"Chippawa as a wargame" Topic

I'm at it again. This time I examine the possibility of wargaming the Battle of Chippawa, July 5th 1814.

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All part of my series on picking a battle to wargame.
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Sounds interesting indeed Coyote. The War of 1812 seems to get short shrift from many others in the wargaming community, probably because of the actual numbers engaged during the battles/war as opposed to the nice big European battles. You are correct about Chippawa. Would be nice to do but it is a pretty straightforward, two lines facing each other, slugging firefight, until the Britsh line breaks.
I believe the book you would be looking for on this is 'Redcoats and Grey Jackets' by Donald E. Graves. A real gem of a book if you can locate a decent copy. Graves is a premier author on the War of 1812 and is currently writing the final trilogy to his set on Fort Erie and Plattsburg, but no publishing date as of yet.
Another battle you might be interested in is Stoney Creek in 1813. Night attack, lots of confusion, both American commanders captured. Could prove to be an interesting refight. Good book on the battle just came out this year: Strange Fatality by James Elliot, Robin Brass Studio.
You should check it out.

Cheers, John

Thanks John. Robin Brass Studio is awesome. I only recently discovered them by looking at the imprint in Field of Glory and Where Right and Glory Lead.
I wonder if I should track down Donald Graves. I wonder if he'd appreciate a few miniatures to put on his book shelf. I believe he's just outside of Ottawa, where I'm from.
I think I saw Redcoats and Grey Jackets at the store, which I'll be picking up even though Chippawa isn't currently in the front-running.
My FLGS, Fandom II, started stocking a bunch of Robin Brass Studio War of 1812 books for which I've rewarded them by slowly buying up all their stock.

I visited the battlefield in September, and it is still more or less as it appeared two hundred years ago. Much more evocative than some of the other sites from the War of 1812.

The Napoleonic Miniatures Wargames Society of Toronto has a very interesting site and provides lots of information on War of 1812 battles, including background and summaries of Battles, Battlefield pictures Maps and Orders of Battle.

Everything needed to set up a game on Chippawa is there except for the miniatures and rules.

Scroll down to the War of 1812 using the following link:

link

Chippawa is a good battle to game. Small enough that you don't need to break the bank on figures, large enough (specially if you do company level) for maneuvering and reserves, and most importantly, reasonably balanced for an enjoyable game.

Redcoats and Grey Jackets was published by Dundurn, not Robin Brass. It has more detail on Chippawa specifically than the later RB Studio book looking at both Chippawa and Lundy's Lane.

On Military Matters still lists it, and you could probably find copies through ABEbooks or Amazon as well. Definitely worth acquiring…as are ALL the RB Studio books on the War of 1812. (And don't forget the latest one on Stoney Creek).

GH

You're right UpperCanada, I thought I'd seen it on their website, but may have just been looking at a list of Donald E. Graves' books.

>> Redcoats and Grey Jackets was published by Dundurn, not Robin Brass <<

Right you are MapleLeaf. I forgot that this one was published by Dundurn and not Robin Brass Studio. I have to give my kudos to RBS on their selection of 1812 titles. They are impressive tomes written by some of the very best of Canadian military historians. James Elliot's new book on Stoney Creek is just great and Robert Malcomson's recent book on the attack on York is second to none (IMHO). I do hope that these authors keep it up especially with the 1812 bicentennial just around the corner.

Nice, I enjoyed Robert Malcomson's A Very Brilliant Affair: The Battle of Queenston Heights.

I checked out Fandom, my local hobby store that had been carrying a good selection of Robin Brass Studio 1812 titles hoping I'd seen Redcoats and Grey Jackets there. Alas, it was not to be. I'm not sure if they'd sold their copy or not as it looks I'm not the only one to be buying these books, the copy of The Incredible War of 1812, which I'd borrowed from the library but don't own, was already sold.

And they also weren't carrying Warlord Games' Bolt Action Miniatures, despite having a good selection of Warlord Games plastic kits. Oh well.

A Canadian 1812 wargames rule book I liked very much was Rockets Red Glare. If memory serves, there was a scenario for Chippewa. (Or I picked it up in a magazine). The rules worked very well.