4th Continental Dragoons

This is another unit I painted up years ago and failed to blog about (another being the Knyphausen Fusilier Regt, which I painted 12 years ago and then realised the cuffs were in the wrong colour - I'll sort that out shortly).

It wasn't until December 1776 that Congress, after much lobbying by George Washington, authorised the formation of regular cavalry units.  Washington arranged four regiments and this was approved by Congress in March 1777.  Washington gave command of the 4th regiment to Stephen Moylan, an Irish Roman Catholic who had held a variety of senior staff positions, including acting as Washington's secretary and the Continental Army's Quartermaster General, and later fell out badly with Count Pulaski.  The 4th recruited mainly from Pennsylvania and Maryland and seems to have mustered its troops much more quickly that the other 3 regiments.  However, sources suggest that none of the dragoon regiments ever reached their full strength and most only had between 120 and 150 effectives at any one time. 

In the "British Grenadier!" scenario books the 4th Dragoons appear only once - a 4 figure unit at  Whitemarsh, a large battle fought in December 1777 near Philadelphia.   As these are Perry figures they come in packs of 3, so I thought I might as well just paint up all 6.  I was planning on doing all necessary American cavalry units with the lovely Eureka figures (which come with interchangeable hats), but then the Perries came out with specific figures for each of the Continental dragoon regiments so I decided to use those.  That said, strictly speaking, these figures are in their later uniform and so different to how they would have looked at Whitemarsh.  When the regiment was formed it was given a stock of British uniforms that had been captured at Saratoga, so red coats faced blue and leather caps.  Washington ordered the troopers to wear linen hunting shirts over these coats to avoid confusion (given that the coats were the same colour as the British 16th Light Dragoons).  Some time in 1778 or 1779 the uniform was changed to the green faced red coats and tarleton helmets that you see here.

When I was painting these figures and the Perry militia cavalry (and also a Warlord Games model of Napoleon's carriage, which I painted but then couldn't work out how to put together) I tried to make the greys a bit more "lifelike" by using photos I'd taken of a troop of grey horses in Vienna as a reference.  I'm quite pleased with the result, which involve a lot of "wet blending" and trying to get the dapples in a realistic pattern.  Did all American trumpeters ride greys (or grays if you prefer)?  Who knows,  but I like painting grey horses.

6 figures.  Painted August-September 2017.

Militia cavalry

These are the Perry militia cavalry, sold in the American AWI range but I can't see any reason why they shouldn't be used for un-uniformed Loyalists.  Looking at the "British Grenadier!" scenarios, you need militia cavalry for Monmouth (4 figures), Camden (6), Petersburg (3), New Garden (20) and Cowpens (8).  The last two scenarios will obviously require some additional figures from other units.  There are 2 packs in the range and you can see that there are 3 basic poses in each pack: hunting shirt leaning forward, coat leaning forward and coat leaning back.  The figures in the two packs have different headgear and sometimes footwear, so the figures aren't exactly the same across the packs.  The right arms are separate so you can customise whether you want officers and buglers etc.  I perhaps didn't vary the angle of these arms as I might have done - they are mainly pointing forward in a "charge" position.  

These are nice, dynamic figures, although they are a fair bit bigger than my Eureka and Foundry AWI cavalry.  The metal is quite soft, which means the swords bend easily and the horses' legs need work to straighten them out.  I spent longer on the greys than I have done before, trying to capture a more realistic impression of what the coats can look like.  Not much more to add, really.  The 4th Continental Light Dragoons are next.

6 figures.  Painted June - August 2017.

North Carolina Light Dragoons

A unit of North Carolina Light Dragoons was first raised in April 1775.  Originally a militia unit, the regiment was the attached to the Continental Army and was present at Brandywine and Germantown.  The regiment was disbanded in 1779 but then re-organised alongside other existing militia units into a new regiment on the NC State establishment under the command of Colonel François DeMalmedy, a colleague of Pulaski who was seeking employment in the South as a cavalry commander.  The regiment fought in various engagements in the southern theatre, including Stono Ferry, Cowpens, New Garden Meeting House and Eutaw Springs.  At some stage after the last engagement DeMalmedy was killed in a duel by another officer.  The regiment seems to have dissolved as a result of the loss of its colonel and the troops were reassigned to other units.

I painted this unit simply to use up my remaining Eureka "ragged Continental cavalry" figures.  I hunted around for a cavalry unit I didn't already have (or which I intended to do with Perry figures) for a while before I came across the North Carolina Light Dragoons.  This unit is not specifically referenced in any of the published "British Grenadier!" scenarios, but I suspect it falls within the 20-figure "militia cavalry" at New Garden.  Information on the uniform for this regiment is very thin. I found one un-sourced reference to dark blue coats faced red, and there's a Don Troiani painting of a "rifle dragoon" in a hunting shirt and tarleton helmet (which is very similar to my Dabney's Legion), but that was it.  I went with the Eureka "jockey caps" because I had those left over and wanted something different to the tarletons/crested helmets/floppy hats that I've been painting recently.

So this is the end (probably) of Eureka's cavalry figures in my collection.  This range has served very well for both American and Loyalist units and I now have 70 of these figures - 52 Americans and 18 Loyalists.  I raved about these figures when they first came out and I can't recommend them too highly.  Even with the more recent Perry Continental Dragoon releases, these figures still have something special to add, as the separate hats/helmets and the mix of coats and hunting shirts enable you to create pretty much anything you like, particularly for state, militia and legion troops.  I confess to a preference for the charging figures, as with the other swords-shouldered pose it's sometimes difficult to put floppy hats on the figures' heads.  I do have one Eureka figure left, which I'm hoping to turn into a personality of some sort.

Currently on the workbench are Perry cavalry and something a bit different, as per the final photo below....

4 figures.  Painted May-June 2017.

1st Continental Dragoons (1)

This unit was raised in June 1776 in Virginia, and was originally on the state's establishment as the Virginia Light Horse Regiment.  In November is was taken into the Continental Army and re-designated as the 1st Continental Light Dragoons on 25 November 1776.  One of the original troops commanders was Captain Henry Lee, who in 1778 was promoted to Major and authorised to raise his own legion of infantry and cavalry.  The regiment was present at Brandywine, Germantown and Guilford Court Horse.  In January 1781 the 1st Dragoons were re-organised into a legion, with four mounted and  two dismounted troops, and was re-named the 1st Legionary Corps.  The regiment was disbanded in November 1783.

The 1st Light Dragoons are commonly portrayed in brown faced green coats and leather caps.  I had two Foundry dragoon figures left over and I decided to use them for an alternative interpretation of the unit's uniform to that which is commonly portrayed (e.g. by in the Perry and Fife & Drum ranges).  This different uniform of blue faced green coats and the standard brass helmet is shown in a Don Troiani painting, with the caption "Fall-Winter 1780-1781".  I've seen other references to this uniform in descriptions of Greene's army at Cowpens.  Maybe this is a new uniform issued at the time of the re-designation into the 1st Legionary Corps.  In the published "British Grenadier!" orbats, the 1st Dragoons appear at Cowpens (4 figures), Weitzel's Mill (2) and Eutaw Springs (2).  Given that Cowpens was fought in January 1781, Weitzel's Mill in March and Eutaw in September, I thought I could justify using these figures.  Other references refer to the post-1781 uniform coats as being blue faced red, but given that I already have figures in that uniform I decided to go with Troiani and have green facings.  With a unit of only 2 figures I don't have enough for Cowpens, so at some stage I will paint 4 in the earlier uniform of brown faced green coats. 

2 figures. Painted May 2017.

Philadelphia Light Horse

The Light Horse of the City of Philadelphia, or "Philadelphia Light Horse", was established in 1774.  It was a volunteer militia unit, formed by "a group of prosperous gentlemen" (according to Uniformology's book on the Continental Light Dragoons).  The troopers bought their own equipment and provided their own horses.  The coat was "rust brown" faced white, while the cap was of black leather with a buck/fox tail crest.  Apparently the unit's flag was presented by the first captain of the troop, Abraham Markoe, who had previously served in the army of Denmark.  However, King Christian II then issued an edict banning Danish citizens from fighting in foreign wars, and so Markoe had to be replaced.  

During the AWI the troop oftern acted at Washington's personal bodyguard and messenger service.  The unit was present at the battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine and Germantown.  Being essentially a militia unit it was never formally disbanded at the end of the war and survives today as Troop A, 1st Squadron, 104th Cavalry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania National Guard.  It is, apparently, the oldest military unit of US that is still in service.  

The Philadelphia Light horse don't appear in any of the published "British Grenadier!" scenarios, but I've wanted to paint up this unit for years, largely because I love the brown coats with their white facings and the bucktails and light blue turbans on the helmets.  I can always use them to add numbers in those 1:5 ratio scenarios where a lot of cavalry are required on both sides.  I had some Foundry Continental Dragoon figures left over and was originally intending to paint just one stand of 2 figures.  But I then realised that I'd bought the unit's flag (from Adolfo Ramos), so I had to pick up a command pack from Foundry at Salute this year.  The means I still have 2 Foundry figures left over that I'll need to find a use for.  The coats were painted with Foundry's "Bay Brown 42" palette.  Sources refer to rather fancy brown shabraques with embroidery and white silk finishes.  I decided against painted those on the horses and instead used my normal blue-grey colours to suggest more work-a-day furniture. 

4 figures.  Painted April-May 2017.  Flag by Adolfo Ramos.

Pulaski's Legion (2)

This is the infantry element of Pulaski's Legion (the mounted troops being here).  In the "British Grenadier!" scenarios it appears as a unit of 6 skirmishers at Savannah.  So far as I can tell, the only way to model this unit in 25mm without doing your own conversion work is to use KMM figures as they provide heads specifically for the Legion (KMM-08).  This then gives you a choice for modelling the Legion infantry - you can use the generic Continental infantry figures or the newer dismounted dragoons.  I chose the latter as KMM's proprietor, Bill Nevins, had sent me several packs of these figures and I was keen to try them out.  The Continental infantry figures are probably more appropriate for the specific Legion infantry (as opposed to Legion cavalry who have dismounted to skirmish), but given that only 6 figures are required I don't really think it matters.  But if you want to make up a unit of Pulaski's Legion infantry, then the figures in overalls and packs would be perfect. 

I have 7 figures here because I wanted to add the officer as well (there's also an eigth figure in the range which isn't present in the unit - a standing loading figure).  The rank and file figures are based in threes as second-grade skirmishers under the "British Grenadier!" rules.  I suppose I could add three more figures and use this unit as the dismounted version of the cavalry, given that charging the fortifications at Savannah isn't really something any sane gamer is going to try (historically that didn't work out well for Pulaski).  Like the mounted troops, I painted these figures about a year ago.  I did take photos at the time but I wasn't really satisfied with them and decided to wait until the rest of the Legion was finished before having another go.  To the right is a picture of the entire Legion, with Pulaski at its head.  As I've said, these troops only feature in the Savannah scenario (although the Legion, or parts thereof, were engaged in skirmishes at other times), which is the orbat I have half an eye on at the moment.  I'm currently working on more cavalry for both sides and I've also just added a couple of figures to my 3rd Continental Dragoons, to bring them up to strength for the Indian Field scenario - you can see those here.    

7 figures.  Painted April 2016. 

Pulaski's Legion (1)

Casimir Pulaski was born in in Poland in 1745 and began soldiering at an early age. In 1777 he met Benjamin Franklin and Lafayette in Paris, who then introduced him to General Washington.  Pulaski seems to have started off with some sort of staff or advisory role but was then made a brigadier general and given command of all American cavalry.  He spent the winter of 1777-8 training and outfitting the cavalry units but in March he resigned his command and suggested to Washington that he form an independent legion of cavalry and light infantry. This idea was approved by Congress in March 1778 (see below) and Pulaski's Legion was born.  Many of the recruits were German deserters and British PoWs, officered by Polish and French expatriates (apparently thirteen Polish officers served under Pulaski in the legion). In October 1778 the Legion and some other troops were attacked at what became known as the "Little Egg Harbor Massacre" and lost 30 men.  In February 1779 the Legion was sent to the south and Pulaski was instrumental is lifting the siege of Charleston. The Americans then moved onto their own siege of Savannah. By this time French forces had arrived and on 9 October 1779 the allies made their disasterous attack on the town. Seeing the French infantry falter, Pulaski galloped forward with his legion to rally the men but was mortally wounded by cannon shot. He died two days later, on 15 October 1779.  His Legion was disbanded the following year and the men transferred to Armand's Legion.

The published "British Grenadier!" scenarios only feature Pulaski's Legion once - 10 figures at Savannah.   I painted Pulaski himself back in 2011, using a Eureka Miniatures "Baron Munchausen" figure.  For his Legion I've used the Eureka "ragged Continental" cavalry figures, wearing brass helmets.  I painted all the figures and horses last year, having picked up some reinforcements from Eureka at Salute 2016.  However, for whatever reason the figures came with the wrong helmets.  I knew that Eureka would have replaced them without any fuss, but I failed to let Eureka know and then eventually this year's Salute was just around the corner.  I'd been mulling over what figures to use for Loyalist South Carolina cavalry, so I thought I'd just order some more figures and re-order the correct helmets.  So I spent last week painted all the helmets and finishing off the basing, even though the figures themselves were painted almost a year ago!  

There is some debate as to whether the legion contained lancers and, if so, how many.  I've seen references to the cavalry element of the legion being 3 troops, of which one consisted of lancers, but there is also evidence that all the cavalry were armed with lances, at least initially.  The Continental Congress' resolution of 28 March 1778 which authorised the raising of the legion stated as follows:

'' Resolved. That Count Pulaski retain his rank of
brigadier in the army ot the United States, and that
he raise and have the command of an independent
corps to consist of sixty-eight horse, and two hundred
foot, the horse to be armed with lances, and the foot
equipped in the manner of light infantry; the corps
to be raised in such way and composed of such men
as General Washington shall think expedient and
proper, etc."

Pulaski seems to have recruited more men than Congress ordered, as the muster rolls of August 1778 refer to "three companies of horse, armed with lances, and three companies of infantry, a total of three hundred and thirty."   So how many troopers were actually armed with lances and for how long?  Who knows - but the justification for having lancers is there in the archives.  So I decided to give lances to 4 of the rank-and-file figures (which of course meant using the same standard bearer figure 5 times).  The pennants are from Adolfo Ramos - I don't know how authentic they are, but the lances would look a bit bare without them.  My first choice was white over red, but I realised I'd used most of them up on my BAL dragoons, so had to use black over red instead (the only other option was yellow over light blue!).  I think they look ok. 

The legion's flag is well-known and has a complicated design,  Despite there being plenty of information on this flag, no one seems to make it in 25mm but it was pretty easy to download a couple of pictures and make my own (I wasn't going to try to paint it myself from scratch).  It reads "Unita virtus forcior" [sic], which is supposed to mean "union makes valor stronger"; and then, on the other side, "Non alius regit", which means "no other governs".  Apparently the flag was rescued from the Savannah battlefield by a wounded lieutenant and now resides with the Maryland Historical Society in Baltimore.

10 figures.  Painted March-May 2016.

Dabney's Virginia State Legion

This unit appears to have been formed by Charles Dabney in 1777 or 1778.  Dabney was from a prominent Virginian family and joined the patriot cause as soon as war broke out in 1775.  He quickly rose through the ranks and by the end of 1776 was a major in the 3rd Virginia Continental Regiment.  In 1778 he become lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Virginia and was present with that regiment at the battle of Monmouth.  Later that year he appears to have transferred from the Continental Army to command of the 2nd Virginian State Regiment, although Dabney's unit served with the Continental army and Dabney fought at Stony Point in July 1779.  From 1781 Dabney's regiment was part of Lafayette's force in Virginia and it saw out the siege of Yorktown.   It seems that in early 1782 most, if not all, of Virginia's state troops were merged into Dabney's regiment, which was renamed Dabney's Second State Legion.  The unit consisted of infantry, cavalry and artillery and became known simply as "Dabney's Legion".  The Legion remained on duty in Virginia throughout 1782.  Dabney must have become rather bored as apparently he tried to persuade the government to let him take his Legion off to invade Bermuda. The Legion was disbanded in April 1783.

Dabney's Legion appears in only one published "British Grenadier!" scenario to date, the cavalry action at Gloucester in volume 3.  This is the skirmish on 3 October 1781 primarily between Tarleton's British Legion and Lauzun's Legion, otherwise known as the "Battle of the Hook".  This scenario requires a uniquely large number of cavalry figures: 36 from the British Legion, 16 Queen's Rangers, 4 Light Dragoons and 60 from Lauzun's Legion.  Not many AWI gamers are going to have access to those kind of resources by themselves, I suspect.  Dabney's Legion appears in the orbat as part of American reinforcements that arrive on Turn 10 (the unit is clearly cavalry, even though the battle took place in 1781 prior to the "merger").  So not only does this unit make it's sole appearance in one of the most unlikeliest of AWI games to be staged, but also it appears right at the end, if one even gets that far.  So Dabney's Legion ranks high, if not at the very top, of my list of units that are unlikely ever to appear on the tabletop.  Actually, I can use a couple of bases to bulk out militia cavalry units for other large-scale southern scenarios, but I'm sure you see my point.

Which is a shame as I really like the look of this unit.  I remembered seeing a painting by Don Troiani of an American cavalryman in a dark blue hunting shirt and a Tarleton helmet, and I knew I wanted to model a unit like that.  The Osprey MAA "General Washington's Army (2)" describes the uniform of Dabney's Legion as "green sailor's jacket and blue overalls", but the illustration in the book is clearly an infantryman.  Troiani's "Soldiers of the American Revolution" refers to the purchase by the Virginia government in 1782 of a consignment of "royal blue coats with blue facings" that were used for Dabney's Legion and the Illinois Regiment.  Even though that uniform may well have been worn after the Gloucester action took place, I decided to go with that and paint a unit that contained a mix of hunting shirts and coats.  I kept the hunting shirts in various shades of blue, so the uniforms as a whole would all blend in.  As with my other recent American and loyalist cavalry units, this one utilises the fantastic Eureka Miniatures "ragged Continentals" figures.   The flag is home made; a simple design to reflect the unit's Virginian identity.

10 figures.  Painted January-February 2016.