearing two gold bullion epaulettes appropriate for the commander's personal ADC. 

• The scarlet coat has blue patches at either end of the collar, small indented blue cuffs and blue lapels down to the waist which could be buttoned back to show the blue and fastened to the front using hooks and eyes to be worn double breasted.

• The long skirts were lined with white cassimere (cashmere smooth white woollen twill), hooked back and fastened at the bottom with scarlet gold embroidered ornaments.

• There was a gilt button on the blue collar patches, nine or ten down each lapel, three or four set vertically down each skirt and cuff and two at the back at hip level.

• Generals had their buttons at equal distance, lieutenant-generals in threes, major-generals and brigadier-generals in pairs, except the latter had the skirt and cuff buttons set two over one.

• On each shoulder was worn an epaulette of gold embroidery on scarlet cloth with gold bullion fringe.

• There were two types of coat; the embroidered one with gold embroidered loops on all the button holes, including collar cuffs and skirts, and the plain or undress coat which was without the embroidery, but normally had the button holes marked by narrow twists, the same colour as the cloth.

• White cloth or cassimere breeches with black topped boots were to be worn with either coat and the uniform was completed with a crimson sash worn around the waist with the knot and ends at the left side.

• The sword was suspended with white waist belt and slings and fastened by a snake clasp between two lions' heads.

All my general officer basing works on one officer representing a brigade command, two for a division, three for a corps and a fancy round base for a king or emperor.

Now to cover off my slight anachronism, in that I have my divisional commander, based with his staff officer wearing the uniform reforms of 1811 with a move away from the previous gold bullion epaulettes to the single aiguillette or brassard worn on the right shoulder only arranged lightly differently for lieutenant and major-generals.

This look would not have been seen at Talavera, but with an eye to future campaigns I put this pair together anyway.

Brigadier General Craufurd depicted leading the Light Division at Bussaco in the undress uniform of a Brigadier General. Note the use of  light infantry style sword carried on a black undress belt worn with more robust grey overalls

The British army worked on the idea that lieutenant-generals would command divisions or wings and major-generals, brigades, but this was not always possible and indeed in the case of General Craufurd, Wellesley had to tread carefully around the regulations when he had a brigadier general commanding the "Light Division", all be it that the division started out more like a large brigade to avoid a more senior general claiming the command from the very able Craufurd.

The rank of brigadier general was not an official rank between colonel and major general but rather an honorary rank for senior field officers promoted to command brigades and several majors and lieutenant-colonels who were the most senior rank in their respective brigades found themselves in command at Talavera, thus I have a buff faced colonel with silver regimental lace in among the general officers displayed.

Of course British General Officers were very often a law unto themselves when it came to uniform regulations with General Picton and his top hat a classic illustration; and even Wellesley was never a stickler for regulation, often preferring a utilitarian blue frock coat over his white breeches and hessian boots to his scarlet dress coat. That said, he did draw the line with Guards officers appearing in the line carrying umbrellas, describing them as 'un-military' in appearance.

As can be seen my general officers are decked out in the more commonly seen and practical hard wearing grey overalls as shown in the picture of General Craufurd.

Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton seen here in the 1811 uniform as described in the text

All levels of general officers would have accompanying staff, but I tend only to include them on the base with divisional and above, command levels.

British ADCs were not strictly staff officers, that title reserved for officers serving under the two branches of the staff, the Quartermaster General's Department principally overseeing troop movements and quartering and the Adjutant-General's Department principally concerned with intelligence, prisoners of war, drill, discipline and the rendering of returns.

Members of the two staff offices were represented throughout the commands although both facilities were often carried out at brigade level by the brigade-major, without any other staff. These officers wore the same style of uniform as their generals except their lace was in silver with epauettes on red cloth rather than gold epaulettes for generals.

ADC's on the other hand were attached personally to their generals who were also responsible for their pay and provisions. Their dress regulations was the same as for staff officers except they wore gold rather than silver lace and like brigade-majors wore a single bullion fringed epaulette on blue cloth on the left shoulder (cavalry) or right shoulder (infantry), but with the ADC for a Commander of British forces wearing epaulettes on both shoulders as seen in Graham Turner's illustration above.

Thus my divisional commander is being greeted by a general of infantry's ADC.

Another point to note with British horse furniture is the use of brown leather harnesses rather than the black preferred by the French.

All my general officers are from the AB range of figures from Fighting 15's.

Next up French Horse Artillery

References used in this post:
Talavera 1809, Wellington's Lightning Strike into Spain - Rene Chartrand, Graham Turner, Osprey Campaign.
The British Military, its system and organisation 1803-15 - S.J.Park & G.F. Nafziger
1815 The Uniforms at Waterloo - Ugo Percoli, Micheal Glover, Elizabeth Longford
Wellington's Generals - Michael Barthorp, Richard Hook, Osprey Men at Arms

2/83rd County of Dublin Regiment of Foot - Fitch's Grenadiers

The 83rd County of Dublin Regiment of Foot was raised on the 28th September 1793 by American born Lieutenant Colonel William Fitch; one of the new regiments raised in response to Britain entering the Revolutionary War with France.

Colonel William Fitch - 1800 - painting by John Singleton Copley

The Raising of the 83rd Regiment of Foot and Colonel William Fitch

The portrait of Colonel Fitch above is very intriguing, presumably in his uniform as Colonel of the 83rd Foot, but showing him with silver lace and bullion with his yellow facings, not the gold lacing for officers in the 83rd.

The regiment soon gained the nickname of Fitch's Grenadiers based on the British Army's traditional habit of "irony with a smile" in that the majority of the recruits were considered short men for the time and Grenadiers were always picked for being the tallest men in a regiment.

The 83rd were soon on active service with half the regiment being sent first to Jamaica in 1795 taking part in the Second Maroon War where Colonel Fitch was killed in action with the rebels and the other half being sent to Santo Domingo with the two detachments not being reunited until 1798 in Jamaica remaining on garrison duty until 1802 when it was recalled back to England to recruit its losses from battle and disease having lost nearly 900 men from the original strength of 1100 in the time away from home.

Adjutant of the 83rd Foot, Jamaica - Maroon War 1795 - watercolour Dan Green

https://www.royal-irish.com/persons/lieutenant-jacob-brunt-adjutant-83rd-regiment-of-foot-jamaica-maroon-war-1795

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

It was during their time at home with a period of garrison duties in Jersey between 1803-05 that the second battalion was raised. The first battalion was soon ordered overseas again joining the expedition against the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope where it took part in the Battle of Blaauwberg 1806 and following the victory against the Batavian Army remained as part of the garrison until 1817.

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

Meanwhile the 2/83rd remained at home on garrison duties, supplying drafts of reinforcements to the first battalion at the Cape, and raising its establishment from around 600 to 1000 men until in early 1809 it was put on standby to reinforce Sir John Moore's army in the Corunna campaign.

With the withdrawal of Sir John's army in January the battalion was recalled from sea and almost immediately put on standby to join a new force being assembled under Sir Arthur Wellesley, landing at Lisbon under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gordon with the new Commander of Bristish and Portuguese forces on 6th April 1809.

Joining with the 2/9th Foot and the 2/10th Portugese Line Infantry in the 7th brigade under Brigadier General Alan Cameron, part of General Hill's Division, the battalion was sent north as part of the campaign to drive Marshal Soult out of Oporto and eventually chase the French army back into Northern Spain, routing the French rearguard at Salamonde on the 16th May.

http://thenapoleonicwargamer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/salamonde-and-3-bridges-soult-in.html
http://comabrisadamontanha.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/na-senda-da-guerra-peninsular.html

May-June 1809 found the 2/83rd moving south through Portugal with the rest of Wellesley's army towards the Tagus Valley, save the Portuguese who were left to protect Oporto and to monitor Soult and Ney.

On the 18th June in Plascencia they found themselves now brigaded with the newly arrived 1/61st foot and a company of the 5/60th Rifles under Brigadier General Cameron part of General Sherbrooke's 1st Division and marching towards Talavera arriving there at the end of July.

The 2/83rd along with their brigade comrades spent most of the time at the Battle of Talavera enduring lying down under French artillery fire until the late afternoon of the 28th July when the brigade was at the the centre of the main French attack in the battle.

After successfully repulsing the French infantry columns of Lapisse and Sebastiani, the British battalions involved pursued the French beyond the Portina stream with Cameron's brigade managing to halt their pursuit only to see the KGL and Guards keep going and get badly handled by the second line of advancing French columns and themselves pursued back across the Portina stream with French officer being heard to exclaim "Alons, mes enfants, ils sont touts nos prisonniers" ("Come, my children, they are all our prisoners").

Cameron's brigade helped delay the French counter-attack long enough for the 1/48th and Mackenzie's 3rd Division to come up and repulse the second wave of French infantry.

The afternoon attack was the final "throw of the dice" for King Joseph and the French were starting to withdraw by 19.00, but the 2/83rd had paid a terrible price for its bravery, losing over 50% of their strength, losing 283 men in total with Colonel Alexander one of four officers killed along with thirty-eight men.

https://www.royal-irish.com/events/83rd-foot-2nd-battalion-battle-talavera-spain

The 2/83rd would go on to join the list of those second battalion infantry regiments that would form the veteran core of the the Duke of Wellington's Peninsular Army, with battle honours to include Talavera, Busaco, Cuidad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Nivelle, Orthez, Toulouse and Peninsula. with Colonel Alexander awarded posthumously the Army Gold Medal with Talavera clasp.

Sgt Thomas Hazelhurst, 2/83rd Foot, Picurina Fort, Badajoz 1812 - watercolour by Dan Green

https://www.royal-irish.com/persons/sergeant-thomas-hazlehurst-2nd83rd-regiment-of-foot-picurina-fort-badajoz-1812

An excellent illustration of the look of the 2/83rd is created in this picture by Dan Green and more information can be found in the link to Royal Irish Website.

My 2/83rd are composed primarily of figures from the Xan range supplied by Empress Miniatures and the Command group of mounted officer and two ensigns from the AB range supplied by Fighting 15s. The Colours are from GMB flags.

Other Sources consulted for this post:
Wellington's Infantry (1), Osprey - Bryan Fosten
Talavera, Wellington's First Victory in Spain - Andrew W. Field
https://www.royal-irish.com/
http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/83rd-county-dublin-regiment-foot
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/83rd_(County_of_Dublin)_Regiment_of_Foot
http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/Britain/Infantry/WellingtonsRegiments/c_83rdFoot.html

British Infantry Painting Tutorial - PDF

As with the French Line infantry Painting Tutorial, I have captured the key stuff in an easy to reference PDF that will be handy if, like me, you keep a lot of this stuff on a tablet for easy reference. Even if you don't use a tablet, then this should be easier than constantly referring back to the blog.

Just look under My Resources and Downloads in the right column for the link.
Enjoy, and good painting.

1/61st South Gloucestershire Regiment of Foot - "The Flowers of Toulouse"

In the winter of 1756/57 during the Seven Years War the British Government decided to increase the size of the British Army by directing a number of regiments to form second battalions with the 3rd (Buffs) Foot forming theirs on the 10th December 1756. Two years later the 2/3rd Foot was red-designated the 61st Regiment of Foot under it's first Colonel, Major General Granville Elliot. The new regiment continued its association with its predecessor by maintaining its buff facings.

Major General Granville Elliot - First Colonel of the new 61st Regiment of Foot

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

In late 1758 the regiment was involved in its first operations when it was sent to the Caribbean as part of operations to capture the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique where the British failed to take the former but were successful against the latter; though the 61st Foot suffered high casualties in the process and was back home in 1760 to recruit its losses.

During the American War of Independence the 61st Foot were in garrison on the island of Minorca which had been taken by the British in the Seven Years War but in February 1782 fell to a combined landing by French and Spanish troops in a six month campaign and siege against Fort St Philip.

Repatriated in May 1782, the regiment quickly re-built and in August, with all regiments of foot without a "Royal" title, was given a county designation and the regiment became the 61st South Gloucestershire Foot and was posted to Ireland where it spent the next ten years in garrison duties.

The war against Revolutionary France in 1793 saw the 61st Foot in action abroad starting with another expedition to the Caribbean islands in December 1794, with action in St Lucia and Martinique, returning to England in 1796 and after a short time in garrison duties in Guernsey was off to attack and capture the Dutch colony of the Cape of Good Hope in 1798-99. In 1801 the regiment took part in the Egyptian campaign to expel the remains of General Bonaparte's army gaining the award of the Sphinx badge to its colours for its part in the campaign.

61st Foot Cape of Good Hope - Bryan Fosten

In 1803 the regiment was in Malta when on the raising of a second battalion it was re-designated the 1st Battalion 61st Regiment. For the remainder of its time up to its involvement in the Spanish Peninsula, the regiment remained in the Mediterranean theatre operating from Sicily and Gibraltar at various times, joining with Major General John Stuart's landing in Italy in 1806 taking part in the Battle of Maida on the 4th of July, where British and French battalions fought each other in line.

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

The 61st Foot commenced its involvement in the Peninsular War in June 1809 landing at Lisbon under the command of Major James Coghlan, quickly assembling and moving his battalion off to catch up with General Sir Arthur Wellesley's army at Plascencia on the 18th July.

The new battalion was brigaded with the 2/83rd Foot and a company of the 5/60th Rifles as the 2nd brigade of 1st Division under Colonel Alan Cameron arriving at Talavera at the end of July.

On the night of the 27th July, Marshal Victor launched General Ruffin's division on its surprise attack and it would seem that the 61st Foot were caught up in the confused fighting on the periphery of the main attack against the Cerro de Medellin as French battalions became confused and lost in the dark.

The next morning found the 61st Foot with three men killed and three wounded and with Major Coghlan, not only badly wounded but taken prisoner and command passing to Major Henry Orpen.

The 61st Foot spent most of the morning of the 28th July suffering under the heavy French cannonade inflicted on the British line preceding and following the French infantry attack against the Cerro de Medellin soon after dawn.

It wasn't until 15.00 with the launch of the French afternoon assault primarily against the centre of the British line that the 61st was heavily engaged in the infantry fight.

Lieutenant Charlton of the Grenadier Company, 61st Foot described the days action:

"About 10 in the morning we had a fine view of King Joseph surrounded by his body guards. His Majesty took especial care to keep his Royal person out of reach of our artillery. The action was continued with varied success in the woods until 1 o'clock. It was then obvious from the enemy's movements that a desperate attempt on our whole line was in contemplation. 

Our division received orders to charge the enemy with the bayonet the moment their caps could be seen as they ascended the ravine which was about 100 yards in our front. The French line of infantry advanced supported by artillery and cavalry with cries of 'Vive Napoleon'. 

The 61st, 83rd and Guards, with loud cheers, rushed towards the enemy with the bayonet, repulsing them, but continuing the pursuit too far, were much exposed, in returning to their ground, to the fore of the French artillery and retreating columns. These regiments were also threatened with a charge of cavalry which being observed, the 48th Regiment and a body of dragoons were brought forward to cover their reformation. 

The enemy bringing up fresh troops, the action was continued with great obstinacy until about 6 o'clock, when their efforts became weaker, and before 7 o'clock the French fell back, completely repulsed at every point. In these several attacks the 61st lost 15 officers and nearly three hundred Non Commissioned Officers and Privates.

With heartfelt sorrow I learnt that my ever lamented friend, Major Orpen, was killed in the last charge by a musket shot in the chest."

To their credit, the 1/61st and 2/83rd did at least halt their pursuit once across the Portina as Colonel Cameron ordered his brigade to pull back in the face of the French second line and the fire from the French artillery and indeed his still formed troops were able to lend their support in covering the withdrawal of the Guards and KGL battalions.

It was the intervention of the 1/48th and more particularly Mackenzie's 3rd Division that brought the French second line of columns to a halt allowing the battered battalions of 1st Division to regroup and assess their losses.

Those losses were indeed grievous with Cameron's brigade having lost 500 men of the 1,400 men it had started with and with the 61st Foot losing 265 men in total with 3 officers and 43 men killed.

The 61st South Gloucestershire Regiment of Foot were already a seasoned battalion on arrival in the Peninsula and gained the nick-name of the "Silver Dandies" due to their officers maintaining much of the silver lacing on their button loops despite the changes in dress regulations. The 61st would serve the full duration of the war seeing action at Busaco, Fuentes de Onoro, Salamanca, Burgos, Vittoria, Sorauren, Nivelle, Nive, Orthez and finally Toulouse and it would seem fitting that it earned it's final title from its comrades in arms in recognition of its bravery and commitment as the "Flowers of Toulouse" in remembrance of  their many dead young soldiers lying on the field of battle in their bright new clean uniforms.

My 61st Foot are composed of AB figures and Colours from Fighting 15s and their completion just leaves one more British battalion to complete the order of battle for Talavera.

The following references were used in this post:

Wellington's Infantry (1), Osprey - Bryan Fosten
Talavera, Wellington's First Victory in Spain - Andrew W. Field
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/61st_(South_Gloucestershire)_Regiment_of_Foot
http://www.nam.ac.uk/research/famous-units/61st-south-gloucestershire-regiment-foot
http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/Britain/Infantry/WellingtonsRegiments/c_61stFoot.html
http://www.glosters.org.uk/textonly_timeline/3

Next up the 2/83rd County of Dublin Regiment of Foot - "Fitch's Grenadiers"