American staff (3)

This is my rendition of the Old Glory Miniatures pack "Dismounted Continental High Command".  I've used a few of these figures before, in a command stand for British artillery.  However, this is the first time I've collected a large number of the figures together for the purpose for which they are advertised.  This base isn't supposed to represent any particular commander.  I just wanted to use the figures to create a vignette that could be used in a Continental camp.  Perry Miniatures have a "camp vignette" scene, which I painted for the British/loyalist side (see here).   

So I looked trough the Caliver/"British Grenadier!" scenario books to see where a base like this might be useful.  Camps appear on the table in the following scenarios:  

·     Long Island - American

·   Germantown – British/Hessian

·   Whitemarsh – American

·   Stono Ferry – British (71^st Foot)/Loyalists

·   Brier Creek – American (militia)

·   Savannah – American

·   Eutaw Springs – British/Loyalist

·   Yorktown/Gloucester Point - American

I decided to create a vignette for later(ish) war scenarios, basically Savannah and Yorktown.  The Old Glory set is supposed to give you 2 of each type of sculpt.  My pack had 3 of some figures and only 1 of others. Also, there's only one table; despite there being at least two tables-worth of figures - that's a bit mean.  Anyway, here are a good number of the figures in the pack, a mix of senior officers, ADCs and others. Further figures will appear in another command stand I've been working on.  I'm intending on turning the remainder into Loyalists.  Old Glory figures can be a bit hit and miss.  I find they can be tricky to paint, not least because it can be difficult to work out what they are actually doing and the uniforms sometimes lack precise definition - and sometimes you realise that a lump of extra metal which doesn't seem to have a purpose is simply a lump of extra metal.        

I painted these figures as best as I could.  There's no particular rhyme or reason to the uniforms.  I guess that the senior guy in the sash pointing is probably meant to be Washington; but I gave the figure a major-general's sash to anonymise him.  The officer delivering the despatch is painted in the brown faced yellow coat of Sherborne's Additional Regiment simply because I wanted some colour to break up the dark blue and buff.  The most difficult figure to paint was the chap who (I think) is taking snuff - his head was simply a blob, with no discernable features; so I did my best to paint those in.  I based the large map on this map of the fortifications of Yorktown.  With 9 figures, it's quite a busy stand, but I think it does the job ok.

9 figures and 1 table.  Painted August-September 2024.

On AWI Hessian command figures

After the past couple of weeks' posts, I thought it might be useful to circle back on Hessian command figures, and what one might want or need for an AWI collection.  There is no need, of course, to paint up separate figures for each of the personalities - I've done this simply because I enjoy exploring the lives of these characters and representing them on the tabletop.  The Caliver/"British Grenadier!" scenario books rarely require more than 2-3 Hessian command figures in any one scenario (see below); so that's all you really need.  It's perhaps rather obsessive to paint up 10 separate personality figures (12 if you count the Brunswickers as well).

But let's just remind ourselves how the Hessian corps was organised. The corps consisted of two divisions, the first commanded by Lieutenant-General von Heister and the second (which consisted largely of the garrison regiments) by Lieutenant-General von Knyphausen. (Both commanders were in their sixties, which they used to extract from the Landgrave extra pay and pensions for their families, should they not return from America.)  Once in America, von Heister had overall command of the Hessian corps until he was replaced by his subordinate, von Knyphausen, after the disaster at Trenton.  Knyphausen handed over command to Lieutenant-General von Lossberg in 1782.  The grenadier battalions were brigaded together under the command of Colonel von Donop until he was killed in October 1777, at which point the grenadier brigade was commanded by Colonel, then Major-General,  Kospoth. Major Generals von Mirbach and Stirn also served as brigade commanders, with other officers doing the same as necessary (e.g. Rall, effectively, at Trenton).  One of the things that irritated Hessians commanders was the British habit of promoting officers above them with back-dated commissions - so, e.g. von Lossberg and Kospoth (and two others) were promoted to major-general rank in February 1779, and this prompted Clinton to promote seven British brigadiers to equivalent rank, with their commissions back-dated prior to those of the Hessians.    

In terms of what the scenarios require, we have:

- Commanders-in-chief: 

• von Heister (White Plains);  
• von Knyphausen (Brandywine);  and 
• Rall (Trenton).

- Brigade Commanders: 

• Brethauer (Trenton); 
• von Donop (Long Island, Haarlem Heights, Brandywine, Bound Brook, Whitemarsh); 
• Kospoth (Monmouth); 
• von Linsing (Pell's Point); 
• von Lossberg (Newport, Springfield); 
• von Mirbach (Long Island); 
• Rall (White Plains); 
• von Riedesel (Saratoga battles); 
• Scheffer (Trenton); 
• Stirn (Long Island, Brandywine); 
• von Westerhagen (Newport); 
• von Wurmb (Springfield).

In other words, for Long Island you need 3 Hessian brigade commanders; for Trenton you need 2 brigade commanders and Rall as C-in-C; for Brandywine you need 2 brigade commanders; and for Newport you also need 2.  So having 3 Hessian command figures will sort you out for most scenarios, and if you can live with differences in uniform facing colours etc, then 3 is all you need.  Even if you can't live with such differences, it is possible to "double-up": for example, von Mirbach and von Lossberg were chiefs of the same regiment, and therefore probably wore the same uniform; von Westerhagen and von Riedesel both wore uniforms with yellow facings - the difference was in the weave in their sashes (red for Hesse-Kassel, yellow for Brunswick);  a figure without lapels will do you for Rall and Kospoth. So one figure with yellow lapels, one with red lapels, and a third with no lapels would serve pretty nicely. Personally, I think Carl von Donop is also worth doing, as he was a pivotal figure, appears in a number of scenarios and had a distinctive uniform; and a jaeger commander can then double up as Lieutenant-Colonel Ludwig Wurmb.

So those are my thoughts. Suitable figures are available from Perry, Foundry and Brigade Games, as noted in the individual posts.  Size-wise, Foundry are the chunkiest and Brigade Games the slimmest, whilst the Eureka Miniatures figures are probably the tallest - a comparison pic is below.  If I did this again would I do anything differently?  Yes - I'd paint von Heister in his light blue dragoon uniform (as per the Osprey MAA); and I'd perhaps use the Brigade Games mounted jaeger officer for von Donop.  I use the same blue paints that I use for the Continental Army - the Foundry "Deep Blue" 20 set, and it's maybe a bit "light" for the Hessians.  But I'm pleased with these personality figures. The Hessians were good solders, and they are worth a bit of your time.     

 

From left to right: Brigade Games, Eureka, Foundry

Some Old Glory American command are next!     

Colonel Carl von Donop

Carl Aemilius Ulrich von Donop (1732-1777) was a member of a noble, military family.  He had seen action in the Seven Year's War and was a personal adjutant to the Landgrave of Hesse-Kessel, which no doubt helped when he lobbied the Landgrave for a decent command position with the American expeditionary force.  By this stage he was Chief of the jaeger corps.  Three of the Hessian grenadier battalions were brigaded together under von Donop's command.  In that capacity, he fought at Brooklyn, Haarlem Heights and White Plains, and was then effectively given command of the New Jersey garrison. 

Von Donop drew criticism for his failure to assist Colonel Rall when the Trenton garrison was attacked at Christmas 1776. Von Donop's brigade of approximately 2,400 men should have been stationed at Bordentown, some 9 miles from Trenton. However, Von Donop's command had been moved to Mount Holly in New Jersey after a small Continental force of around 600 had arrived there and set up some artillery. After a bit of skirmishing over the course of 22-23 December, the Americans slipped away. This move diverted von Donop's command away from the Trenton area, Mount Holly being 10 miles further away than Bordentown. It was alleged that von Donop was being comforted by a "beautiful young widow" and was in no hurry to return back to Bordentown.

He met his end in the Battle of Red Bank (or Fort Mercer) in October 1777. Fort Mercer was situated on the New Jersey side of the Delaware. Cornwallis wanted to eject the American garrison and von Donop, who seems to have wanted to redeem the performance of the Hessian corps after Trenton, volunteered to lead the attack. Despite support from five British ships anchored in the Delaware, the Hessian assaults were beaten back with heavy casualties. Von Donop was wounded in the thigh and died three days later. Despoite the Trenton/Mount Holly affair, von Donop seems to have been widely respected. Colonel William Harcourt, commander of the 16th Dragoons and an aide-de-camp to King George, wrote that von Donop was "very justly the pride of the Hessians, and undoubtedly an excellent officer."

In the Caliver/"British Grenadier"! scenarios, von Donop appears as a brigade commander at Long Island, Haarlem Heights, Brandywine, Bound Brook and Whitemarsh. So he's a useful chap to model. This figure is another mounted Russian officer from Eureka's Revolutionary Wars range. I painted this figure twice. Initially, I had assumed that he would be wearing the uniform of the Von Donop Regiment. But then when I started doing some proper research into Carl von Donop's life, I realised that the chief of the regiment was a completely different von Donop, Lieutenant-General Wilhelm Henrich August von Donop! So I had to paint over the blue with straw-yellow coat and change it to the green faced red coat of the jaeger corps. The uniform isn't quite right for an officer of jaegers. There probably should be a plume in the tricorne. In fact, Brigade Games do a mounted jaeger officer, which I haven't seen "in the flesh" but might be more suitable for von Donop. To be honest, the Brigade Games figure looks nothing like von Donop, given that a couple of portraits of him do exist (see here).

1 figure. Painted August 2024.

Colonel Heinrich Julius von Kospoth

Heinrich Julius von Kospoth (1724-1801) began the AWI as colonel of the Wutgenau Regiment (renamed Landgraf in 1777). In late 1777 he was given command of a brigade comprising three of the four combined grenadier regiments, replacing Colonel von Donop who had been killed at the battle of Red Bank/Fort Mercer. In February 1779 von Kospoth was promoted to Major-General, but appears to have remained as commander of the grenadier brigade. He served with General Clinton at the siege of Charleston in March to May 1780, and then took his brigade to New York where it remained for the rest of the war. Von Kospoth headed the court martial that the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel ordered into the Trenton affair.  His only daughter married the son of Lieutenant-General von Lossberg. 

In the Caliver/"British Grenadier!" scenario books, von Kospoth appears as a brigade commander at Monmouth, in command of the Hessian grenadier brigade. I painted him in the uniform of the Wutgenau Regiment for lack of any alternative. This is another Brigade Games figure.  The lapels on the coat weren't that pronounced, so this is a good figure for an officer whose uniform doesn't have lapels; which is quite a few of them!

My next post will be on Colonel Carl von Donop, and I'll then do a round-up of modelling Hessian commanders for AWI wargaming. This has been a real blast, to be honest. Getting into the personalities of the AWI was always one of the things I enjoyed most about the period.

1 figure, painted September 2024. 

Major Friedrich von Dechow

Major Friedrich von Dechow was the commander of the von Knyphausen Regiment at the battle of Trenton.  He had been wounded, twice, at the battle of Fort Washington in November 1776, but took command of the regiment because his superior, Colonel Borck, had an even worse wound and was convalescing in New York.  Von Dechow was wounded again in the battle of Trenton, dying of his wounds a couple of days later. When he was unable to carry on during the battle von Dechow handed over command of his regiment to Captain Bernard von Biesenrodt and told him to surrender in other to prevent any further casualties.  However, von Biesenrodt had other ideas and he and a handful of others attempted to flee from Trenton across Assunpink Creek.  Some 50 soldiers from von Knyphausen's Regiment managed to escape.  Before the battle, von Dechow had expressed concern about the Trenton garrison's exposed position.  He suggested to Colonel Rall that defence works be built outside the town, but Rall (as noted earlier) insisted any attack would be met by the bayonet and didn't want his ability to deploy compromised by earthworks.  Von Dechow also wrote (with the von Lossberg Regiment's commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Scheffer) to von Heister on 17th December 1776 to warn of the state of the garrison, which was reduced by sickness, was tired and also suffering from the cold.  None of this prevented the subsequent court martial enquiry from placing blame for the disaster on von Dechow (and, of course, Rall). It seems von Dechow was perceived as having been too slow to get his regiment into action and, despite being in a position to secure the bridge over the Assunpink Creek, which the garrison could have used for a retreat, failed to do so.  One senses a brave, competent officer who, like Rall, found himself judged (posthumously) by his performance in his final, difficult battle.      

The figure here is shown in the uniform of an officer of von Knyphausen's Regiment.  It is a lovely sculpt - it looks as if the figure was modelled on the painting of Knyphausen himself in the Osprey MAA on German troops.  This figure shows just how well Paul Hicks sculpts faces.  Unfortunately the horse seems to be a bit of a mis-cast, as its right ear and part of it's back right leg are missing, and the right side of the head was lacking in definition.  The next time I have some greenstuff out I'll try to add the missing ear. One nice touch of detail is that the figure is wearing the "Pour la vertu militaire" award just benath the gorget - hence the light blue ribbon near his neck.

1 figure.  Painted September 2024.

Queen's Rangers (3)

I'm half-way through my Hessian commanders series, so this is brief interlude on something else.  I first blogged about the Queen's Rangers back in 2007.  The regiment was raised in New York in 1776 by Colonel Robert Rogers, of F&IW fame.  Rogers soon handed over command to a British officer, Colonel French, who in turn was succeeded by Major Wemyss, and in late 1777 the regiment came under the command of Major John Simcoe (who was only 25 at the time).  The regiment was initially organised into 11 companies of around 30 men each, one of which was a highland company.  This was recruited largely from Scottish loyalists in Virginia.  Apparently the highland company was renowned for its discipline and combat skills, so it was often used for guerrilla skirmishing and scouting. A muster roll from February 1780 shows the company commander at that time as one Captain John Mackay (and confirms that the company had a piper, as you'd expect).

These figures are from the Eureka Miniatures French and Indian Wars range.  I bought them ages ago and painted up the 3 skirmishers back in 2005.  I intended the other 4 figures to go on a standard infantry base to add to the rest of the regiment, but for whatever reason never got around to it.  So here is the highland company, in both skirmish and close order.  These are very much "on campaign" figures, with Indian leggings and tomahawks, and Indian braided canteen covers..  I put the Eureka Miniatures highlander officer on my General Burgoyne command base (which, like most command stands, I never blogged about).  I think these figures make a good addition to a Queen's Rangers unit. They do, perhaps, look a bit "F&IW"; but I think the figures work for the loyalists in campaign dress.  The alternative would be to use some of the Perry AWI highlander figures.  Since I bought the Eureka figures the North Star "Muskets & Tomahawks" range has also come out (in early 2020, I think, because I bought the "pre-order" deal and it then got stuck in my work office mail room for the duration of Lockdown).  These are a bit bigger than the Eureka figures.  You have a fair bit of choice now if you want to model the highland company.  Given the company's paper strength was around 30-40 men, you don't need many figures.  I wanted the option of both skirmish and close order.

In terms of scenarios, Brandywine and Monmouth require units of 20 and 22 figures respectively.  The outlier battle is Spencer's Ordinary of June 1781, which appears in volume 2 of the Caliver scenario; I participated in a game of this battle back in 2008 (see report and photos here).  This requires a total of 64 Queen's Ranger infantry figures, including 6 for the highland company (and also 22 cavalry figures, including the dragoon troop).  The highland company is classed as "light infantry" with an "elite" rating. So what I probably should have done was painted 6 highlanders, in two skirmish stands of 3 figures each.  Oh well...that's what happens when you paint and base the figures and only then look at the scenario books!

7 figures.  Painted 2005 and August 2024. 

Talking of the Queen's Rangers, I thought I'd dig out my other skirmishing figures and put them on parade, given that they missed out on their own post earlier.  These figures represent the light and grenadier companies, with some skirmishing riflemen.  These were some of the first AWI figures I painted, right back in 2003; obviously during my "black eyeliner" period! And I'm not the only wargamer painting the Queen's Rangers recently - do check out Lawrence's excellent blog here. 

  

Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Scheffer

Francis Scheffer was the acting commander of the Von Lossberg Regiment during the early years of the AWI, having taken over from the initial colonel who had died of dysentery in September 1776. So he led the regiment at the Battles of White Plains, Fort Washington and Trenton. The regiment distinguished itself at White Plains and Fort Washington. Scheffer was awarded the order "Pour la vertu militaire" for his conduct in these battles (although the award was suspended in the wake of Trenton, pending the outcome of the inquiry). The Hessian garrison at Trenton included a brigade of three regiments under the overall command of Colonel Johann Rall - the Rall Regiment, Knyphausen's Regiment and Von Lossberg's (being the regiment that became the "Alt" Von Lossberg in 1780).

The Von Lossberg Regiment suffered high casualties at Trenton - 4 killed, 55 wounded and 260 captured.  As a consequence, the regiment pretty much ceased to exist as a fighting unit.  At the court martial enquiry after the battle, Scheffer testified that "it rained cannon balls and grapeshot, and snow, rain and sleet came constantly into our faces.  In short, none of our muskets would fire any longer."  Scheffer had taken command once Colonel Rall was mortally wounded; however, although it was questioned why he hadn't been able to effect a withdrawal out of the town towards the Delaware River, he was not censured by the enquiry (which instead placed the blame on Rall and Major Dechow of Knyphausen's regiment, both of whom were dead).  Scheffer eventually received his "Pour la vertu militaire" in 1783 and retired as a major-general the following year.  I assume he was captured at Trenton, but haven't been able to confirm.  

This figure is from a Foundry pack of Seven Years War Prussian "mounted Frei Korps officers".  The figure has lapels but no coat turnbacks, so it's not quite right for the AWI.  However, I had this figure in my leadpile and had always intended to use it for a German officer.  I decided on Sheffer because the figure looks like he's in the middle of a battle.  The eye-patch is neither here nor there - I have no idea whether Scheffer had one.  But, as described above, he sounded like a bit of a tough fighter, so I thought this figure was appropriate.  For the battle of Trenton, the base should of course be snowy; but I've just done the base as per my collection more generally.  

1 figure. Painted August 2024.

Colonel Johann Gottlieb Rall

Johann Gottlieb Rall (c.1726-1776) was born into a military family and appears to have been commissioned into the Hesse-Kassel army at the age of 14. He steadily rose through the ranks: lieutenant in 1745, captain in 1753, major in 1760 and then lieutenant colonel of the Stein garrison regiment in 1763. He became chief of the Mansbach Regiment in 1771 or 1772, at which point it was presumably renamed the Rall Regiment. By the time he arrived in America, Rall had extensive campaigning experience - in the War of the Austrian Succession, in the Fourth Russo-Turkish War fighting for Catherine the Great, and even in the 1745 Jacobite rebellion in the UK. Despite not speaking a word of English, General Howe appointed Rall as commander of the entire brigade that was garrisoned at Trenton (either because Howe was impressed with Rall's conduct in the field or, probably more likely since Rall was junior to other colonels in seniority, due to a lack of alternatives as a result of illness).

I won't go into the details of the battle of Trenton on 26 December 1776. Suffice to say that it is now generally accepted that Rall was neither drunk nor particularly ill-prepared at the time. It is certainly the case that Rall failed to build any defensive fortifications around his position, despite being ordered to do so by Colonel von Donop, his superior officer; but that seems to have been because Rall wanted to go out and meet the Continentals in the event of an attack and didn't want his manoeuvrability compromised by fortifications. However, it's also clear that Rall was sufficiently concerned about sporadic American attacks on his sentries and outposts that he ordered his men to sleep in their uniforms and wrote to both von Donop and General James Grant, the British commander in New Jersey, that he was concerned about being exposed. There is an interesting analysis of Rall's conduct during the battle, and the subsequent court martial enquiry here. Rall died leading his troops from the front in a desperate counter-attack. He was visited by Washington as he lay dying and asked that his captured men be properly looked after, which Washington confirmed would be the case.

By all accounts, Rall was a brave, much-respected soldier who inspired loyalty from the men under his command. Colonel William Faucitt, the officer who had negotiated the supply of soldiers with the Hessian authorities, decsribed Rall as "one of the best officers of his rank in the Landgrave's army". Apparently Rall's aggressive performances at the battles of White Plains and Fort Washington earned him the nickname "der Lowe", i.e. "the lion". His adjutant, Lieutenant Jakob Piel, wrote in his diary that Rall was "generous, magnanimous, hospitable and polite to everyone". Piel also said that Rall sometimes struggled to settle on a firm decision and was "born to be a soldier, but not a general". In his book "The Hessians", Rodney Atwood notes that it was really only on the day of his death that it became clear that Rall wasn't suited to holding an independent brigade-level command.

In the "British Grenadier!"/Caliver scenario books, Rall appears as a brigade commander at White Plains and the C-in-C at Trenton. This figure is from the Foundry Seven Years War range. It works well for Rall as the coat does not have lapels, so being similar to the uniform of the Rall Grenadier Regiment. In fact, the uniform is not much removed from the Don Troiani painting of the death of Rall at Trenton (see here). I also like the pose - he looks as if he's leading from the front, which is what Rall was doing when he got shot. This was the first of these new Hessian command figures that I painted, and it was only after I'd finished that I read somewhere that the saddlecloths were the colour of the regimental facings of the relevant officer. But as all my existing Hessian commanders have dark blue horse furniture, I just decided to stick with that rather than follow the facings (which would have given bright yellow and orange on two of the others).

1 figure.  Painted August 2024.