Painting totals 2018

So, how did I do this year with my painting totals?  Not too bad.  I made great progress on my Revolution War figures. My 1776 project went very well and has added another element to my collection.  I painted less War of 1812 then last year but did add some important regiments.  These will enable me to fight most if the battles of the 1814 campaign.  Lastly my French mid eighteenth century collection has been put to the back burner.  On the total of figures painted I have included generals and mounted officers with the cavalry.  Artillery included both guns and crew.

War of 1812
Infantry: 96 figures
Cavalry:   6 figures
Total:  102 figures

French 18th century
Artillery:  4 guns and 8 crew
Cavalry:   12 figures
Total:  24

American Revolution War
Infantry:  432
Cavalry:  14
Artillery: 4 guns and 16 crew

Total for the Year;
Infantry:  528 figures
Artillery:  30 figures
Cavalry:  32 figures

A very respectable out put for the year!

The Rall Brigade 1776

  Prior to their arrival in American the regiments of the brigade were not impressive to many observers.  While the steadness and discipline of Fusilier Regiment Knyphausen was praised, Lossberg's and Rall's  drew unfavorable comments.  Fusilier Regiment Lossberg had the highest number of deserters of any regiment on its march from the capital to the ships;  fifteen men.  This was due to the regiment recruiting an great number of deserters from other countries into its ranks.  This was because of the garrison town it was quartered in which was on the outskirts of the country in a isolated area.

  William Fawcett, who was sent to muster the German troops being sent to American was less then impressed with Grenadier Regiment Rall.  He reported the battalion was inferior to the others he had seen.  The number of recruits were higher then the other battalions because its peacetime establishment was lower.  But he did add, "They are however in surprising forwardness; which is owing to the activity and cleverness of their colonel, who is one of the best officers of his rank, in the Landgrave's army."  While today we remember Johann Rall for the disaster at Trenton few remember him as a outstanding battalion commander.  But how did he get promoted  from battalion commander to brigade commnder?

  Originally  the three regiments were commanded by  Major General Werner von Mirbach.  But after the battle of Long Island a series of unfortunate events fell their commanding officers.  Mirbach suffered a stroke and was sent back  to Germany.  Colonel Carl von Bose who succeeded him also fell ill and left the command.  Next in seniority was Colonel Heringen from Regiment Lossberg who then died of dysentery.  His replacement,  Colonel Borce from Regiment Knyphausen was recovering from wounds.  So Johann Rall, a very junior colonel but excellent battalion commander found himself in command of a brigade. 

  British General Howe, who liked Rall and wanted to reward him for his fine service at White Plains and Fort Washington approved his independent command at Trenton.  Over the very strong objections from Rall's commander von Donop. This led to friction and a lack of cooperation between the two Hessian officers.   And the rest is history

Grenadier Regiment Rall 1776

 The Grenadier Regiment Rall had it origins in 1703 when the best men from the various landmiliz (militia) regiments were drawn together into a single battalion.  It was referred to as a Landgrenadier Regiment.  It was  thus not a elite grenadier battalion but a garrison or militia type battalion.  Nor were it's men the tall giants popular mythos thinks of as grenadier.  Callow farm lad made up the battalion rather then veterans. One observer remarked it's rank and file were the smallest of the regiments he had seen. Possibly the average soldier could have been private  Johannes Reiner who  was 17 years old and stood 5 feet 1 inches tall!

  But once in America the regiment saw much active service and distinguished itself.  At both White Plains and Fort Washington the regiment was in the forefront of the fighting.  After its surrender at Trenton the survivors were placed in a composite battalion with members of the Knyphausen and Lossberg regiments and took part in the Philadelphia campaign.  It was later reorganized as a full battalion and took part in the fighting in the South at Savanna and Stono Ferry.  The regiment returned to Germany in 1783.

  Researching the Rall regiment has been quite interesting.  There are no illustration of the Uniform before the American Revolution.  Both watercolors of the regiment date from the 1784 and 1786, after the war.  The 1786 watercolor is most frequently reproduced so that is the Uniform many show.  The earlier 1784 watercolor has many differences but because it was earlier I have gone with that one.

  The uniform was a blue Regimental coat with red cuff and collar and no lapel.  small clothes were buff.  The Grenadier cap had a brass front, red base and blue bag with white lace.  Belts were white but musket slings reddish brown.  Cartridge box black with brass badge and small grenade in each corner.  Officers lace and gorget were gold.

  Figures are from Fife and Drum miniatures.  Regimental colors are from GMB.

  I could not have finished this project without the help of others who happily answered my questions and gave me excellent advice as  well as sharing their research.  On The Miniatures Pages I thank you Fridericus for  sharing your research and setting me straight on the Thalmann and Darmstadt drawings.  And thank you Winston for the good advice.  and two4slashing diverge picture of the reproduction uniform.   On the Fife and Drum miniatures forum Winterfelt have me excellent information and books to hunt down. William19 shared a wonderful print.  I especially wish to thank Ed who stayed with me in this answering my questions and inspire me to look for the right answer. I owe you a beer sir!   Thank you all!

Fusilier Regiment von Lossburg 1776

   Arrived at New York city in August 1776 with first wave of Hesse Cassel regiments.  took part as part of Brigade Mirbach at Long Island. Fought at White Plains and Fort Washington.  Took part in the march across New Jersey chasing the Continental army.   As part of the garrison of Trenton on the early morning of  December 26, 1776 the regiment surrendered to American Forces after being surprised and defeated.  Survivors of the three regiments placed in Combined Regiment von Loos  for the 1777 campaign in Pennsylvania.  Fought at Brandywine and occupied Philadelphia.   Returned to New York in 1778 where they reverted to original regimental status of Fusilier Regiment von Lossburg.  The regiment was sent to Quebec to garrison the city but suffered heavy losses at seas in storm and returned to New York 1779.  In 1780 returned to Quebec until returned to Germany in 1783.

Reproduction Fusilier cap.

Regimental uniform was a blue coat with orange collar, cuffs and lappels.  White small clothes.  Fusilier caps with brass front and black bag.  Officers lace was gold.  Figures are from Minden Miniatures and flags from GMB.  Fusilier cap picture is of a reproduction cap.

  In addition I would like to thank Ed from the Fife and Drum miniatures forum.  He was kind enough to share his research  and suggestions with me over the confusing subject of Hesse Kassel uniforms.  Thank you sir!

Fusilier Regiment von Knyphausen 1776

   Fusilier Regiment Knyphausen arrived in New York city in August 1776.  They took part in the fighting at  Long Island, White Plains and Fort Washington.  As part of the garrison at Trenton they surrendered after that battle.  For  1777  the survivors of the Trenton debacle were amalgamated into the  Combined battalion Loos.   This battalion took part in Howe's  Philadelphia campaign, fought at Brandywine and took part in the occupation of Philadelphia.  In 1778 the battalion was restored to their original name.  September 1779 they were sent to garrison Quebec but suffered very heavy loses in a storm at sea which forced them to return to New York.  Again sent to Quebec in May 1780 they stayed there until October when they were returned to New York city.  From there they returned to Germany in 1783.   This ended the service of this hard luck regiment in the American war.

  Uniforms of the Hessian and Brunswick regiments during the American Revolution are a confusing topic.  There is much misinformation and contradictory materials out there.  The contemporary watercolors of the regiments often published are from a slightly later time after the war and may include changes done after the war.  So those of us who paint these fine fellows must do our research and make our best guess.   During the course of painting these fine fellows i have had to repaint numerous details over when new information became available.    If I have made a error in the uniforms I beg your pardon.

  The regiment had blue coats with black lapels, collar and cuffs.  Officers lace was gold.   The Fusilier caps  are based on original caps worn by the regiment.  Drummers are based on information from the end of the Seven Years War.  Drums at that time for this regiment were brass with white cords and Drum rims were black and white diagonal strips.  Regimental colors are from GMB and beautiful little works of art they are. Miniatures are from Minden Miniatures who also do the Fife and Drum range.

  I would like to thank Ed from the Fife and Drum miniatures forum.  He was kind enough to share his research  and suggestions with me over the confusing subject of Hesse Kassel uniforms.  Thank you sir!

Hessian Jager company 1776

  It was recently that I discovered I have been so busy painting American line infantry I had neglected my crown forces. Yes, I have some British line and guards and Highlanders but few loyalist, no Grenadiers and a single Hessian battalion.  Time to correct this.

  To get started I painted up a small group of 12 Jagers.  Inspired by reading Captain Ewalt's journal years ago I find that Jagers are ubiquitous and turn up in almost every battle.  So they will be super useful troops.  Their plain uniforms were easy to paint and I did these in a couple of days. I am experimenting with different basing for skirmish type troops.  Single based figures just do not look right to me.  So now I am trying a longish thin base to look like a skirmish line.  After a couple games we will see. Figures are from Minden miniatures and although from the Seven Years War period will not look out of place on my American Revolution battlefields.

Hessian Regimental Colors

  I have been doing research on Hessian uniforms and colors for an upcoming painting project involving the Rall Grenadier regiment, Fusilier Regiment Lossburg and Fusilier Regiment Knyphausen.  In looking for documentation on regimental colors I found the following article, "Colors of the Hessian flags in North America 1776 - 1883",  Military Collector and Historian, Winter 2003-2004, vol. 55, issue 4.  This is simply brilliant and a must have article if researching this topic.

  The author is Steven Hill.  He is one of (if not the) best historians on the topic of military flags.  Is using his career he was responsible for restoring and maintaining many historical flag collections.  I had the pleasure of meeting him many years ago when he was working to restore and maintain The Civil War collection of flags in the Massachusetts State House. 

   If you want to know which regiments carried what colors, what they looked liked and what happened to them this is where you look.  There are pictures of fragments of colors captured at Trenton.  How often do you see these?  In addition there is also some documentation on uniforms.  So my friends, do yourself a favor and download this article.

Here is pdf of the article:
dupagemilitaryflag.com/files/33395736.pdf

Here is his flag site:
www.dupagemilitaryflag.com

Lastly, if you want a coffee mug with a regimental color in it here is where you go.  My kids, when they do not know what to get me for a present shop here.  Nothing better than sipping coffee while painting or playing with you soldiers that has The regimental colors of the Royal Welch Fusiliers.


www.cafepress.com/historicflags

Regiment von Bose

From a 1789 uniform book

   In keeping with tradition, all Hessian Regiments were named after their commander.  The Regiment was commanded by von Trumbach until 1778 when Major General C. von Bose became the commander.   The regiment set sail for American on 23 March and arrived on 15 August 1776 at Sandy Hook, New Jersey as part of a large fleet of troop transports with other Hessian units.

   The Regiment participated in numerous actions in New York.  They transferred south in November 1778 and participated in the capture of Savannah, Georgia and the Battle of Stono Ferry, South Carolina and  the capture of Charleston, South Carolina in May of 1780. The Regiment was later assigned to Lord Cornwallis’s Field Army and participated in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in March of 1781.  The Regiment marched with  Cornwallis into Virginia and were part of the army who surrendered at Yorktown October 1781.

My Regiment von Bose is from RSM miniatures.  They fine old miniatures are still available from the Dayton painting Consortium.  Please check them out at http://www.dpcltdcom.org

Although listed as Seven Years War figures I think they fit in nicely with the Rev War as there is very little difference in uniforms worn.  By late in the War Hessian regiments would have been wearing gathered overalls.  I painted the regiment in the brown winter garters issued to British troops.  The regimental colors are from GMB designs.

Regimental color detail from above drawing.

Update:  the von Bose was not at the Battle of Stono Ferry.  My error in confusing it with another regiment.