David McCullough

 

   

Another sad day when one of the great ones has passed on.  

   David McCullough was one of my all-time favorite history books writters .  His books sparked my imagination and left me wanting to know even more.  I greatly a number of his books.  "1776"rekindled an interest in the campaign around New York.   His biography if Truman and John Adams were both enlightening and illuminating about the men.  The Johnstown Flood gave me goosebumps as I read it.  All wonderful and all enjoyable.

   David McCullough was right when he said "history is for all of us." And I learned from his books that "History could be exciting."

10th Regiment of Foot

  I have added the 10th Regiment of Foot to my Crown Forces army.  A favorite Regiment of mine for sentimental reasons back during my reenactment days.  Historically the regiments light infantry and Grenadier companies took park in the fighting in 19 April 1775 at Lexington and Concord and later at Bunker Hill.  The Regiment took part in the New York campaign in 1776 and the Pennsylvania campaign 1777.   Later, in 1778 as an under staffed regiment they were returned to England to recruit while the rank and file were drafted into other regiments in American.  The surplus uniforms were sold to a loyalist Regiment The Kings Orange Rangers.

 Figures used are Fife and Drum miniatures.  I used the British line marching with blanket rolls for something a little different.  Flags are from GMB.  I like the yellow facing and colors as they give a bright spot in a otherwise somber background.

Prince of Wales American Volunteers

 

 This long serving but hard luck loyalist Regiment was raised in 1776 by Governor Montfort Browne.  It was to a multi battalion regiment, similar to DeLancey's and his ticket to a Major General Commission.  Alas!  Browne's ambitions were greater then his talents and it never came to pass.

 The Regiment first saw service  in 1777 on the Danbury Connecticut raid.  Later they were  sent to the garrison of Newport Rhode Island and took part in the siege there.  Sent south they took part in the siege of Charleston South Carolina 1780.  

 At the battle of Hanging Rock 6 August 1780 the regiment held its ground but was decimated.  Out of 180 men present they suffered over 94 casualties.   Because of this the regiment was detached in small garrison which are picked off by local  militia and partisans during the next year.

   Captain Maxwell's  defense of Fort Granby was particularly poor when he raised the white flag on condition of being able to keep his loot and march away.  This was done pretty much at the first sign of trouble and ignored the fact a relief column under Lord Rawdon was on the way  

 The Light Infantry company was combined with two companies from the 16th Regiment of Foot and the light company of the 71st Highlanders  to form a light infantry battalion that served with Cornwallis at Camden and Tarleton at Cowpen where it was captured.  The survivors were later incorporated into the cavalry of the British Legion 

  On Rawdon’s relief column to the siege of Fort Ninety Six  the regiment could muster a meager 36 rank and file to march.

  Following the war the regiment was disbanded in New Brunswick Canada.

  For figures I have used Old Glory 2nd edition.  There appears to be evidence the regiment wore green uniforms faced blue at least until 1780. But as with all things about loyalists confusion reign and there are also reports of red coats being issued.  I needed a green coated loyalist  regiment in my army so that is what I went with.  We wargame are a fickle group. 

  The sharp eyed viewer will note the presence of numerous Black men in the ranks of this regiment.  It was very common for escaped slaves during the war to be recruited into loyalist Regiment and win their freedom.  So I have added a number of if these brave men in all my loyalist regiments

  I did not give the regiment colors as I can not find any evidence they had any.  Also no evidence they did not have any.  But this may change as they look too sad without them.  So I will ask my readers what they think. Should I give the regiment a set of colors?  Or not?   Please vote and let me know!

What I have been painting

 

  I have been rather busy the last couple weeks actually painting figures!  My hand eye coordination is still not what it was but I at least am making up for it in painting volume.  

  Reorganizing my Crown Forces for the American Revolution.  Looks like I over did the "elite" units and have to add some British line regiments and loyalists line regiments.  In a attempt to save money and help fellow wargamers with their lead piles I have traded some extra painted regiments for unpainted figures.  So in the next week I will be displaying some new regiments in my army.

 In adding British line regiments I have been working on the 10th Regiment of foot. The 43rd and 52nd Regiments are next up.  

  For loyalists, a early war green coated regiment the hard luck Prince of Wales America Regiment.  Also yet another American Continental line regiment the 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment.  Figures primed but not started yet.

 And still plugging away on Luzaun's Legion infantry and Hussars but still going slowly. I have 12 infantry almost done towards the 24 figure battalion.  Finishing six more Hussars for the first squadron's 12 figures.  Haven't started the lancers yet.

I will be posting more about each unit as I finish then up.  Its great fun to be able to paint again and enjoy it rather then it being a chore.

Logistics and the Failure of the British Army in America 1775-1783

  This is a book that any student of the American Revolution War should read.  It is not a fun, entertaining read, but a read that will reward you with a deeper understanding of how the army operated and did not operate because if its logistical problem.  What the book makes clear  is how much influence logistics had on British operations and plans. Much of the movements or lack of movement of British forces in the war are often attributed to poor generalship. A deeper look into logistics can generally account for a lot of what and why and how it happened.

  The scope of the British logistics effort was amazing. I believe it was one of if not the largest overseas operations until either the Crimean or the world war.   The majority of military supplies, food stuff, fodder, and equipment issued to the armies was supplied from across the Atlantic Ocean. This explains the lack of deep maneuver away from the ocean and the rivers by the British. Locally they harvested firewood, though rarely with out escort and loss. 

  The book is divided into seven major sections. The author starts by describing the British logistical organization. He goes into the problems that that organization and the operational units it supported faced.  Conflicting data, poor communications, and the lenghth of time required to send messages back and forth across the Atlantic.  London did not seem to realize how much wastage occurred due to poor food quality, poor packaging,  uncertainties of sea travel in the age of sail, poor storage in the colonies, and further losses ashore in getting the landed supplies to where the troops actually were.  The population was much more disaffected than the Britiish government believed.   Supply was only possible when  areas were under the British army's direct control.  The battle for provisions both locally collected and transported proved a constant drain on British manpower. Not only did having to provide escorts and fight off attacks waste and fatigue manpower but this type of thing  also seasoned American troops and boasted their self-confidence. 

   I, for one had not realized how close the British were to being unable to feed their army in 1779. They scraped by but had difficulty throughout the war in amassing the reserves necessary to support campaigns away from coastal ports. Bowler states that for the seventy-nine months of conflict (Lexington-Yorktown) the army had the desired six months reserve it thought necessary for only twenty-three of those months.

  The fifth section deals with the curruption and graft that occurred within the supply organization. This section could have been shortened and still made its point that these who were "gaming the system."  These activities increased the overall cost of the war, lessened efficiency, and provided incentives to supply inferior products at quality prices. One has only to look at Archibald Robinson‘a journal to see this  A poor engineering officer he was in charge of obtaining wagons for supplies. Early in his journal he complained about his financial situation   At the end of his memoirs there is a wonderful picture of the grand mansion he had built after the American war!

  The section on the "Northern War"  was one of the most interesting to me.  Canada was handled separately from the colonies. It includes an analysis of the poor logistical planning for Burgoyne's campaign in 1777. It was supplies and logistics which doomed the expedition and also showed his little Burgoyne or London understood things in America. Either political or especially geography.   

   The conclusion was excellent and sums up the changing British strategies during the course of the war and the pervasive influence of supply matters. It is worth having the book just for this last section. The author states that you can not lay the failure of the British to win in the American War on the altar of logistics alone. But he does make a great case for how significant a role it did play in the outcome.

  

  

The Lundy's Lane Battlefield from 2018

 

 Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Lundy's Lane in 1814.  Here are some pictures and insights from my 2018 visit.

  If Chippawa is a battlefield preserved, Lundy's Lane is a battlefield lost—or at least obscured. The urban sprawl of the modern day town of Niagara Falls has almost obliterated the battlefield. Still, there are hidden nuggets to be found to reward a visitor searching for a link to the past. After all, the history of one of the largest, deadliest and most confusing battles of the War of 1812, can still compel one to visit the site.  

  Lundy's Lane Battlefield was a tourist tradition from about 1820 until 1865, in part because both Americans and Canadians claimed victory, contributing to its popularity. Large observation towers were constructed and veterans from the battle served as guides. After the American Civil War the appeal of visiting Lundy's Lane was eclipsed by more recent and vast battles in places like Gettysburg and Antietam. The Lundy’s Lane observation towers were eventually torn down, which helped make room for attractions more familiar to us now.

  Today, it's almost like the town has become one giant theme park! Because the battlefield is so built up, with a major roadway cutting across it, carrying buses and cars with people from all over the world to see the natural wonder of Niagara Falls. And all the tourist trappings such as wax museums, fast food places, parking lots, and souvenir shops, it takes some imagination to walk the land and picture how it was back in the summer of July 25, 1814. Thanks to the personal efforts of Miss Ruth Redmond, a schoolteacher, who bought up parcels to keep from development, at least some of the battlefield was saved.

  I recommend you start with a visit at The Niagara History Museum, about two blocks down the road. The very friendly Canadians there gave me an excellent walking tour map which is a must-have to visit the area. In addition, the Museum has a succinct exhibit about the Battle of Lundy’s Lane and the War of 1812. There are uniforms, artifacts and stories about soldiers from each side. A short audio visual presentation features reenactors in period uniforms. Best of all there’s a hands-on opportunity to try on reproduction uniform coats and shakos from the 8th Regiment of Foot, and heft a reproduction musket. It was great fun watching children (as well as a few adults!) enjoying these items.

From the Museum you can walk up the road to Lundy’s Lane Battlefield as parking can be difficult. Or, you can follow our lead and stop at the nearby Starbucks. I got a head start, marching off, books and maps in hand to explore, while Janine parked and got us an iced coffee.

After successfully navigating the onslaught of traffic, across the busy street I found the site of the Red Meeting House (which is still a church) and the cemetery (which has greatly expanded). These landmarks allow one to mark out positions of the British line and American attacks with some accuracy.

My march across the paths to the southeast corner of the cemetery led me to find the area where American Colonel James Miller and his 21st US Infantry regiment surprised and captured the British artillery line. His iconic answer when asked if he could capture the guns, "I'll try sir!" is the motto of the present day 5th Infantry Division. Examining the folds of the ground and imagining the fading light, I could better understand how he managed this.

In the cemetery there are a number of markers and monuments. As a resident of Massachusetts, I looked for and found the marker to Captain Abraham Hull of the 9th US Infantry regiment who was killed during the battle and buried on the field. He was the son of General William Hull who surrendered Detroit and nephew of Commodore Isaac Hull of the USS Constitution. With him are buried nineteen other American soldiers who were discovered in 1900 and reburied here. There is always something moving and mysterious about the graves of unknown soldiers

On the Starbucks side is a park with waysides, markers and displays (along with the small Battle Ground Hotel Museum which was closed). Walking down the slope I found where General Drummond rallied the British and Canadian forces to try and retake the captured cannon atop the hill. It was near here, between the Americans on the top of the hill and the British on the lower slope where General Winfield Scott stumbled in the dark with the remnants of his brigade. This was after dark and the fighting had been raging at point blank range. Marching his brigade between the two antagonists in the pitch darkness his men were decimated by musket fire of friend and foe and he himself badly wounded. Fighting in this area continued until just after midnight. Exhausted, both sides withdrew ending the fighting.

I enjoyed my visit very much and came away with a better impression of what happened during the battle. I’d like to emphasize the value of a good map, as it will reward a visitor with a better understanding of this complicated and confusing battle, as well as sort through the modern day landscape for clues to what it once looked like. I walked the field with A Crucible of Fire, by Robert Feltoe, which greatly assisted me.  The best study of this highly confusing battle is Donald E. Graves's "The Battle of Lundy's Lane: On the Niagara in 1814."

Six years blogging anniversry

  How time marches on!  Six years ago I started this blog and here was my first post.

Welcome!

   Ever since I can remember I have loved toy soldiers. As a very young boy I was thrilled to discover an exciting diorama of the Battle of Lexington Green in my public library.  My parents would drop me off at the library and after getting a arm full of books I would stand in wonder in front of it.  As with most future wargamers my first toys were boxes of the airfix plastic soldiers.  Games at this time consisted of setting up the soldiers (mixing waterloo highlander with union and confederate soldiers) and knocking them down with marbles.  My introduction to miniature war games came with the discovery of the original Courier magazine.  Not the glossy publication but the small booklet hand stapled.  To me it opened a door to a wonderful lifelong hobby which has brought me many happy memories and a number of true friends.

  Now, over fifty years later I  am still passionate about this great hobby.  While many periods and armies have come and gone I have determined to limit myself to a handful of armies.  My motto is now more playing and less painting!  I hope with this blog to share my table top armies and their adventures.

  Since that time I have met, through Gaming in person, the blog world and the internet a great many people and exchanged ideas and posts about our hobby.  I have learned a lot, and had great fun doing so.  I have greatly enjoyed seeing how others have approached things like terrain painting and organizing their miniature armies.  I have especially enjoyed the battle reports and pictures of how others fight out miniature battles on the table top. and their fascinating game ideas and scenarios.   

  All in all the hobby, the blog and the interaction with you out there has greatly brighten my life and brought a smile to my face. Its gotten me through difficult times and made good times better. 

   Thank you all so very much.  Now, lets play a game!