"Dismounted AWI Light Dragoon Miniatures and their use" Topic

In your AWI games, do any of you often use dismounted light dragoons?

we have not..

I have, on occasion. After all, none of the American units were ever fully mounted.

I just assume they are part of my light infantry units…or guarding the baggage!
Its like the 7 Years war legions, they are difficult to use on a battlefield, at least to me.

Often? No.

Sometimes?

Yes.

There are many small actions for dismounted light dragoons, especially down South.

Eric

In 15mm both Peter Pig and Miniature Figurines make nice dismounted dragoons for AWI.

I do a lot of skirmish games (1:1 scale) and they get used there.

They were basically light infantry and were usually, if possible, armed as light infantry with infantry muskets and bayonets along with coveralls and shoes instead of boots.

The British did the same thing with some of their light cavalry early in the war.

I model the foot light infantry companies of certain Legions, but I don't view these as the same as dismounted light dragoons.

At least to me,it's not always clear whether it is the mounted or foot element when British dragoons are mentioned. And just like the Light infantry, some dragoons were also armed with Tower rifles.

The light infantry of certain Legions, such as Tarleton's and Lee's were not dismounted cavalrymen but were infantrymen.

I'm sure that is correct, but in both cases a trooper whose horse was lost would perhaps go to the infantry?

Do you mean in the heat of battle or permanently? Not all dragoons had carbines.

I mean on campaign. Without a horse a man's afoot.

When the companies of dismounted 2d Continental Light Dragoons were formed, they were equipped as infantry, including muskets and bayonets. They did retain their broadswords.

See Military Uniforms in America, edited by John Elting, Volume I, pages 94-95.

All four light dragoon regiments were supposed to be reformed as Legionary Corps in 1781 with four mounted and two dismounted companies. I don't believe that happened in Washington's cavalry command in Greene's southern army as though it was built around survivors of the 3d Continental Light Dragoons, there were elements of the 1st and 4th regiments 'brigaded' with them.

For the 2d Regiment, Benjamin Tallmadge's Memoir of Col Benjamin Tallmadge, one of the regiment's senior officers can be helpful.

link

In "Light Horse" Lee's memoirs he mentions a dismounted action where his troopers were using pistols, rather than carbines.

Troopers tried to acquire new mounts as soon as possible. It is unlikely that any trooper would end up in the infantry. They had a needed skill. The remaining troopers in the 16th LDs were drafted into the 17th before that regiment returned home. The American cavalry struggled to come up with gear to field their troopers. Both sides constantly sought remounts. I'm not as familiar with American soldiers changing units before their enlistments expired.

I've been doing some research on small actions taking place around Philadelphia in 1777 and 1778. As far as the British mounted troops, everything I've come across for the 17thLD they are mounted, Loyalist Dragoons were armed with a pistol and sword (no carbine), but they did mount light infantry who would ride to an action, dismount and fight on foot. The LI mounts were extra mounts for the Dragoons. It appears that obtaining horse in the Philadelphia area wasn't an issue for them.
As for the Americans, most of the mounted units I've come across were militia types, who were required to supply their own horse and weapons (to include a sword, a pistol, and a carbine). I personally believe that the majority of these troops were in reality just mounted infantry. Although there were some units like the City's Troop of Light Horse who were fully equipped.
Very little of the actions I've come across had American dragoons doing much. Most of the reports have them out on patrol or providing escort. The one action resulted in the court marshal of the dragoon commanders, for failing to give warning of the British attack and then hiding during the fight.

Their performance changed after several slow starts and with William Washington as their commander in the South, they performed expertly at both Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse, not so much as Hobkirk's Hill and Eutaw Springs.

Lee's Legion also did very well, though I believe that Washington was the better cavalry commander. The performance of the American mounted arm in the Race to the Dan was expert and kept the British enough in ignorance of American intentions that their service was critical in getting Greene's army across the Dan and into Virginia intact.

Lee's Legion also worked with Marion in several successful operations.

So in our rush to show how smart we all are, I'm not sure we answered the OP's original question, and he never reposted.

I was never clear if he meant if cavalry dismounted and fought on foot, as they often did in the ACW, or if he meant something else?

Back to you, Mini.

I meant that during a game, do players often dismount their light dragoons to take an objective etc?

Thanks for clarifying. Let me answer your question with a question. Can you provide an historic example of when that happened in the war?

Wait do I have to know whether it happened during the war in order to know if gamers do it? By that measure, it suggests no one can game unless they know what happened in every single battle?

If light dragoons were trained to dismount in battle but didnt do it, I still might want to do it. I was merely asking if people tend to do it or not.

For instance, I have a set of Napoleonic rules that allows French and Prussian dragoons to dismount and fight and although I am not sure if they ever did it, I would use it in certain situations.

I think it's a very fair question and your answer would likely be reflected by historical facts. Further based on history, not all American dragoons had carbines, which were hard to come by. Point being, what would they fight with?

But to your question, the answer is no, at least for me.

There were a large number of small scale actions fought in the southern campaign. Some of these were fought by Washington's dragoons, the mounted portion of Lee's Legion or by mounted state units on the American side and the British Legion and the Queens Rangers. In at least some of these small scale actions there was doubtless the occasion where some of these mounted elements were dismounted. Outside the odd siege type action I cannot think of any off the top of my head, but it would make sense in an ambush as well.

In the south there were frequent instances of the use of mounted infantry. These troops used horses to move around the countryside but would usually dismount before going into battle. So if you replace "dragoon" with "mounted troops" then yes it did happen, and in the south quite frequently.

The problem you run into during the AWI is that dragoons were expensive to raise, equip, train, maintain in the field, and in the case of the British transport across the ocean. This isn't an investment that a commander is going to waste when he has lower "cost" options available.

So I believe what the OP is asking is if anyone uses their LDs as mounted, then replaced them with dismounted figures (1 horse holder per 4?), ala Buford's troopers at the 1st day at Gettysburg. Not could they do it, but does anyone use their LDs in a game that way?

I guess if you were playing a skirmish game, perhaps. The only thoughts of CL dragoons fighting (??) dismounted comes from Todd Braisted's book, "The Grand Forage" where the CL LDs kept getting caught at night sleeping and getting themselves massacred and angering Washington to no end. Not as well read on the smaller stuff down south, but then again, that's a skirmish game.

Yes, I have mounted and dismounted figures and fight skirmish battles in which dismounting may be done.

In case my prior comments were not clear, no I don't use my light dragoons in both mounted and dismounted roles. My mounted light dragoons stay mounted. If I need to have troops that can move fast and still fight on foot, that is what I use mounted infantry for.

Now at some point in the distant future when my armies have been filled out I might consider acquiring dismounted dragoon figures that are intended to represent my mounted dragoons serving in a dismounted role in a small scale skirmish game.