"Who here has a red-shirted artilleryman in their collection?" Topic

Let me be the first to hold my hand up …I have several gracing my gallant Confederate batteries!

we've got a couple for each side.

yes 2 for the valverda Battery

Yup…

As a former gun bunny I have a few

Of course.

I've got at least one, maybe more.
BWW

Yup.

Yup. One on both sides.

I am sure I've got a fig or two.

I have one or two foundry guys in red shirts.

Who doesn't might be a better question.

Oddly enough they are the first battery to get killed .

more than one

Umm… yes, one for each Union and rebs. but at least they are a maroon red and not a bright red.

Isn't it tradition to have at least one?

I am looking to add a few red-shirted security troops for my Star Fleet project, but I believe that might be a different genre altogether…

Yep, several

My "Red shirt" artilleryman mans his French Revolutionary cannon….from the Dixon 25mm range. Must paint one for the 15mm ACW collection.

NONE and proud of it!

Don

A lot of Troiani fans I see? haha

Wanna be the first idiot shot? Put on that red shirt, stand out from the crowd, draw attention to yourself. Draw a bullseye on your back while you are at it.

If you have ever taken part in an ACW Living History field situation, tell me how many times you have ignored the guy on the opposing side wearing his nice new red fireman's shirt? Wanna live? Blend in.

But yes, they are colorful on a gaming table.

Absolutely.

A few on the confederate side only.

just to counter-act the 'Troiani-effect' I have just ordered figures to represent the 5th Company Washington Artillery! Not a red shirt in sight!!

I thought it was mandatory to have at least one in any ACW army?

Oh hell no!

I had a few, but that all got killed.

Just for the record, it'd be right interesting to research where those red shirts, if they were ever worn, came from. We know that A.P.Hill wore a red shirt, be he's a special case.

Neither side issued red shirts, the standard being of (usually) unbleached muslin, osnaburg, or, more commonly, canton flannel or wool. There sre some extant issued shirts in both tan and grey, but none so far as I've ever discovered in red.

Now, the minis, the batteries, etc, are yours and you are free to paint them however your fancy dictates, and I will never quibble with that.

BUT….. I just don't see red being used.

According to Troiani-lore he needed a focal point for the painting and so the red-shirted artilleryman was born and indeed went on to be re-born in quite a few gaming collections?

Alas, not a one. Haven't any shirt-only artillerymen in 6mm.

Ha ha I'm still building my ACW armies but already have two. You see so many around I thought it was standard issue!

None in my collection which is both 10mm and 28mm

I have a few in my 70gun crews, some Rebel and some Yankees.

Red check shirts in a couple of infantry units to represent western theatre, none in my Artillery though,

Mind you first ever artillery I painted did have a red shirt

Of course I have some red-shirted crewmen. Some militia units were issued red shirts early in the War (69th NY, at Bull Run, for example. Though they fought as infantry there). Also, many soldiers wore shirts send from home so pretty much any color will do.

Yes, I have red shirt artillery crewmen for both sides.

Maybe they were stripped down to their long johns, which were usually a red cotton or flannel. Artillery is hot work.

I am rather enjoying the slightly defensive comments made to a harmless and tongue-in-cheek topic

Never beam down to a battlefield wearing a red shirt.!!!!