Hessian in the U.K.

 This portrayal is 2 years in the making. Von Donop 1776. By Marshall Beresford.  Very good. Check out his Facebook page here. 

U.K. The 60th Royal Americans being put through their paces at Avoncroft at the weekend. Photo by Lucy Elliott.

 

Battles of Lexington and Concord

 Today's anniversary the 249th. Watch the Lexington bit from the Movie April Morning here

Lord Dunmore's War 250th

 This year is the anniversary (1774) of this colonial conflict. Wiki

Usk

 Back in the late 90s we (French and Indian war reenactors) used to rent a woodland in Wales for the weekend. Then we would do skirmishes and camps. It was great fun and sometimes we would get 30 odd participants. We even tried night battles.

Britains Ltd American war of independence

 From about 1967. My introduction to the Revolution. 

The French army in the era of the American Revolution

 I have put together lots of images here

In the U.K. A new French regiment: Gatinois

Great news.

 https://www.facebook.com/leregimentgatinoisuk

"We would like to formally announce the creation of the UK-based 'Le Régiment Gatinois', as a constituent group of @redsandrevs and in conjunction with the US-based 18th Gatinois

The project aims to present an accurate, evidenced, progressive, and accessible representation of a grenadier company of the French Royal Army at the Battle of Yorktown, in 1781, and will work towards appearances at the appropriate 250th anniversaries of the French military presence in America. 

To achieve this, we are looking to add to our small group of experienced reenactors who, working in collaboration with well-established international living history groups and with academics in the field, are utilising good quality research to inform our impression. Our equipment and uniforms are grounded in this research and, where direct source material is unavailable, steps will be be taken to incorporate wider understandings of the period to maintain a high standard of representation.

And if you're interested in joining us, drop us a message! We're open to all who are willing to carry a musket and serve King Louis (and we're even happy to supply a moustache if necessary), or to those keen to help supply the French forces whilst on campaign.

Vive le Roi! "

Photo by kind permission of Learning & Latte

Washington's Army Airfix

 Who remembers these? Came out 1971. I was 10. Hardly knew anything about the period but I bought some. I remember my local modelling shop the Modeller's Den in Bath had a window display with some painted as redcoats. Flabbergasted. Plastic Soldier Review

Patelette de giberne d'officier des troupes de marine 1740

 From here

Illinois Militia Black Hawk War

 

Garnison de Québec. Compagnies franches de la Marine

www.lagarnisondequebec.com

King's Royal Regiment of New York Fort Chambly 1985

 

On natives from a Brunswick officer

This document was posted by Rebecca Jordan of the Woodland Confederacy on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NativeList/
it concerns a European perspective on the Native allies that fought for Britain in the American Revolution

LETTER OF A BRUNSWICK OFFICER (excerpt)
in the army of General Bourgoyne, to a friend in Brunswick, Fort St. Anne, March 1777 translated by Geert van Uythoven...

The way battle is waged over here is very special, and differs totally from our systems. We campaign only two men high, and one man has to act on a distance of 18 Zoll from the other, to be able to march in line inside woodsand bushes. Cavalry is totally useless, and therefore our dragoons have to depend on their legs. Our colours encumber us much, and none of the English regiments has brought theirs with them. Every English regiment has a separate grenadier-, and a light company, which are formed into combined battalions which are of great use. The Corps Canadian Volunteers is not to despise.
The savages cannot be trusted because of their innate bestiality.They are very brave, but also very unbridled, and therefore have to be accompanied by English or Canadian officers. Above all they wish to fight independently, not under the command of English generals or officers, as true allies and friends of the king. One certain Iroquois, called Joseph, has been in England for some time. He knows to make a correct judgement of the interests of the English and savages, and he tries to build himself a name as chief of an army of savages. One is trying to prevent this in every possible way, then God should be merciful to the colonists that will be their neighbours. The savages are queer birds [sic!], which fall from one extreme into the other easily. I have been in Loretto, an old settlement of Huron's, which over eighty years ago were converted to Christianity. They have qualified themselves for regular cultivation and cattle-breeding. However, with surprise one notices that they cling to their old habits with perseverance. Their church is curious, and without any chairs or pews; on the other hand it is filled with handmade wooden saints, which, although they were Hebrew,Roman, Greek, or from another European nationality, are now depicted assavages in savage clothes and painted in many beautiful ways. I will noteasily forget the good Petrus, with his keys and beautifully painted face. I could tell you grotesque stories about their monarch Athanas who resides here, and who is honoured by the savages for hundreds of miles around. Aswell as about the prince, their upper-steward, and his three daughterprincesses. However, for now the hour-glass has been completely run through.(…)"
The expedition which has been mentioned, departed by water on the 16th. The author of the above letters has kept a diary of it, of which we will print the part which describes his first meeting with the savages:"On 21 June General Bourgoyne, Major-General von Riedesel, and bothBrigadiers Specht and von Gall departed for the camp of Brigadier Fraser at Rivière Bonguet, five hours distance from our camp. Here we saw a congress of savages of three tongues, which offered their services to GeneralBourgoyne. For the audience, a huge summer-house was build. Such a ceremony is very extraordinary, and I will describe it in detail some time when I have more time to spare. The deputies sat all in a circle on the naked ground, and smoked in their Calumots such a terrible tobacco, that one couldsuffocate. Their faces are painted with black and red, according to anyone's fantasies and ideas. The mutilation of their ears in many different ways is very special. Many have cut lose the complete edge of their ears, which hangs down like some decoration. The decoration of their hair is even more striking, and rarely one sees one of which not all hair has been pulled out except of a small part at the back of their heads, the bald places which have been created this way been painted with various figures. In their nosethey wear rings with small bells, or they pierce them with big red feathers or even blades of grass, etc. I especially liked one certain individual; he had painted one half of his face black, the other half red, and on the black half he had painted a red, on the other red half a black moustache. General Bourgoyne accepted the offer of the savages of Sault St. Luis or Kaynuawaga, of Jamaska and of the Abenaki's, and assured them of his friendships and reward. At the same time he pointed out to them, that all savage nations of the American continent had been summoned to serve against the rebels. In addition, they were urged strongly to spare old men, women and children, and not to scalp prisoners nor wounded. After that, they were regaled with some fat oxes and several casks of rum."
Source: Militair-Wochenblatt, 18. Jahrgang (Berlin 1833), No. 865, pp.4862-4860.(c) Geert van Uythoven

Guilford Courthouse 1781

 Today's anniversary. Wiki

60 Leagues on Snowshoes

Short film from Fort Ti. New and recommended.

Peter's paper boys French and Indian war

 Here for downloading figures and buildings.

New in 1/32

 Imagine these might be hard to buy

In this strange soil

 Jillian Hensley’s account of the 1704 raid on Deerfield, which is central to her story, feels authentic and fully imagined. I have read other accounts of this famous event, but for me this is the most engaging and original.” – Frances Kidder

“Hensley’s Jesuit narrator records his experiences, thoughts and observations in a voice so consistent and believable that one might forget he’s fictional. His perspective opens history and, in particular, humanizes missionary activity in the New World—both the good and the bad of it. Respectfully researched and thoughtfully composed In This Strange Soil is a work of grace and integrity.” – Libby Maxey, Editor, Thornapple Press

Against a backdrop of events in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), both in the New World and the Old, Hensley weaves together two events of 1704: the well-known February raid on Deerfield by Indians under French command; and the abduction in August of four young boys of the Rice family from the hamlet of Chauncy (Westborough), Massachusetts, by a small band of Mohawks from the Jesuit mission of Kahnawake in Canada. Thefictional narrator, Jesuit Father Vincent de Surville, records his experiences in letters to his brother, a cavalry officer with Louis XIV’s army. Through these accounts, we accompany him on the march to Deerfield in the dead of winter, sharing his privations and those of the 112 captives taken in the raid. When two of the Rice boys arrive at the mission later in the year, we participate in their evolution from English Puritans to Mohawk Catholics under Father Vincent’s tutelage. “Hensley’s Jesuit narrator records his experiences, thoughts observations in a voice so consistent and believable that one might forget he’s fictional. His perspective opens history and, in particular, humanizes missionary activity in the New World—both the good and the bad of it. Respectfully researched and thoughtfully composed, In This Strange Soil is a work of grace and integrity.” Libby Maxey, Editor, Thornapple Press

Raid on Deerfield

 

Today's anniversary. Here

The Raid on Deerfield, also known as the Deerfield Massacre, occurred during Queen Anne's War on February 29, 1704, when French and Native American raiders under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville attacked the English colonial settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts Bay, just before dawn. They burned parts of the town and killed 47 colonists. The raiders left with 112 colonists as captives, whom they took overland the nearly 300 miles to Montreal; some died or were killed along the way because they were unable keep up. Roughly 60 colonists were later ransomed by their associates, while others were adopted by Mohawk families at Kahnawake and became assimilated into the tribe. In this period, English colonists and their Indian allies were involved in similar raids against French villages along the northern area between the spheres of influence.

Peter's Paperboys French and Indian war

 Paper soldiers for the Seven Years war  in America. Have a go page here

Defending the Carolina frontier in February of 1760 during the Anglo-Cherokee War. Cody Cook

 

Fort Ti's Battle on Snowshoes event.

 Event on March 9. Tickets and details here.

Frontier Soldiers of New France

 

New title added to the Autumn 2024 list!

Frontier Soldiers of New France examines the official and regulation dress, weapons and equipment of the regular colonial troops maintained by the French government in North America from 1683 to 1760, including unpublished information with a focus on new illustrations, line drawings, and photos of rare portraits and surviving artefacts from public and private collections.

This volume is the first of a series of three that will present all the regular forces that served in New France from 1683, when the first permanent garrisons of royal troops arrived, to September 1760. Many North American military campaigns of that era have been, and continue to be, covered in countless history books. The purpose of this work is, however, to be the first to present in detail the organisation and especially the material culture of all military participants, be they generals or private soldiers. There have been some sections of books, usually brief, and articles devoted to organisation, armament, dress, and equipment previously published. The aim of this work is to present a complete record of these aspects.

Register your interest here:

https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/frontier-soldiers-of-new-france-volume-1-regulation-clothing-armament-and-equipment-of-the-colonial-troops-in-new-france-1683-1760.php

Old Fort Niagara

 

2024 is the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the 8th Regiment of Foot at Fort Niagara. The regiment’s commander, Lt. Col. John Caldwell received orders to deploy to the Great Lakes in March 1774. During May and June, the regiment moved to their new postings at Michilimackinac, Detroit, Fort Niagara and Oswegatchie. Caldwell took command of Fort Niagara in early August. With the outbreak of the American Revolution the following year, the regiment remained on the Great Lakes for eleven years.

Event at Carillon/Ticonderoga

 Here. July 20, 2024 09:30 AM to July 21, 2024 05:00 PM

Les Compagnons de Nouvelle France

 Facebook page

They say

Nos compagnons sont allés jouer dans la neige au Fort Ingall - Société d'Histoire et d'Archéologie du Témiscouata la fin de semaine dernière! ❄️

Fort William Henry's Battles and Beverages

 Don't forget, this March 23rd, “Battles and Beverages”, will be held at the Fort William Henry Conference Center and on the Lake George Battlefield! The fair and reenactment event is sponsored by The French and Indian War Society, the Fort William Henry Corporation, the Lake George Battlefield Park Alliance, as well as several local craft beverage producers.

The Fair and Meet in the Conference Center, 9:30 - 5:00, will feature sutlers, authentic crafts, and reenactor groups from all historical periods.  Visitors will be able to sample and purchase the products of local craft breweries, wineries, and distilleries.  There will be French and Indian War reenactments on Lake George Battlefield Park at 11 and 1 and the Battlefield Visitor Center will be open from 10 - 2.  At 7 pm, Dr. Steven C. Eames will speak on the topic of warfare along Northeastern frontier during the French and Indian Wars.

Remember this from 1972?

 

Fort Ti's Battle on Snowshoes 1759

 Event on March 9. Tickets and details here.

Scott Lesch's quick set up of the US forces at New Orleans

 Figures by Barzso. January 8 1815. Thanks Scott! Wiki

Battle of Jersey 1781

 Today's anniversary. Wiki

See news item from today of reenactor in Jersey here

The King's Rangers by John Brick

A novel about Butler's Rangers https://archive.org/details/kingsrangers0000john/page/n5/mode/1up

Tom Brown (1931-2024)

 Sad to hear Tom Brown (New France and Old England) has passed away. He was a very active reenactor over many periods but in the French and Indian war was a colonial. Rest in Peace.

Princeton 1777

 

General George Washington at Trenton on the night of January 2, 1777 by John Trumbull (1792)

Today's anniversary. Here

Redcoat Bernard Cornwell 1987

 Fiction for the Revwar. I proof read a version of this. Not bad

Philadelphia in 1777 is a city at war - not just between American troops and the British army, but within itself. For an occupied city throws together loyalist and patriot, soldier and civilian, man and woman; divides families and breeds treachery.

Here ruthless Captain Kit Vane and beautiful Martha Crowl, passionate patriot Caroline and her idealist young lover Jonathon, unscrupulous Ezra Woollard and the brutal Sergeant Scammell, forge and break shifting allegiances that drive them to dangerous lengths. And caught between them Private Sam Gilpin, seduced into war by a dare and a red coat, must learn the bitter lessons of love, loss and the real meaning of loyalty.