As discussed last time, I’ve been using the northeast corner of my Battle of Murfreesboro/Stones River terrain boards (i.e. the highlighted area of the map below) to play a small ‘what-if’ scenario based on the northern flank of the battle, which is based on Troy Turner’s original Murfreesboro scenario from the Fire & Fury 2nd Edition Great Western Battles scenario book.
This is an interesting little scenario that’s ideal as a small club-night game, perhaps as an introductory game for new players of Fire & Fury 2nd Edition rules. Thus far I’ve played it four times, with three victories for the Confederates and one victory for the Union. The Union have a slight numerical superiority, as well as a firepower and leadership advantage, though the Confederates have the qualitative edge, so it’s pretty balanced.
Clearly, not many other people have bespoke terrain boards for the battle and might not in any case want to play on a triangular battlefield! I’ve therefore drawn a stand-alone map for the scenario (below). The table is 5 feet square when using the standard Fire & Fury ground-scale for 15mm figures, or 4 feet square if you’re using my smaller scale for 10mm figures.
If you wanted to cut down the table size, you could chop off the right-hand quarter or third of the table, perhaps using the Sinking Creek to define that table-edge and bringing Jackson’s brigade on to table as reinforcements on Turn 2.
The Nashville-Chattanooga Railroad defines the right-hand edge of the table, but doesn’t need to be included on the table. It’s actually out-of-bounds to both sides and no units may march between Wagner’s and Peagram’s starting positions, as there are other neighbouring units blocking that route.
Historical Outline
Rosecrans
On 30th December 1862, the Union Army of the Cumberland under ‘Old Rosie’ (Major General William S. Rosecrans), marching south-westward from Nashville, moved into positions facing General Braxton Bragg’s Confederate Army of Tennessee, which for the past month had been encamped along the Stones River, just to the west of Murfreesboro.
Rosecrans had 41,000 men to Bragg’s 35,000 and was generally better equipped, though Rosecrans’ army was largely inexperienced and was plagued by Confederate cavalry-raids against its lines of communication.
Bragg
Assessing that they had an advantage over the other, Rosecrans and Bragg both decided to launch a ‘left hook’ attack against their enemy’s right flank on the morning of the 31st December. Rosecrans in particular had decided that Wayne’s Hill, on the Confederate right flank, would make an excellent position from which the powerful Union artillery arm could enfilade the Confederate army. He therefore ordered Major General Thomas L. Crittenden’s Left Wing Corps to take two of his divisions (Thomas J. Wood’s 1st Division and Horatio P. Van Cleve’s 3rd Division) across the Stones River and eject the Confederate forces positioned there (Wayne’s Hill being occupied by elements of Major General John C. Breckenridge’s Division of Lieutenant General William J. Hardee’s 2nd Corps).
Crittenden
In reality, the Confederates got their attack in first and rapidly rolled up the Union right wing and centre, before finally running out of steam along the line of the Nashville-Chattanooga Railroad. With the situation rapidly deteriorating, Rosecrans therefore cancelled Crittenden’s attack and it was these troops who were instrumental in halting the Confederate rampage.
This scenario therefore examines what might have happened, had Crittenden’s attack not been halted and if he had been given free reign to attack Breckenridge at Wayne’s Hill. Of course, this would historically have been catastrophic for the rest of the army, but what the heck…
Scenario Outline
Breckenridge
This scenario lasts 12 turns. The Union side moves first.
Wayne’s Hill is classed as a Key Position. The Confederate side will suffer a -1 Manoeuvre Modifier if the Union side manages to unlimber an undamaged and unsilenced battery anywhere on Wayne’s Hill.
Victory will go to the Union side if they have an undamaged and unsilenced battery unlimbered on Wayne’s Hill at the end of Turn 12.
Victory will go to the Confederate side if the Union victory conditions are not met.
The Heavy Losses threshold is 14 stands for both sides (25% for the Union and 30% for the Rebels).
On Turn 8, the Union side will automatically apply the penalty for Heavy Losses due to the deteriorating situation on the rest of the battlefield. If they also reach their Heavy Losses threshold, this will then become Greater Losses.
Orders of Battle
The following number of stands is required:
Infantry – 45 Union & 33 Confederate
Infantry Command – 7 Union & 5 Confederate
Cavalry – 4 Confederate
Cavalry Command – 1 Confederate
Dismounted Cavalry – 3 Confederate
Dismounted Cavalry Command – 1 Confederate
Horse-Holder – 1 Confederate
Artillery (gun with limber) – 6 Union & 2 Confederate
Corps Leader – 1 Union
Division Leader – 2 Union & 1 Confederate
Exceptional Brigade Leader – 1 Confederate
The following orders of battle use the same strengths and stats as Troy Turner’s original scenario, with the exception of Peagram’s cavalry brigade, which I extrapolated from a history of the cavalry operations surrounding the battle. Note that the Union forces have the advantage of numbers and firepower, but the Confederate forces generally have better training and better morale (in most cases the Union brigades will become Worn and then Spent more quickly than their Confederate counterparts).
The unit labels can be found at the bottom of this article. Just right-click on the labels and save as a picture.
Union Order of Battle
Left Wing Corps – Major General Thomas L. Crittenden (Corps Leader)
1st Division – Brigadier General Thomas J. Wood (Division Leader)
Hascall’s Brigade – Green 8/6/4 (Rifled Muskets)
Wagner’s Brigade – Green 8/6/4 (Rifled Muskets)
Harker’s Brigade – Green 9/7/5 (Rifled Muskets)
8th Indiana Battery – Experienced (Rifle & Smoothbore)
6th Ohio Battery – Experienced (Rifle & Smoothbore)
2nd Division – Brigadier General John M. Palmer (elements)
Battery H, 4th US Artillery – Veteran (Rifle & Napoleon) [off-table artillery support]
3rd Division – Brigadier General Horatio P. Van Cleve (Division Leader)
S. Beatty’s Brigade – Experienced 6/5/3 (Rifled Muskets)
Fyffe’s Brigade – Experienced 4/3/2 (Rifled Muskets)
Price’s Brigade – Green 9/8/7 (Mixed Muskets)
7th Indiana Battery – Experienced (Rifle & Smoothbore)
3rd Wisconsin Battery – Experienced (Rifle & Smoothbore)
Army Troops
Morton’s Pioneer Brigade – Green 8/5/3 (Rifled Muskets)
The Chicago Board of Trade Battery – Green (Light Rifles)
Confederate Order of Battle
II Corps – Lieutenant General William J. Hardee (Elements)
Breckenridge’s Division – Major General John C. Breckenridge (Division Leader)
Adams’ Brigade – Experienced 7/6/4 (Mixed Muskets)
Jackson’s Brigade – Experienced 4/2/1 (Mixed Muskets)
Palmer’s Brigade – Experienced 8/6/4 (Smoothbore Muskets)
Preston’s Brigade – Experienced 10/8/5 (Smoothbore Muskets)
Hanson’s Brigade (Exceptional Brigadier) – Veteran 9/6/4 (Rifled Muskets)
Cobb’s Battery – Veteran (Smoothbore)
Washington’s Battery – Crack (Rifle & Smoothbore)
Army Troops
Peagram’s Cavalry Brigade – Experienced 5/4/3 (Shotguns & Hunting Rifles)
Scenario Stuff
Deployment
Wood
Deploy both sides as per the map. This is for the most part self-explanatory, though note that most of T. Wood’s Division (Harker’s & Hascall’s Brigades, plus divisional artillery) starts the scenario marching north in Field Column formation, intending to cross the Stones River at McFadden’s Ford.
The artillery batteries shown on the map as being unlimbered may be rotated in position before the start of the scenario.
Washington’s Confederate Battery may alternatively start the game unlimbered.
Optional Rules
Charging Confederate infantry do use the Rebel Yell optional rule.
Confederate artillery batteries do not apply the Faulty Fuses optional rule.
Off-Table Artillery Support
Van Cleve
Battery H of the 4th US Artillery (Palmer’s Division) is firing from high ground to the west of the railroad and may fire at any target positioned on Wayne’s Hill with 3 Fire Points.
Confederate artillery deployed on Wayne’s Hill may conduct counter-battery against Battery H. Cobb’s Battery will inflict 1 Fire Point, while Washington’s Battery will inflict 2 Fire Points.
Battery H may be silenced, damaged or destroyed by counter-battery fire and may run low on ammunition. If silenced or low on ammunition, Battery H may be withdrawn to recover and will not be able to fire while withdrawing or being redeployed, though may of course be fired upon during those actions. I suggest using a battery model and markers on the table-edge to illustrate the current status of Battery H.
Battery H is automatically assumed to be under the command of a general for the purposes of unlimbering after recovering from being silenced or running low on ammo.
Battery H will cease fire after Turn 8, due to the deteriorating situation to the south, forcing it to withdraw (remove from play).
Do not count Battery H when assessing Heavy Losses.
Morton’s Pioneer Brigade
Morton
Morton’s Pioneer Brigade was formed from the massed Pioneers from every infantry regiment in the Army of the Cumberland and did not therefore formally come under Crittenden’s command. It may therefore be manoeuvred normally, but will not gain any Manoeuvre bonus from the presence of any general.
The Chicago Board of Trade Battery
This battery was the only ‘pure’ battery of rifled artillery in the battle, though was an army-level battery and did not normally come under Crittenden’s command. However, for scenario purposes it classes as corps artillery and may be placed by any Union leader or brigadier.
Peagram’s Cavalry Brigade
Peagram
Peagram’s cavalry had spent the previous days performing a rather ineffectual reconnaissance and on the morning of the battle was resting and in reserve, being camped roughly in the position shown on the scenario map. Historically, this brigade played no part in the battle, though its proximity meant that it would surely have been engaged, had Union forces tried to roll up the Confederate right flank.
Therefore, at the start of each Confederate turn starting on Turn 2, roll a D10. If the number is less than the current turn-number, Peagram’s brigade will be released (as usual, a rolled 0 counts as 10). Peagram will be automatically released immediately after the first Union unit sets foot on Wayne’s Hill (however briefly).
As an army-level asset, Peagram’s brigade may not receive any Manoeuvre bonus from Breckenridge.
Peagram’s brigade may fight dismounted.
Terrain Stuff
Out-of-Bounds Areas – No Confederate units may cross the Stones River except Peagram’s Cavalry Brigade, which may only cross the ford near Adams’ Brigade’s starting position to reach the eastern side of the river.
Additionally, no units from either side may move along the railroad, through the ‘gap’ between the Stones River and the edge of the table, west of Wayne’s Hill. This area is covered by other units and Confederate fieldworks
Woods – Although it’s the middle of winter, the woods are still full of underbrush, so the line of sight through woods is limited to 2 inches (4cm if you’re using my ground-scale for 10mm figures) and may be traversed as Broken Ground. Woods provide a -1 Partial Cover shooting modifier and a +1 Favourable Ground defensive melee modifier.
Stones River & Fords – Stones River is impassable to all units except at the marked fords, where it may be passed by units in March Column formation, as Broken Ground. Where a ford is defended, units may use Storming Column formation and the defender will receive a +1 Favourable Ground melee modifier.
Streams – Streams are passable to all troops as Broken Ground, though where the stream is within woodland it becomes Rough Ground. A defender will receive a +1 Favourable Ground melee modifier for defending a stream.
Hills – The hills in this scenario are gently rolling and while they provide an elevated position for artillery (thus enabling Plunging Fire), they are traversed at the normal movement rate and do not provide a Favourable Ground melee modifier.
Hanson
Fieldworks – Hanson’s fieldworks on Wayne’s Hill are only hasty scrapes (and perhaps not quite as impressive as I modelled them!) and provide a -1 Partial Cover modifier for firing and a +1 Favourable Ground modifier to any unit positioned behind them (note that these modifiers only work in one direction!). An unit traversing the Fieldworks must do so at Broken Ground rate.
Roads – All marked roads are in good condition and units may use the Road movement rate when moving along them for the entire turn.
Friendly Table Edges – Confederate units will retreat toward the southern (bottom) edge of the map. Union units will retreat toward the nearest ford to their rear and then to the western (left) edge of the map.
Unit Labels
Above: The starting positions as seen from the northern end of the battlefield, behind Union lines. Van Cleve’s Division is on the left, with Price’s Brigade deployed in column on the left flank, then the 7th Indiana and 3rd Wisconsin Batteries and S. Beatty’s Brigade. Fyffe’s small brigade is marching up from McFadden’s Ford.
Above: A close-up of Morton’s Pioneers. This brigade was something of a throw-back to the ‘converged’ elite battalions of previous wars, being assembled from the Pioneers of every infantry battalion in the Army of the Cumberland. They would not have carried colours, so I’ve given them the flag that was recorded as being carried by the brigade headquarters in 1864; namely a rectangular pennant, vertically striped blue/white/blue, with a central device of blue crossed axes, surrounded by a blue wreath.
Above: Hanson’s Brigade and Cobb’s Battery defend their breastworks on Wayne’s Hill. As with many other Confederate formation-commanders in the Western Theatre, General Breckenridge had designed his own Battle Flag, which was carried by units under his command. This consisted of a plain blue field, charged with a simple cross in red, studded with 13 white stars. Some sources also show a white border.
Above: A short time later, the Union artillery has all deployed and is hammering Wayne’s Hill at long range. While Van Cleve’s Division advances on Wayne’s Hill from the north, Hascall’s Brigade, along with Morton’s Pioneers, crosses over the Stones River to support Van Cleve, while General Wood takes Harker’s Brigade down to Wagner’s position, intending to force a crossing at the ford in front of Hanson’s breastworks.
Above: Another view of the Union advance. On Van Cleve’s left, Price’s Brigade has deployed into supported line formation and aims to threaten the Confederate right flank. Beatty meanwhile, is pushing directly toward Wayne’s Hill, with Fyffe close behind.
The sharp-eyed might notice that the Union generals are accompanied by red-white-blue horizontally-striped flags. While we don’t know what headquarters flags (if any) were used by the Army of the Cumberland in 1862, they had formalised a system of flags by the middle of 1863. By then, the Left Wing had become the new XXI Corps and adopted this headquarters flag. The divisional headquarters carried a similar flag, displaying one, two or three black stars to show the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Divisions.
Above: Although it’s firing at relatively long range, the sheer weight of Union artillery fire (six batteries) quickly silences Cobb’s Battery and then starts to take a steady toll on Hanson’s men.
Above: As Union forces push forward toward Wayne’s Hill, Breckenridge similarly pushes his right wing forward into the woods to meet them, hoping to negate the advantage afforded to the Union by their large quantities of modern, long-ranged rifled muskets.
Above: Washington’s Battery has joined Cobb’s Battery on Wayne’s Hill, but is similarly being hammered by the Union guns. Hanson is also being rapidly ground down by the incessant fire. The Rebel guns reply, but only manage to silence one or two of the Union batteries for a short time. Breckenridge meanwhile, continues to maintain a large reserve in the lee of Wayne’s Hill and this has now been reinforced by Peagram’s Cavalry Brigade.
Above: The Union infantry continue to push forward and are now starting to form a coherent wall of blue in front of the Rebels.
Above: As the Bluebellies get closer, Breckenridge does something rather unexpected… He orders Palmer’s and Preston’s Brigade forward to the edge of the woods! His aide asks “Are you sure that’s wise, Sir?” However, these is method in his madness; the Union infantry have now masked their supporting artillery and the Rebel infantry will still gain the benefit of cover from the trees, while the Bluebellies will be very much in the open.
Above: Another view of the gathering storm… On the right of the Union line are Price’s and Fyffe’s Brigades from Van Cleve’s Division, then Morton’s independent Pioneer Brigade and Hascall’s Brigade from Wood’s Division. Plunging into the woods and crossing the tributary ahead of Hascall is Beatty’s Brigade from Van Cleve’s Division.
Above: On the other side of the Stones River, Harker’s Brigade of Wood’s Division waits, hidden in the riverside woods, formed into a column and ready to assault across the ford when the order is given. Wagner’s Brigade stands by to back them up.
Above: Hanson’s Brigade meanwhile, is being ripped apart by the Union guns and is now ‘Spent’ in Fire & Fury terms. The breastworks provide scant cover and it’s only their experience and the presence of their exceptional brigadier that keeps them from running. However, movement in the trees to their front signals that the Union assault is imminent.
Above: Breckenridge continues to observe developments from Wayne’s Hill. By some miracle, both of his batteries are in action, though have been hammered by Union counter-battery fire. Nevertheless, the Rebel gunners still manage to silence some of the Union batteries at extreme range.
Above: At last and after considerable artillery preparation, Crittenden launches his assault! Hascall’s and Morton’s Brigades throw themselves against Palmer’s Rebels on the edge of the tree-line.
Above: On the Union left flank, Price’s and Fyffe’s Brigades are reluctant to close with Preston’s Rebels and instead exchange desultory fire through the trees.
Above: There is no such reluctance at Wayne’s Hill however, as General Wood draws his sabre and leads Harker’s Brigade in a frontal charge through the ford and up the slope to the breastworks! Generals Crittenden and Van Cleve similarly join Beatty’s Brigade as they charge from the woods against Hanson’s right flank. Wagner’s Brigade meanwhile, moves forward from the Round Forest to engage Adams with musketry from across the river.
Above: On Wayne’s Hill, a devastating flanking volley from Adams causes massive casualties on Harker’s column and comes within a whisker of killing General Wood, as an ADC takes a bullet meant for the General! Harker’s column stops short of the breastworks in considerable disorder. However, Hanson’s weakened and demoralised brigade is only able to offer up token resistance against Beatty’s Brigade, which is soon storming across the breastwork!
Above: In the woods, Hascall’s charge initially bogs down into a brutal slugging match along the banks of the stream, as neither side breaks. However, Palmer’s Rebels are eventually forced to give ground and retreat back up the slope of Wayne’s Hill, leaving Preston to fight on alone in the woods.
Above: At the breastwork meanwhile, Hanson initially holds off Beatty’s charge, but attritional losses mean that Hanson is now outnumbered 2:1 and with the Union troops being personally encouraged by both their divisional AND corps commander, Hanson’s remaining men reluctantly retreat from their breastwork.
Above: The situation was now dire for Breckenridge’s Rebels. Hanson’s Brigade was now hors de combat and both artillery batteries were damaged. Adams and Preston were both now out on a limb, isolated on each flank. Breckenridge’s only fresh reserves were Jackson’s tiny infantry brigade and Peagram’s similarly-weak cavalry brigade. Although Crittenden had not yet fully achieved his victory conditions (to clear Wayne’s Hill and unlimber an undamaged battery on it), Breckenridge conceded defeat.
Apologies once again for the slow pace here of late. The wargaming mojo has been at rock-bottom just lately, but I’m sure it’ll pick up again. There is however, a vast raft of blog-stuff to catch up on, starting with these Swiss infantry and French heavy artillery I painted late last year for the Christmas 
Above: 
Above: The Castellas Regiment. All Swiss regiments in French service had red coats of one shade or another(!) and white ‘metal’. All but one regiment had blue facings (Eptingen having yellow). The Castellas Regiment as mentioned above, should be wearing Garance red coats with blue cuffs, coat-linings, small-clothes and shoulder-strap. There was also very fine blue piping around the buttonholes, though these buttonholes are really too fine to depict in 15/18mm. Equipment was ‘natural’ leather, though one source suggests white. Gaiters were white.
Above: The Castellas Regiment. As always, the livery worn by drummers is very difficult to discover, so for all four of my Swiss regiments I went with a simpler version of the style worn by the Swiss Guards; namely the same uniform colourings, though with white/silver lace.
Above: 
Above: The Diesbach Regiment. Again as mentioned above, the Diesbach Regiment should be wearing Garance red coats. Cuffs, collar, linings, shoulder-strap and small-clothes were blue. The waistcoat had seams and buttonholes decorated with white lace. Again, the buttonholes on the breast were decorated with fine blue piping, but this is too small to represent. All I’ve been able to glean about the drummers is that they wore red coats and had red drums, decorated with the Diesbach arms.
Above: The Marquis de Castries. Our 
Above: The Marquis de Castries. However… I must confess that he wasn’t actually appointed as Commandant of the Gendarmerie de France until 1770 and would not therefore have been wearing this uniform during the Seven Years War! He probably therefore, wore the standard blue uniform of a French Lieutenant-Général or the unusual iron-grey regimental uniform of the 
Above: 12-pounder Heavy Artillery. Regular sufferers will know that 
Above: 12-pounder Heavy Artillery. The Eureka French artillery figures are stripped down to their red waistcoats for their heavy work on the guns, so would actually be useable as artillerymen of almost any nation. However, this time I’ve mixed in some artillery officers, who are still wearing their blue coats.
Above: 12-pounder Heavy Artillery. As discussed before, the soft metal used by Eureka gives fantastic detail, but the thin artillery tools are therefore impossibly floppy and need replacing with brass rod.
Please try to control your excitement and do not adjust your set, but here are some more British cavalry regiments for the Seven Years War!
Above: 
Above: The 2nd (Queen’s) Dragoon Guards (‘The Bays’). Although it’s true that their role didn’t change when they became Dragoon Guards, the uniform did change to the Dragoon style, though with the addition of infantry-style lapels to the coat. The British Army actually called these ‘half-lapels’, to distinguish them from the ‘full’ lapels, extending down the full length of the coat, as worn by the regiments of Horse. Buttonhole lace and aiguillettes were the same as the Dragoons (though now displayed on the lapels), including the chevrons of lace on cuffs, sleeves and coat-tails. They also wore the single Dragoon-style cross-belt, buckled at the front (as mentioned before, I should have used Dragoon figures and painted on the lapels, but I foolishly bought Horse figures with their double, unbuckled cross-belts).
Above: The 3rd & 4th Regiments of Horse. I’ve mentioned it before, but as most British cavalry regiments were rather small affairs, consisting of six troops, organised into two squadrons and typically numbering around 350-400 men in the field, I group two such units together to make a ‘unit’ in 
Above: The 
Above: The 3rd Regiment of Horse (‘Carabiniers’). The Regiments of Horse wore coats with ‘full’ lapels; i.e. extending all the way down the front of the coat. These are often hidden when the skirts of the coat were turned back to form ‘tails’, but it can be clearly seen on officers’ coats, which weren’t normally turned back. The lapels were decorated with buttonhole lace all the way to the bottom. The tails were also decorated with buttonhole lace, though this was in straight ‘bars’, not arranged in chevrons like the lace of the Dragoons and Dragoon Guards. The cuffs were decorated with four vertical lace buttonholes and there was no lace on the sleeves. The coat had two red shoulder-straps and no aiguillette. The Horse wore two buff cross-belts without buckles; the extra belts suspended the sword-scabbard, which was worn outside the coat. Small-clothes were in the facing colour and the waistcoat was decorated with buttonhole lace. On campaign, an iron breastplate was worn beneath the coat, plus an iron ‘secret’ (skull-cap) under the hat.
Above: The 3rd Regiment of Horse (‘Carabiniers’). Regiments of Horse were served by trumpeters and kettle-drummers. These wore livery in reversed colours, heavily decorated with regimental lace, though wore hats instead of the mitre-caps worn by the musicians of Dragoons and Dragoon Guards.
Above: The 
Above: The 4th Regiment of Horse (‘The Black Horse’). As mentioned above, the regiment’s facing colour was black and this was displayed on cuffs, ‘full’ lapels and cloak-linings. However, most unusually, the linings of the coat (revealed by the tail-turnbacks), small-clothes and horse-furniture didn’t match the facings and instead were coloured buff (often depicted as a fairly dark buff, almost brown). The ‘metal’ colour was yellow and regimental lace was white with a central black stripe. On campaign an iron breastplate was worn beneath the coat and a ‘secret’ was worn beneath the hat. The regiment’s horses were (unsurprisingly) black.
Above: The 4th Regiment of Horse (‘The Black Horse’). As with the coat-linings, small-clothes and horse-furniture, the ‘reversed colour’ livery-coats of the regimental musicians most unusually didn’t match the black facing-colour and were instead coloured buff, heavily decorated with the regimental lace.
As discussed in 
Above: At Warburg, the 1st (Royal) Dragoons (Conway’s) and 7th (Queen’s Own) Dragoons (Cope’s) were assigned to Spörcken’s Corps, brigaded with Hanoverian Dragoons and Hessian Horse and weren’t therefore involved in famous charge of the British cavalry led by The Marquess of Granby. They did however, make a decisive, albeit little-known charge of their own on the left flank of the French army at Warburg that destroyed several French battalions.
Above: The 
Above: The 1st (Royal) Dragoons. All regiments of dragoons had coats without lapels, though with facing-coloured ‘gorget-patches’ where the top of the front-seam meets the collar (as clearly shown on the painting above). Cuffs and linings were in the regimental facing colour. The breast of the coat was decorated with buttonhole lace in the regimental ‘metal’ colour (the number and spacing of lace loops varied from regiment to regiment). Buttons were placed in a single vertical row up the sleeves and up the tails, with a chevron of metal-coloured lace extending on each side of the button. A metal-coloured aiguillette was worn on the right shoulder and a red shoulder-strap on the left. Small-clothes always matched the facing-colour and the waistcoat was also decorated with buttonhole lace. Hats were edged in ‘metal’ colour and had a black cockade secured with a button. Neck-stocks were white.
Above: The 1st (Royal) Dragoons. The 1st Royal Dragoons had dark blue facings, yellow ‘metal’ and rode black horses. The horse-furniture would normally be coloured in the facing-colour, though the 1st Dragoons were an exception, having red horse-furniture, reflecting the Royal Livery worn by the regiment’s drummers (red coats with blue facings and heavily laced in strips of gold-yellow with a central dark blue (or possibly purple) strip. The drummers’ bandoliers and the edging of the horse-furniture were always coloured to match the lace.
Above: The 
Above: The 7th (Queen’s Own) Dragoons. The regiment had while facings and white ‘metal’, while the regimental lace was yellow with a central blue stripe. This means that the regiment’s breeches should have been white, though Morier’s painting from the 1740s (above) shown non-regulation red breeches (I’ve done them white anyway). Morier’s painting also shows a curious little black-feather plume. The regiment rode horses ‘of different colours’ and the horse furniture was white, edged in regimental lace. The drummers had coats in reversed colours, decorated with the regimental lace.
Above: The 7th (Queen’s Own) Dragoons. The 1st Squadron of each dragoon regiment carried a King’s Guidon, which was always coloured crimson. The 2nd Squadron carried a Regimental Guidon, which was coloured according to the regimental facing colour, in this case white. With such small regiments, I only give them one flag and I tend to use the Regimental Guidon, as the different facing colours look a bit more interesting than fielding a load of the crimson version. However, for the larger 3-squadron (12-figure) regiments (RHG, 1st KDG & 15th LD), I give them both a King’s and a Regimental Standard/Guidon.
Above: The 
Above: The 11th Dragoons (Ancram’s). This regiment had buff facings and white ‘metal’. Kronoskaf describes the regimental lace as white with a green central stripe, though every other source says that the central stripe was blue (it’s hard to tell either way from the Morier painting above). I’ve opted for blue. I did however, foolishly follow Kronoskaf (again) and rolled their cloaks the wrong way round, red side out! I’ve absolutely no idea why I did this… Again… The regiment is recording as riding ‘dark brown horses, though other colours were used when dark brown was scarce’. Horse furniture was buff, edged in regimental lace.
Above: The 11th Dragoons (Ancram’s). A close-up of the rear rank, including the drummer, to compare to the picture below. As typical, they were dressed in reverse colours, heavily decorated with regimental lace, as shown in the painting below.
Above: The 11th Dragoons (Ancram’s). I accidentally ordered a crimson King’s Guidon for this unit, but no matter. The Regimental Guidon would be buff.
Above: Colonel Edward Harvey. I decided to add this officer to my collection last September, when we refought the Battle of Clostercamp, as Colonel Harvey commanded a large British-Hanoverian-Hessian cavalry brigade of 12 squadrons at that battle. He also went on to command brigades at Vellinghausen and Wilhelmsthal, so is a handy chap to have in my collection. He was initially commissioned as a Cornet in the 10th Dragoons in 1741, before gaining a Captaincy in the 7th (Queen’s Own) Dragoons in 1747. In 1754 he became Lieutenant Colonel of the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons and was promoted to full Colonel in 1760 and to Major-General in 1762.
Above: Colonel Edward Harvey. I’ve based Harvey’s uniform on the portrait above, showing him as a junior officer of the 10th Dragoons, sometime between 1741 and 1747. As it happens, the uniform colourings would have been exactly the same when he was Colonel of the 6th Dragoons during the Seven Years War (yellow facings and silver metal). Interestingly, the portrait shows Harvey wearing a plain ‘campaign coat’, with plain red cuffs instead of regulation yellow and completely devoid of lace. The yellow gorget-patches and the placement of buttons show that he’s a dragoon, while the silver aiguillette indicates that he’s an officer. Perhaps with this portrait he was making a statement that he was a ‘fighting officer’? His yellow waistcoat however, retains its fancy silver lace. Note that Harvey is also wearing non-standard red breeches instead of yellow, which again might be a campaign ‘thing’.
Above: Colonel Edward Harvey. I’ve used a Eureka mounted infantry officer figure for Harvey. This in theory is slightly wrong, in that he’s wearing his sash ‘infantry-style’ over the right shoulder, whereas cavalry officers were meant to wear theirs on the left. However, there are a few portraits of senior cavalry officers wearing their sash over the right shoulder, while the famous portrait of George Washington as a Colonel of Virginia infantry shows his sash being worn over the left shoulder, so I’m not bothered.
My apologies for the slow pace of articles thus far in 2024, despite my stated best intentions! Unfortunately, various illnesses in my immediate family, a drastic change in my work shift-pattern since the New Year and a general Winter Malaise have taken their toll on my time. I also haven’t managed to do any wargaming or painting yet this year! Bah!
Above: First up is the 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The uniform of the 
Above: The 
Above: The uniform of the 
Above: The Colonel’s Colour of the 
As mentioned last week in my 
While we didn’t have quite enough space for the full 12-foot table, as per the map above, we did manage to get a 10-foot table and didn’t have to compress the map too much (in the scenario I provided an alternative ‘compressed’ 8-foot version of the map).
Above: A view of the, table oriented the same as the scenario map. In the right-foreground is Bülow’s Légion Britannique, on the high ground, facing Warburg. You’ll note that my lovely printed terrain-cloth is only 8 feet long, so I had to dig out my old green parachute silk for this end of the table! It’s not all that obvious in the photos, but the hills are underneath the cloth for this game. I also didn’t put the full array of roads on the table, as I simply don’t have enough roads!
Above: David Morfitt very kindly re-drew his sheet of hypothetical Légion Britannique flags to include orange and light blue regimental colours for the 3rd and 4th Battalions, so I carefully removed the old flags and replaced them with the new designs in time for their first game… Which of course with this lot is just like casting pearls before swine! Dave Llewellyn immediately deployed the whole lot in skirmish order and consigned the formed troops and those lovely flags back to the toolbox for the rest of the game! 🙁
Above: The Chasseur à Pied Companies of the Chasseurs de Fischer prepare to defend the crumbling walls of Warburg. I frantically painted these in the days before the game, along with Fischer himself (who can just be seen hiding behind a house at the back), the Marquis de Castries and the massed grenadiers and chasseurs (who can be seen at the top-right of the photo).
Above: Maupeou’s infantry division consists of eight battalions and forms the right wing of du Muy’s army.
Above: The French centre is formed by four cavalry brigades (each of which is treated as a regiment for game purposes, as French cavalry regiments were absolutely tiny) and two dragoon regiments. To their rear is a small reserve, consisting of a single infantry brigade of four battalions. To the left of the cavalry is d’Amenzaga’s Swiss infantry division of eight battalions and on the far left are another eight battalions under the Marquis de Ségur, forming a ‘fish-hook’ around the end of the ridge.
Above: The Allied advanced guard (Colonel Beckwith with the two British grenadier battalions and two Highland battalions) makes a bee-line for the Hein-Berg, which dominates the French bridges over the River Diemel. On Beckwith’s left is General Spörcken, with three Hanoverian grenadier battalions and five Hanoverian infantry regiments. However, I must confess that I’ve only painted one battalion each of British and Hanoverian grenadiers, so I used the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers and the Hanoverian Fußgarde as proxies.
Above: In support of Spörcken’s division is a mass of Hanoverian dragoons, British dragoons and Hessian regiments of horse under General Hardenberg. These move forward to cover the Hanoverian left flank.
Above: The Allied commanding general, the Hereditary Prince (Erbprinz) observes the French position from one of the Allied battery positions on the Fürsten-Berg. On his left, Zastrow’s division (three Brunswick grenadier battalions, three Hessian grenadier battalions and three Hessian infantry regiments) begin its attack as Bork’s Hanoverian cavalry watch the left flank.
Above: On the ridge, the French artillery opens fire on the approaching Allied lines. General du Muy knows that he’s onto a sticky wicket. Although numbers are similar, his flank has already been turned and his only hope is to capture and hold the Hein-Berg feature, to keep his line of retreat open. He’s already called de Castries’ elite corps and Maupeou’s division back from the right flank and has turned half of Ségur’s division (the Bourbonnais Regiment), to face the approaching threat, but that won’t be enough! He therefore orders Travers’ reserve brigade and d’Amenzaga’s Swiss to pull out of the line and extend the left flank.
Above: With all the French infantry marching to the left flank, the French cavalry and dragoons are now charged with guarding du Muy’s right flank. Du Muy still doesn’t know where the main part of the Allied army is.
Above: Beckwith’s British grenadiers and Highlanders march up the steep slopes of the Hein-Berg. This hill was actually topped by a mediaeval watch-tower, but we sadly don’t own a model of one of those!
Above: Spörcken’s Hanoverians advance on the French left flank, climbing the northern end of the Haum-Berg and pinning the Bourbonnais Regiment in place, thus preventing the French infantry from moving south to block Beckwith’s advance on the Hein-Berg.
Above: The range is long, but British, Hessian and Hanoverian heavy artillery positioned on the Fürsten-Berg hammers the French left flank. The French heavy artillery replies, but is remarkably ineffective.
Above: As Zastrow’s Brunswicker and Hessian grenadiers advance, Bork’s Hanoverian cavalry remain stationary on the left.
Above: Zastrow’s first line, formed by the three Brunswick grenadier battalions and the Hessian 4. Garde-Regiment, start to climb the ridge to get to grips with the French. The French artillery switches to canister, but still seems unable to hit anything! Perhaps their elevated position on the ridge is making them fire too high?
Above: The French cavalry swings left to cover the gap left by the Swiss. Behind them, Travers’ reserve marches up the road toward the left flank, followed in the distance by de Castries’ elite corps and Maupeou’s division.
Above: With the French line already softened up at long range by the Allied heavy artillery and battalion guns, Spörcken wastes no time on a firefight and instead gets stuck straight in with the bayonet! However, the Bourbonnais Regiment stands firm and halts the first charge through firepower.
Above: However, the Allies have achieved a massive concentration of force against this point on the battlefield; Ségur’s eight battalions face seventeen Allied battalions (many of whom are elite grenadiers) and the Allies also have a massive superiority in artillery and cavalry massed at this point.
Above: Nevertheless, the Allied artillery has now been masked by their own advancing infantry and their cavalry won’t be able to achieve a great deal until the French line has been disrupted by the Allied infantry.
Above: The Erbprinz confidently watches his attack go in. However, seeing the French cavalry begin to threaten Zastrow’s left, he sends orders to General Bork, requesting that he move his cavalry forward to counter the French horse.
Above: As Zastrow’s division commences a firefight with the French line, he splits his third line (the Hessian grenadier brigade) in order to extend his flanks.
Above: Another view of the battle for the flank. As can be seen by the many casualty and disorder markers behind the Bourbonnais Regiment, the French line might have halted Spörcken’s first charge, but they have been badly hurt and might not be able to stand for long.
Above: In the French rear, Travers’ reserve brigade has arrived and is now ordered by du Muy to drive between the Haum-Berg and Hein-Berg, then swing right to turn Spörcken’s right flank. This manoeuvre will expose Travers to flanking fire from Beckwith’s brigade on the Hein-Berg, but de Castries will soon arrive to (hopefully) deal with that threat. D’Amenzaga’s red-coated Swiss meanwhile, will attack into the gap between Travers and Ségur.
Above: The situation is now getting desperate for Ségur, as his infantry is now fully engaged and is taking heavy losses. The worst-hit part of the line is the ‘angle’, where the right flank (1st Bn) of the Bourbonnais Regiment meets the left flank (2nd Bn) of the d’Aumont Regiment. These two battalions have been hit especially hard by artillery and the Hessian horse seem poised to exploit their weakness.
Above: The view from behind the French left flank; d’Amenzaga’s Swiss continue their march to the left flank, but at this rate Ségur’s front line may well break before they get there! Nevertheless, the French show they still have teeth, as the Hanoverian Post Regiment, on the left of Spörcken’s line and the Hessian 4. Garde-Regiment, on the right flank of Zastrow’s first line, shredded by a sudden storm of canister and musketry, suddenly break and run from the fight! Nevertheless, despite this small victory, the French infantry know that this is only going to end one way…
Above: However, help is on the way for the beleaguered French infantry! Maupeou’s division is almost in place to form a new line behind Ségur.
Above: Beckwith’s grenadiers and Highlanders feel secure in their position atop the Hein-Berg, but now start to be stung by fire from de Castries’ chasseur companies and a section of battalion guns firing from the Haum-Berg.
Above: Ignoring the fire from Beckwith’s battalion guns, Travers redeploys his reserve brigade into two lines (Rohan-Rochefort Regiment in front and Rouergue Regiment to the rear) and swings his line to the right. In response, Spörcken refuses his right flank, wheeling the Wersabé Grenadiers back through 90 degrees to face the new threat. But it’s to no avail, as the Swiss throw back both Wersabé’s and Bock’s Grenadiers and Travers advances over the crest of the Haum-Berg! Thankfully, both Hanoverian grenadier battalions quickly rally and form up at right-angles to Spörcken’s second line.
Above: Ignoring the emerging crisis on the Haum-Berg, Spörcken’s Hanoverians charge again, this time in concert with Hardenberg’s cavalry and Zastrow’s Brunswick grenadiers on their left. After a valiant stand, the 2nd Battalion of the Bourbonnais Regiment is finally broken by the Hanoverian Estorff Regiment, while the entire d’Aumont Regiment is crushed by the Hessian horse and the Brunswick Witdorf Grenadiers. Nevertheless, the 3rd and 4th Battalions of the Bourbonnais Regiment stand their ground and the 1st Battalion manages by the skin of its teeth to beat off an opportunity charge by the Hessian horse! On Ségur’s right flank, the La Couronne Regiment is also managing to cling on, despite heavy casualties.
Above: To their rear, Maupeou deploys his infantry into line. Ségur’s line may be crumbling, but the injection of this fresh division, along with the attack on the Hanoverian flank, might be enough to save the day…
Above: A groan ripples along the French line as a new formation appears over the horizon…
Above: The Marquess of Granby has arrived! Galloping across the battlefield at the head of a great mass of British cavalry (three squadrons of Royal Horse Guards, four squadrons of Horse, seven squadrons of Dragoon Guards and four squadrons of Dragoons), Granby makes a bee-line for the long line of French cavalry arrayed along the ridge. As he gallops forward, his hat and wig fly off. The sun shining off his bald head make an excellent marker for the British cavalry to follow!
Above: In the meantime, Ségur’s division goes down fighting! The La Couronne Regiment is at last overwhelmed by Zastrow’s Brunswick and Hessian grenadiers, while the 1st Battalion of the Bourbonnais Regiment finally succumbs to a combined attack by the Brunswick Witdorf Grenadiers and Hardenberg’s cavalry.
Above: On the French left flank, the 3rd & 4th Battalions of the Bourbonnais Regiment manage to crush two of Spörcken’s Hanoverian regiments, before they too are overwhelmed. However, Travers’ reserve brigade and d’Amenzaga’s Swiss are steadily crushing the Hanoverian right flank. With losses rapidly mounting, Spörcken suffers a crisis of confidence! [In game terms, Spörcken’s command is now Demoralised]
Above: Another view of Ségur’s last stand.
Above: With Ségur’s infantry cleared away, Zastrow now turns his guns on the left flank of the French dragoons… With devastating results.
Above: The great mass of British cavalry continues to thunder toward the ridge. The French cavalry nervously hold their ground, hoping that the slope will give them some advantage in the coming melee.
Above: Bounding alongside the British cavalry are two batteries of British artillery, commanded by the noted artillerist, Count William of Schaumburg-Lippe. He has ordered the gunners to be mounted on every available horse and limber; even on the guns themselves! They gallop onto the battlefield alongside the British horse and now pour a deadly fire into the waiting French horsemen.
Above: Almost forgotten on the far flank of the battlefield, the ruffians of the Légion Britannique advance, crossing the ground previously held by the French right wing. Du Muy had hoped that Fischer’s corps of chasseurs (particularly the Chasseurs à Cheval) would hold these marauders at bay, but the legion’s dragoon squadrons made short work of Fischer’s Chasseurs à Cheval and are now keeping the Chasseurs à Pied penned up within the walls of Warburg.
Above: Meanwhile, on the extreme western flank of the battle, the Marquis de Castries has finally reached the foot of the Hein-Berg. With his chasseurs already keeping the British grenadiers pinned down, he launches his massed column of grenadiers up the steep slope!
Above: Travers continues his assault on the Hanoverian right flank, though resistance is stiffening as Travers’ charge is halted by fire from Bock’s grenadier battalion and one of the Swiss battalions is repulsed. However, the Swiss manage to outflank and destroy the Hanoverian Scheither Regiment.
Above: At last, the two great masses of cavalry clash on the ridge! However, the French Royal Dragoons, on the left flank of the French horse, have already been routed by fire from Zastrow’s infantry and artillery.
Above: On the Hein-Berg, the French grenadiers charge home on Maxwell’s grenadier battalion! The French chasseurs have done their job, as the British grenadiers are already disordered by fire.
Above: Against all odds, the French grenadiers smash through Maxwell’s battalion and established a foothold on the crest of the Hein-Berg!
Above: In the centre, Maupeou has established a new line in the nick of time and masses a large concentration of artillery, who now rip great holes in Zastrow’s ranks. Witdorf’s Brunswicker grenadier battalion, standing on the right flank of Zastrow’s first line, comes in for particular attention and is quickly broken up by canister fire.
Above: Travers continues his assault on the Hanoverian right flank, but just can’t break the Hanoverian grenadiers! To add to his woes, Spörcken has brought his heavy artillery forward and is now pummeling the French battalions exposed on the forward slope of the Haum-Berg.
Above: Zastrow’s division pushes forward against Maupeou’s division, in the face of intense canister fire. On the right, Mirbach’s Hessian grenadier battalion moves forward to take the place of the broken Brunswickers.
Above: Despite having the advantage of the high ground, the cavalry battle is a near-total disaster for the French. The Bourbon Brigade is destroyed outright, while the Royal-Piémont Brigade is thrown back. However, the La Reine and Royal-Étranger Brigades on the French right flank manage to gang up on the British 3rd & 4th Regiments of Horse and throw them back.
Above: Having defeated the British 3rd & 4th Horse, the La Reine Brigade sadly run into the Royal Horse Guards and are in turn defeated… Whereupon the retreating French cavalrymen have the misfortune of running into the cutthroats of the Légion Britannique…
Above: The Royal-Étranger Brigade however, have rather better luck and charge on, successfully sabering one of Schaumburg-Lippe’s ‘flying’ batteries! This idea of mounting gunners on horseback is clearly a silly concept that will never catch on…
Above: Having weathered the storm of shot and canister, Zastrow’s grenadiers finally charge home on Maupeou’s infantry and are joined on the flank by some British dragoons. The result is a complete disaster for Maupeou as four of his eight battalions, along with most of his heavy artillery, are immediately overwhelmed!
Above: At last, Travers’ reserve brigade and d’Amenzaga’s Swiss finally destroy the last of the Hanoverian grenadiers, though on d’Amenzaga’s right flank, the Hanoverian Breydenbach Dragoons charge once again.
Above: The Breydenbach Dragoons break the right-flanking Swiss battalion, along with the battery that had earlier repulsed the British dragoons. Flushed with success, the Breydenbach Dragoons charge on into the La Tour-du-Pin Regiment of Maupeou’s division!
Above: By some miracle, the French infantry manage once again too beat off the Allied cavalry in this sector. Hardenberg’s cavalry have had very little tactical success, but they keep on rallying and keep coming back!
Above: Meanwhile back at Warburg… The Chasseurs de Fischer are wondering what all the noise is over the hill and decide to wander out to take a look…
Above: However, Hattorf’s Amazing Technicolour Dragoon Regiment is watching from the heights and would LOVE for them to come out into the open ground…
Above: A final charge by Zastrow’s grenadiers and Hardenberg’s brigade of Hessian Horse finally ends Maupeou’s brief stand on the ridge. Du Muy’s headquarters is almost overrun, but he and his staff successfully break out for the Diemel bridge, escorted by the Thiange Dragoons.
Above: On the Hein-Berg meanwhile, Beckwith’s grenadiers and Highlanders mount a counter-attack against de Castries’ French grenadiers. Daulhat’s British grenadier battalion suffers very heavy casualties due to supporting fire from the chasseur companies and artillery and flees the field, though the 87th and 88th Highlanders press home their attack and successfully drive back the French grenadiers!
Above: Spörcken meanwhile, has lost all but two of his eight battalions (plus his two supporting batteries of heavy artillery) and finally breaks. However, this small victory is cold comfort to the French, as their entire army is crumbling.
Above: The French cavalry meanwhile, having taken catastrophic losses in their first clash with Granby’s British cavalry, now break and run for the Diemel crossings. This is all too much for the French army, which is now in total collapse!
Well here we are once again, bewildered and wondering “Where the hell did that year go?!”
Anyway, how did I do on the painting front during 2023? I only started seriously counting everything when I did my annual review of 2021. That was the year in which I was really getting back into 15mm SYW and had planned a large 10mm ACW demo game, so had stacks of motivation to paint. I therefore managed to do rather well, with 963x 15mm Foot, 114x 15mm Horse, 17x 15mm Guns, 588x 10mm Foot, 82x 10mm Horse, 21x 10mm Guns and 13x 10mm Horse-Drawn Vehicles. The value of models painted amounted to £1,080.23 at 2021 prices.
Then it was time for 
Another French unit that we needed for 
I actually painted two units of 
I needed to paint a second regiment of French dragoons for Warburg and with Christmas approaching, it HAD to be the 
I also managed to get Johann Fischer and his Chasseurs à Pied finished in time for the game. I will at some point in the future, have to add some skirmishing Chasseurs à Pied and the squadrons of Chasseurs à Cheval (we had to use proxies in the game):
And to finish off the year, I painted the very first units for my SYW Brunswick contingent; the ‘Imhoff’ Infantry Regiment and a battalion gun. OK, I haven’t QUITE finished them yet, but I will have by midnight tonight, so I’m taking that…
The above game was in preparation for a much larger (and much-postponed) refight of Cornwallis’ attack at the Battle of the Brandywine (below) with Kirk French and my old mate Anthony Oakley. Again, I have completely failed to produce a game-report (yet), so no spoilers, but suffice to say that I was once again left wondering if this is perhaps the hobby for me…
In April, we went back to the Seven Years War. As I’d finally finished painting the Reichsarmee, it was time to get it all (well, nearly all) on the table with the 
Following the trial game, we set up the full scenario and played it over a whole weekend in June. This time I actually managed to play… And got a kicking… Again, I MUST get around to writing up the game! I’m actually going to be setting the game up again in February for some more friends and that might be the last outing for Murfreesboro:
In August, my old RAF mate Bruce was down in Pembrokeshire with his family. Back in our Officer Cadet days, Bruce and I were often the only ones left on camp when everyone else went home for the weekend (New Zealand and Pembrokeshire being equally difficult to reach from Lincolnshire) and games of Risk, Diplomacy, Junta, Turning Point: Stalingrad, Air Cav and Empires in Arms were cheap entertainment. He then joined 
In September, a local club, the Haverfordwest Gaming Club (HATS), was having a club open day. We’d never been there before, so Andy James, Kirk French and I decided to put on a refight of the SYW 
In November I was back at W.A.S.P. and had my first Tricorn game with Gareth Beamish since the 1990s. It was Gareth who first turned Shako into Tricorn, so it was great to play a game with him again. The scenario was the War of Austrian Succession 
Finally to round off the year, we refought the SYW 
There were some other games throughout the year, but they were mostly board-games and I didn’t bother photographing those! I lost them for the most part…
I’ve also recently started a Franco-Prussian War of 1870 campaign via e-mail, so expect some reports from that once it gets going. It would also be nice to do some Napoleonic games again, as well as some ACW battles other than Murfreesboro!
As it’s Christmas, I thought I’d share with you what is possibly the most festive all all regiments, the French 
French dragoon regiments during this period were much stronger than the vast majority of the heavy cavalry regiments. Each dragoon regiment had four squadrons, each of four companies, for a total of 694 men at full strength (including officers and regimental staff), increasing slightly in 1757 to 710 men. This means that for 
French dragoons were unusual during this period in that they were still mostly used for scouting and flanking and were expected to routinely fight on foot. In almost all other armies, the dragoons had become a medium-heavy class of shock cavalry. The French dragoons therefore, were armed with infantry-pattern muskets and bayonets and retained buckled leather gaiters (known as bottines) to theoretically allow ease of movement when fighting dismounted. However, shortly after the start of the Seven Years War, bottines were rapidly replaced by shoes and white canvas gaiters when a unit was fighting on foot.
Then in 1757, most dragoon regiments had a facing colour added to their cuffs and the pokalem turn-up. For the Mestre de Camp Général Regiment, the new facing colour was white. The lace edge-colour also changed back to white, which at this scale is impossible to see on white facings, making the cuffs and pokalem turn-up just look plain white.
The musicians’ livery for the regiment isn’t known for certain. The arms of the Colonel, Marie François Henri de Franquetot, Comte de Coigny were red, with a yellow horizontal central band, three yellow crescents (two above and one below) and three blue stars superimposed on the yellow band. With the dominant armorial colours being yellow and red, coats in these colours would seem to be as good a fit as any. As it happens, I’ve since discovered that the first uniform for the Tessé Dragoons was a yellow coat with red cuffs, so this (accidentally) links back to the regiment’s past.
Anyway, have a Very Merry Christmas! I hope that unlike mine, your family gives you lots of what you ACTUALLY want for Christmas (models, books, etc) and that you manage to get some Christmas wargaming in. We’ll be doing out Christmas refight of Warburg on the 27th, so more of that soon. Cheers!
As discussed last time, we’re going to be refighting the 
I therefore needed to paint some Highlander skirmishers for 
Above: The 87th Regiment of Foot (Keith’s Highlanders). Keith’s three companies of Highlanders were sent to Germany in November 1759 to join Ferdinand of Brunswick’s army. Initially tasked with joining the petit-guerre of raiding and reconnaissance. With cattle-raiding in the blood, the Highlanders proved to be naturally adept in this role and greatly impressed Ferdinand, who requested that the unit be expanded to a full battalion. Therefore, in early 1760 a further five companies were dispatched to Germany, thus establishing a weak battalion of eight companies.
Above: The 87th Regiment of Foot (Keith’s Highlanders). Traditionally considered to be light infantry experts of the petit-guerre, the Highlanders in Germany also proved themselves more than capable of fighting alongside other regiments in the line and at Vellinghausen demonstrated their fearsome ability to conduct close assaults.
Above: The 87th Regiment of Foot (Keith’s Highlanders). This regiment wore the typical short Highland jacket in red. This garment lacked lapels and tails, though had cuffs and collar in the facing colour. There is some debate in sources as to whether the regiment wore green or buff facings. The original cadre taken from the 42nd Regiment would have initially worn the buff facings of their old regiment, but it’s clear that the regiment soon changed to green facings, as modelled by Captain James Gorry on the right and Colonel Keith above.
Above: The 87th Regiment of Foot (Keith’s Highlanders). Waistcoats were red, with white lace edging and buttonhole lace. However, officers often wore fashionable buff waistcoats, as modelled by Captain Gorry above. Kilts were of the standard Government sett of dark green with green-blue stripes and blue squares where the stripes meet. The stripes are edged and over-striped in black. However, while I have in the past done the ‘full fig’ with fine black lining, this time I just went for ‘impressionist’ tartan, leaving out the black lining. To be honest, it looks no bloody different when viewed on the tabletop! 🙂 The excess kilt-material was pinned up behind the left shoulder and a black or dark brown ‘purse’ (sporran) was worn at the front, along with a couple of scabbarded sgian dubh daggers and a black belly-box, decorated with the crowned ‘GR’ cypher.
Above: The 87th Regiment of Foot (Keith’s Highlanders). Belts and scabbards were black with brass fittings and buckles. All ranks carried a broadsword which had a steel basket-hilt, lined with red cloth. This was suspended from a broad black belt worn over the right shoulder. Hose were the universal red-and-white diced pattern, held up with red garters.
Above: The 87th Regiment of Foot (Keith’s Highlanders). The regiment’s drummers were dressed in reverse colours; i.e. green jackets with collar, cuffs and waistcoat in red. Lace decoration was ‘as the Colonel saw fit’ and as there is no record of what they wore, I’ve kept it reasonably plain and simple. Tartan was probably the Royal Stewart sett, which at that time consisted of green stripes (in pairs or threes), over red, with fine over-striping of white and yellow. Again, I’ve gone for ‘impressionist tartan’ and haven’t bothered with the over-striping. Drums had red edges and the front part was painted in the facing colour, with the crowned royal cypher and regimental number.
Above: The 
Above: The 88th Regiment of Foot (Campbell’s Highlanders). Sources are again split as to whether this regiment wore green or buff facings. However, there are this time no portraits or other pictures from the period to give us a clue and as a consequence, I’ve gone for buff, just to make them look different from the 87th.
Above: The 88th Regiment of Foot (Campbell’s Highlanders). All other details of uniform and equipment for the 88th are exactly the same as the 87th, except the the officers’ lace colour was now silver.
Above: The 88th Regiment of Foot (Campbell’s Highlanders). Again the drummers of the 88th were dressed in reversed colours with Royal Stewart tartan. However, this time I’ve opted to dress the piper in the regular red coat of the rank-and-file.
Above: The 88th Regiment of Foot (Campbell’s Highlanders). Some skirmishers for the regiment.
Above: The 88th Regiment of Foot (Campbell’s Highlanders). The skirmishers again.
Above: Colonel John Beckwith (20th Regiment of Foot). In 1759, as a Lieutenant Colonel John Beckwith commanded the 
Above: Colonel John Beckwith (20th Regiment of Foot). Following almost two years excellent service as commander of the elite brigade, Beckwith had still not received his deserved promotion to Major General. However, he had a cunning plan. In late 1761, he wrote to the King of Prussia, recommending that the 
Above: Colonel John Beckwith (20th Regiment of Foot). Being commissioned into the 20th Foot, Beckwith would probably have worn a variation on his old regimental uniform, which had pale yellow facings and silver lace.