Queens Rangers - American Revolutionary War

 This loyalist unit had Rodger's Rangers of the French and Indian Wars as its antecedent. 

Robert Rogers raised a new unit on Staten Island in August 1776, with most of the men coming from New York and Long Island, as well as Western Connecticut. 

It ultimately consisted of a light company, a grenadier company, and highland company, 8 line companies, and 5 troops of cavalry (hussars and light dragoons). 

It was named for Queen Charlotte,. King George III's wife. Some illustrations show the belts to be white and others black; I went with white. Probably both were worn at one time or another!

Rogers didn't remain in command for long, John Simcoe took over command of the unit in October, 1777. Thrse are Perry figures with a flag by Adolfo Ramos. 

The unit saw heavy fighting and distinguished itself at the Battle of Brandywine Creek, September 11, 1777, and again at Monmouth Courthouse. 

The unit was one of the most successful Loyalist units of the war, but did surrender along with other British forces at Yorktown. After the end of the war, most of the men moved to Canada and became part of the military establishment there. 

A Light Infantryman and Hussar of the Queen's Rangers - 

By Simcoe's Military Journal - https://digitalarchive.tpl.ca/objects/274348/a-light-infantry-man-and-huzzar-of-the-queens-rangers-ca-1?ctx=7e5e041793f980ceeb89f80324ba4c8131fb8730&idx=15, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=110146984

There is a re-enactor group for this unit:  https://queensranger.com/

Continental Commanders

 

An army has to have some Generals to command it, right? These are Perry figures

At first there was little regulation of the uniforms for Generals of the Continental army. In July 1775, Brigadier Generals were ordered to wear pink sashes to distinguish them. This was followed by purple sashes for Major Generals

Aides de camp were to wear green sashes, and Army Commanders light blue. 

Field officers wore red sashes, more or less the same as in the British army. 

General Washington customarily wore a dark blue coat with buff facings, and this later became the standard uniform for Continental Generals. 

3rd Continental Light Dragoons

Both sides made rather limited use of cavalry during the American Revolutionary War. On the British side, the difficulty in transporting horses across the Atlantic, and of finding fodder for them was a major impediment, but the nature of the terrain in the 13 Colonies was an even bigger factor. Much of the land was still dense forests, swampland, and hills with limited opportunities for the tactical deployment of mounted troops. Still, they were useful; as scouts and  messengers, and there were a few small cavalry charges during the course of the War. 

As part of the reorganization of the Continental army in 1779, 4 regiments of Continental Light Dragoons were created. What became the 3rd regiment was raised by William Baylor in January of  1777, from men residing in Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, and thus was known as Baylor's Dragoons. 

Throughout its existence, the troopers wore white jackets with blue facings, with the shade varying from light through dark blue over time. 

This is probably the uniform that most think of when they think of Continental Light Dragoons. 

The device on the red flag is supposed to be a pair of Antlers. Flag by Adolfo Ramos, miniatures are Perry. Curiously, all of their American AWI cavalry are one piece castings (with rather frail legs, I might add), whilst all the British Cavalry are 2 part figures (i.e., horse and rider are separate). I much prefer the later

The Regiment didn't get off to a very auspicious start; it was ambushed in Tappan, NY in October 0f 1778; Baylor and all but 20 of the 104 men of the Regiment were captured. Thereafter, William Washington, a cousin of General George Washington, commanded the regiment. It suffered further losses at Camden and then in South Carolina, fighting at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, but did manage a charge upon Tarleton's forces in the final stages of the Battle of Cowpens in 1781. 

We've been having and old fashioned New England winter so far this year; It is very cold now (6 degrees F), with between 10 and 20 inches of snow anticipated tomorrow. That can't help but make one contemplate the misery of even winter encampments, such as Morristown and Valley Forge, and, here in Connecticut, Putnam. Then consider Benedict Arnold's audacious invasion of Canada in 1776, when his ultimately unsuccessful attempt to capture Quebec was delayed not once but twice by blizzards in December!

Pennsylvania Continentals

 A brief return to the Patriot forces today...

         This unit has red facings on its collar, cuffs, and Lapels. I have designated it as being                                                                                  a Pennsylvania regiment. 

The regiment (battalion) has regulation white vests and trousers. 

Pennsylvania had a rather large quota of 12 regiments of Continentals. 

Very snappy reversed colors for the drummer!

Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware were also assigned red facings. 

AWI: 52nd British Line Infantry

 Here's the newest addition to my American War of Independence British, the 52nd Regiment of Foot. Originally raised as the 54th regiment in 1755, it was renumbered to the 52nd in 1757. 

It had buff facings, and such regiments were supposed to have buff vests, breeches, and belts as well. 

These are Perry Figures in the 1768 warrant unifoprm.

Drummers of buff (and white) faced regiments were also supposed to wear red vests and breeches. 

The 52nd fought at many battles of the American Revolution, including Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, the Siege of Boston, Long Island, White Plains, occupation of Newport RI, Fort Washington, Princeton, Brandywine, and Fort Montgomery. 

In 1781 the regiment was given the county designation "Oxfordshire",and in 1803 it was designated as Light Infantry; it formed a part of the famed Light Division during the Peninsular  War.

The regiment participated in a great many battles during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, including Pondicherry, Ceylon, Quiberon, Cadiz, Ferrol, Copenhagen, Vimiero, Corunna, Coa, Bussaco, Casal Novo, Sabugal, Fuentes de Onoro, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyrenees, San Marchial, Bidassoa, Nivelle, Vive, Orthez, Toulouse, and Waterloo. 

AWI British Officers (1)

Those Brirtish troops are going to need some officers to command them at some point, right?

Despite the rather extensive AWI range by Perry Miniatures, it is pretty short of British general officers.

This set is one of the only ones I could find, and 2 of them are wearing the round hats. 

They will serve just fine for now.

Their ranks will be augmented by a number of command figures from Fife and Drum Miniatures in the future. 

AWI 30th British Line Infantry

 

The 30th Regiment of Foot (which would later be named the Cambridgeshire Regiment in 1782) had its origins in 1689, when a body of men was raised by Viscount Castleton, and was known as Castelton's Regiment of Foot. The regiment fought Flanders from 1692 to 1699, and wore grey and purple (!) uniforms; it was disbanded in 1698, but a new regiment raised as marines in 1702, now wearing red coats with yellow facings. They were involved in an assault on Gibraltar in 1704 and the capture of the French fort at Annapolis, Nova Scotia,  in 1710. The regiment was disbanded in 1713 at which time a mutiny related to their pay being greatly in arrears (7 years!) and being dumped 200 miles from home with just 14 days subsistence to assist them. Their commander, General Charles Willis, borrowed 600 GBP to pay them partial arrears, and after initial harsh threats, the men were ultimately paid their long overdue wages by the government. 

 

The regiment was reraised as the 30th Foot in 1714, in response to the increasing Jacobite threat. Although General Willis did see combat during the first Jacobite uprising in 17154, the regiment did not. It served chiefly in the Mediterranean (Minorca, Gibraltar), and Lorient in France.

It was a late arrival to the American War of Independence in 1781, serving in South Carolina and participating in the Battle of Eutaw Springs. 

The regiment is depicted wearing the rather unglamorous "Round hats and roundabouts" of the later War, especially in the South.  

At least their bright yellow facings and the reversed color of the hornist elevate their dress! The figures are once again Perry metals. The flag was created from internet sources. 

During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars the regiment served at Toulon and Corsica (1793), Egypt (1801 - 1802), Cadiz (1809), Fuentes de Onoro (1811), Badajoz and Salamanca (1812), and Waterloo (1815).