A Great Year enjoying Devon Wildlife, among Other Things!

As is often my want, I very much enjoy natural history as much as most other history, with the former getting featured here on the blog often included in my adventures 'On Tour', and whilst including the more exotic species encountered in my overseas visits to places such as Australia, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka over the years, it's nice to emphasise now and again the amazing creatures we have in 'Blighty' and in particular in my home part of the country here in Devon, with links to other similar posts to be found in the side bar to the blog under 'Devon Sites and Wildlife'.

Tommy Brock, as illustrated by Beatrix Potter in The Tale of Mr. Tod

In recent years my own back garden, not exactly in the wilds of the Devon countryside, has been host to several interesting visitors, some nocturnal, with our resident badgers making regular visits and turning the back lawn into a mini version of the Somme battlefield, with the craters left after they have dug it over in search of 'Leather Jacket' grubs, one of their favourite night time snacks. 

These regular visits were doing Carolyn's head in as she very much enjoys her gardening, and to confirm our suspects, she installed a wildlife camera, triggered by any movement and the clip above soon confirmed who our new neighbours were. These are some clips from the hidden camera which can be clicked on to play.

However with a large tunnel dug under the back garden fence, the route in was soon being used by other visitors including a local hedgehog, and a couple of foxes, with one of their family, a young vixen boldly strolling through our garden in broad daylight!

The European badger (Meles meles), also known as the Eurasian badger, is native to Europe and West Asia and parts of Central Asia, and in the UK it is simply known as the "badger".

The badgers are a bit of a pain, but for the sake of having to reseed the lawn each autumn and occasionally tread down the divots of grass, rather like a golf club green keeper, it is rather special to have the largest wild mammal in the UK visiting our garden, and the fox and hedgehog make it feel like a rural oasis in the town.

The range of the European badger

As if to emphasise how much the British wildlife like what Carolyn has done to the garden we were visited by two birds, never before seen in our back yard, and to have both of them visit on the same day was even more special.

I just happened to look out into the back garden when I noticed some movement on the lawn and spotted a Green Woodpecker, making best use of the badger holes as it tucked into its favourite snack, ants.

The Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) is the largest of the three woodpeckers that breed in Britain, and has a heavy-looking body, short tail and a strong, long bill. It's green on its upperparts with a paler belly, bright yellow rump and red on the top of its head. The black 'moustache' has a red centre in males, and the bird has a bouncing flight and a loud, laughing call.

Eventually this female headed off into a nearby tree and I carried on taking a few pictures with the camera, and was getting ready to put it away when my eye was drawn to further movement in the same tree.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) is the next most common woodpecker seen here in the UK, but I have never seen the two species together in the same tree but was very happy that they chose to gather in my garden.

A male Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major), and a female Green Woodpecker (Picus viridis) visiting our garden this year.

The male Great Spotted, which this appears to be, has a bright red patch on the back of the head and young birds have a red crown.

As well as woodpeckers, the garden and local paths have been blessed with an abundance of fledgling Robins (Erithacus rubecula) this year and the one I photographed below proved particularly bold, happy to have his or her portrait made, and displaying the developing read breast to replace the pale light-brown spotted one in very young birds, the spots still clearly visible.

A fledgling Robin (Erithacus rubecula)

This summer in the UK was wall-to-wall-blue for most of the year which meant that Peggy the black Labrador got to help me with the barbecue and clear up the odd dropped piece of sausage.

Peggy helping with one of the family barbecues this summer

That weather obviously encouraged a few warbirds to put in an appearance over the garden during the summer months, that included a Piper L-4 Grasshopper, sporting its invasion stripes, a sight that would have been the scourge of German troops in Normandy, under strict orders not to open fire on the slow moving aircraft for fear of bringing down on them a barrage of retributive artillery fire, known as a 'stonk' in Royal Artillery parlance.

A Piper L-4 Grasshopper, sporting its invasion stripes, flies over the garden.

As well as the Piper L-4 we are blessed locally with our very own Spitfire that operates out of the former Battle of Britain aerodrome, RAF Exeter and now Exeter Airport.

Our spitfire is a regular site patrolling overhead and the owner is known to waggle his wings in response to those of us who appreciate his fly overs by making the appropriate signal with arms raised.

Our local Exeter based Spitfire on patrol.

In recent years the nearby estuary to the River Otter has been allowed to return to a more wild state, which has enabled the return of many species of water birds as well as plenty of fish in the river itself, and we now have a resident colony of European beavers living in the river as evidenced by the occasional heavily chewed tree stump.

As well as the many ducks, herons, egrets and cormorants, the estuary attracted a pair of ospreys, but they unfortunately were not to be seen on one of my several visits this summer.

The River Otter is looking very clean and regularly hosts teams of fish which is a big attraction for the birds.

Of course with camera in hand, if the birds aren't drawing my attention, then a beautifully restored six ton 6 x 6 American prime mover cargo truck, seen here this summer in Bicton Gardens is bound to get snapped, this type of vehicle a likely regular site in our part of the world in 1944 as our local area played host to the the US 4th (Ivy - IV) Division in preparation for its invasion of Normandy via Utah Beach.

As well as the River Otter estuary, we also got to enjoy plenty of beach walks along our part of the Jurassic Coast with the famous Devon Red sandstone cliffs playing host to our local pair of Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus).

The larger female seen here on her nest site in the cliffs looks out over the beach below.

Nearby the much smaller male bird keeps watch over his mate and has a ready eye for an opportunity of taking an unwary pigeon.

A careful eye turned towards the shoreline rocks and rock pools revealed a beautiful Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus), much larger than its cousin the Meadow Pipit, busy hunting for food and no doubt keeping an eye on the Peregines.

Inland from the Jurassic Coast is the remains of the ancient river that flowed at that time from what is now the French coast to our part of Devon and revealed in the pebble beach at nearby Budleigh Salterton and at the very unique pebble bed common, Woodbury Common where we like to walk with Peggy in the summer when dogs are banned from  the local beaches.

Common Spotted Orchids dotted the paths across Woodbury Common this spring.

In spring time the Common plays host to its own eco system of plants and wildlife which included this year a dramatic display of Common Spotted Orchids ( Dactylorhiza fuchsii) , which are quite small, and easily missed, but well worth inspecting a little closer. 

A Common Spotted Orchid( Dactylorhiza fuchsii), one of many seen on Woodbury Common this year.

Later in the year with autumn under way the paths over Woodbury become festooned with new blooms peculiar to the time of year that included this rather stunning Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita or simply red toadstool.

This funghi, like all of them found in the wild, have to be treated with respect, as ingestion of this mushroom can cause poisoning, especially in children and those seeking its hallucinogenic effects, due to psychoactive compounds like muscimol and ibotenic acid, that said, fatal poisonings are extremely rare.

Of course these are your classic 'fairy-tale' red mushrooms with this a very fine example, and I'm looking forward to showing my granddaughter when she's a little older with of course all the usual warnings.

I hope you have enjoyed my little excursion away from all things military-history, but normal service will be resumed as my work on His Majesty's 2nd Combined Light Infantry Battalion circa 1777 reaches a conclusion with a showcase post coming next, and my attention turns this week to the inaugural invitation game in my repurposed room as I gather with Tom, Will and friends to play the Battle of Tapae 101 AD as Emperor Trajan goes head to head with the King of the Dacians, Decebalus.

As always, more anon.

JJ

The World Turned Upside Down - 9th Pennsylvania Continental Regiment.

 

The 9th Pennsylvania Regiment was authorised on September 16th, 1776, by the Continental Congress as part of the expansion of the Continental Army's Pennsylvania Line to bolster forces amid escalating British threats and assigned to the main army on December 27th, 1776, comprising eight companies of volunteers recruited primarily from Lancaster, Cumberland, Westmoreland, Chester, Philadelphia, and other Pennsylvania counties during the spring of 1777 organisation at Philadelphia.

Volunteers were recruited primarily from Lancaster, Cumberland, Westmoreland, Chester, Philadelphia, and other Pennsylvania counties, and organised in the spring of 1777 at Philadelphia.

This authorisation followed the reorganisation of Pennsylvania's contributions to the national army, aiming to raise additional infantry regiments for three-year enlistments or the duration of the war. Colonel James Irvine, a veteran of earlier campaigns including the failed invasion of Canada, was appointed to lead the regiment in late 1776, though he resigned in June 1777 as he transferred to command the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment shortly after organisation in spring 1777. 

The companies were designated under captains Bowen, Davis, Erwin, Gourley, Grant, Henderson, McClellan, and Nichols, and by August 1777, shortly after establishment, the regiment's payroll recorded 332 officers and enlisted men across its companies, indicating a modestly understrength unit compared to the theoretical 600-800 men per regiment, with variations by company (e.g., Erwin's at 61 total, Grant's at 20).

The situation map of opposing forces in the spring of 1777 when the the 9th Pennsylvania Regiment was being raised in Philadelphia.
Map from Philadelphia 1777, Taking the Capital - Osprey Campaign.

Lieutenant Colonel George Nagel assumed effective command during this formative phase, supported by Major Matthew Smith, as the unit integrated into Brigadier General Thomas Conway's 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade within Lord Stirling's division for the 1777 campaign.

9th Pennsylvania Continental Regiment.
An illustration from the Blandford Press, Mollo & McGregor book
'Deserter descriptions for the regiment in Pennsylvania during
the spring of 1777 mention new brown coats, turned up with red,
and in one case a light infantry cap is mentioned.'

Equipment issuance was rudimentary and inconsistent at formation, prioritising arms over uniforms amid supply shortages from British blockades and domestic production limits, that saw soldiers receiving smoothbore flintlock muskets (often Pennsylvania-made Committee of Safety models or imported French Charlevilles), bayonets, cartridge boxes holding 20-30 rounds, knapsacks, and haversacks for rations; sidearms such as hangers were issued to officers.

Uniforms typically comprised linen hunting shirts or frocks, woollen overalls, leather or felt caps, and leather accoutrements, with regimental coats (reportedly brown faced with red) with returns from 1777 indicating frequent deficiencies in blankets, tents, and ammunition, compelling reliance on state provisions or foraging.

Colonel Richard Butler, assumed command on June 7th, 1777, and would lead the unit through the Philadelphia Campaign at the battles of Brandywine (September 11th, 1777), Germantown (October 4th, 1777), and Monmouth (June 28th, 1778), during which the regiment experienced high attrition.

Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Smith served as second-in-command, particularly during the Valley Forge winter encampment (1777–1778), where he oversaw training and morale amid harsh conditions affecting the regiment's approximately 150 effectives; and he would be notable for representing enlisted grievances during the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny (January 1st, 1781), petitioning Congress for back pay and enlistment reforms while maintaining regimental cohesion under Butler.

Major Francis Nichols, promoted from captaincy in late 1776, was also a key officer in the unit, supporting field operations and later rising to lieutenant colonel. 

The regiment mustered approximately 332 officers and men by August 1777, though effective combat strength was lower due to detachments, illness, and desertions, estimated at around 239 present for duty, and Conway's 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade, noted for its discipline under rigorous training, formed part of the American defensive line along Brandywine Creek in Chester County to protect the rebel capital.

Brigadier General Thomas Conway 

Division: Major General William Alexander (Lord Stirling)

3rd Pennsylvania Brigade: Brigadier General Thomas Conway (950)

3rd Pennsylvania Regiment (150 all ranks)

6th Pennsylvania Regiment (200 all ranks)

9th Pennsylvania Regiment (193 all ranks)

12th Pennsylvania Regiment (231 all ranks)

Spencer's Additional Regiment (186 all ranks)

I covered the movements and actions of Conway's brigade in my showcase post looking at the 9th's sister regiment in the brigade, 3rd Pennsylvania Continental Regiment, link below.

JJ's Wargames: The World Turned Upside Down - 3rd Pennsylvania Continental Regiment.

Suffice to say in their action they and the other regiments in 3rd Brigade took the brunt of Cornwallis's flank attack, and their discipline was tested on September 11th, 1777. 

New Light on Battle Casualties: The 9th Pennsylvania Regiment at Brandywine - Journal of the American Revolution

As documented by historian Patrick A. Hannum (link above):

Conway’s Brigade consisted of the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th Pennsylvania regiments. Conway, an Irish Catholic, had served in the French Army gaining combat experience against Frederick the Great prior to traveling to North America to serve with American forces in the Revolution. Conway was not well liked by his officers possibly because he trained and regularly drilled the brigade, turning it into one of the best disciplined units in the Continental Army.

Hannum describes the the fight above Birmingham:

The entire fight lasted about one hour and forty minutes with the close fight for Battle Hill lasting fifty-one minutes “almost Muzzle to Muzzle.” General Conway, a veteran of European wars and the 9th Pennsylvania’s brigade commander, indicated that he “never saw so close and severe a fire.”

The 9th suffered decimating losses, 40 casualties [8 KIA, 16 Wounded, 16 missing], and the fact that Conway's men remained combat effective even as they were eventually driven from the field is praiseworthy indeed.

Leading Hannum to state:

Conway and the 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade passed the test, and as a result of the unit’s performance at Brandywine, Washington selected the brigade as a lead unit in the American attack at Germantown on October 4, 1777.

The Battle of Germantown, October 4th 1777.
Map illustrating the position of the 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade under Conway on the extreme right of Sullivan's line.

At Germantown the regiment contributed to initial successes, driving a British unit over a mile from its position in foggy conditions, demonstrating the brigade's honed discipline from prior actions. However, fog, friendly fire, and British reinforcements led to an American withdrawal after three hours of fighting.

Following Germantown, Howe's forces consolidated in Philadelphia, while Washington manoeuvred to harass British supply lines, but by December 19th, 1777, the regiment, reduced to 229 assigned men with 146 fit for duty, encamped at Valley Forge for the winter, enduring severe shortages amid the campaign's culmination.

Valley Forge - Keith Rocco

The 9th Pennsylvania left Valley Forge with 212 assigned, 117 fit for duty, part of the Continental Army's Pennsylvania Line under Brigadier General Anthony Wayne, participating in the Battle of Monmouth on June 28th, 1778, contributing to the counterattack that helped repel British forces.

The attack on Clinton's rearguard by the 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade.

Monmouth Maps from the Book Fatal Sunday - Friends of Monmouth Battlefield

Following Monmouth, the 9th Regiment encamped with the main army at White Plains, New York, through late 1778, engaging in routine patrols and the defence of fortifications to counter British foraging expeditions in Westchester County. The regiment's role remained defensive, focused on denying British access to resources in the neutral ground between American and British lines, as documented in Wayne's correspondence noting the unit's readiness for rapid response to incursions.

By early 1779, the 9th Pennsylvania shifted to support operations around New York Harbour, and throughout these Mid-Atlantic engagements, the 9th maintained discipline despite supply shortages, contributing to the Continental Army's strategy of attrition against British forces entrenched in New York City.

Morristown, New Jersey 1780, illustration by Keith Rocco.

The winter of 1779/1780 was one of the worst on record, and the American army in its winter quarters in Morristown suffered immensely. To make matters worse Washington was forced to detach and send south the Virginia and North Carolina Line in December 1779 and early January 1780, and in April the Maryland and Delaware Line, leaving him short of two of his best divisions in the campaigning year ahead.

When the spring 1780 campaigning season opened the 9th Pennsylvania Regiment found itself part of Major General Greene's Pennsylvania Division as part of the 2nd Brigade, composed of:

3rd Pennsylvania Regiment - 221/310 (fit for duty/assigned)

5th Pennsylvania Regiment - 199/274

6th Pennsylvania Regiment - 132/207

9th Pennsylvania Regiment - 120/179

While elements of the 9th Pennsylvania participated in the Battle of Green Springs on July 6th, 1781, where Wayne's aggressive probe against a superior British force at James City County, Virginia, resulted in heavy American casualties but successfully screened Lafayette's main army from pursuit, the regiment's independent existence effectively ended amid the Pennsylvania Line mutiny of January 1781, after which it was consolidated on January 17th with the 5th Pennsylvania Regiment; the merged unit was redesignated the 5th Pennsylvania and saw portions furloughed at Trenton, New Jersey, while others were retained for active duty.

The 5th Regiment was disbanded on January 1st, 1783, at Philadelphia, with veterans mustered out or transferred to provisional units.

My 9th Pennsylvania Continental Regiment are based on the Mollo/McGregor illustration seen above using the plastic Continental Infantry from Perry Miniatures and sporting a buff divisional Colour from GMB Flags, and another Gostelowe Colour from Flags of War, Gostelowe Standard No. 2, 'We Are Always Ready', these extras together with a set of low profile sabot bases from Supreme Littleness Designs.

As will be seen from the historical narrative, Conway's 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade, barely numbered a thousand men all ranks among its five regiments in time for the Philadelphia Campaign and with British regiments often numbering 300 men or more in brigades of four regiments, the wargamer, modelling Continental Regiments, faces an interesting compromise as to how to best represent these formations on the table.

In my case I consider the probability that Continental commanders very likely fielded combined regiments, much like their Crown opponents would do when numbers forced such a compromise to field formed units in line capable in strength to contest ground, something that skirmishers, the other employment for small groups of troops, are unable to do against formed opponents.

Thus my 3rd Pennsylvania Brigade will see this unit standing in for the combined strength of the 9th and 12th Pennsylvania Regiments as seen below, numbering some 424 men in the 20-figure unit modelled, with the next unit to feature from the brigade being Spencer's Additional Regiment, before work turns to Ogden's New Jersey men.

However before any of that, my work will turn back towards the British spearhead elite units with upcoming showcase posts for the British Second Combined Light Infantry Battalion, the Combined Guards Light Companies, and the First Combined Guards Battalion.

As always more anon.

JJ