Chatterton Hill October 1776 Game

 

 

Slowly putting together a game based on the Battle of White Plains, in particular the fighting around Chatterton Hill on 28 October 1776.  Sadly there is a tremendous amount of misinformation about the battle and its been interesting researching and trying to figure out who was where and who was involved.  I will be doing a future post on what I can put together about the battle based on primary (first person) accounts later.

  First off here is the order of battle I put together based both on first person accounts and casualties returns per regiment.  Part of the problem here is there were two British columns and two separate American delaying forces.  One retired back to Chatterton hill while the second fell back to the main American line.   Most wargames scenario books have a number of units that did not take part in the fighting on Chatterton hill.  One unit never mentioned was the Independent Loyalists companies that became  The New York Volunteers.  Two companies were assigned to each column. They definitely suffered casualties so might gave been there at the battle.  If I do add them they will be dressed in the loyalist uniform British were just sending;  green coats with white facing's and round hats.  I have most of the figures ready except for the Hessian Grenadier battalions.  RSM Ltd miniatures have castings which are very decently priced.

Crown Forces:

Hessian Line Brigade:  Colonel Rall

Rall Grenadier Regiment (Dk blue coat, red cuff no lapel)

Knyphausen Fusilier Regiment (Dk Blue coat, Black cuff, black lapel)

Lossburg Fusilier Regiment:  (Dk Blue coat Orange cuff,  Orange lapel)

Lieb Musketeer Regiment  (Dk Blue coat, Yellow cuffs Yellow lapels)

2nd British Brigade: General Leslie

5th Regiment of Foot (Gosling Green facings)

28th Regiment of Foot (Yellow facings)

35th Regiment of Foot. (Orange Facings)

49th Regiment of Foot (Green Facings)

Hessian Grenadier Brigade: Colonel von Donop

Grenadier Battalion von Linsing

H-C Lieb (Dk Blue coat, Yellow cuffs Yellow lapels)

 H-C Mirbach M. (Dk Blue coat,  Red cuff, Red lapel)

H-H 2nd Lieb Gren Rgt (Dk Blue coat,  Red cuff, Red lapel)

H-H 3rd Lieb Gren Rgt (Dk Blue coat, Red cuff, Red lapel)

Grenadier Battalion von Block

H-C Wutgenau M. (Dk Blue coat, Red cuff no lapel)

 H-C Prinz Karl M. (Dk Blue coat, Red cuff, Red cuff)

 H-C Trumbach M. (Dk Blue coat, White cuff,  White lapel)

H-C Donop M. (Dk Blue coat,  Straw cuff, Straw lapel)

Grenadier Battalion von Minnigerode

 H-C Erb Prinz F (Dk Blue coat Rose cuffs,  Rose lapel)

H-C Ditfurth F. (Dk Blue coat,  Yellow cuff, Yellow lapel)

H-C Knyphausen F. (Dk Blue coat, Black cuff, Black lapel)

H-C Losberg F. (Dk Blue coat Orange cuff,  Orange lapel)

American Forces:

Here are the American forces who fought on the hill.  I have used faculty returns as well as first person accounts to determine who I think were there.

Ordered to fortify Chatterton hill Washington sent Brook's and Graham's Massachsetts Militia regiments out.  Using fences and stone walls they created a good position for themselves.  Colonel Haslet was then sent out with his Delaware regiment and two guns from Hamilton's New York Artillery company to support them.

Earlier Washington had sent a number of regiments out to harass the two advancing British coloumns.  From Colonel Douglas's brigade the 1st  and 2nd Connecticut State regiments  harassed the left column under General von Heister.  He detached Colonel Rall with his regiment, the Knyphausen and Lieb regiments to push them back.  

Finally Washington sent Brigadier McDougall's brigade to support the hill.  The Brigade was made up of the Smallwood's Maryland regiment, 19th Continental, 1st and 3rd New York regiments.

Haslet's Brigade:

Delaware Regiment

Mosley's Massachusetts Militia

Brook's Massachusetts Militia

New York Artillery

Spencer's Brigade:

1st Connecticut State Regt.

5th Connecticut State Regt.

Skirmishers

McDougall's Brigade:

Maryland Regiment

19th Continental Regt.

1st New York Regt.

3rd New York Regt.

Finaly;  if anyone out there has done convention type games in the past and have advice please feel free to pass this on to me.

Park Service cuts 1,000 jobs

 

 "The U.S. Forest Service is firing around 3,400 hires while the National Park Service is terminating about 1,000 under Trump's push to cut federal spending.

The cuts represent 10% percent of the U.S. Forest Service workforce and 5% of Park Service employees.  They are part of  Elon Musk's campaign to radically cut back the U.S. bureaucracy.”

This year when parks are opened for limited hours or most programs are cut back you know why  

Update:  time to fight back!!

Breaking Down Xavier della Gatta's Battle of Germantown Painting

 

Follow up to the post in the Paoli action.  Germantown is a fascinating battle  Washington plan something similar to Trenton with a number if converging columns   That it did not work is due to a too ambitious plan, the fig and a very spirited defense by the Light Infantry battalions and the 40th holding the Chew house.  One continental love brigadier drinking too much didn’t help!!!

A fascinating action and here are some details to make it more interesting  

1. Washington's Army

Regiments from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware led the attack at Germantown. Washington’s total assault force included about 8,000 Continental Army troops and 3,000 militiamen from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey.

2. Lieutenant Richard St. George and Corporal George Peacock

Corporal George Peacock is rescuing the wounded Richard St. George from the battlefield. For his heroic effort, St. George presented Peacock with 50 guineas (gold coins), the equivalent of three years’ pay for a corporal.

3. General Sir William Howe

This officer on horseback is believed to be General Sir William Howe. According to Martin Hunter, when General Howe saw the British light infantry retreating from Washington’s army, he exclaimed “For shame, Light Infantry! I never saw you retreat before!” Howe eventually rallied his 8,000 troops, called up reinforcements from Philadelphia, and forced the American Army to retreat.

4. Beggarstown

Northwest of Germantown is the village of Beggarstown (now the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia). Washington’s army attacked the British on Oct. 4 on the main road that connected Beggarstown and Germantown, now called Germantown Avenue.

5. African American Trumpeter

This light infantry trumpeter may be a man who ran away from slavery to follow the British Army. Many enslaved men and women saw the British Army as a path to freedom. Those who followed the army worked in various positions, including officers’ servants, laundresses, and wagon drivers (shown above to the right). A few men served as musicians, such as this trumpeter, to help the British Army communicate its orders in camp and on the battlefield.

6. British Wounded

This wagon driver of African descent is evacuating British light infantrymen to Philadelphia for medical treatment. After being rescued from the battlefield at Germantown, Richard St. George was also carted into the city. Eyewitnesses reported that it took 200 wagonloads to bring the casualties from Germantown to the makeshift hospitals in Philadelphia.

7. Cliveden

This brick building is Xavier della Gatta’s representation of Cliveden, the home of Philadelphia lawyer Benjamin Chew. In reality, Cliveden (which is now a historic site, shown in the photograph below) is made of stone and is much larger. Della Gatta’s painting shows the 40th Regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Musgrave entering the mansion and preparing to defend it. The 40th Regiment defended the house from intense artillery fire and 10 infantry assaults over a span of about two hours. One observer said the “Englishmen fought like lions.”

Based on Stephen Gilbert's article:

"An analysis of the Xavier della Gatta paintings of the Battles of Paoli and Germantown 1777" part 1

https://www.academia.edu/44087628/_The_Battle_of_Paoli_Stephen_R_Gilbert_An_Analysis_of_the_Xavier_della_Gatta_Paintings_of_the_Battles_of_Paoli_and_Germantown_1777_Part_I_Military_Collector_and_Historian_vol_XLVI_no_3_Fall_1994_98_108

500,000 Visits

 Guess this is a milestone for the humble blog.   Over 500,000 visits to the blog.  Who would have guessed?   Thank you all very much for the support over the years.  I greatly appreciate it.  Thank you all very much!

Breaking Down Xavier della Gatta's Battle of Paoli Painting

 

"On the night of Sept. 20-21, 1777, a column of British soldiers launched a surprise attack on Continental Army troops encamped in a field near modern-day Malvern, Pennsylvania. In the ensuing struggle, known as the Battle of Paoli, British light infantrymen and light dragoons inflicted heavy casualties on Pennsylvania Brigadier General Anthony Wayne's fleeing troops. British Army light infantry Lieutenant Richard St. George Mansergh St. George, an Irish artist and veteran of the battle, commissioned this painting by Italian artist Xavier della Gatta in 1782 to remember the violence and trauma he experienced at Paoli.". Museum of the American Revolution

1. British Light Dragoons

These four British soldiers on horseback are members of the 16th Light Dragoons. They used their long steel sabers to devastating effect at Paoli. The dragoon on the right is raising his saber to cut down a Pennsylvania soldier.

2. Lieutenant Martin Hunter

Martin Hunter, St. George’s friend, is wrapping his wounded hand with a bandage. In his memoir, Hunter recalled the close combat at Paoli: “I received a shot in my right hand soon after we entered the camp. I saw the fellow present at me, and was running up to him when he fired. He was immediately put to death.”

3. Ferguson’s Riflemen

Wearing green coats and carrying their breechloading rifles with 25-inch long bayonets, a group of Captain Patrick Ferguson’s riflemen helped to lead the attack at Paoli.

4. Captain William Wolfe

Captain William Wolfe, the Irish commander of the 40th Regiment’s light company, died leading his troops at Paoli. He was remembered as “a most brave and attentive officer.”

5. Pennsylvania Troops

Brigadier General Anthony Wayne’s troops scrambled to defend their camp at Paoli. The Pennsylvanians fired their muskets, which made it easier for the British to find and attack them in the dark. Wayne withdrew his troops in a fighting retreat to save them from total defeat. The Battle of Paoli became known as the “Paoli Massacre” or “Wayne’s Affair.”

6. Brush Huts

Instead of tents, Wayne’s troops constructed brush huts, also called “wigwams” or “booths,“ in their camp along a woodline (which still exists today, right). These huts provided some protection from the wind and rain. Both Washington’s and Howe’s armies built temporary brush hut camps during the Philadelphia Campaign when baggage wagons carrying tents were not close by.

7. Artist’s Signature

Italian artist Xavier della Gatta signed and dated his painting in the bottom right corner: “Xav d Gatta 1782.” Richard St. George traveled to Italy after his wartime service and provided Xavier della Gatta with the eyewitness testimony needed to create this painting. Della Gatta also painted the Battle of Germantown.

All information based on Stephen Gilbert's article:

"An analysis of the Xavier della Gotta paintings of the Battles of Paoli and Germantown 1777 " part 2

https://www.academia.edu/43998778/_The_Battle_of_Germantown_Stephen_R_Gilbert_An_Analysis_of_the_Xavier_della_Gatta_Paintings_of_the_Battles_of_Paoli_and_Germantown_1777_Part_II_