Saturday, September 7, 2024

War at Saber Point:Book Review

 Bloody Tarleton,” “Bloody Ban,” or “Tarleton’s Quarter” is how Banastre Tarleton is known, if known at all today. Movies like The Patriot, starring Mel Gibson, created a fictional Colonel Tavington loosely (very loosely) modeled on the real Banastre Tarleton. In the film, Tavington earned the epithets “Bloody Tarleton” and “Tarleton’s Quarter.”

In his War at Saber Point, John Knight seeks to set the record straight by giving a far more nuanced view of Tarleton and the British Legion.


Knight describes Tarleton as a libertine, a term rarely used today—libertine acts without moral restraint; a self-indulgent person.

The use of the term fits Tarelton (and other young gentlemen in Georgian London, p7) as he was a gambler with little restraint and a womanizer until late in his life after he married. 

Tarleton’s mother, Jane, bailed him out of a gambling debt. She also purchased a commission for him in the 1stKing’s Own Dragoon Guards. The Horse Guards were dominated by aristocrats, which Tarleton was not. A commission purchase would have cost 1600 pounds, of which Tarleton received 800 from his mother.

On the outbreak of hostilities in the American colonies, British officers were allowed to volunteer their services in other units going to the colonies. Thus began a long association with Major General Charles Earl Cornwallis.

The British Army was well-trained and usually well-led but small, with many commitments. For this reason, George III turned to his German connections and hired Hessian, Brunswick, and other Germans for service in North America. These troops are usually described as “mercenaries,” but the only people that made money from them were the German princes who hired them out.

The British also came to depend on Loyalist units, called Tories, by the patriots or rebels, depending on your point of view.

This unit of "Tories" was named Emmerich's Chasseurs, The unit featured a mounted and dismounted element. For game purposes in Rebels and Patriots I show them both ways. The figures are Jack Scruby 25mm for the mounted figures and Airfix infantry.

The British sent two cavalry (light dragoons) to America, the 16th and 17th. Lieutenant Colonel William Harcourt was the commander of the 16th. Harcourt, a well-placed aristocrat, would sponsor Tarleton’s career (p.19).

Tarleton did not look down on Loyalists, as did many British officers: his charismatic personality and openness led to the formation of the British Legion in 1778. 

A “legion” was a combined arms formation of cavalry: infantry and artillery. The British Legion originally consisted of four infantry companies and three troops of light dragoons. A Royal Artillery contingent would be assigned as necessary and available. Many soldiers who served in the British Legion were deserters from the patriot cause. This is not surprising given the divided loyalties of the time, where it was said 1\3 of the population favored the patriots, another 1\3 favored the crown, and the remaining 1\3 did not care one way or the other.

The use of cavalry in the American Revolution was quite limited, given the nature of the terrain and the expense of raising horse troops. The Americans raised four regiments of light dragoons, but they were tiny.

The British 16th Light Dragoons soon departed back to England, leaving the 17th Light Dragoons and British Legion’s Light Dragoons as the two major cavalry forces on the British side.

My Queen's Hussars and 17th Light Dragoons from Jack Scruby miniatures in 25mm.

Under Tarleton’s leadership, the British Legion fought an action against the 2nd Continental Dragoons, capturing its flag. (Chapter: Surrender You Dammed Rebel)

Standard of the 2nd Continental Dragoons, painting by Don Troiani.


British Legion Light Dragoons from my collection. Figures are 20mm size from Irregular Miniatures in the UK.

After the northern campaigns bogged down for the British, they turned their attention to the Southern Colonies, where thousands of Loyalists were believed to rally to the crown. In the south, the British Legion would gain fame and infamy.

After the fall of Charleston to British forces in 1779, Tarleton already had a reputation for being an aggressive cavalry leader. Light Dragoons are not meant to be primarily battle cavalry in the sense of charging home with the saber. They are better suited to scouting, serving as pickets, foraging, escort duties, and skirmishing with their opposites. 

While the British Legion horse indeed performed all those duties, under Tarleton, charging home with the saber was the norm rather than the exception.

Tarleton surprised a patriot camp at the Battle of Monck’s Corner by leading a saber charge straight into it. The American General Huger was careless and primarily responsible for the one-sided British victory. Accounts of atrocity followed the success, including sabering soldiers trying to surrender and rape. Contrary to American propaganda, the rapes outraged Tarleton, but a higher-up in the chain of command showed leniency to the culprits (pgs. 88-89).

The incidents at Monck’s Corner pale compared to what happened at the Battle of the Waxhaws.

A small force of patriot Virginians under Abraham Buford was on their way to Charleston when the city fell. Aware of this force, Tarleton was sent to destroy them, catching them in an area known as the Waxhaws (pgs. 95-07).

It was not much of a battle. Inexplicably, Buford ordered his men in line of battle to hold their fire until the British cavalry (British Legion and a contingent from the 17th Light Dragoons) were within 50 yards. This allowed for only one volley before the cavalry was upon them.

Predictably, the Virginians lost formation and fled as the dragoons broke through, sabering the fleeing soldiers and causing further panic.

The Americans lost about 260 killed and wounded compared to the British, losing 17 dead and injured.  The lopsided ratio was not typical of a battle during this period, giving rise to accusations of atrocity and massacre.

But was it a massacre? Asks John Knight as he carefully unpacks the evidence from primary sources.

From the evidence presented, it was not a massacre in the sense of killing off soldiers trying to surrender or the wounded later. This is not to say things like that did not happen; it was, after all, a brutal civil war with plenty of opportunity for both sides to commit atrocities upon each other. 

The Americans lost little time turning the debacle into a potential rallying point. Knight concludes the Battle of the Waxhaws like this:

But Waxhaws turned out to be a poisoned chalice. Although the battle had been a military disaster for the patriots, it galvanized rather than subdued resistance…” Remember Tarleton’s Quarter” became a rallying cry that provoked hundreds into the militia ranks (Pg. 103).

Tarleton and the British Legion would go on to more victories and accusations until they were stopped cold at the Battle of the Cowpens. American General Daniel Morgan effectively used the militia and his few Continentals as Tarleton failed to appreciate the Americans' chosen ground.


American militia performed well at Cowpens because Daniel Morgan recognized their limitations, and he chose the ground well. The figures are Airfix in 1\72, painted by my friend J.Z, in 1976 as part of our bicentennial project. (The flag was painted by hand.)

I have read War at Saber Point twice, relishing the detail in this great book. Knight’s research and use of primary sources make the book a gem, and his writing style simply adds to the enjoyment.

Fittingly, I picked the book up at a South Carolina bookstore where Tarleton gained his fame and infamy.

Friday, August 2, 2024

Romans and Macedonians Collections

 

My interest in the Macedonian and Punic Wars dates back to the publication of Phil Barker's book of the same name. Back in those days 25mm metal Minifigs were standard but were supplemented by other manufacturers who did figures in 25mm scale.

My first armies are long gone (sadly). I've spent the last ten years giving the period new life with as many vintage figures as I could find, as long as they were compatible with the numerous plastic 1\72 sets appropriate to the period in question.

The intended rules are a fan-created variant drawn from Lion Rampant. 

Back in the day, I had a number of Macedonian Brescia Miniatures. I was fortunate to find quite a few on eBay and they became the nucleus of my late Macedonian Army.

As you can see from the pictures below, they and the Polybian Romans have been supplemented by HAT and the excellent Newline figures in 20mm.

Brescia were always small, 25mm, compared to the chunkier Minifigs and Hinchcliffe, so they fit well with 20-22mm figures in separate units.

These were the standard Macedonian Phalanx by Brescia. They were not fancy, having a leather jerkin rather than metal. I always thought they were perfect for a late Macedonian army.

These are Brescia Cretan archers. By today's standards a bit crude but I love them.

I supplemented my phalanx with the excellent plastic set from HAT. With HAT you get a great assortment of styles. What I like about the HAT set is the ability to put armored phalangites in the front rank and lesser armored behind.

These are Brescia Hypaspists. The Brescia Macedonian line was intended to be Alexander's army. In my army, I use the figure to represent the transition from a lightly armed peltast to a more heavily armed type capable of standing in the line of battle. They are painted up to represent an elite.

Brescia also made an armored phalangite with a crested helmet. I got just enough to make an agema type unit.

These figures are HAT cobbled together from Alexander's Companions and Thessalian sets. They represent standard heavy cavalry in a late Macedonian Army.

Brescia peltasts. Based on Barker's book, I painted them up as Thracians. He recommended a black tunic for Thracians who served as mercenaries in a late Macedonian army.

These are my "wild" Thracians, figures by Newline. When it comes to 20mm scale, Newline figures are simply excellent. I have an unpainted unit of Newline phalanx waiting in the wings!

These are Minifigs given to me by a friend. I use them for a command unit.

Newline Triarii for my Polybian Romans

Newline Hastatus

Newline Principes

HAT Hastatus. I did these before I became aware of Newline. They are early HAT sculpts and not as good as other ancient figures done by HAT later. Still, they are pretty cool!

HAT Principes

HAT Triarii

A HAT command stand and a Newline command stand.

I thought the Strelets Velites were very cool, so I did a unit.

HAT Velites

Newline Roman Heavy Cavalry

HAT Italian Allies

I have more units that didn't make the photo shoot, but the pics are a pretty good sample of two armies.

Saturday, April 27, 2024

Classic Airfix AWI

 My vintage AWI collection includes units of Airfix figures. When I and a friend (JZ) started wargaming in the period (1975) we both had units of Airfix figures.

Airfix made two sets. One was of British Grenadiers, and the other was marketed as Washington's Army.




We threw in the Airfix units with whatever metal figures we could find back in the 1970s. These included Minifigs, Hinchcliffe, and Garrison. Sadly, I sold off my collection in the late 1980s, but my friend JZ kept his.

When we got back together in 2014, we started gaming again in the period with the Rebels and Patriots rules. I had to re-raise the British, German, and Loyalist units. I was sure to include some of the classic Airfix figures.


British Grenadiers. You always needed more than one box to get a unit in the same pose. The detail on the two sets was quite good, considering they originally came out in the 1970s. The set lacked an officer on foot, but the mounted officer was very nice. There is a famous painting of the British Grenadiers storming Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill) and the Airfix Grenadier pose captures the painting nicely.




The Washington's Army set is painted up as British. Standard bearers in both sets were unusable, so conversions had to be made. Here, I substituted command figures (Irregular Miniatures 20mm from the UK). The unit is painted as the 9th Foot. Once again, the mounted officer is a pleasant addition

2nd New Hampshire from the classic Lefferts collection

Unlike my figures above, the following pictures of figures date back to the 1970s: My friend (JZ) painted them up as the 2nd New Hampshire. The flags are hand-painted. At least four of the figures have round hats instead of the standard cocked hats that came with the Washington's Army box.



These are conversions from the regular Washington's Army box. One was painted up with a coonskin cap to represent a Continental riflemen. (JZ)




These were painted up in the Continental uniforms of Washington's bodyguard. (JZ)


JZ also did quite a few militia units. This one represents a typical New England unit. The flag is hand-painted.




Monday, March 11, 2024

Plains Wars Miniatures from RAFM and Minifig

 RAFM Miniatures has been around since 1977. Today, they produce figures for fantasy and sci-fi. They still produce historical lines that include the ACW, FIW, and Plains Wars. The lines are limited in selection but are produced in old-style 25mm scale. The sculpting is very well done, and they fit well with vintage Minifigs. I have mixed the two brands in my Plains Wars collection.

I originally found some RAFM Plains Wars figures on eBay before I realized they were still being produced. Once I discovered this, I decided to paint up some for The Men Who Would Be Kings set of wargame rules.

An English wargame group produced a variant for the period that modified the unit sizes and gave the rules more Old West favor.

My unit of scouts has gotten this far. Three of the figures are Native American. For the Sioux War, they were probably Crow or Shosone traditional enemies of the Sioux and Cheyenne. The other three are either white or half-breeds. All scouted for the army. The figure with the tan hat is a Minifig.

Mounted warriors-All RAFM

I tried to highlight the center warrior while blurring the other figures.

These warriors are all Minifigs. To my knowledge, that line is no longer produced. I found these on eBay.

The Minifigs fit well with RAFM. 

RAFM mounted cavalry. The number of available poses is a challenge, but they are great figures.

Dismounted warriors by RAFM





Friday, March 1, 2024

Rebels and Patriots Union Forces in 1\72

 This is the counterpart to my last post, which featured Confederate forces.  The majority of figures used for both collections are 1\72 plastics from Italeri, Airfix, IMEX and Hat. 

My metal Union forces include some excellent 20mm sculpts from Newline. Also featured are some old Musket Miniatures and a few RSM figures.

Both armies are organized for Rebels and Patriots by Osprey. 

Command stands for Hat's Union Cavalry skirmishing.

Newline mounted cavalry painted as US Regulars. The dismounted figures are Musket Miniatures marketed as 22mm back in the day.

My other Newline unit, this time the dismounted figures are also Newline. I like a lot of figure lines but Newline is at the top of the list for 20mm metals.

Hat dismounted cavalry from the Union Cavalry skirmishing set.

Italeri is near the top when it comes to 1\72 plastics. These are from their Union Cavalry set.

IMEX makes a set of Union Cavalry (or Confederate since the figures are the same). The mounted figures have a limited utility value since they are all firing from the saddle. The dismounted figures above are unique because they feature the very rare Colt pistol\carbine. They are among my favorites!

Hat Union Cavalry (mtd). Carbines and revolvers are much in evidence. Excellent set by Hat.

Airfix artillery crews with Musket Miniatures Napoleons.

Italeri Union Infantry (NY Regiments) Command figures are from Newline.

The 26th Wisconsin was a "Sigel Regiment." Sigel Regiments were raised in 1862 from the heavy German areas of Wisconsin and Ohio (and other areas or cities like St. Louis, MO). The figures are Airfix and I painted them up before the Italeri.

Italeri Infantry on skirmish stands.


The 5th New York was named Duryea's Zouaves. One unit is organized as line infantry for Rebels and Patriots and the 12 figures unit is organized as Light Infantry. Both units are a mix of Italeri, Hat and Musket Miniatures. Any Union collection must have at least one Zouave unit!