"AWI maximum diversity" Topic

Hi,

Looking for a battle to build a collection around in the American Revolution / WoI. What I'd like is diversity. Brits, Canadians, continentals, militia, natives, cavalry, French, the more, the merrier. My knowledge is limited, but enthusiasm runs deep. Help me ;)

FMB

I don't think what you are looking for exists. You forgot about the Germanic types. Saratoga and Brandywine provide a nice variety of troop types.

Savannah and the Saratoga campaign may be your best bets.

Saratoga campaign will give you British, Brunswick and Hesse Hanau Germans, Indians, Canadians and Loyalists on the Bad Guy side.
The American side will have Continentals and militia, and sometimes it will be hard to tell them apart. Heck, throw in a Perry Stockbridge Indian or 6 in the militia.

The Savannah campaign will give you British, Loyalists and Hessian and Anspach (I think…_) Germans.
On the Good Guy side, you will find Continentals, militia, and French.
If you want diversity, then the French will have a couple complete regiments, like Dillon in red and yellow, and others in white and … rainbow.
Best of all, much of the French army was made up of battalions composed of companies stripped from MANY different French regiments. "Send us a draft of your BEST men." You know how that went…
Each stand in your composite battalions can have totally different uniforms. THAT is diversity!
Many of the French units were composed of Black colonial troops, like Du Cap and the Volontaires of Saint Domingue.

Among the foreign officers in the American army were the Polish Casimir Pulaski and the Swedish Curt von Stedingk (a VERY colorful and far traveled campaigner.)

Even Yorktown will be relatively diverse.
While it is "just" a siege, there is plenty of room for battles outside.
Leading up to Yorktown, you had the renegade Benedict Arnold plundering Virginia.
Cornwalis' army had very good line troops, Highlanders, Anspach and Hessians. Not to mention Loyalists like the British Legion, with the most awesomest uniform. (which looked exactly like the American Lee's Legion!)

The American side had Continentals and militia. The French had the usual white coat regiments, but the beautiful Royal Deux-Ponts regiment with robin's egg blue coats and yellow facings, and the even more awesome Lauzun's Legion HUSSARS!

Thanks, gang!

FMB

I too agree about the Savannah Campaign for all of the reasons mentioned above. Some of the Loyalist units and the Patriot would have a mix of covilian dress. The british Colored armed Slave unit wore arm bands (a piece of cloth)) to distinguish them.
British ranger/Frontiersmen also included Scots wearing elements of 'Scots' dress with the blue bonnet being common.

Another Southern area battle with diversity would be the Spanish actions at Mobile and Pensacola. You had British regulars, Loyalist, Creek and Choctaw Indians, German troops. The Spanish troops included Black and mixed units from New Orleans as well as the traditional units.

For Savannah only 2 Hessian Regiment's: The Rall(Trumbach)Grenadier regiment and the Wissenbach Garrison regiment.
No Anspach-Bayreuth units until Yorktown.

That makes it even better then. Rall breaks all the rules so that contributes to the "diversity".

A nice limited "diversity" campaign would be the New Jersey Trenton/Princeton campaign.

The Yanks are the usual mish mash. You can (must!)also have the splendid Glover's Marblehead regiment, for which Eureka makes great figures.
Most of the Yanks can also be made from Eureka's and Dixon's splendid Ragged Continentals, and King's Mountain have also come out with brand new raggeds, not quite as ragged as Eureka's.
Add the Pennsylvania Associators, which you can make from Old Glory's Marines and King's Mountain makes Associator heads for conversions.
And the Philadelphia Light Horse is quite dashing.
Read Fischer's book on Washington Crossing the Delaware and you will find plenty of scope for skirmishes of various sizes.

The British NJ garrison included not only the Hessian fusiliers and grenadiers (and jaegers and a squadron of British cavalry) at Trenton, but also "normal" Hessian musketeers within a day's marching distance. Highlanders were also nearby and normal British regiments.
The column ambushed at Princeton had a battalion or company of detachments from many units, much like the French I touted at Savannah.

Here's some more diversity for you John for Yorktown:

Marines at Gloucester, 1781
The 800 "marines" serving in the siege force at Gloucester Point opposite Yorktown in 1781 were not really infanterie de marine. Although the Minister de la Marine had tried to establish 100 companies of a "Corps Royal d'Infanterie de Marine" since 1774, he had not been too successful by 1779. So the French Royal Navy was forced to continue stationing detachments of soldiers of the army on the ships of the fleet, as had been the custom since Louis the XVI's time.
So the 800 marines were actually soldiers of 10 army regiments being despatched from 14 ships of De Grasse's fleet.
They were 75 soldiers and 3 officers of the règiment de Picardie, 30 soldiers and two officers from the Provence regiment, 75 men and two officers from régiment de Brie, 40 and a capitaine from de Bresse, 150 and 4 officers from Du Maine, 30 and 1 capitaine from La Sarre, 30 and 1 officer from Bourbon, 75 and 2 officers from Monsieur, 190 and 6 officers from Angoumois, and another 30 and 1 lieutenant from Rohan-Soubise. They wore their normal white uniforms with differentiating facings.

link

I believe the OFM mistyped the Good Guy/ Badguy titles!

Hold on now, large spoon thingy, the winners get to decide who the good guys are.

Precisely. Also, they get to ditch their most unruly subjects in the wilderness…