Freeman's Farm war game staged at the Seven Years War Association convention
several years ago. Fife and Drum figures, of course.

I have been reluctant to take down the AWI terrain from our recent skirmish game that we played several weeks ago. The table terrain looks really good and it may well be one of my best efforts ever (or at least in my top ten). I staged several pictures of Saratoga British and their Indian allies on the table. They are shown below:

British flank company troops wearing the cut down jackets and hats
worn by Burgoyne's troops in the Saratoga Campaign of 1777.

Highlander flank company men. I paired one firing and one loading figure together.

More Highlanders on the edge of a cornfield

The Crown's Loyalist troops (Boo, hiss; or huzzah, depending on your point of view)
These are mostly American militia figures painted with green coats and buff facings.
The officers come from the British Fife and Drum figures.

Burgoyne's Mohawk allies. These were the last figures that Richard Ansell sculpted for me.

Indians taking cover in a cornfield. I like how this picture turned out.

More Mohawk allies, this time wearing hunting shirts.

British line infantry in Saratoga uniforms

Daniel Morgan's riflemen at Saratoga. These figures were sculpted to specifically be
Morgan's Rifles.

American militia. Sorry about the poor lighting in this picture.

New Hampshire regiments

Daniel Morgan directs his riflemen during the opening stages of Freeman's Farm

American Militia fight it out with some Brunswick troops

Brunswick grenadiers converted from FD Hessian grenadiers

Desperate action up close on the skirmish line.

Freeman's Farm terrain

More Freeman's Farm terrain

One of the New Hampshire or Massachusetts regiments.

General Burgoyne and his staff and senior officers

Benedict Arnold, back when he was one of the good guys at Saratoga.

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Saratoga Anniversary on September 19th

 

Battle of Freeman's Farm at Saratoga. British figures are depicted in the cut down
uniforms and caps used in General Burgoyne's army.

Benedict Arnold directs the New Hampshire brigade into battle at Freeman's Farm
Fife and Drum Miniatures

CLICK ON ALL PICTURES TO ENLARGE THE VIEW

Is anyone thinking about war gaming the Battle of Saratoga on its anniversary date September 19th (1777)? Actually, this is the date of the First Battle of Saratoga, more commonly known as the Battle of Freeman's Farm. Below is a link to the American Battlefield Trust's website and their rather extensive description of the Saratoga Campaign and the battle at Freeman's Farm. It is well worth the look:

Freeman's Farm

Fife and Drum Miniatures added the British infantry wearing its Saratoga Campaign uniforms. Their jackets are cut down (turn backs removed), they are wearing "overalls" (what we would call pants or trousers) and their unique cap that was made by cutting off the brims of their hats and adding a front plate to the head gear.

Fife and Drum Miniatures web store: British

Note that all British and Hessian/Brunswick infantry and Mohawk Indians can be found in the "British Infantry" pull down menu on the web site.

The British in Saratoga uniforms and their Mohawk Indian allies were added to the Fife and Drum figure range in early 2020. The figures were sculpted by Richard Ansell. Below are some representative "greens" of some of the new figures. The British are available as center company and flank company figures in marching poses as well as in skirmish poses. Highlanders for the same campaign are also available. The Mohawk have firing poses and melee weapons poses.

Fraser's brigade of converged British flank companies at Freeman's Farm.

One of the appeals, to me, of the Saratoga Campaign is that you have two evenly matched British and Continental armies along with the British allies, Brunswickers and Iroquois. The Americans have a mix of Continental regiments wearing uniform coats or hunting shirts. And they have lots and lots of militia that were well suited for skirmish warfare in the forests that played such a key role in the campaign. 

And did I mention the terrain?

This is one of my all time favorite pictures that I took. American militia
defend a fence line against a party of British skirmishers.

Vast wooded areas of terrain, broken up by individual farmsteads that were carved out of the forests.

Lots and lots of trees of all different sizes add visual impact to the table top terrain.

Finally, the Saratoga Campaign is well-suited for smaller skirmish games that can employ as few as a dozen figures per side (or more if that is your preference). Thus it takes but a small investment in figures to get started in the Saratoga Campaign.

4th New York Regiment At Saratoga

 

The 4th New York Regiment
Fife and Drum Miniatures

This week I finished the painting and basing of a 30-figure Continental Army regiment, the 4th New York, for my Saratoga Project. As with the regiments in this project, the unit has five bases, each measuring 60mm frontage by 80mm depth. The bases were purchased from Litko.

I designed this regiment to be in a firing line with a mix of figures that are firing muskets, reloading and standing at the ready. The combined effect of all of these different poses is stunning, in my humble opinion. This may well be one of the best painted units that I have done for this project. I am still waiting for the flags to arrive from GMB Designs, but other than that, the 4th New York Regiment is complete and ready for tabletop action.

Here are some close up shots of the new unit. I was not able to fit all five stands into the photos so I took pictures of 3 and 4 bases at a time.

In this unit, I used the officer in hunting shirt along with a few other hunting shirt poses,  
a couple of the militia figures, and some of the regular Continental uniforms

The side view of the command stand and one other stand.
Note the variety of poses that lends a sense of "action" to the regiment.

Same stands as the previous picture, but from the other side.

Well, one way to fit all five stands into one photo is to have them back to back.

I did not do any head conversions in the 4th New York because I am in a rush to get three more regiments painted in the three weeks leading up to this year's Seven Years War Association Convention on August 5th through 7th, 2021. I wanted to have some figures wearing round hats (brimmed hats) so I selected four such figures from the CA-001 American Militia pack: standing firing, kneeling firing, cocking musket, and advancing at port arms. I also used a mix of figures wearing regulation coats and hunting shirts to provide even more visual variety.

I based the figures into two ranks with the firing poses in the front rank and all other poses (ramming with ram rod, reloading, at the ready, standing, etc.) in the rear second rank. The deeper bases protect the muskets and bayonets from wear and tear on the gaming table, but also have the added benefit of having room to make some dioramas on the stands. One of the officers shielding his eyes with one hand is placed a bit forward from the rest of the firing line. Another casualty figure in hunting shirt, getting knocked off of his feet from a musket ball, also stands a little bit forward from the rest of the line. The firing poses are a mix of Continentals wearing tricorn hats, men in hunting shirts wearing tricorn hats, and militia figures wearing round hats. I simply paint the militia in the regimental uniform of the Continentals (albeit, the militia figures do not have lapels)..

I am a big proponents of firing lines because of the dynamic look of action that they provide. I also like the standard marching poses, but I don't want every regiment in the army to be marching.

The next unit on my painting table is a Massachusetts regiment wearing blue coats with white facings (lapels, cuffs and collars). They will be in marching poses.

Poor's New Hampshire Brigade at Saratoga 1777

 

The 2nd New Hampshire Regiment
Fife and Drum Miniatures

Over the past month I have been focused on painting some of the troops for the Continental Army that fought at Saratoga in 1777. I am focusing on Brigadier General Enoch Poor's brigade. At the battle of Freeman's Farm on September 19, 1777, Poor's Brigade was the first group of regiments to arrive on the scene at the engagement started by Daniel Morgan's Virginia riflemen and Henry Dearborn's battalion of light infantry.

Poor's Brigade consisted of the following elements:

1st New Hampshire Regiment - Colonel Joseph Cilley

2nd New Hampshire  - Lt. Colonel Adams

3rd New Hampshire - Colonel Alexander Scammel

2nd New York - Colonel Phillip van Cortlandt

4th New York - Colonel Henry Livingston

1st Connecticut Militia

2nd Connecticut Militia

Total all ranks present: 1,292; 356 sick; 153 "on command"; 7 on leave (per Brendan Morrissey).

For wargaming purposes, I would merge the two Connecticut militia battalions into one militia battalion, thus giving me 6 regiments under the command of Poor.  Dividing 1,292 by 6 = 215 per regiment. This works out to six regiments of approximately 20 figures using a 1:10 ratio of miniature figures to actual soldiers.

If I added all present, sick, on command (I assume that these fellows were hived off into Dearborn's light infantry battalion) and on leave I would have 1,809 total men in the brigade or approximately 300 soldiers per regiment or 30 wargame figures in the unit. If I were to deduct the "on command" soldiers from the brigade, that would average approximately 242 men per regiment or 24 wargame figures per unit.

So pick your poison and build regiments of either 20, 24 or 30 figures. I chose the latter amount for the simple reason that I like larger units. By comparison, my British regiments have 40 figures.

So far, I have painted the three New Hampshire regiments, Morgan's Rifles, and Dearborn's Light Infantry for my game at the Seven Years War Association Convention on August 5th through 7th in South Bend, Indiana. I doubt that I will have enough time to paint the two New York regiments so I will substitute regiments from my existing collection of Continental regiments for my Philadelphia Campaign collection.

Here are some pictures of the lads. Note that (surprise) all figures are from the Fife and Drum Miniatures AWI figuure range.

1st New Hampshire Regiment - Colonel Cilley

The 1st New Hampshire wore green coats with red cuffs/collars and red turnbacks. Some accounts have them wearing red waistcoats, others indicate red or white. I used a mix of all three waistcoat colors in the regiment. I have yet to flag the regiment, noting that I have some GMB Designs flags on order from the UK.

Ist New Hampshire Regiment "in situ"

Close up view of some of the figures in the 1st NH

The side view of some of the 1st NH figures.

2nd New Hampshire Regiment - Lt. Colonel Adams

The regiment wore light blue coats with red collars, cuffs and white turnbacks. Breeches and waistcoats were white or buff. I went with mostly buff colored kit. This is one of my favorite Continental army uniforms in my collection.

2nd New Hampshire Regiment

Close up view of some of the miniatures.

3rd New Hampshire Regiment - Colonel Scammel

This regiment just came off of the painting table and are clothed in dark blue coats with white facings, waistcoats and breeches. I gave them a grand division flag from GMB Designs because it looks like the Fort Ticonderoga flag that they were alleged to have carried. 

As with all of my Continental regiments, I like to add in some figures wearing hunting shirts and some militia figures from the Fife and Drum Miniatures figure range. In some cases, I will do a head swap to include more brimmed or round hats in the regiment.

The whole 3rd New Hampshire Regiment on five stands.

A close up view of some of the figures. Note the officer wearing hunting shirt in the front rank.

Same view as above, but with a view of the second row of figures.

The Continental Advance Guard - Daniel Morgan

I have posted pictures of the Virginia riflemen within the past month, but had not posted pictures of Dearborn's Light Infantry Battalion. The two units were brigaded together because the riflemen do not have bayonets on their rifles, and thus, they would need to fall back to the safety of the Light Battalion, whose soldiers carried muskets with bayonets.

Henry Dearborn's Light Infantry Battalion

Henry Dearborn's Light Infantry Battalion. Each stand wears a different uniform to represent
 that the men in the battalion were chosen men from their parent regiments.

Close up view of some of the figures. Each stand of figures wears a different uniform.

Side view of two of the stands (left - 3rd NH; right - 1st NH)

Another side view of three of the five stands.

Daniel Morgan's Virginia Riflemen 

The figures in this regiment are relatively new additions to the Fife and Drum Miniatures Saratoga range. Wonderful variety of poses and animation created by Richard Ansell.

Colonel Morgan directs his riflemen on the left and some of Dearborn's light infantry on the right.

A view of the whole rifle regiment.

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The Freeman's Farm Table Top Is Set And Ready To Go

 

Battle of Freeman's Farm table top. Two British commands enter the table in the center.
Morgan's riflemen await in the woods.

Click on all pictures to enlarge.

After quite a few adjustments to my Freeman's Farm table top terrain, I have finally settled on what looks right to me. This is the game that I will be hosting at the upcoming Seven Years War Association Convention on August 5th through 7th, 2021 in South Bend, Indiana.

I usually make a first pass at setting up my game terrain and lay out the troops to make sure that the terrain is playable - that is, it has sufficient room to maneuver the troops without causing traffic jams. I might find that there is not enough flank space to move the figures or there might be too many building or terrain obstacles to use in a game. Sometimes what looks good in a static display does not translate very well into a playable game. Playability is important in any wargame, but it is even more so when one is designing a game to host at a wargame convention.

One key element to consider: if you plan on having some troops arrive on the table several turns down the road, you want to make sure that the movement rates in the rules allow enough time for the troops to actually close with the enemy and have it on the table top. It does not make for a good game experience for a player. 

Another consideration is that there are enough troops to spread around for each player to game with. Freeman's Farm is a relatively small battle. For example, if there are 10 units per side it will be difficult to divide the units into four commands on one side. In this example, I would divide the troops into three commands consisting of one command with four units and two more commands of 3 units plus one cannon.

You may recall my theorem called "Jim's Rule of Fours" which states that the maximum number of combat units that a wargamer can comfortably handle is four. An experienced player can probably handle more, but if one player has six units in his command and the other players have four elements, then the game pace will slow down because the one player is moving more stuff each game turn than the other players. So I try to keep wargame player commands at no more than four combat elements. Elements are regiments of infantry, cavalry and batteries of artillery.

With all of this in mind, let's take a look at the British commands in my Freeman's Farm game.

The center of Burgoyne's army at Freeman's Farm was commanded by Brigadier General Hamilton and consisted of four British regiments: 9th, 20th, 21st and 62nd; two batteries of Royal Artillery, and some small groups of chosen men to act as sort of skirmishers to scout ahead of the brigade. 

The British left wing of the army consisted of ALL of the elite troops in Burgoyne's army: converged grenadiers and light infantry from the British regiments, converged Brunswick grenadiers and a light battalion, and various units of scouts or chosen men.

I could probably divide the entire British army into two commands for the game: Fraser's and Hamilton's brigades, but then I end up with a game that has a 12 foot long table  and only four or five players in the game (2 British and 3 American players). However, I am sure that the convention manager would not appreciate allocating a 12 foot by 6 foot table to a game that only allows for four players,

So some adjustments are necessary for this convention game.

I decided to divide Hamilton's brigade into two regiments of British infantry (larage 40 figure units) and a cannon model and a handful of light infantry scouts. That gets me to four elements for the two players that command Hamilton's brigade. 

Simon Fraser's Advance Guard has two large elite battalions of 48 figures each: British grenadiers and light infantry that were converged from their parent regiments. Both battalions are large enough to be divided into two sections of 24 figures, thus giving this player 4 elements. There were also some Indians and Canadian light troops that I could add to each command, but I am running out of space on this flank to employ all of those troops. This means that I will have to shift the terrain in the center to the British left which will create more space for Fraser's brigade on the right side of the British army.

This gives me three players on the British side, so far. There were also some Brunswick troops involved in the battle, but they were late arrivals to the battlefield and I wouldn't want to give the Brunswick command to one player, and then have that player sit around for something like six turns before he could start moving troops.  One thought is to feed some of the Brunswick regiments into the battle when the British players start losing regiments due to battle attrition. This isn't quite how Freeman's Farm was fought, but the idea makes for a more playable wargame.

Simon Fraser's advance guard of grenadiers and light infantry arrive on the table on the left flank of the British army.

A part of Hamilton's British Brigade

The other half of Hamilton's British Brigade

The American army has some similar problems with regard to breaking it up into "wargamer commands" and I will dwell on this in another blog post, shortly.

I will likely end up with six players in the game, three per side, and then feed in fresh units to players whose commands get all shot up and depleted, or rout. I might be able to stretch it out to four players per side, but this would be difficult to pull off and still give each player 3 to 4 command elements.

What do you think? Comments are appreciated.S