Recruiting Poster

Bored this afternoon, I used my collection of (scanned) authentic Napoleonic-era British recruiting posters and put on together for the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers. Here is a png copy of the poster.



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Baker Rifle in Line Regiments

In De Witt Bailey's book, British Military Flintlocks 1740-1840, he mentions that some light companies in the era 1800-1815 received the venerable Baker Rifle. I have not seen this mentioned elsewhere, but Dr. Bailey is considered an expert on such things.

The other day I happened across an illustration from the later half of the 19th century showing a Hannoverian regiment in the British Army. If you look closely at the soldier in the in the center background, you can see that he is armed with a Baker rifle.  This is clear based on the shortness of the rifle versus the Brown Bess, the lack of a bayonet shoulder belt (and cross belt plate), but the patch box of the Baker is clearly seen.  

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Period Shoe Construction

These series of videos show Andy Burke (http://www.andyburke.f2s.com/catalogue.htm) discussing his construction techniques as well as showing the work required to make period-correct footwear.  I recommend taking a look, as it is quite interesting.

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Grenadier and Light Bob of the 29th

This print from Charles Hamilton Smith, shows two members of the 29th regiment of foot--a grenadier on the left and a light infantryman on the right. Both are wearing the uniform of home duty with white breeches and tall black gaiters.

Bother soldiers are showing a bit of the ruffled shirt peaking through the coat. The light infantryman wears a non-regulation waist belt--a widely documented light bob alteration that kept the cartridge box from moving around during tactical maneuvers.

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First Foot Guards, Marching Order

Charles Hamilton Smith print, circa May 1812, showing an enlisted man and sergeant of the 1st Foot Guards in Marching Order with great-coats, knapsacks, and covers for the shakos.

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52nd Light Infantry

Great painting from Charles Hamilton Smith showing an officer and enlisted man of the 52nd Light Infantry Regiment from 1812-1815.

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Browning of the Brown Bess

I ran across this article today describing the process to keep a Brown Bess barrel bright as well as the method that was used to brown all the barrels in the army after Waterloo.

http://www.militaryheritage.com/browning.htm

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Waterloo, Part I

T-Shirts and other items

Check this out:

Living History


That is all.

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Defarbing the Musket

One of the major hurdles to cross in getting a really authentic impression is defarbing the musket. Most of the people in the hobby use the Pedersoli Brown Bess, which is a very impressive reproduction of the Second Land Pattern musket. Unfortunately, there are a few things wrong with it.

First, the Pedersoli name is laser engraved on the barrel near the tang. This means that anyone can easily spot it, even from a bit of a distance. Also, a serial number is also laser engraved. Serial numbers did not appear on original Brown Bess muskets. Another problem, one that is easy to fix, is that incorrect swivels for the sling ship with the muskets. Sutlers like Godwin's produce good reproductions of original swivels.

The original muskets had numerous stamps and cartouches to show that a government official looked over the weapon and that it passed muster. Until now, getting the proper stamps on your musket has been difficult to say the least. There is a very limited number of hand stamps floating around.

Today, I happened to check out the Track of the Wolf website--they are now selling the proper stamps for the Brown Bess! There are four stamps, each priced at $29.95. I am going to try and get all four. If you want your musket to have the proper stamps, please let me know.

Here are the stamps:





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Messes, Squads and Platoons

The following information is from Don Hagist on the RevList Yahoo Group.

The information below is my 'primer' on messes, squads, platoons and companies, based on reading a lot of period texts, courts martial, and other documents. To understand this well, we must first clear our heads by accepting these ground rules:

• Regiments could do things the way they wanted, so there is no set of 'rules' that invariably applies.
• There is no relationship whatsoever between squads and platoons, between messes and platoons, or between squads and messes. All of these entities could exist within a company, but were not necessarily logically related to each other.

That said:

• A mess is a group of men who share the same tent and kettle (and other camp equipage issued in a quantity of 1 item to a group of men). In most cases the mess consisted of five men (in most cases regiments were issued one tent per five men). The mess might also include wives of married soldiers. These men eat and sleep together, but that might be all they do together. These men were all from the same company. They drew food together (although rations were calculated on a 'per man' basis, food was actually distributed per mess, and the men of the mess divided it up after cooking).
  
  On British company muster rolls (in the WO 12 collection), the names are often listed in groups of five. Some people interpret this to be a listing of the messes, but there is ample reason to doubt this interpretation (which I'll be happy to discuss if anyone is interested). More likely it was just to make the rolls easier to read. I don't know the derivation of the term 'mess'.


• A squad was a group of men assigned to the care of a non-commissioned officer within a company. Military texts by Thomas Simes and Bennett Cuthbertson describe the assignment of squads as a handy way to make sure that each man has an NCO to oversee his hygiene and the care of his clothing and accoutrements. Cuthbertson' s writing on the subject appears below, and it is key to notice that he calls them Squads of Inspection, which gives a strong suggestion of the purpose of these squads.
  
  
  The texts often suggest dividing the men of a company evenly by the number of NCOs in the company. Simes suggests that squads be organized based on the rank in which men form (that is, three squads, one each for the front, center and rear ranks). Cuthbertson recommends forming squads based on the experience of the soldiers, so that each squad contains a good proportion of new men and seasoned men. The one actual squad roll that I've seen (from a company orderly book of the 28th Regiment of Foot) has the company divided into three squads in the following manner: The names of the men are written in three columns, proceeding alphabetically from left to right:

  
  

  Adams

  
  

  Baker

  
  

  Costello

  
  

  Downs

  
  

  Eagan

  
  

  Finnerty

  
  

  etc.

  
  Each column is a squad under an NCO (see my write-up on this in The Brigade Dispatch Vol. 21 No. 2). The squad has no tactical application whatsoever. We might assume that a squad contained a fixed number of messes, but there is no basis for this assumption. The two enties appear to be completely unrelated.




• A platoon is a tactical subdivision of a company - in fact, they are often called 'subdivisions' (and a 'grand division' was two companies). Whether a company has two, three or four platoons depends upon which set of procedures you're reading. Whether they're commanded by officers or NCOs likely depends upon who was actually available on the field, but I would suspect the intent was to have officers commanding platoons. The only way to get a sense of what was 'typical' is to read a number of manuals and military texts, because different authors had different ideas about this.

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Musket Tools

It seems like there is also some piece of kit to get or update. Today I am taking a look at the "British Musket Tool" that is found in pretty much any redcoat's kit.

The common musket tool, as sold by the majority of sutlers, looks like this:

The skinny side of the tool is usually listed as a pin punch or vent prick. I didn't think that this was correct, so I posted a question on the RWProgressive Yahoo group. Here is the response from Jym Hoffman:

As shown in "Collector's Encyclopedia" by Neumann and Kravic, some of the originals found through archeology are deteriorated so it is hard to tell the original size and sometimes the threads are eaten away. In the book "Tools for the Trades & Crafts, An 18th.Century Pattern Book, R. Timmons & Sons, Birmingham," 1791 - 1889, with Documentary By Kenneth D. Roberts, Fitzwilliam, N.H., first published in 1976, plate 133, engraved 1820 - 1830 shows a drawing of "a military turn screw with worm. An example shown to me in an tracing of an original that came from the Hubberton Battlefield, the third leg is thin and could be used as a punch, but there are also threads near the base of the fork. The widest spread between the 2 blades is 41/2" and 41/2" to the tip of the third leg. An example form Camden, S.C. (also traced for me,) the third leg is thicker and the threads are on the very end. The widest part is 37/8" by 31/2" to the tip of the third leg. If I remember correctly, there are 2 in Old Fort Niagara's collection that all three legs are flat screw driver blades. I have not seen 2 originals that are exactly the same size as are some of those modern reproductions. That is because they are using computer controlled machines to cut them out, exactly the same. I have not personally seen the ones in the Tower to know how exact in size they are.

With that information in mind, I did a quick search for someone that sold a more appropriate musket tool. Luckily, Roy Najecki offers one that fits the bill. Here is a photo from Jym on what a musket tool should look like:


Now its time to find my worm so that I can attach it to the prong when the tool arrives.

Ich Dien!

Button Stick

In an effort to fully re-create the late 18th and early 19th century British infantryman, I am always looking at ways to improve my impression. The littlest things can add substantially, especially when it comes to showing the material aspect of things to the general public.

For the last few years, I have been looking for a good button stick. Usually made of wood but sometimes of brass, a button stick is a simple device that allows a soldier to polish his coat buttons without worrying about dirtying the coat. Mark R. Tully's "The Packet II" has an excellent article about button sticks, including some diagrams of period pieces.

Having no real skill when it comes to woodworking, I never ventured to try to make my own button stick. Luckily the other day I stumbled across an online sutler of Civil War goods that offers a good button stick. I recommend you take a look. It is an inexpensive way to improve an impression.

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Pipe Clay

The following if from Roy Najecki, of the 40th Foot:

From: Standing Orders, Forms of Returns, Reports, Entries, etc. of the Queen's Dragoons Guards; 1795 -

"Take 6 pounds of the finest pipe-clay, pound it very small, put it in a tub, and put to it about 5 gallons of cold water. Let it remain for two or three days, stirring it now and then. Then take 6 ounces of gum dragon, and put it into 4 quarts of boiling water, and cover it up close for two or three days. When the gum is well dissolved, take a fine hair sieve, and strain it into the pipe-clay, and keep stirring the pipe-clay well all the time you are doing this. Then take half an ounce of stone blue, and dissolve it well amongst your colouring (this gives a clear gloss to the belts). Let it all remain one day longer, and it will be fit for use, putting it on lightly and evenly with a sponge."

From: The Discipline of the Light Horse by Capt. Hinde, 1778 (pg 559) -

"A Receipt for the White Belts. Take 1 ½ lb of Pipe-clay, 3 Quarts of Water, ¼ lb of Best Glue, ¼ lb of White Soap, Boil the Soap and Glue first, till dissolved, then Mix it with the Pipe-Clay, and Boil all together for a Quarter of an Hour; when Cold put it on a with a Sponge in the usual manner, and when Dry Rub it with a Glass-Bottle."

All these ingredients: pipe-clay, gum dragon, and stone blue, are still available. Pipe-clay is the white material used to make porcelain in your sink or toilet and is commercially known as Kaolin. Pottery supply firms sell kaolin. Harness makers know gum dragon by that name but it is sold as Gum Tragacanth. This mucilage substance is used to burnish the edges of harness leather. It is available from The Leather Factory, Inc.

(1-800-472-3306, item #2264) and other leather craft firms. Stone blue is hydrated copper sulfate and can be found in the plumbing dept of home centers such as Home Depot. It is used to eliminate roots in septic pipes. There are several brands and they vary in purity. Root Destroyer brand (made by Scotch Corp 214-943-4605) is 99% Copper Sulfate Pentahydrate and costs about $9 per pound. Yes, it looks like blue stones, and they can be easily crushed into a powder.

Buff faced units often would use pipe-clay with a buff tint. The tinting agent, buff ochre, is still available from jewelry manufacturing supply firms.

I've worked up the first recipe and tried it, but my results didn't meet my expectations. Perhaps my kaolin was not white enough, and the pipeclay came out very watery. So I put that project aside for when I have more time.

Ich Dien!

Brown Bess Poem

"Brown Bess"

In the days of lace-ruffles, perukes and brocade
Brown Bess was a partner whom none could despise--
An out-spoken, flinty-lipped, brazen-faced jade,
With a habit of looking men straight in the eyes--
At Blenheim and Ramillies fops would confess
They were pierced to the heart by the charms of Brown Bess.

Though her sight was not long and her weight was not small,
Yet her actions were winning, her language was clear;
And everyone bowed as she opened the ball
On the arm of some high-gaitered, grim grenadier.
Half Europe admitted the striking success
Of the dances and routs that were given by Brown Bess.

When ruffles were turned into stiff leather stocks,
And people wore pigtails instead of perukes,
Brown Bess never altered her iron-grey locks.
She knew she was valued for more than her looks.
"Oh, powder and patches was always my dress,
And I think am killing enough," said Brown Bess.

So she followed her red-coats, whatever they did,
From the heights of Quebec to the plains of Assaye,
From Gibraltar to Acre, Cape Town and Madrid,
And nothing about her was changed on the way;
(But most of the Empire which now we possess
Was won through those years by old-fashioned Brown Bess.)

In stubborn retreat or in stately advance,
From the Portugal coast to the cork-woods of Spain,
She had puzzled some excellent Marshals of France
Till none of them wanted to meet her again:
But later, near Brussels, Napoleon--no less--
Arranged for a Waterloo ball with Brown Bess.

She had danced till the dawn of that terrible day--
She danced till the dusk of more terrible night,
And before her linked squares his battalions gave way,
And her long fierce quadrilles put his lancers to flight:
And when his gilt carriage drove off in the press,
"I have danced my last dance for the world!" said Brown Bess.

If you go to Museums--there's one in Whitehall--
Where old weapons are shown with their names writ beneath,
You will find her, upstanding, her back to the wall,
As stiff as a ramrod, the flint in her teeth.
And if ever we English had reason to bless
Any arm save our mothers', that arm is Brown Bess!

Rudyard Kipling

Ich Dien!

Sam's Christmas Pudding by Marriott Edgar

Sam's Christmas Pudding

It was Christmas Day in the trenches
In Spain in Penninsular War,
And Sam Small were cleaning his musket
A thing as he'd ne're done before.

They'd had 'em inspected that morning
And Sam had got into disgrace,
For when sergeant had looked down the barrel
A sparrow flew out in his face.

The sergeant reported the matter
To Lieutenant Bird then and there.
Said Lieutenant 'How very disgusting'
The Duke must be told of this 'ere.'

The Duke were upset when he heard
He said, 'I'm astonished, I am.
I must make a most drastic example
There'll be no Christmas pudding for Sam.'

When Sam were informed of his sentence
Surprise, rooted him to the spot.
'Twas much worse than he had expected,
He though as he'd only be shot.

And so he sat cleaning his musket
And polishing barrel and butt.
While the pudding his mother had sent him,
Lay there in the mud at his foot.

Now the centre that Sam's lot were holding
Ran around a place called Badajoz.
Where the Spaniards had put up a bastion
And ooh...! what a bastion it was.

They pounded away all the morning
With canister, grape shot and ball.
But the face of the bastion defied them,
They made no impression at all.

They started again after dinner
Bombarding as hard as they could.
And the Duke brought his own private cannon
But that weren't a ha'pence o' good.

The Duke said, 'Sam, put down thy musket
And help me lay this gun true.'
Sam answered, 'You'd best ask your favours
From them as you give pudding to.'

The Duke looked at Sam so reproachful
'And don't take it that way,' said he.
'Us Generals have got to be ruthless
It hurts me more than it did thee.'

Sam sniffed at these words kind of sceptic,
Then looked down the Duke's private gun.
And said 'We'd best put in two charges,
We'll never bust bastion with one.'

He tipped cannon ball out of muzzle
He took out the wadding and all.
He filled barrel chock full of powder,
Then picked up and replaced the ball.

He took a good aim at the bastion
Then said 'Right-o, Duke, let her fly.'
The cannon nigh jumped off her trunnions,
And up went the bastion, sky high.

The Duke, he weren't 'alf elated
He danced around trench full of glee.
And said, 'Sam, for this gallant action.
You can hot up your pudding for tea.'

Sam looked 'round to pick up his pudding
But it wasn't there, nowhere about.
In the place where he thought he had left it,
Lay the cannon ball he'd just tipped out.

Sam saw in a flash what 'ad happened:
By an unprecedented mishap.
The pudding his mother had sent him,
Had blown Badajoz off map.

That's why fuisilliers wear to this moment
A badge which they think's a grenade.
But they're wrong... it's a brass reproduction,
Of the pudding Sam's mother once made.

Marriott Edgar

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Napoleonic Articles

The 23rd Royal Welch Fusilier Napoleonic era re-enactment group has posted some articles relating to the British Army from 1800-1815. I recommend taking a look.

The articles can be found here: http://www.fusiliersinspain.com/research/articles/

I am still working on the after-action report from Anza. Expect it to be posted soon.

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Upcoming--Anza!

It is that time of the year again--the National Brigade Napoleon Re-enactment at Anza, California.

This year's event looks to be bigger and better than last year (which was a ton of fun). The event takes place on 16 acres of high desert land between Temecula and Palm Springs. In fact, the terrain bears a striking resemblance to the terrain in Spain and Portugal. A large, earthen redoubt has been constructed (with 10ft tall walls).

Units will be attending from around the country. The turn out is slated to be the best ever. If you have any interest in the period, please come out. I promise an experience you won't forget.

For more information, please see this site.

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Something Different

To supplement/compliment my re-enacting hobby, I have recently become interesting in military figures (aka toy soldiers). There is a company, Sierra Toy Soldier (http://www.sierratoysoldier.com/) that has a store located near my home. The store has a large collection of soldiers in many scales and from many different time periods. I recommend checking them out, some of the figures are true works of art.

I couldn't stop at merely collecting the toy soldiers. Instead, I am interested in the numerous kits available. The kits are usually resin or white metal and come unassembled. After a bit of assembly and some detailed painting, some truly awesome results can be made.

Since a European trip in the mid 1990's, I have been sitting on one such kit. It is now time for me to put it together and paint it. I have also ordered a figure represented the 28th Gloucester Regiment at the time of Waterloo. I hope that he will turn out well.


I will post my progress as I begin this new project.

Ich Dien!

Boots once again

This is another post about the Hessian boots that I ordered in August of 2007. The boots were finally shipped last Friday (04/04/2008) and were delivered today (04/08/2008).  Unfortunately the boots were delivered to a house I no longer reside in.  In fact, I live about 360 miles away from where the boots were sent.  

The mistake was noticed this morning, before the package was delivered.  A call went out to UPS to change the delivery address.  This was reflected on the tracking webpage but when I went to see if an updated delivery date was available I noticed the package had been delivered.  UPS customer support wasn't able to provide much help--once the package has been delivered not much can happen.  They suggested I have another one shipped--which is unacceptable due to the fact that it took me 9 months to get the first pair!

I was able to call my previous landlord and hopefully something can be worked out so that I can get the boots without further hassle.

Ich Dien!

Officer's Sash

Today my officer's sash arrived. I ordered the sash a few weeks ago from G. Gedney Godwin. You can see a photo of the sash here:

Now the trick will be learning how to properly wrap the sash around my waist for the re-enactment event coming up.

Ich Dien!

Metalwork Shipped!

I called Military Metalwork in England this morning to check on the status of the order I placed last year. Since the order has been taking so long, in the past few weeks I have made quite a few calls.

Last week I was told that my order would ship on Monday (3/31). I tried calling on that day, but only got a voicemail. This morning (4/1) I called and to my surprise was told that the order was on its way to me!

It will take between 7 and 10 days before the order reaches me. Until then I just have to be patient and resist the urge to check the mailbox constantly. Hopefully everything is in the order, or its back to the phones I go.

Ich Dien!

Pelican Club

Today I received an invitation to join The Pelican Club, which will be inaugurated during this year's Napoleonic Event at Anza, CA.

The Pelican Club is an officer's club and mess, providing meals and socialization for officers and gentlemen (plus guests). A hand-sewn Marquee has been commissioned for the club.

I believe the club shall be a success, especially since each member is requested to contribute either two bottles of the finest Port, Madeira or Claret wine.

If you would like to socialize at the Club, please let me know. Socialization is open to all visitors during most times of the day.

Ich Dien!

Updates to Fusiliers in Spain

The website, Fusiliers in Spain, has been updated. I recommend you check it out. It can be found here: Fusiliers in Spain.

Sorry for the plug, but I also run that site and I spent a few minutes updating it. If you have any recommendations for the site, let me know.

Trouble getting gear

One of the problems of the re-enacting hobby is that so much of the gear has to be custom made.  This usually means a pretty decent cost and potentially long wait times.  If something is needed for an event, the order for that item should be placed months in advance.As I work to put together the officer's uniform for the Napoleonic unit, I am running into the timing problem.

 Last May I ordered a gorget and officer's crossbelt place from a sutler in England.  I was promised a shipping date of August of 2007.  That date has long passed, yet no items have been received.  After repeated calls to the sutler, the new ship date is now Monday, March 31st 2008.  Only time will see if the items get shipped by then.

Last August, an order was placed for some custom boots.  I ordered the boots in August, hoping it would be enough time to get them for the Anza event in May.  Last month (Feb. 2008), I was told by the boot-maker that my order had shipped.  Since no boots have been dropped off at my house, I gave the supplier a call.  Apparently there was a problem with the shipper and my package can't be found.

Updates will be posted once the items arrive.

Ich Dien!

Time Flies

It seems just like yesterday when I wrote my lost entry on this blog, but looking at the date it was in August of last year. My personal life seems to have gotten the best of me since then and i haven't been able to do much blogging.

I hope that will change. Since my last post, I have gotten a new job and had to move because of it. This hasn't changed my interest in re-enacting and I still plan on being an active member of a few living history groups.

For the Napoleonic unit, Fusiliers in Spain (www.fusiliersinspain.com), I have been trying to put together an officer's uniform for the light company. This is not an easy or quick task. To date, the only real pieces I have are my sword and whistle, both purchased from the Discriminating General (www.militaryheritage.com). I also have the officer-quality wool that will be transformed into my coat. I am waiting on the hat to be made, the gorget to arrive as well as the boots. The boots are a custom order from Robert Land (www.robertlandhistoricshoes.com). They were shipped late last month but have yet to arrive. The whereabouts of the boots are being investigated right now.

When more items arrive for my coat, I will post information here. I find the littlest details that I uncover fascinating and I hope you will too.

Ich Dien!