The 1st Regiment of Foot

This is the senior regiment in the British Army. Also known as the "Royal Scots" the 1st Foot had the blue facings of a royal regiment. This unit has three stands because of the relatively large number of troops in this battalion. Note that the command stand on the far left includes a pioneer or sapper. These men were equipped with an axe and tasked with duties of clearing the route of march through the forest. Also, note that there are several different colors of pants. In the field, and especially in North America at the end of a very long supply line, troops wore whatever they could procure. Finally, note the sergeant on the stand on the right has a musket instead of a pike just like the sergeant in the 100th Foot posted earlier. All of these figures are from the Foundry Napoleonic British Range.

British Rocket Detachments

These two detachments represent Royal Artillery heavy rockets (L) and Royal Marines light rockets (R). All of the figures come from the Old Glory Rockets and Crews pack in their 25mm Napoleonics range. I converted the Marines by removing the heads from the figures provided in the pack and replacing them with Marine heads from the Napoleonic Marines pack. Although not 100% historical, I think the Marines look good. I needed to make the Marine rocket detachment to complete my British Order of Battle for Lundy's Lane. Overall I think that every Napoleonic British force should have a rocket unit to provide a little "color".

The 19th Light Dragoons and Canadian Light Dragoons

The 19th Light Dragoons were the only regular British cavalry regiment to serve in Canada during the War of 1812. The uniform is completely regulation with shako and all lace. I think the expressions on these figures is excellent as they yell and urge their mounts into the charge! Didn't happen much in Canada, but that is something we can overlook. The Canadian Light Dragoons that I have painted are not totally accurate. The historical unit wore a felt round hat with black bearskin crest. I didn't have the ability to correct the hat on these Foundry figures so I used the early Napoleonic light dragoons with Tarleton helmet as presented. I really like the officer figure with his oil cloth covered bicorne. These are the only two cavalry units in my British force at this time. What I really want is some dismounted figures for these units to use as skirmishers. Redoubt makes excellent dismounted hussars, I am hopeful that they will someday do at least two or three dismounted light dragoons.

The 100th Regiment of Foot

The 100th Regiment of Foot received the title of "HRH The Prince Regent's County of Dublin Regiment" in 1812. They were with the Royal Scots (1st Regiment of Foot) at the Battle of Chippewa. Their commander, George Hay, the Marquis of Tweeddale, was the commander who stated that he would easily dispose of the grey coated "Buffalo Militia" of the American brigade under the command of General Winfield Scott. As the Americans advanced, the British soon learned that, "those are Regulars, By God!" During the Battle of Chippewa the 100th Foot suffered 204 casualties out of 450 engaged - a casualty rate of 45%! This unit is dressed in regular British uniforms including the 'Belgic' shako which was issued to the regiment in 1813. The unit includes a sergeant armed with a musket. In Canada most sergeants turned in their spontoons and took up firearms, especially in the Niagara region, due to the close nature of the terrain. I converted the sergeant by removing the spontoon and gluing in a musket. He retains his sword and red sash as badges of rank. Given the unit's ability to take casualties and keep on fighting, I have included a wounded officer and private. All of the figures are Front Rank.

The 2nd Glengarrys

This unit actually existed. I have used a little artistic license and combined uniforms described by Charles Glenn & Stephen Manley in "The War of 1812, A Wargamer's Guide - Part II, The King's Army" for the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the historical Glengarry's. This unit includes six privates and one officer. The officer wears a shako with diced border. The privates all wear a forage cap with diced border as well as trews. Along with the green coats with red facings they have a very 'regular' appearance. I think the color combination really works for these guys and they are one of my favorite units in the army. Although they look very military in bearing they are still militia. I think they hope that Americans seeing them on the field of battle would give them a wide berth mistaking them for true highlanders!

1812 Figures

I have taken some photos of my 25mm War of 1812 figures and will be posting them on the blog. The first set of figures are British and Canadians. Most of the figures are Foundry with some Old Glory and Front Rank included. I painted probably 90% of the figures. I am not a prolific painter and it sometimes takes quite a while to complete a new unit. I have most of the figures in both the British/Canadian and American armies ready for an 1814 Niagara Campaign ready to go. Most of the units are historical for the area of operations and time frame. The only units I have taken extreme artistic license with are some of the militia units and planning to include the 93rd Foot (Highlanders) and a couple of West Indies regiments. All of the figures are mounted to be used with the Volley & Bayonet rules set in the Wing Scale. the Wing Scale divides each battalion into two or three stands. Some units at extremely low strength may be represented by one stand. Our club uses a "hinch" scale for the bases which is 2/3" equals 1" in the rules set. This lets us use smaller bases and smaller table tops for our games. It would be kind of a problem if it wasn't used by all of the club because you have to make and use special rulers, however, it works for us. I hope you enjoy the figures.

Game Night Last Friday

I had an opportunity to play in an Indian Mutiny Game last Friday hosted by Byron Champlin and used the Brother Against Brother rules set. I had a great time playing on the British side. The game was a fictional scenario with a medium sized British force against a fairly large gaggle of mutineers. I commanded a mixed force of British cavalry (7th Hussars) and Sikhs (no unit). There were also two units of British regulars and a Naval Brigade unit of infantry and elephant drawn heavy guns. The mutineers had sepoy units, irregulars, cavalry and a two gun light battery. There was a town in the center of the board with one mutineer force occupying it at the start of the game. Our British force entered on one side of the board and the balance of the mutineers entered on the opposite side of the board. We were fortunate to rout two of the mutineer units out of their building positions within the first two turns. This allowed us to get our forces into the buildings and force the mutineers to assault us. Once in the buildings we basically shot the stuffing out of the mutineers and left them begging for the end of the game! I have to admit, I lost all but one trooper and the officer commanding the 7th Hussars. Just couldn't get the hang of maneuvering the horsemen around the board. Oh well, it gave the mutineers an opportunity to cheer for a couple of turns. My Sikhs gave as well as my cavalry got though so I was very satisfied with the game. Had a great time laughing with the other members of the club during the game! I will try to get a couple of the photos taken during the evening. Byron set up a beautiful game with great figures and wonderful terrain. Overall a very fun evening.