British Forces (184)

Captain Robert Rogers - Commander

Advanced Guard – Ensign Gregory McDonald – ca. 11 men
Bulkeley's Division – Captain Bulkeley – ca. 82 men
Rogers' Division – Major Robert Rogers – ca. 82 men
Rear Guard – Ensigns White and Waite – ca. 11 men

French Forces (ca. 302 men)

Durantaye's Force – Ensign la Durantaye and ca. 95 men, mostly Cree, Nipissing, and Caughnawaga Iroquois with 30 Canadian militia & 4 Marine cadets.
Langy's Force – Sieur de Langy, Lt. Forcet of la Sarre Regt. & Lt. Duresme of Languedoc Regt. and ca. 203 men, mostly Canadian militia but also including possibly a few dozen Compagnies Franches de la Marine troops and a smaller number of regular troops from la Reine regiment.

Wargaming the "Battle on Snowshoes"

One remarkable aspect of this engagement worth noting is the relative lack of hand-to-hand combat that seems to have been involved. Whereas many movies involving Indians and frontiersmen frequently show scenes of furious bayonet and tomahawk work, it appears that melee weapons were principally used for the dispatching of the wounded and helpless. Otherwise both sides were perfectly happy to stand off and blaze away at each other with firearms.

It is also worth noting the grim savagery of forest warfare. There seems to have been virtually no taking of prisoners in the heat of combat by either side. Philips appears to have been the only member of his party that was taken prisoner. Also numerous accounts mention that Rogers' men, during lulls in the combat wouldn't hesitate to scalp their victims just as the French and their Indian allies did.

This famous engagement would lend itself well to any acceptable set of skirmish wargaming rules. With just a few hundred troops on each side, it could even be done at a scale of one-to-one. If the historical engagement is to be recreated, it is important that neither side initially be aware of the size of the opposing forces or the outcome of the battle unless specific rules are employed to force certain reactions to occur.

For instance, the game could start with Durantaye's force already within musket range of Rogers' men and the firing about to begin. Then, if Durantaye's men are routed, Bulkeley's unit has to take a morale check to see if they follow headlong into Langy's force. Historically they apparently were following Rogers' orders to "Head 'em!" when they ran into Langy's party, however the Ranger commander in a scenario is unlikely to order them to pursue if he has read his history books. Thus a die roll could determine whether Bulkeley's force follows up their opponents or not. If they pass, they will go into an uncontrolled advance, not pausing to reload until fired upon by Langy's men.

Victory conditions would vary depending on the degree of historicity involved in the scenario. If a fully historic scenario is played with the first turn starting with Roger's initial volley against the French, then Rogers can only win if he can withdraw from the battle with over half his force intact, possibly. If Bulkeley's force is not required to blunder into Langy's men, then Rogers should be required to kill or wound fifty or more French and Indians before withdrawing.

If the game is to be played as a campaign using historical numbers, the referee could have several French and Indian scouting units searching for signs of the rangers. If the rangers are not spotted, they get to set up an ambush outside the fort to capture resupply parties on their way to and from the French outpost on Bald Mountain. If the rangers are spotted, as soon as the French and Indians at Fort Carillon are alerted, a die is rolled to see if Durantaye's men enthusiastically head out before Langy's men or if they come out together. Another die roll could determine how far Langy's party is behind that of Durantaye.

Again, victory conditions would vary depending on the outcome of random events. If the Rangers are undetected until they begin ambushing supply parties, then the French and Indian soldier should be allowed to sortie from the Fort and engage Rogers' men. Now the French would be fighting on Rogers' own terms and thus his victory conditions should require him to kill or wound more French and Indians than he loses himself with the added requirement that he kill or wound at least seventy-five French and Indians before retiring from the field. Each supply wagon captured could be worth three enemy soldiers killed or captured.

Other variations are possible. For instance, what would the outcome have been if Rogers had received from Haviland the full complement of 400 men, as originally planned? Similarly, what if the entire garrison of Fort Carillon, consisting of 330 to 350 men, were to be employed? This figure does not include the some 200 Indians who had just arrived at the Fort. If both sides used everyone they had, a major battle indeed could have ensued.

I hope this brief article will provide the reader with fresh ideas for wargaming scenarios as well as providing a bit of insight into the nature of partisan or irregular warfare during the French and Indian War. If I have piqued the interests of any of you enough to try wargaming this interesting engagement, please write me with the details of the scenario, the game rules used, and the outcomes of the scenarios.

Bibliography

Bearor, Bob, The Battle on Snowshoes, Maryland, 1997.
Cuneo, John R., Robert Rogers of the Rangers, New York, 1987.
Mitchell, James, ed. & trans., "For the Good of the Service:" the French and Indian War Journal of the Chevalier de Lιvis, unpublished manuscript.
O'Callaghan, E. B., ed., Documents Relative to the Colonial History of the State of New York, Vol. X.
Rogers, Robert, Reminiscences of the French War, New Hampshire, 1990.
Zaboly, Gary, The Battle on Snowshoes, American History Illustrated, Dec. 1979.

Note on Maps: Paul Dangel did NOT draw the maps for this article. If he had, they would look a lot nicer. I drew them up and threw them in at the last minute. I did not draw the map on page 52. That one comes from an on-line clip art source called "Art Today" to which I subscribe. That's where I got the picture of Robert Rogers as well as other pictures you may see scattered around in this Journal. In referencing the area map, be advised that the region labeled "Rogers Rock" corresponds to the general area of the battle on the slopes of Bald Mountain. In referencing the tactical maps, you must be aware that the entire area was wooded, although the maps do not show the woods as such to cut down on clutter.)

Wanted: Members are encouraged to send me more articles on the French and Indian War. This area of the Seven Years War has been somewhat neglected in recent years, and I would like to devote an article every issue or so to operations in North America. Re-enacting articles would also be accepted.

More Battle on Snowshoes 1758

Introduction
Three Phases of the Battle
Order of Battle, Wargaming, and Bibliography

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