Pennsylvania Rifles

The latest addition to the Patriot forces is this unit of riflemen wearing green hunting shirts.

Although by far the majority of Patriots units were musket armed, there were several units composed entirely of riflemen. 

Their rifles were far more accurate than the musket, but took much longer to load, and could not accommodate a bayonet until well after the Napoleonic era. 

Thus they were chiefly used as skirmishers, and were particularly a threat to British officers. 

The flag is an historical one, belonging to a Pennsylvania rifle regiment. 

Morgan's (Virginia) rifles were perhaps the most famous of all the rifle armed units; they wore white hunting shirts for the most part.

This flag is actually one of the few Revolutionary era flags that actually survives, although badly damaged; above is a modern reproduction. The Latin moto means "I will not be subjugated". And yes, there is a re-enactment group for this unit as well (in the photos, they wear white, brown, and grey hunting shirts for all but the officers), which was also numbered as the 1st Continental regiment.  

Hessian Musketeer Regiment Von Wutginau

 The Hessians are coming!

The number of troops that the British felt were needed to quash the rebellion of he 13 colonies exceeded what they were capable of fielding without excessively draining the defenses of its other territories. Hence the contract with Hesse-Cassel to provide 12,000 men for service in North America, concluded January 15, 1776.

The troops to be provided were 4 Grenadier battalions, 15 Line Infantry battalions (each with two 3 lber guns and crew), 2 Jager companies, along with supporting Generals and staff. 

The first wave of Hessian troops, 8,000+ men strong, arrived in New York on August 12, 1776. Troops contracted from several other German principalities also participated in the American Revolutionary War, most notably about 4,00 men from Brunswick-Wolfenbuettel, which formed almost half of General Burgoyone's army in 1776.

These men are from the Von Wutingau Musketeer regiment, which arrived in the second wave of Hessian troops in October, 1776. It became the Landgraf regiment in late 1776, and then the Leib infantry regiment in 1783. 

It participated in fighting at Fort Washington, Rhode Island, Tyron's Raid, Connecticut Farms, and Springfield. These are Perry figures with a flag from Flags of War. 

British Artillery #2, American War of Independence

The British also receive some reinforcements of the "Big Bang" variety. 

They wear cut down uniforms more suitable to climate and terrain of North America!

These are Perry figures.

Ready...    FIRE!

 

Continental Artillery #2

With all the infantry units I have been posting lately, it's time for a bit more artillery!

One battery is wearing hunting shirts dyed blue, with fancy buff trim. 

The other wears brown coats faced red, and a peculiar leather cap with an Anchor emblem on the front. 

These chaps belong to the Rhode Island Train of Artillery, a militia outfit first raised in 1774. By that time, relations between Britain and her North American had descended into open hostility in aftermath of the Boston Tea Party (December 1773) protesting the Townshend Acts. Parliament responded with the Coercive Acts (aka the  Intolerable Acts), closing Boston harbor, ending self-governance in Massachusetts. It became increasingly likely that outright war would develop in the not too distant future. This fostered the development new colonial militia units, in p[reparation for the coming storm.

Yes, this is another Revolutionary War unit that has a re-enactment group!

Cannon included:  Their facebook page has many more pictures and historical information

This is an actual cap of the unit, found on the battlefield after the Battle of Long Island in 1776. The unit suffered heavy losses there, and was later absorbed into Henry Knox's new Continental Artillery.  

British 47th Foot, and... The American Revolution Podcast

The 47h Regiment of foot traces its origins back to 1741, whe nit was raised in Scotland as Sir John Mordaunt’s Regiment of Foot, and was ranked 58th in order of seniority. In 1743, Mordaunt was replaced as Colonel by Lieutenant-Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Peregrine Lascelles. The regiment would fight its first two campaign’s as Lascelles’ Regiment. 

These are Perry metals in "Saratoga uniforms", with a regimental color by Adolfo Ramos. 

The original 47th Regiment of Foot, also known as the 4th Regiment of Marines, was raised in 1739 and fought in the War of Jenkin’s Ear. The Regiments of Marines were disbanded in 1748, which meant that Lascelle’s Regiment became 47th in seniority. In 1751, regiments were officially known by their seniority number (47) rather than the name of their Colonel. In 1782, the 47th were given the county designation ‘Lancashire’.

The relatively inexperienced regiment first saw action at the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745, trying to quash the Jacobite uprising lead by Bonnie Price Charlie; instead, along with the rest of the army, it was swept aside after an engagement of only about 20 minutes, with many of the men taken prisoner. Not as auspicious start! Quite a number of years ago, my freind from the UK, Tim Couper, ran a series of fantastic Jacobite battles at Historicon, bringing all of his 28mm Front Rank  figures with him in his luggage! As I recall, the wargame emulated history quite closely, to the chagrin of the Government players!

In 1750, the unit was sent to Nova Scotia in North America, which had been transferred to British control in 1748, and fought in a number of clashes between the French and British settlers. During the French and Indian War (Seven Years War), the regiment fought at the siege of Louisbourg (1758), on the Plains of Abraham and the capture of Quebec (1759), and the capture of Montreal (1760); the regiment returned to Great Britain at the end of the war in 1763. 

With the increasing unrest in Britain's 13 North American colonies, the regiment was dispatched there in 1773, initially being stationed in New Jersey. It participated in the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and the Battle of Bunker (Breed's) Hill in 1775. It took parting the Battles of Saratoga in 1777, surrendering with the bulk of General Burgoyne's army, and spent the next 6 years as prisoners of war. 

This is yet another AWI unit with a re-enactor organization (several, actually). This photo is from this outfit in the UK.  During the Napoleonic Wars, a 2nd battalion was raised in 1803. The first battalion was widely traveled, including the Cape of Good Hope (1806), Montevideo and Buenos Aires (1807), and India (1808). The 2nd battalion was sent to Gibraltar (1809) and then Portugal (1811), notable engagements including Barrosa (1811), Siege of Tarifa (1811), Vittoria (1813), Siege of San Sebastian (1813), Battle of the Nive (1813), and Bayonne (1814). 

I've mentioned in passing that listening to The American Revolution Podcast by Michael Troy has really made my painting time go by quickly. Michael has been posting (nearly) every week, starting in 2017, covering the Revolution chronologically, starting with its origins back to the French and Indian War (7 Years War). Most episodes are about 20 minutes  in length (I'm up past episode 200 already), and quite engaging. They are backed up buy additional images, maps, links, and reading recommendations on his companion blog site. I strongly recommend checking out The American Revolution Podcast blog, and of course the podcast itself (easily found [free] on almost any podcast hosting site, such as Apple Play. 

1st Pennsylvania Regiment

Here's a second regiment in Hunting shirts, in this case either died a dull yellow or made from deerskin or similar.

The flag is one of those carried by the First Pennsylvania regiment of the Continental Line.

These are Brigade Games figures, excellent sculpts by Paul Hicks. 

The first Pennsylvania fought at most of the battles in Pennsylvania and New Jersey during 1776 - 1778.

The flag is by Adolfo Ramos. Kike many Amwerican flags created prior to the Declaration of Indepence, it has the Union in the canton, and a solid colored field bearing patriotic emblems, in this case the Rattlesnake motif, with the motto, "Don't Tread on Me". 

Once again the "magic wash" really does work wonders on these figures!

This unit also has a re-enactor group: https://www.firstpa.org/index.html 

Hessian Feldjagers, American Revolutionary War

This is the first unit of what will be a fairly large German ("Hessian") contingent as part of my forces for the American War of Independence. 

The British really did commit a very large force in their attempt to crush the rebellion of the American colonies.  However, it was recognized that the existing forces available were inadequate to the task, especially considering the other demands on the British military. Therefore, they negotiated a treaty with the Landgrave of Hessen Kassel, which was signed on January 15, 1776. Bu its terms, the Landgrave agreed to provide a force of 12,000 men for service in North America.

Perhaps the most famous of these were the Hessian Jagers, who were experienced men armed with rifles. 

The first Hessian troops departed May 6, 1776, and arrived on Staten Island in New York in early August of that year. 

The Jagers had a very distinguished record during the war, and were well respected by both their British allies and the opposing Patriots. These are Perry figures. 

At times the legwear varied from tan or brown to dark green. The vests and jackets were dark green, with crimson facings. Belts were brown. Officers were distinguished by gold trim to their facings.

There is a US re-enactor group for this unit; here are some of the men at an event. Note the silver and red sash of the officer, as well as the gold trim on the facings. I'd call this shade of red scarlet more than crimson, but it looks sharp regardless. 

Another picture from their site, showing the hornist with his quite large hunting horn. There are various depictions of the colors of the cords used on the horns; I went with green and red.