Review and Outlook

I would like to welcome the readers to this first issue of the American Revolution Journal and I invite everyone to browse through this copy with the hope that you find the period of American history from 1766 to 1795 as interesting and fascinating as do I. As a historian, wargamer and the publisher of the Seven Years War Association Journal, I have a deep interest in 18th Century military history.

More recently, I have found myself drawn towards political and military events that comprise the American Revolution and I felt that I could learn more about the period by undertaking the publication of a journal. The idea for this publication has been germinating in my mind for some time now and it is my hope to bring together historians, living history re-enactors and historical miniature wargame enthusiasts under one tent.

Some preliminary research indicates that there are approximately 2,000 living history re-enactors who are members of the "Brigade of the American Revolution," an umbrella organization for British, American, Hessian and French re-enactment units. The historical miniature wargamer fraternity reportedly has up to 10,000 people involved in their hobby, although my guess is that the actual amount of wargamers is less than half that number.

Those wargamers with a specific interest in the American Revolution probably amount to less than 1,000. So we are not looking at a very large segment of the general population when we focus in on American Revolution hobbyist. Both groups have one thing in common: an interest in some aspect of military history, and more specifically, the events that comprise the American Revolution.

Introducing the Wargamer

Allow me to take a few moments to introduce the groups of AR hobbyists to one another. The historical miniature wargamer is basically a military history buff who enjoys recreating historical battles on a table surface using painted lead or plastic miniature soldiers. The wargamer will typically choose an order of battle from a specific battle or campaign, identify the regiments that comprise brigades or divisions in the opposing armies, and then paint specific regiments to build miniature armies.

This requires a considerable amount of historical research on military uniforms, flags and standards, and command structure and organization before the wargamer can even think of applying the first coat of paint to his miniature figures. Once the research phase is completed, the painting begins and it can take up to a year to paint enough miniatures to field a respectable number regiments for both sides.

Set of Rules

Then the wargamer must decide on a set of rules that he can use to govern his tabletop battles. There are a number of professionally published rules set for every historical period imaginable, from Hannibal up to the 20th Century.

More often than not though, the wargamer will create his own set of rules, based on his research and interpretation of battle craft in the chosen wargame period. This can involve research into weapons and firing ranges, movement rates and deployment drill in order to create a realistic simulation of warfare and tactics.

Finally, the day comes when the wargamer can place his miniature armies on the table top, dust off a set of rules for the game, and attempt to play out an historical or fictitious battle scenario. The rules often employ dice or cards to inject an element of randomness into the table top battle and helps to offset the historical hindsight that benefits the table top general.

For example, a gamer simulating the commander of an American brigade at Germantown would probably not waste his time attacking the Chew House, because history books tell him that this would doom his chances for a victory. But inject the randomness of a die roll, coin flip or card draw, and perhaps his troops attack the Chew House anyway. Likewise, the Americans at Eutaw Springs may or may not stop their attack in order to loot the British camp if a system of random chance is injected into the game.

Introducing the Historical Re-enactor

I am on shakier ground when it comes to discussing living history re-enactment of the American Revolution. I do participate in a French and Indian War unit portraying a soldier in the French regiment Bearn, circa 1757, but my experience in this part of the hobby is somewhat limited.

Like the wargamer, the re-enactor has an interest in military history; however, rather than simulate history with miniature soldiers, the re-enactor wants to experience the battle and camp life first hand. He joins a regiment that portrays one of the British or American regiments, learns how to drill, fire a musket or rifle, and joins other groups of re-enactors at encampments or tactical demonstrations.

The re-enactor conducts extensive research on his uniform and regiment so that his portrayal of a British or Continental soldier is historically accurate and complete. In other words, he will not use synthetic materials to create his uniforms unless there is no alternative and he will not make the mistake of wearing a wristwatch or modern eyeglasses whilst portray his soldier. Why? Because the 18th Century soldier didn't wear a Timex watch or button his coat with plastic buttons because these items did not exist in 1776.

Historical Accuracy

The striving for historical accuracy extends from the simulated battle field to the off-duty encampment. I can recall getting a stern lecture from my unit commander about the evils of drinking a can of soda pop on a hot summer day. So the re-enactor adapts by quenching his thirst with a tin cup full of water (or a quick nip of soda pop inside one's own tent when the public isn't looking).

Least one think that it is all work and hardship, the real fun begins when the opposing forces take to the field and simulate a small battle. Safety is the paramount concern on the field, and so edged weapons are generally not allowed and it is a distinct no-no to point your musket at another person. So volleys are fired into the air so that the musket blast and paper wadding do not strike and injure a fellow re-enactor or spectator.

On the field, the smoke begins to settle over the ground, following several loud pop-pop volleys, rendering the opponent invisible. The noise makes it difficult to hear commands and you can't see much of anything. Now you begin to realize that war is no game. If it's a warm summer day, your musket becomes too hot to handle after a few rounds have been fired and you develop a terrible thirst. Still, you wouldn't miss this experience for anything.

Common Ground

I have admittedly glossed over the surface of what it is like to wargame and to participate in a living history simulation of 18th Century warfare. However, you can see that there is much common ground between the wargamer and the historical re-enactor. Both share an intense interest in (in our case) the American Revolution and both hobbies require a considerable amount of research into uniforms, drill and tactics.

It is my hope that I can bring both sides of the hobby together so that we can share our research and our experiences and in the process, uncover more information about the period and add to our collective knowledge. I would encourage wargamer and re-enactors alike, to share their hobby expenences with the rest of the readers. Who knows, maybe in the process we can recruit one another into the other's hobby. Wouldn't it be a grand sight to someday see 2,000 re-enactors on one field of battle?

Along these lines, I have printed a schedule of events sponsored by the Brigade of the American Revolution and its midwest sister organization, the Northwest Territory Alliance (NWTA). If you would like to see what living history is all about, then by all means, check out one of these events as a spectator and give some thought to participating yourself. Many of the units have spare equipment that they lend to newcomers who want to dip their toes into the waters of reenactment. I hope to see some of the readers at one of these events during 1997.

The Year Ahead

It is my hope that we can learn more about battalion level tactics from re-enactors and apply their knowledge to our table top wargames. At the same time, I hope to uncover some first hand or secondary sources about individual battles and campaigns of the American Revolution and publish said accounts in this journal.

I also seek articles about the battles, weapons, campaigns and personalities of the American Revolution and to dispell some of the myths about the conflict that many of us accept as truth. For example, many of us do not realize that the conflict was as much a civil war between Patriots and Loyalists as it was a war of independence from England. This civil war in the Carolinas was particularly bitter and often barbaric, but our history books tend to brush this unpleasant episode into the background.

I also seek information about the types of flags that Continental regiments carried into battle circa 1777-1778. Any help in this area, particularly with regard to Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland regiments would be most appreciated.

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