"Black soldiers in your AWI armies?" Topic

As many of you likely know, it has been estimated that between 5-10% of Continental soldiers were black/African-American – some units had larger percentages, others none at all. There were also significant numbers in militia units in some states, but I've not seen any estimates. For more on this topic, see Michael Stephenson's PATRIOT BATTLES published in 2007.

I have attempted to reflect this in my tabletop AWI armies,sprinkling black figures in among the white. Does anyone else do this?

As far as I know, Old Glory 25s is the only manufacturer who offers miniatures specifically sculpted as black soldiers. They offer one pack in their 25mm range. Does anyone know of any other manufacturer?

IIRC Stone Mtn had them in the 15mm range. I know that had them in the ACW range and I think the AmRev too.

I do not sprinkle blacks in my AmRev units as I play 15s with mass combat 1:10 rules. So if I have blacks, they are in units like the Savannah Armed Black SLave unit.

I also painted several black companies of French Indies units for Southern campaigns

However in the 25mm for skirmish games I have used black troops in the past.

I did not do this with my AWI army.

I did do this with my Vietnam troops, individual based for skirmish.

It is a good idea and adds a flavor to troops on the table. I wish I had thought of it.

Part of my Light Infantry corps is a stand of Rhode Island black troops.
I keep wanting to get the Old Glory pack and salt them in.
I think (hope?) King's Mountain has or will have separate black heads for conversions.

I have some of the Perry black troops and plan to add them to my AWI American units.

v/r

Joe

Yup. Did it in my 15mm AWI. Mostly in my Massachusetts regiments.

I haven't in the past but am just finishing off a mixed unit; the South Carolina Royalists.

About a third of my 15mm AWI American regiments have one or two black soldiers.

Trident offer Rhode Island black troops, as well as several black militia figures, and black drummers for Hessian units, as well as black heads for conversion. All in lovely 40mm.

I also have a small percent of figures in my 25/28mm Continental Infantry painted up as Black Troops. My battalions are about (30) figures total. So, about one or two are blacks.
TomS.

I think it is appropriate to do so.

Never thought of doing this, but why not. I wonder if black faces are just as hard to paint as white faces?

There is one pose in the Old Glory 25 pack -- AWI-56 Continental Line Infantry; specifically sculpted as an African-American soldier.

I believe this 30-figure pack from Old Glory includes two each of the Black soldier figure -- at least my pack contained two.

link

Perry Miniatures also do a set of Black Militia Advancing, Shouldered Arms (AW144) in 28mm.

link

I would suggest that 10% – and even 5% – may be right for some States, but it's far too many for the Continental Army as a whole. One figures in a unit of 24-30 would probably be more accurate statistically, although obviously some units/States were more likely to have them than others (Charles Patrick Niemeyer's book "America goes to War" has a good breakdown of the demographics of the Continental Army).

Rather than allot one per unit, perhaps groups of 2-3 in certain units would be more representative. Outside of the Continental Army of course, there were most likely higher proportions in State troops, and among militia in certain areas. Troiani has a very good depiction of such men serving in Gaskin's Virginia battalion, which had a high percentage (note that the Rhode Island regiment often cited was about 75% black, not toally so).

There has long been a big over-estimate of black personnel in Continental units for two reasons:

1) in many cases, ethnicity is guessed at based on name and/or place of birth and other information;

2) usually the number being counted is not men, but enlistments (eg estimated total of all Continental personnel is over 250,000 for the entire war – clearly nothing like that number ever served at one time).

Black soldiers, whether free men or not, tended to re-enlist in higher proportions than whites – the free men because of poverty, as soldiering was a job with "guaranteed" pay, food, clothing and accommodation; the slaves because they went where they were told. A lot of whites only served one or two enlistments (at least one of which would normally be a one-year) and thus, black personnel become a more significant proportion of enlistments.

In my 6mm army I have the "Bucks of America" link

I have a couple here and there, thanks to the Old Glory bag I bought. I also picked up Old Glory's Black Rhode Island troops. Right now I have a converged 1RI and 2RI, so half are black and half are white. Someday I will finish out both regiments.

I do too. A few here and there in the units.

I do, a few sprinkled in and about, it makes for a more realistic looking unit I think.

Don't forget these also from Perry

I have one or two. They're in the 3rd NY if I remember correctly only because that's what I was painting when I decided to add them. I bought the Perry pack of militia but they alas, are in the unpainted lead pile along with many other boxes of Perry figures.

Negro heads are in the pipeline form Kings Moutain.

All the King's Men very recently released heads for black soldiers for the AWI in 54mm. You can see them here:

link

Just scroll down to the "new" sunbursts.

Negro heads are in the pipeline form Kings Mountain.

Great! That's what is needed. Tricornes, slouch hats, LI cap, etc. The works.

Perry's Ansar Warrior plastics have a wide variety of African heads that should be only a moderate conversion to any of the AWI plastics. If you have or know someone who's assembles some as Fuzzy Wuzzies, there are likely a lot of spare bald and skullcap ones left over, which would be ideal.

Also, it's worth remembering three things about "negro heads":

1) Africans have a very wide range of facial variation.

2) PEOPLE have a very wide range of facial varation.

3) A very large number of slaves were mixed race.

You can easily get away with skin colour alone. Thick lips and wide noses are not strictly speaking required. And this applies to other ethnicities. I'm using a variety of spare heads to convert WGF Samurai and Ashigaru to other troop types for Ronin skirmish, including Perry Anasars. Tell me how negro these guys look:

I don't do it. Can't paint African skin.

Bob

The British had a few black units, mainly skirmishers. There was an offer of freedom for slaves of Patriot masters who took up arms with the Loyalist cause. As usual, it was a messy business in the end but it seems to have been largely honoured. Simon Scharma's book Rough Crossings has an account of this, though it's mainly concerned with the wider abolitionist movement in England and the fate of the resettled Loyalist slaves in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.

I think a dark\scorched\oak\chocolate brown as a base with a black ink\wash would do a good job and be easy.

my 1st Rhode Island

The remainder of my armies can be found here :

theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=305527

Sure.