Epic Revolution, Part 11a: Designing an Army

Baron Friedrich Adolf Riedesel zu Eisenbach leads the Musketeer Regiment von Bose forward.

For me, half the fun of doing a new project is designing army or armies that I am going to paint and game. Warlord Games did a good job of hooking me in to doing the American War of Independence (AWI) again with their Epic Revolution range of figures. As a Military Historian, Infantry officer and hobbyist, I've had a personal and professional interest in the AWI and especially the Southern Campaign.

Major General Nathaniel Greene.

To help build my armies, I was "hooked" into buying two copies of Wargames Illustrated that came with a free Epic Sprue (marketing works!) and they were both the Hessian sprue. In addition I have the Continental Army Brigade and British Army Brigade boxes, the Highlander blister pack and the Commanders box.

Lieutenant Colonel John Howard prepares to lead the 1st Maryland in a dramatic charge.

Always a good idea is to figure out rules you are going to use. I am not a fan of rebasing figures, so I like to have various rules that I can use with the same units or use rules that have no requirement to rebase figures. The rules I'll be using for the AWI will be WoFun Minatures (download link) free American Revolution rules based on the time tested Warmaster system. In addition I will be using one of my favorites One-Hour Wargames. I may purchase the rules Black Powder Epic Battles: Revolution! Rulebook but that's a decision for the future.

The one and only!

Fun, fast and furious - AND THEY ARE FREE!!!

For gaming these days I am more interested in the unit performance than actual stats of muzzle velocity, how quickly and formation could move or how much water a canteen can hold and how much tobacco and rum was issued. As a historian it provides insight for gaming but minutia and details like that slow down a game. And it is a game! So . . . 

I get a movement bonus of 4 inches since my horse has iron shoes and my Sword of Justice (given to me by the King) makes militia wet their pants.

For the historically based battles I'll be gaming, most Regular British Regiments/Battalions, Continental Line Regiments/Battalions, Loyalist and grouping of Militia will have the same "footprint" as they all more or less performed the same way and had the same function on the battlefield. Except at the start of the war, realistically on the Hessians regiments and the 71st (Frasier's Highlanders) were anywhere near to full strength. For example, referencing Appendix A, Order of Battle from Long, Obstinate, and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse, by Lawrence E. Babits and Joshua B. Howard:

Some British Line strengths:

    1st Battalion Guards: 160 to 180 men

    2nd Battalion Guards: 160 to180 men

    23rd Foot: 238 men

    33rd Foot: 234 men

    Von Bose: 321 men

Some Continental Line/States Troops/Militia:

    1st Maryland: 350 to 400 men

    2nd Virginia: 400 to 450 men

    BG Butler's NC militia: 500 - 600 men from 10 County militias

    Pittsylvania County Militia: 150 to 200 men

    Amelia, Cumberland, and Powhatan (VA militia) County Militias: 200 to 250 men

For all intents in purposes, all of the above will be represented by 3 stands of infantry and only the quality of the units will be different.

For artillery, the British had 6 guns operating in 3 sections of 2 guns each and the Americans had 4 guns operation in 2 sections of 2 guns each. I figure one stand of artillery will represent 2 guns.

Continental Artillery.

Next: Light Infantry and Rifles, Cavalry, Commanders and what and which units I'm painting and how I determine which unit to paint next.

Epic Revolution, Part 10d: I forgot to Post the Continental Artillery

 

Well here is the Continental Artillery. One gun and Crew come with the Continental Brigade Army box (as does one for the British Brigade Army box). Having only gun suits me just fine right now as I need to focus on the infantry and the most I will need for the Southern Campaign is two guns if I want to place the guns in different places.

I did the basing technique that I used with the 1st Maryland and the rest of the Epic troops. The only difference is that I accidentally (whoops!) cut the pegs of the pieces when I removed them from the strip.

I was admiring my paint job (humble aren't I?) and I hadn't noticed that I had accidentally cut the pegs off yet. I need to cover up the holes that the pegs were supposed to go in; I used the technique that I use with slotta bases. I just use some masking tape or painters tape to cover the holes.

Then I looked at the identical frame, though in red, that is with the British Brigade as I was getting ready to prime the figures for the 33rd Regiment of Foot . . .

Oh the artillery does have pegs . . . 

Anyway . . . let's finish the base and get them on the table.

Still to come from the Brigade box are rifle-armed troops, a unit of Virginia State troops, Continental/Militia cavalry and 2-3 units of militia.

Pulp Interlude: A bug-eyed Monster

"For Heaven's sake Rachel! I told you to dress for the weather!"

 I grew up reading Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert Howard, H. Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, Maxwell Grant and too many other pulp and adventure authors to count. Some of my most enjoyable games and campaigns involve elements of Pulp and Victorian Adventure. Some of my favorite rules for the genre are Astounding Tales, In Her Majesty's Name, Pulp! and Pulp Alley.

A mainstay and inexpensive resource for many figures of my figures is the Bones Range from Reaper Miniatures which are made with injected thermal plastic. I also think that this may be the first figure that I painted completely with Citadel Contrast paints. After looking at the pictures I am going to go back and lighten the rocks.

The Ankheg(?) from Reapers Miniatures (BWAH HAH HAH!)

"Spit out that Scotch you wee bastard!" Converted French and Indian War/Seven Years War highlander from Warlord Games.

A 28mm stalwart hero from Pulp Figures defends his lost love (also from Pulp Figures).

"Join the Army and see the Empire they said." A converted figure from Perry Miniatures with a GW Space Marine rocket launcher.

Epic Revolution, Part 10c: The 1st Maryland Regiment is Complete

"The melee between the 1st Maryland and the 2nd Guards Battalion was the climatic moment of the battle. Two of the best, perhaps the finest, veteran battalions in the British and Continental armies were locked in a brief, bloody, hand-to-hand combat." Long, Obstinate, and Bloody, The Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Lawerence E. Babits & Joshua B. Howard, 2009, pg. 155.

HUZZAH! The 1st Maryland is complete and I have my painting technique down for the Epic Revolution figures. Paint them so the unit looks good at gaming distance. Before I give a brief, very brief history of the 1st Maryland, let me just show you how I did the bases:

For my basing material I use various grades of model railroad ballast which is less expensive than basing material sold for toy soldiers. I then use white glue and put some drops on the base - I'm not overly concerned about the space between the strips of figures as I will water it down to spread it.

Some globs of white glue put in various spots on the base.

I use an old brush and dip it in water to spread the glue around the entire base. Some of the glue is already translucent in this picture.

I then dip the base in the "ballast (sand)" and shake off the excess.

I genuinely buy whichever green static grass is less expensive at the time.

As a general rule of thumb, I let the sand dry approximately 24 hours before adding the static grass. I use a similar technique with static grass though I make the blobs smaller and don't spread it out over the entire base. After watering down the globs I dip it in the static grass.

The 1st Maryland Regiment (Smallwood's Regiment) originated with the authorization of a Maryland Battalion of the Maryland State Troops on 14 January 1776. It was organized in the spring at Baltimore, Maryland (three companies) and Annapolis, Maryland (six companies) under the command of Colonel William Smallwood consisting of eight companies and one light infantry company from the northern and western counties of the colony of Maryland.

There is no Infantry Regiment in the Continental Army that has as much experience, continuity and fortitude as the 1st Maryland. Their major engagements were Long Island, Harlem Heights, White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Court House and the Siege of Yorktown. The Maryland Regiment had joined the Continental Army barely two weeks before the Battle of Long Island. Unlike most of Washington's Army, the Maryland contingent had been well drilled at home and were so well equipped – they even had bayonets, a rarity for the Army.

Command stand. The 1st Maryland carried various standards throughout the was and there were at least two at Cowpens and an unknown number at Guilford as many companies had flags. Trying to research American flags during this period is tough; I just chose a flag that I thought looked cool with the unit.

As Washington's Army retreated at Long Island, the 1st Maryland, part of Lord Stirling's Brigade, was given the task of buying Washington's Army time to escape. Stirling led these men (who would come to be known as "The Maryland 400") against Cornwallis' 2,000 British soldiers who were massed around the Old Stone House, a thick-walled fieldstone and brick fortification near today's Fifth Avenue and 3rd Street that had been built in 1699 to withstand Indian raids. Only Major Mordecai Gist and nine others managed to reach the American lines. Of the others, 256 lay dead in front of the Old Stone House and more than 100 were wounded and/or captured. The bravery of the Maryland Regiment earned them the name "Immortals". 

After the disaster at Camden the Delaware Regiment was reorganized into two companies and assigned to the 1st Maryland. The meticulously kept up with wearing yellow tape on their tricorns. 

The 1st Maryland was rebuilt, and officers and men continued to serve together as promotions, transfers and amalgamation of other Maryland units, continued the traditions, discipline and fighting spirit of the unit. As one British Guards officer stated after Guilford Courthouse, "we saw the bayonets and new (sic) that it was the Maryland Brigade . . . we advanced 100 feet and fired but were repulsed by their bayonets." (National Archives, Kew, England)

I'm not going write about the other battles as I will be focusing on the Southern Campaign - but get ready for more information about marching, Camden, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Eutaw Springs, etc.

Lieutenant Colonel John Eager Howard of Baltimore prepares to lead the 1st Maryland into battle.

Epic Revolution, Part 10b: John Eager Howard and finishing the 1st Maryland Regiment

 

Every general knows a battle plan lasts until the first shots erupt. And as such, grit and experience of soldiers standing fast when faced with war’s horrors decides the day; who will be the victor, and who accepts defeat. Yet one other factor is in play. Improvise. Call it misfortune, opportunity, or just plain luck, be it good or bad.  But as they say given lemons, make lemonade. For Colonel Howard, when a full basket of lemons dumped at his feet during the Battle of Cowpens, he turned what was a grievous mistake, destined to doom the American army to defeat, and turned it into a miraculous gift and total victory. It was the veteran officer who, in an instant after a sheet of led decimated the charging redcoats, saw what was needed to claim the day. The entire British invasion of the south was turned on its heels. For General Cornwallis’ army, it was the beginning of the end, manifested in the eventual march to Yorktown. In one moment, one order, Lt. Colonel Howard earned his place in history.

The Silver Medal awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Howard by the Continental Congress for his leadership and bravery at the Battle of the Cowpens.

After the disaster at Camden, Howard commanded the 1st Maryland, the best infantry unit in the Continental Army for the rest of the American Revolution.  was a superb commander, perhaps the finest battalion commander in the Continental Army. Major General Greene would later write, "Howard, as good an officer as the world affords. He has great ability and the best disposition to promote the service. He was 28 at Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse and would be 29 when he mustered out.

Even though the various rules I am using don't use battalion/regimental commanders, the mounted commander (there are a total of 4 mounted Continental commanders) from the Continental Army Brigade box will be based on Howard - as closely as I can base a figure on a historical commander in 13.5 mm!

The Continental commander is on the Militia sprue and you get 4 in the Continental Brigade box.

Hmmm . . . he seems to only have the same 4 buildings and huge cobblestones for this scale.

One of the advantages of taking pictures is that I notice slight corrections that need to be made. I need to touch up some black on his tricorn and fix a smeared button on the coat lapel. In addition, several portraits show Howard with some white in his cockade which I might try,

Okay, let's finish the 1st Maryland. As a reminder the strip with the yellow tape on the tricorns is the Delaware Company which is part of the 1st Maryland. I have now finished the trousers/coveralls/etc.:

Unfortunately it looks like I accidentally deleted the photos of the next steps. Essentially what I did was paint the muskets Vallejo (V) Mahogany Brown, I undercoated the metal parts of the muskets with V Flat Black and then painted it V Gold. After that just some cleanup on the figures.

The strips were then carefully cut off the sprues, a few spots of V Dark Blue to paint where the figures were attached to the sprues and then I glued the strips to the included plastic bases with modelers glue.

There is no definitive evidence on what the flag of the 1st Maryland looked during the Southern Campaign other than they carried a unit color and a few smaller flags. The above flag was a common pattern used by Continental units, State units and militia and I thought that it looked cool with the completed unit.

Next up I'm going to spray with a clear, matte protective coat and then complete the bases for both the 1st Maryland and the artillery unit. Maybe I'll have some new terrain for the final pictures!