By Rene Chartrand, Illustrated by David Rickman

When I first set about writing the preceding survey, I was totally unaware of a new series of Osprey books by Rene Chartrand. These are Colonial American Troops 1610 - 1774, Volumes 1, 2, & 3 (see the bibliography of the aforementioned article to see how the invaluable scholarship of Mr. Chartrand predominates). Not only do they cover the era of the Seven Years War, but, as their titles would suggest, these three volumes provide vital information on the earlier conflicts such as King William's, Queen Anne's, and King George's wars as well as Pontiac's "Rebellion." These extremely useful books retail for $14.95 each and are well worth the price.

As with all Osprey books, they are lavishly illustrated with black-and-white pictures and maps and include eight pages of David Rickman's splendid reconstructions of uniformed troops from the various time periods covered. Each volume is forty-eight pages in length with a wealth of text describing the histories of the various provincial regiments, including information on militias, cavalry units, rangers, artillery, and regular formations.

Volume 1 provides a useful chronology of the era followed by data on the royal troops in North America, royal regiments raised in North America, and colonial militias and provincial troops for the colonies of Virginia, New Netherland, and New Sweden. Volume 2 covers the militia and provincial troops of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey. Volume 3 continues with South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Georgia, Nova Scotia, Hudson's Bay, Quebec province, and the Rangers and even provides some flag information. Where available, Mr. Chartrand has also provided us with troop strengths in all three volumes, as well as the names of commanders, often clear down to the company level.

For those seeking to recreate the provincial forces of North America, these three books are a must-buy and put my own modest article to shame. 

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