Review and Outlook

I just returned from a terrific weekend in the Boston area, where my wife and I attended the Tricon wargame convention, organized by Byron Champlin and friends. This was without a doubt one of the best conventions that I have ever attended. There was something there for everyone: from re enactors, to historical lectures, a tour of lhc Bunker Hill battelield in Boston, and of course, a lot of wargames (30 to be exact). I would estimate that there were nearly a dozen vendors of books, games and wargaming products and upwards of 100 people in attendance, a good turnout for a one-day convention.

The actual site was in the Monument Hall in Concord, Massachusetts. The historic North Bridge, site of the first real skirmish between colonists and Crown Forces, was but a short walk from the convention site, while the rest of Minuteman National Park is a short drive down the road, as is the battle green at Lexington. This was my first visit to the Massachusetts sites of the American Revolution and it was a trip that I had long wanted to take.

We arrived in Concord on the Friday afternoon before the convention and took advantage of the sunny fall day to walk from the North Bridge Inn in Concord to the North Bridge site and historical museum. The current bridge is a replica of the original and unlike previous replicas on the site, is thought to be true to the original in appearance.

Memorial

On one side of the bridge, there is a small memorial placque honoring the British soldiers who fought and died on this site, and I found it interesting that a number of flowers had been laid beneath the plaque in memorial. Being somewhat of an Anglophile myself, it occurred to me that it would have been very difficult to choose sides during the Revolution and one can only imagine how different history might have been had the two sides been able to reach some sort of understanding and accomodation to their problems.

The famous minuteman statue is on the opposite side of the North Bridge, and the late afternoon light made it difficult to take a decent picture with my camera, so I had to be satisfied with buying a postcard of the bridge in the visitors center. We crossed the bridge and made the short hike up the hill to the park visitor center.

There, I found an excellent diorama of the fighting at Concord, done in 10mm scale and found that this was sufficient to clarify the events and phases of the battle. The museum also featured two mannequins, one depicting the uniform of Light Company of the 5th Regiment of Foot while the other one featured a colonial militiamen. I also found the historical displays to be quite informative and well worth the visit.

Of course, the best feature of the facility was the extensive collection of books and maps that were for sale. I found a number of tempting books to add to my American Revo1ution library and left the building with a large and heavy shopping bag full of treasures. I will have to make a point of looking into the possibility of mail order service from this facility.

Afternoon Tea

We then retired to the nearby Colonial Inn for afternoon tea in front of a warm and cosy fireplace. Appropriate to the occaision, I order "Boston Harbor Tea" instead of the more common Earl Grey. Afterwards, it was a mere 20-yard stroll over to the Monument Hall, where I poked my head into the doorway to watch the vendors and game judges setting up for Tricon.

There were a number of familiar faces there already, including Byron Champlin, the convention organizer and Dennis Shorthouse of "On Military Matters" (book seller). I made a mental note to revisit On Military Matters and pick up a copy of Warnery's Remarks on Cavalry book, which has just been reprinted in English with an introduction by Brent Nosworthy.

10th Regt of Foot

The next morning, I decided to visit the battle green at Lexington before getting involved in the day's wargaming events. Nevertheless, I couldn't resist visiting Monument Hall first, especially since the front door was being guarded by a smart-looking pair of British Grenadiers from the 10th Regiment of Foot. The 10th had set up a recruiting table just inside the doorway, and they were represented by several members of the light company (in leather cap) an officer and several other grenadiers.

I can't say enough good things about the appearance and attention to detail that this unit puts into their portrayal. One can tell that the 10th takes a lot of pride in their unit and I must confess that I gave a moment's thought to picking up the King's Shilling and signing up on the spot. By the way, anyone wanting more information on the 10th Regiment of Foot can contact Kevin Galligan at 25 Messina Drive, Brockton, MA 02401 for more information.

Apparently, the 10th maintains an active schedule of one major event per month from April through October as well as other off-season winter quarters events. The 10th has participated in reenactment events at Lexington Green, Bunker Hill, Brandywine, Monmouth, Princeton, Trenton and Yorktown, to name a few. They have also appeared at special events in Canada and the United Kingdom and documentaries and television specials. Finally, the 10th Regt. of Foot has had the honor of being reviewed by Presidents Ford and Reagan, President Mitterand of France, Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden, Queen Elizabeth of England and Charles, Prince of Wales. That's quite a pedigree.

40th Regt of Foot

There was a representative of the Light Company of the 40th Regiment of Foot. While I did not have the opportunity to talk with this individual, I should mention that his uniform was every bit as meticulous as those of his compatriots in the 10th.

The 40th portrays the regiment's light company on campaign, with long trousers, rather than knee breeches, and cropped tail coat and floppy hat His uniform showed the obvious wear and tear of campaigning, which lent realism to the portrayal. Again, another example of a wellresearched uniform and portrayal. The 40th is based in Providence, Rhode Island and more information about the group can be obtained by calling Mr. Mels Hobbs at (401) 521-5629, or writing to Mr. Hobbs at 28 Doyle Avenue #1, Providence, RI 02906.

The presence of these fine reenactors at Tricon reminded me of how envious I am of our friends and fellow Journal members who have the good fortune of living on the East Coast or the South where the majority of American Revolution battles were fougt. Imagine, being able to drive to all of these historic sites at a moment's notice or being able to participate in a reenactment event on the actual battlefield, or at the very least, be a spectator at the same event.

This underscores the reason for my continuing interest in the American Revolution, i.e. the ability to have access to the battlefields and historical archives (in English) rather than having to travel overseas to Europe, as one must do to explore sites or archives in my other area of interest, the Seven Years War. Well, lets get back to the convention.

Convention

It was raining on the same day that I went to Lexington, so my wife and I did not spend a great deal of time on Lexington Green and the surrounding area. It was difficult to imagine the minutemen and redcoats facing off on the Green, what with a1l the automobiles buzzing around, however, the Green and surrounding houses are relatively unchanged since the Revolution.

The village of Lexington operates an information center just off the Green that has a nice diorama of the battle featuring what looked to be 40mm figures. It is a good idea to stop here first to view the diorama, and then go outside to inspect the Green. This allows the visitor to better visualize where everyone was and from which direction troops were coming, etc.

OK, back to Concord and Tricon. There were 30 wargames divided relatively equally amongst a morning, afternoon and evening session. In otherwords, something was going on throughout the day. In addition, the convention organizers sponsored five historical lectures including discussions of archeological sites in Lake Champlain and at Fort William Henry, another discussion of SYW tactics by Brent Nosworthy, a presentation by Mark Mocarski about the Battle of Falkirk (which was followed by Mark's spectacular 25mm wargame presentation of the same battle, complete with purpose-built terrain and hundreds of nicely painted Jacobites and Crown Forces), and finally, a presentation by Robert Mulligan about the Clothing Book of 1742 (and how the actuat facing colors of the day differed greatly from those that we see in today's uniform books).

Volley and Bayonet seems to be a popular set of rules in the New England area, what with these rules being used for games representing the Seven Years War (Minden and Gross Jagersdorf), Clive in India (with a unique add-on rule for rocket fire) and the American Revolution. There were also several skirmish level games using home grown rules that featured lots of Indians and scalpings.

One of the most interesting games, from our standpoint as American Revolution enthusiasts, was the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, staged by Mark Nichipor using Loose Files and American Scramble rules (see issue #1 of this Journal) and 20mm miniatures from Frying Pan and Blanket. Mark played the battle in three stages that corresponded with the three Patriot battle lines. Once the British fought their way through the first line, Mark would have the players take a 10 minute break, during which he would rearrange the terrain to reflect the next Patriot line of defense. Then the p1ayers would return and go at it again.

I found this game approach highly innovative and well-executed. I particularly liked Mark's use of 20mm figures, which are small enough to fight large battles, but large enough where one can see the figures and the painted details. I should add that Mark is the head ranger for Minuteman Park in Lexington and Concord and find it interesting that he has an avid interest in wargaming to augment his interest in history. I also noticed that several of the British reenactors stayed around to particpate in the wargames.

Again, this is part of the cross-fertilization of wargamer, historian and reenactor interests that I would like to see more of in the future. Perhaps we will start seeing a larger turnout of wargamers at reenactments, etc.

Bunker Hill Walk

On Sunday, Mark Nichipor conducted a tour of the Battle of Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusens. Approximately 15-20 hardy souls braved the crisp morning air to participate in the tour, which began at the Boston Naval Yard, within eyesight of Old Ironsides.

Mark provided copies of the De Bernier map of the battle, reputed to be the most accurate portrayal of the battle. De Bernier was an engineer in the British army, who had spent a considerable amount of time travelling around the environs of Boston, scouting and mapping the area. He and a colleague traveled in civilian clothing so as not to reveal their presence to the increasingly anti-British populace.

They blew their cover whilst stopping at an inn, where they ordered afternoon tea. This is just one example of the interesting stories that Mark used to augment his retelling of the events leading up to and included in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

While most of the area is now covered with housing and streets, Mark did an effective job of recreating the battle as we walked through the streets of Charlestown and on up to the sight of the Patriot redoubt on Breed's Hill. By the end of the tour, I had a greater appreciation for the logistical problems and other factors that impeded the British attack, as well as a sense of the personal bravery exhibited by the British soldiers and officers.

Likewise, I was impressed with the personal initiative of individuals such as John Stark. All in all, Tricon was a great success as far as I am concerned and I would encourage everyone to mark their calenders for next October for another show. Meantime, I hope that you enjoy issue #2 of this journal. I look forward to getting to work on Issue #3, which will be available at the end of April 1998.

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