"The right look for AWI converged units" Topic

It occurs to me that the AWI is a period where troop scale is frequently telescoped and that units can represent a handful or a whole battalion. One benefit of this approach is that small historical units can be represented by more figures on tabletop.

So whats the preferred look, are all your Hessian and British Grenadiers the same facing etc colors in a unit, only the same on a base by base basis or different individual unit facings even on the same base?

Base by base – each has the same facing color.

Companies were administrative units not tactical units. Units fought in firing platoons. Depending on size two or more platoons could be combined.

For all intents and purposes, a company and a 'peloton' were the same thing. They may or may not have been 'evened out' before combat, but the commanders didn't change, etc.

Two companies that maneuvered together was termed a 'division.'

That is more French Napoleonic, though, than for the period of the War of the Revolution.

Did the American Continentals do this? That would need some work to find out. Provisional units ('converged' is not a military term, but a reenactor one).

After Camden in August 1780 for example, the Delaware Regiment consisted of only two companies, one commanded by Captain Kirkwood and one by Captain Jacquet. The latter was attached to the 1st Maryland Regiment and Kirkwood acted independently. I don't believe the troops were interchanged between the two companies prior to combat. They operated as companies, not 'pelotons' or platoons.

My Hessian grenadier battalions have four stands, each painted differently as the gren company of the appropriate regiment.

I have read that the grenadiers sometimes functioned as light infantry in support of the jaegers, since those lacked bayonets. So Im basing some of my grenadiers as individuals to use in thta mode in skirmish games.

While I have zero AWI units, for my SYW converged grenadier units I do as above – each stand has the same facings (and in the case of the Austrians, the same pretty blue or white pants)

Same color for each base. But I like to mix troopers in uniforms with some in hunting shirts and some in civilian clothing for my continentals.

One advantage to keeping figures with the same facings on the same bases is that it allows you to change the composition of the units. An old poster here had a system which makes sense. When he'd paint up a regiment of British regulars he'd also paint up the light and grenadier companies for that regiment.

@Sylvain-Are the hunting shirts and civilian clothing just for the Continentals?

So quick thoughts:

1. The company became both a combat and logistics unit as early as 1755 during the Braddock campaign. Flying in the face of the Duke of Cumberland's New Exercise, more regiments made this change, especially after the Mourdant camps of that were training to raid France. This change was codified in the 1764 Manual Exercise.

2. From this change, companies became the basic combat and logistics unit. Companies were no longer "leveled" to create equal sized firing platoons, as called for in both Cumberland's and Bland's manuals. During the AWI period, while each company had two platoons, I believe all firings were done at the company level.

Center, or hat companies had about 40 men on field strength. Flank companies usually carried 75 to 100 men on field strength.

The company firings may, or may not have been the case during the SYW as the companies/platoons usually had more (75) men.

3. In all my years of reenacting (40 plus), I have never heard anyone use the term converged at an event. I have repeatedly read it in books, by modern authors, using it to describe the British Grenadier/Light Battalions. The period term would likely just been 1st, 2nd, etc, Grenadier battalion, or perhaps the commanding officer's name.

4. While there is record of Hessian grenadiers backing up the Jaeger's during 1776, that job was filled by other units as the war went on, often English or Highland troops.

My Hessian grenadier battalions and my British grenadier and light battalions have different facings to depict the units that contributed the companies.

For some of my American units, I've used either different figures to depict their "ragged" appearance or painted the same figures with different coats and/or pants.

Jim