44th Foot

The 44th was raised in 1741 (as "Long's Regiment of Foot") and fought in the '45.  It then became 44th Foot and in 1782 was given the country name "East Essex".  I'm not entirely sure what constitutes "East Essex" these days, but as I now live in Essex this was a regiment I have wanted to paint for a while.  The 44th first visited America in 1755 and took heavy casualties during the Braddock Expedition and the battle on the Monongahela.  It saw further action in the F&IW and remained stationed in Canada until 1765.  After 10 years in Ireland the regiment returned to American in July 1775.  As part of Howe's army, the 44th participated in the major battles of 1776-78.  In 1779 it returned to Canada and finally went home to Britain in 1786.
The 44th was often in the thick of things.  The second battalion captured a French eagle at Salamanca and the first battalion fought in the War of 1812.  The regiment made the famous "last stand" at Gandamak at the close of the disastrous First Anglo-Afghan War and then fought in all the major actions of the Crimean War.  It amalgamated with the 56th (West Essex) Regiment in 1881 to become the Essex Regiment and now survives as C Company of the 1st battalion of the Royal Anglian Regiment. 

The 44th is quite a handy battalion to have for the AWI.  It appears in the Dorchester scenario as an 18-figure unit and then as 16 figures in Long Island, Brandywine, Germantown, Whitemarsh and Monmouth.  Like many battalions that fought in the AWI, it has yellow facings.

 

I was surprised to see that, apart from a couple of units of KMM highlanders, this is my first battalion of British line in almost five years.  This is also the first time I've painted the Perry cut-down coat firing line figures, which come in a mix of trousers and overalls.  I've been trying to paint up my unpainted AWI lead and this is one of two British battalions that were lurking in the pile.  I haven't started the second one yet; instead I'm currently painting more plastic British infantry as the 46th Foot.  I'm not quite at the stage when the only units of British line left to do are those which appear just once in the scenarios, but I'm not far off.  The 15th (five scenario appearances), the 37th (seven) and the 64th (five) will be next on the list.  Then there are the "one-offs", some of which are quite large, like the 80th Foot which appears in the Gloucester Point scenario as 32 figures.  I also need to "beef-up" some battalions that I painted a while ago and which have increased in strength as further "British Grenadier!" scenario books have been released (for example, back in 2009 I painted the 7th Foot as a 16-figure unit, but the Hudson Forts scenario now requires 20 figures, and the strengths for the Guilford Courthouse scenario have changed significantly since I painted up the relevant units).  Of course I could just stop painting AWI and do something else instead...

I've been rather remiss with posting at last, but I'll catch up over Easter with more civilians, some British casualties, Dabney's Virginian Legion and one or two other things.  On the painting desk at the moment are Pulaski's Legion cavalry and the 46th Foot.  

16 figures.  Painted November-December 2015.  Flags by GMB.