The World Turned Upside Down - Project Progress Review.

The long march back to Boston in 1775 for the British column depicted here by Don Troiani, right at the start of the American War of Independence seemed appropriate to reflect my own long march with a project that has similarly just commenced, all be it under much less stressful circumstances, but hopefully will serve as my own effort to pay tribute to the warriors on both sides of this somewhat tragic conflict for the 250th commemorations.

 

It was a year ago that I decided to start work on a new project here on JJ's, partly to fulfil a desire to work on another 'big-battle' horse and musket collection, following the work on my Peninsular War collection of figures that was serialised here on JJ's about ten years ago, that resulted in refights of Vimeiro, Corunna, Oporto, amongst others and culminated in the series of games refighting Talavera with Carnage & Glory, and the scenario book of early British Peninsular War scenarios that I penned for use with Over the Hills.

The American War of Independence, or American Revolution depending on which side of the pond one hails from, has always been a theme that I have been interested in, thanks to my old history teacher, Mr Colclough, who had the knack of bringing any historical theme to life with his enthusiastic lesson plans that obviously fired the imagination in me, and I well remember picturing the Battle of Saratoga after sitting in his lesson covering the campaign of 1777.

It was April last year, following the refit of my wargames room, that I rolled out my plans for a big-battle AWI collection of figures with my first revamped unit of Continental infantry to get the collection started.
JJ's Wargames: Continental Infantry - New Work on my American War of Independence Collection.

I first scratched that particular itch by playing games with my old Polly Oliver collection of 15mm figures now rehomed with my old friend Steve M, and keen to get back into the period I determined to remedy matters by building a new collection, this time in 28mm as my aged eyes work better with the larger figures these days, and the size of battles tend to be more amenable to the larger scale, and should work well on my 9 x 5 foot table.

The other factor that seemed to beckon the start of this new collection was the upcoming commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, an anniversary that chimed with me, as I well remember the 200th celebrations that took place in 1976 and that sparked my early interest in the theme as a rookie historical wargamer, feeling at the time like a kid in a sweet-shop with all the colourful and interesting historical themes that I could get enthused about and start collecting, with this one right up the list alongside my Napoleonics interest.

Scotty Bowden's 'Redcoat' rules published in 1976 for the bicentenary of the United States of America

I still have my original copy of Scotty Bowden's 'Redcoat' rules published back then by Empire, together with the campaign system and map detailing how to refight the war in miniatures, and still a reference I check in on now and then, and for which I paid the princely sum of £9.95, a fortune for a sixteen year-old back in those days!

So over the past twelve months I have got myself back into a familiar routine of turning out units for this new venture that is very reminiscent of my working up my Peninsular War collection, which has seen me 'deep-diving' the history of the units show-cased here on the blog, and to my mind all part of the fun by giving each unit produced an historical back story that will no doubt be referenced in the games I have in mind to play.

The first twelve months work has produced nine units of British infantry, eight Continental, two artillery pieces, plus casualty figures, all added to the original collection of three militia units, a Jager battalion and Indian warband. I intend for the next twelve months to be equally productive, on the basis that from little acorns mighty oaks do grow.

The picture above gives an idea of the work completed so far, with about eighty percent all new units, the others having been incorporated from my Mohawk Valley collection, hence the Jagers and Indians seen nearest to camera.

The three units of militia nearest to camera were completed as part of my Mohawk collection, and have had new sabot bases to turn them into three battalion units for inclusion in this new work.

As with the Talavera project, I have decided to work up my armies around specific actions, with the decision to focus the first work on units from the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777/78, and the infantry component first before turning to artillery and cavalry.

So to give some planning structure to the units being produced at the moment, I decided to use the orders of battle from the British Grenadier collections of scenarios, slightly adjusted to incorporate my own reading of the units involved, and with notes added for my reference as I work my way through.

My reference sheet for the current stage of work, adapted from the British Grenadier scenario recreating Cornwallis' attack at Brandywine, with my own notes including the facing colours of the grenadier and light companies forming the respective combined battalions, so I can arrange my figures in the proportionate facing colours when I get around to building them, which will be soon. 

As I intend to use Carnage and Glory for planned games alongside Rise and Fight Again, I have noted the actual strengths recorded, and Greg Novak's books have been particularly useful 

My reference plans cover all the scenarios for Brandywine, Germantown and Monmouth and I have noted the strengths of units that appear across multiple scenarios so that I can build my units at maximum strength with a view flexing them as required.

These game plans are aimed to allow me to start playing with the collection as it develops, with a plan to have a core force for both American and Crown armies, the latter to include Loyalist and German units, built initially around the Philadelphia campaign, but providing units very useable throughout other campaigns during the war.

Once this stage of the project is completed, with a projection looking at early 2028, I will turn to building units specific to the Saratoga Campaign and other additions to the collection, particularly American and Loyalist units that participated in the South, as well a developing a French allied force.

Of course, as I outlined in my post back in April last year, anybody interested in gaming the AWI faces putting together a collection amenable to facilitating battles of just a few hundred participants to tens of thousands, and although my preference has always leaned towards the big-battle/large skirmish game, I wanted still to be able to play out other smaller scenarios, and I still intend to develop units around my particular interest in the war fought along the Mohawk Valley and Hudson Valley areas of New York.

This flexibility around the size of battle and with units representing battalions or companies led to my decision to use a sabot base arrangement, allowing me to easily rearrange my units to look more appropriate to the level of action I'm portraying on the table, and with the ability to remove colour bearers and put figures on to more looser and skirmish looking bases to capture that look.

As the various units are seen in the pictures, they are arranged as per my Brandywine plan, in the battalions/regiments of 16, 20 or 24 figures, with the lower end of that range representing a force of around 300 to under 350 men at a 1:20 arrangement, to larger units of 350 to 400 in the middle size and 500 plus captured by the 24 figure units.

I can of course flex down to very small units of 12 figures, but I'm looking to avoid that scenario by combining historical units, particularly Americans, into combined battalions, and of course with the sabot arrangements, small units of skirmishers are easily facilitated.

Most rules these days tend to be pretty flexible over figures and basing and C&G and R&FA work very well with this principle, being arranged around the footprint of a unit representing a number-range of soldiers such as I have outlined above, and having factors to account for that size of unit, or as with C&G the actual number of men in the unit.

Carnage & Glory II and Rise and Fight Again are my preferred rules going forward, with a focus very much on fatigue causes such as activity and casualties, and once the collection of figures and terrain is broad enough I look forward to featuring games run using them.

The core of armies in the AWI is of course composed of infantry, and with supporting arms such as artillery and cavalry a very much smaller component in comparison, and so the use of the plastic ranges from Perry make this collection so much more affordable to start from scratch, and with a certain amount of kit-bashing, which I enjoy, enables a lot of variety to be built into the look of the armies.

Alongside the main 'hatmen' battalions, I intend to add in the other arms and of course the more unusual battalions that Perry's provide in their wonderful metal range, and of course all nicely sculpted to fit in one with another.

I am also planning for the likely little detours from the figure collection work every now and then, as the inspiration directs me, as my way of collection building sees me not only working to have all the factions represented, but also some appropriate terrain arranged to facilitate the right sort of stage for the actors to appear on.

My 28mm terrain is already up and running, following the Romano-Dacian build, and much of the hills, woods, rivers and rocky terrain I built for that is very appropriate for battles in 18th century North America.

JJ's Wargames: The World Turned Upside Down - Terrain Build (Snake Rail Fencing & Field Works)

However other terrain items such as Roman watch towers, small villas and city walls are less so, and so I have already commenced putting together additional terrain that has seen my recent snake rail fence 'buildathon', and field emplacements, I got stuck into in January, and I have a big collection of MDF structures from Charlie Foxtrot and Sarissa, plus a few plastic offerings from Renedra that have been accumulated over the last two years that will need bringing to the table, and so any figure collection build of mine has to take into account time constructing these additional and very important items.

I'm really enjoying myself with this collection, and am starting to add to my reading list to broaden my understanding of the subject in preparation for running my first games, a factor that played a big part with the Peninsular War collection, as I found myself learning more about a period I thought I understood pretty thoroughly when I started to find 'rabbit holes' I hadn't explored thoroughly enough.

I think there are some similar 'rabbit holes' with the AWI, although I'm not certain that the sources are as available than those of the Peninsular armies, and in particular I'm looking for a book, or other source covering American Continental army practices, particularly around light infantry and skirmish tactics, similar to Mathew Spring's excellent book on British Army tactics 'With Zeal and with Bayonets Only.

JJ's Wargames: With Zeal and with Bayonets Only, The British Army on Campaign in North America - Matthew H. Spring

I reviewed Mathew's marvellous book here on JJ's back in 2018, and I think it is safe to say that it has had a pronounced effect on the way we see how British soldiers fought in North America compared to the ideas that preceded its publication.

The room refit finished last year has enabled me to rearrange my figure and terrain storage in a much more useable way, but revealed a need to make a few additions with the space required and likely required going forward for my new collection.

So the AWI has started taking up residence in the centre display units for now, and I have added another new tower display cabinet a couple of months ago with plenty of space for another one should that prove necessary.

The smaller scale collections are now safely housed in storage boxes with labels allowing me to find what I need as and when, but I think the 28mm stuff looks nicer on display, and I'm hoping to do more games on my own table rather than traveling with the collections and so the cabinets add to the ambience of the room.

So I hope this post answers a lot of the questions I've had on other forums about the AWI collection, and if you want to see more about the units pictured as a collection here, you can click on the tab at the top of the page, 'The World Turned Upside Down' where all my units showcase-posts along with other related posts will be gathered in one space.

Next up - The work continues with the next unit to be showcased, and one of the most famous units in the British Army, the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment of Foot, or Black Watch.

As always, more anon.

JJ

French Indian Wars, French Infantry Regiments - La Reine and Royal Roussillon & Battle of Sainte-Foy Warmup.

 

As a slight diversion from my more recent output for my own AWI project, I recently completed some new units for my old pal, Steve M. to add to his impressive collection of French Indian Wars figures which he is bringing to the table in June, as we make the annual pilgrimage to North Devon to join with other old friends, as we indulge ourselves with a big battle scenario based on the historical battle of Sainte Foy, fought on April 28th 1760. 

The battle began with the British attempting to advance, but they faced difficulties due to the muddy terrain and melting snow, and the French forces, familiar with the landscape, launched a counterattack that turned the tide in their favour, with the fighting described as intense and at close-quarters, lasting about two hours.

The French emerged victorious, inflicting significant casualties on the British, with estimates of 1,124 British casualties compared to 833 French casualties, but despite this victory, Lévis, the French commander was unable to capitalize on the win to besiege Quebec effectively, as British reinforcements arrived shortly after the battle; and with New France on the brink of collapse, the British would go on to secure control over Canada, culminating in the capitulation of Montreal later that year.

The Régiment de la Reine and the Régiment Royal-Roussillon were integral parts of the French Army during the French and Indian War. 

The Régiment de la Reine was one of the first French regulars to engage in battle in North America, participating in significant engagements such as Dieskau's Battle of Lake George and the Battle of Carillon. 

The Régiment de la Reine using figures from Front Rank and depicted in summer dress without the white justaucorps with red turnback cuffs.

The regiment's uniform was characterized by a greyish-white justaucorps with red turnback cuffs and a distinctive pattern of buff leather sword-belt supporting a brass-hilted sword. 

The Régiment Royal-Roussillon, which also participated in the French victories at Carillon, was stationed in Montreal and later mobilized for various campaigns, including defending Québec and participating in the battles of Montmorency, the Plains of Abraham, and Sainte-Foy. 

The regiment's uniform was similar to the Régiment de la Reine, consisting of a greyish-white justaucorps with blue turnback cuffs and a blue jacket.

The Régiment de la Reine, using figures from 1st Corps.

They were part of the regular soldiers that departed from the French port of Brest and arrived in Quebec City between May 12th and 31st, 1756, and the regiment's contributions were crucial in the capture of Fort William Henry and the subsequent battles at Carillon and Quebec. Despite their bravery and valour, the French forces were ultimately defeated, leading to the fall of Quebec City to British forces.

The Compagnies franches de la marine; were an ensemble of autonomous infantry units attached to the French Royal Navy and employed to serve both on land and sea, and along with the Canadian militia and France's Indian allies, the Troupes de la Marine were essential to the defence of New France in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Compagnies Franches de la Marine Officer in Capote & Mitasses
from Galloping Major.

When the French and Indian War broke out, the Compagnies were a major part of the French war effort in North America, and their experience in the colony and with war parties of French Canadien militia and native allies made them skilled in the kind of frontier fighting practised during the war. 

In addition to leading raids on British colonial settlements, they had helped in the efforts to take over the Ohio Valley that preceded the war, and they participated in the defeat of General Edward Braddock early in the war. 

By 1755, regular infantry battalions were sent by France to help protect the colony, and a number of the Compagnies were combined into their own battalion to serve alongside the line troops, with these forces helping to defend the French fortress at Louisbourg, as well as Quebec City and Montreal, from attack by British forces.

In preparation for our big-game, myself, Steve M and Vince got together a few weeks ago to try out a planned set up with our forces somewhat enlarged on the historical battle but with similar terrain and objectives, using the rules Black Powder, and with Steve's collection out in force.

The British have made an impressive advance to the stream from their base line on the nearest table edge, with no foul ups, and the French still struggling to get their units forward.

I ran the British and Vince the French, as I set out to get across the stream to my front and establish a British line prior to the French marching out to prevent such a move.

The British artillery has limited rounds of fire due to the problems encountered in transporting sufficient ammunition, marked up here with the blue dice to record rounds fired.

The main punch with this British force is its artillery component, which if sighted advantageously can cause the French to have a very bad day at the office. However this plan, as historically, can be foiled by the stream to the front of the British set up, with marshy ground, somewhat prone to causing guns to become bogged.

The British guns advance over the stream on the left flank, not entirely without loss, as one gun became bogged on the way.

I was having a bit of a run with the dice on the day we played, and managed to get the bulk of my British infantry and a significant number of guns across, with only one becoming bogged, before the bulk of the French force could push up to prevent the manoeuvre, that left the British commanding the slight rise on the French side of the stream and with their right flank refused on the road and keeping the guns there securely behind the stream.

The bulk of my British and Canadian militia infantry and a significant number of guns are across the stream, and the right flank is refused on the road, with a second gun line.

So our first test game showed that if the British roll well on the manoeuvre table in Black Powder they can secure themselves an advantageous position, but a further test game will see if a similar outcome is repeated.

The view from the British right flank. Note the bogged gun on the other flank, top-left.

The picture below shows the table when we drew stumps on the game, with the British centre and flanks fairly established to batter the French attempting to advance from the opposite edge.

When we do the thing for real, I'm looking forward to seeing these new French units join the ranks of General Lévis army, with some pictures to follow.

More anon 

JJ

The World Turned Upside Down - 15th Virginia Continental Regiment.

The 15th Virginia Regiment was authorized on the September 16th, 1776, as a part of the Virginia Line, of which Virginia raised fifteen Continental Regiments for service with the Continental Army, the 15th being under the command of Col. David Mason, a Virginia planter and politician in Sussex County and seeing the regiment assigned to the Main Continental Army on December 27th, 1776.

In early 1777, the regiment undertook its initial major movement, marching from Williamsburg under Colonel Mason's command to Philadelphia for inoculation against smallpox before joining Washington's main army at Morristown, New Jersey; and were organized on February 12th, 1777 to consist of nine companies from Chesterfield, Brunswick, Southampton, King William, Mansemond, Princess Anne, Isle of Wight, Surry, Sussex, Westmoreland, Northumberland, and Richmond Counties and the Borough of Norfolk.

After organization and marching north with approximately 280 men on April 4th and expecting reinforcements of 150 more at Fredericksburg, the 15th Virginia Regiment engaged in initial training and drilling at camps near Morristown, New Jersey, during the spring of 1777, as part of efforts to standardize Continental Army tactics, including light infantry manoeuvres for reconnaissance and rapid response.

Brigadier General William Woodford

It was assigned on May 11th, 1777 to the 3rd Virginia Brigade, under Brigadier General William Woodford an element of Major General Stephen's Division.

Division: Major General Adam Stephen (1,500)

3rd Virginia Brigade: Brigadier General William Woodford

3rd Virginia Regiment
7th Virginia Regiment
11th Virginia Regiment
15th Virginia Regiment

4th Virginia Brigade: Brigadier General Charles Scott

4th Virginia Regiment
8th Virginia Regiment
12th Virginia Regiment
Grayson's Additional Continental Regiment
Patton's Additional Continental Regiment

Internal challenges plagued the regiment throughout the summer, including high desertion rates estimated at 20-25% across the Virginia Line, driven by harsh conditions and short enlistments. Court-martial records document several cases from the 15th, such as the conviction of four soldiers—William Nicholson, Abraham Hill, Thomas Banks, and Anthony Payne—for desertion on June 9th, 1777, each sentenced to 20-25 lashes at brigade parade; another soldier, William Fogg, was acquitted on July 4th. 

Disease outbreaks, including dysentery and fever from poor sanitation in summer camps, further strained manpower, with Virginia-specific measures like state-authorized rewards for recaptured deserters employed to maintain order. Disciplinary actions followed Continental Army protocols but incorporated Virginia enlistment incentives to encourage retention.

On September 11th 1777 the regiment as part of Woodford’s Brigade would participate in the Battle of Brandywine with an estimated strength of around 200 men, part of Washington's force detailed to resist the approach of Howe's flanking attack that developed four hours into the battle; and with the 15th Virginia together with the rest of Woodford's brigade, positioned around the Birmingham Meeting House opposing the advance of the British Light Infantry and Hessian Jägers.

Following the defeat at Brandywine, and the British occupation of Philadelphia, Washington's reorganised army attacked at Germantown on the 4th October 1777.

General George Washington’s complex battle plan at Germantown included sending four separate columns against the unsuspecting British, an operation made more problematic than it otherwise might have been due to the thick fog that enveloped the battlefield.

General George Washington’s complex plan of attack envisioned four separate American columns enveloping the British positions around Germantown with Major General Nathanael Greene's flanking column, that included McDougall's Connecticut Brigade (1,000 men), Greene's own Virginia Division (1,500 men), and Stephen's Virginia Division (1,500 men), attempting to turn the British right flank.

Greene’s formations were disordered by the maze of fences, meandering streams, and thick clumps of trees they encountered. Natural obstacles were made worse by a thick fog that stubbornly refused to dissipate. One of Greene’s units, the Virginia Brigade under Colonel William Woodford, was drawn irresistibly to the sounds of the fighting at Cliveden as Lieutenant Colonel Musgrave and six companies of the 40th Foot barricaded themselves into the great house and put up a stubborn defence.

A 19th century engraving depicts the intense struggle that developed around Cliveden House

The Virginians reached the rear of the house, and when the redcoats began firing at them from the second floor they lost no time in unlimbering their guns, and the roar of cannon and rattle of musketry around Cliveden became so intense that other American regiments also began to take notice.

Some of General Anthony Wayne’s troops halted and began to counter-march, retracing their steps in Cliveden’s general direction, and worse was soon to follow as, with General Adam Stephen’s troops, being lost and disoriented, the situation not helped by the fact that the general was in fact dead drunk, Stephen’s men stumbled forward, and suddenly encountered a body of troops emerging from the fog.

Thinking the strangers must be British, Stephen’s men fired a volley, which the opposing force immediately returned. Tragically, the unknown troops were part of Wayne’s division, the same men who had been marching toward Cliveden and the sounds of the guns, and an untold number of Americans were killed by friendly fire before the confusion was straightened out.

At about this time, the American attack lost impetus and both columns retreated, whilst the two wide flanking columns numbering 3,000 American militia had little effect on the outcome. American losses were 152 men killed, 521 wounded and 438 captured, while Howe's men suffered 71 killed, 448 wounded and 14 missing.

George Washington and Lafayette at Valley Forge - John Ward Dunsmore

Following Germantown and just prior to the American troops moving into winter quarters at Valley Forge the regiment was reorganized on November 1st, 1777 to consist of eight companies.

The entry of Washington's army into Valley Forge in 1777 marked a pivotal moment in the American Revolutionary War. The encampment lasted six months, from December 19th, 1777, to June 19th, 1778. During this time, the Army underwent significant training and reorganization, emerging as a much more disciplined and effective fighting force, and despite being undersupplied, underfed, and plagued with disease, the Continental Army's resilience and determination were evident as they prepared for the next campaign against the British.

That preparedness was a challenge for British forces, who would need to manoeuvre past them following their evacuation of Philadelphia in June 1778 to reach Sandy Hook, New Jersey to sail to New York.

The Battle of Monmouth fought on June 28th, 1778 marked the end of the Philadelphia Campaign and the longest single day of combat in the American War of Independence, in which the 15th Virginia Regiment would muster 146 men all ranks.

The return of Crown forces to the southern theatre changed the deployment pattern of the southern states with Virginia and North Carolina now needing to redeploy their regiments southward to halt the British invasion of Georgia and South Carolina.

The war moves south, illustrating British and American movements and battles in the south
1778 to 1781

For Virginia, 1779 found the state at breaking point, as she attempted to maintain her troops serving under Washington, protect her western boarders in Kentucky and Illinois, defend her coastline from the Royal Navy, protect the 'Convention' prisoners and send what troops she could to Major General Benjamin Lincoln, now commander of the Southern Department since September 1778.

The troops under Washington were consolidated first from fifteen infantry regiments to eleven, to meet Virginia's new quota, where in reality only nine existed with the other two being the 1st and 2nd State Regiments. The enlisted men of the disbanded units were then used to reinforce the remaining regiments, whilst the surplus officers were sent home to raise additional recruits.

Thus in September 1778, in line with the overall reorganisation of the Virginia Continental Regiments, and amid severe manpower shortages in the Continental Army caused by enlistment expirations, casualties, and disease, the 15th Virginia Regiment underwent consolidation during the reorganization of the Virginia Line at White Plains, New York. 

Survivors from its northern campaigns, including longer-term enlistees, had their companies merged into the newly designated 11th Virginia Regiment on May 12th, 1779, to consist of nine companies, effectively dissolving the 15th as a distinct unit while contributing to the compression of Virginia's fifteen original regiments into eleven.

My 15th Virginia Regiment are composed of plastic American Continental Infantry from Perry Miniatures, a 'Grand Divisional' colour, which is speculative on my part, from GMB, and sabot bases from Supreme Littleness Designs.

I have chosen to represent the regiment in the 1778 uniform regulation that proposed brown coats faced buff with buff turnbacks, with the obligatory hunting shirts thrown in for variety, and with a strength of 16 figures representing a regiment struggling to retain its strength.

Next up, I have two different units to showcase for the French Indian War and a little diversion as I did some painting for Steve M and a game we have planned for June.

As always, more anon.

JJ