04.16.07

Patriotic Fire

Posted in Books and Audiobooks at 9:00 am

Those of you who are my age (roughly 53) will appreciate this story. When my wife was younger (under 10), one of her favorite songs was the Battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton. Nobody knows why she liked it, but she and her parents all claim that she wore out several records playing that song! She used to march around her room singing it!

This is another one that I listened to on books on tape from Simply AudioBooks. I find it difficult at times to listen to historical books on tape as it is hard to get mental pictures of the main protagonists that I can carry through the book and get the story straight. This is not a scholarly historical work, starting out as a story about Groom’s search for information on an ancestor that was mentioned in dispatches at the battle. It is, however, a superb narrative history.

Groom begins by discussing what drove him to look for his ancestor’s story. He then sets up the Battle of New Orleans in the context of the War of 1812 and other events occurring in Europe and the Americas. This takes up about 4 CDs worth of material. By necessity, much of the story centers around Andrew Jackson. I can’t help but conjure up a picture from the movie with Charleton Heston and Yul Brenner when Jackson’s old friend/assistant/batman, Mr Peavey turns to Jackson in the middle of a stressful meeting and says, “drink your milk, Andy, it will help you sleep…” or words to that effect. For some reason, Groom never mentions this incident! Whether one likes Jackson or not, much of the credit for the American success rests on his shoulders. The other individual who played an important role in the battle was, ironically, Jean Lafitte, a privateer/pirate/businessman. Lafitte and his brother were suppliers of much of the munitions used by the Americans at the battle, even though Lafitte had been approached by the British to support their efforts against New Orleans.

The presentation of the battle is well done and the reader (listener) gets a good appreciation of what conditions the soldiers of the period had to labor through. Conflicts in command, and critical decisions are also well presented and discussed in as fair a manner as possible when there are conflicting stories.

Since the book was on CD, I could not look at footnotes as I sometimes do, but in the final segment of the book, Groom goes into a detailed discussion of sources. The contradictory nature of primary sources is laid out and Groom discusses why he chose what he did. What is of particular value is Groom’s argument for the authenticity of Lafitte’s memoirs that have been the subject of much heated debate. He lays out the historiography behind them and in the final analysis, claims that he does accept them as having been written by Lafitte.

All in all, this is a rollicking good story about a pivotal event in American history and worth the time to peruse in paper or listen to on CD. It was so inspiring that I may even add a Baratarian battery to one of my nation’s forces.

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04.14.07

Terrain techniques

Posted in Fictional Countries, Tips and Techniques at 9:58 am

I came across a new way to create a wild grass look the other day as I was perusing some internet sites recommended by various mailing lists I am on. I will post the link to the site that inspired this when I find it again (it was from an ECW battle – I believe it was here but the page won’t lod as I am writing this). The individual who had created the grass took Teddy Bear Fur*, trimmed it with barber clippers, and then painted it with acrylics. The green base painted fur was then dry brushed with lighter greens and browns to provide contrast and variety. The overall effect was breathtaking in a large scale battle. I thought I’d give it a shot.

The building ruin above was created using Hirst Arts pieces I had left from casting jobs and mounted on MDF (medium density fiberboard). I primed the piece with a flat black spray paint and then dry brushed it with acrylic paints. Once I was happy with this, I took the fur I had, trimmed it down with scissors, painted the first layer of paint in Goblin Green, and then dry brushed it with Vermin Fur. I left part of the fur in its original color to provide variety. I then cut it to shapes I needed to flesh out the piece and glued the fur down with plain Elmer’s Glue (PVA for those who don’t live in the south).

I think the effect is quite nice. I need to do a better job of two things, in my opinion:

1. making the transitions between pieces smoother,
2. cutting the grass shorter soo it doesn’t look like the African Veldt.

Anyway, here it is. Comments solicited.

* Ian Armstrong has provided a definition of Teddy Bear Fur for non-US residents. It is reproduced here in full:

Teddy bears and other fluffy toys are caught and skinned to provide us wargamers and model railway enthusiasts with faux grass for making terrain.

Some bears are actually farmed in large factories so that the raw material is thus cheaper ;0)

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04.09.07

Grenadiers pass in review

Posted in Fictional Countries at 5:56 pm

This weekend I finished up the grenadier company of my Spencer Smith regiment. We had a weather front move through here that dropped the temperatures down into the 20s and brought snow to the city. That would not be bad except for the fact that the city gets snow so infrequently that we have no snow removal equipment. There was no going out, therefore. Since it was cold and my heater in the workshed doesn’t handle temps well below 30 deg Fahrenheit, instead of going out to the shed and working on terrain, I opted to stay indoors and paint.

This was the first SSM regiment I have painted. By the time I got to the last company, I had the system down… paint the cuff on all of them, paint the left epaulet on each one, then the right, and so on in a variation of assembly line painting. I sealed with GW ‘ardcoat and then with Reaper Brush-on Sealer (which provides a dull coat). Next time I will probably use Dullcote instead as I *really* like the way it dulls things down.

The company consists of 16 rank and file, an officer (not present), a drummer (not present), and a senior NCO (the figure on the front right of the company) denoted by stripes on the right sleeve.

I’m working on a name and history for the regiment. My initial impulse was to establish this regiment as being drawn from the ranks of the Académie Gastronomique of Freedonia. Known as the Regiment de l’Académie Gastronomique the rank and file consists of dropouts from the ranks of Freedonia’s finest chefs. During the siege of Mayonne, the Regiment distinguished itself by pouring vats of boiling chocolate on attacking forces, a maneuver known in books on tactics as “The Fondue.” This part of the siege has become known as the Mayonnaise Miracle.

The other approach was to refer to them as the Regiment der Kriegakademieköche. Roughly translated from German this means the regiment of war academy cooks. Somehow it doesn’t have the same ring in German as it does in French.

Later this week, I’ll get the entire regiment out for a parade and photo before starting on my RSM regiment.

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04.05.07

Procrastination is a good thing… sometimes

Posted in Fictional Countries at 8:13 pm

I had been bemoaning selling my old copy of Wooden Ships and Iron Men by Avalon Hill (mine was a copy from the late 70s???) as I had wanted to bring naval battles between small squadrons into my campaign. As I was looking through a pile of items I had planned on putting up for sale on Bartertown, lo and behold I saw the old, trusty boxed set awaiting rescue! Huzzah! Now once I get a couple of land scenarios under my belt I can send reinforcements under naval protection to relieve the forces on the island of Neutralia. Sometimes it pays to be slow….

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04.03.07

The Wars of Robert the Bruce

Posted in Ancients, Books and Audiobooks at 12:10 pm

I first read The Bruce Trilogy back in the late 70s when I was stationed in Germany. I did not know much about the period as my focus was on the Napoleonic and gunpowder eras so I started with a novel to perk my interest. The story came in three separate books then and I remember having difficulty finding the last one as I got it through the military library system. Ten years later my mother went to visit my brother in Scotland and asked me what I wanted her to bring back. This was small enough for her to bring back in her luggage (my mother packs heavily and went to play golf, so I didn’t think she’d have time or space for more!)The first volume starts with Edward Plantagenet deposing John Baliol as King of Scots and bringing Scotland under his personal rule. Robert Bruce, a 22 year old Earl, slowly grows disenchanted with the English King and is torn between his duty to Scotland and his oaths to Edward. William Wallace rises in rebellion and the story revolves initially around Bruce’s reactions to Wallace’s rebellion. Once Wallace is betrayed and executed, Bruce becomes one of the joint Stewards along with John Comyn, his archenemy. Tranter covers the changes in Stewards and the events leading up to the death of Comyn at the hands of Bruce or his supporters (Tranter lays the murder at the feet of one of Bruce’s supporters although Bruce dirks Comyn in a chapel). Robert Bruce assumes the crown and begins his war to free Scotland. The story ends with Bruce’s defeat at the siege of Perth.The next volume begins with Bruce’s departure from his wife and child and the beginning of his guerrilla war in the style of William Wallace. The book ends with the battle of Bannockburn. The final volume covers the post-Bannockburn period to Bruce’s death and ends with a nice vignette on James Douglas on Crusade.

Tranter’s view of Robert Bruce can be summed up in the description of the reading of Edward II’s settlement terms with the Scots:

And so it was that the son of the man [the Lord of Northumberland] who had hectored, lectured, reproved, deceived, and harried the Bruce on so many occasions through the years, had to read aloud the words which were the justification and coping-stone of the hero-king’s thirty years of striving and suffering, indeed of his entire career….

I enjoyed a number of things about the books. Not being familiar with the era, I found to my surprise that I could keep track of the major players, their personalities and contributions. Tranter’s personalization of each character made them come alive for me. The only glaring shortcoming was a lack of maps to keep me oriented. I found that I had to keep referring to the map in volume one and three to figure out who was doing what where. All in all a highly recommended series, particularly if you can balance it out with another book on the Bruces.

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03.26.07

The Light Company

Posted in Fictional Countries at 7:08 pm

	I have finished the light company for my first Spencer Smith regiment (note the green border on the tricornes). The officer (gold border on the tricorne) is at the right front of the column.
	I did go back and do more blacklining on the regimental commander. You can see the difference in the two pictures here – before is to the left, after to the right.

Now I only have the Grenadier company to finish and the regiment can be posted to Neutralia.

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03.25.07

Progress Report

Posted in Fictional Countries at 8:00 am

Since I have the Keuhankans painted, I need to have someone for them to attack to start the 1st Neutralian War! I picked up a 4 company regiment of Spencer Smith figures several months ago and have been working on them company by company in between other projects. I have yet to name the regiment so if anyone has any snazzy suggestions, please send them my way.

Here twelve members of the company are in the “Painting Formation”. I mounted these on popsicle sticks with super glue and then used Reaper’s MSP* Brush-On Primer to lay down the base. Devotees of Young’s book will notice that I am short a few figures for a full strength company. Four are actually painted as are the officer, drummer and NCO!

The NCOs for the line companies and light company are shown to the left. I know they are NCOs because I painted chevrons on their right sleeves. I am using a red border for the tricorne to denote the line company figures and a green border for the lights. These are still shiny as I have only applied the GW ‘Ardcoat and not sprayed them with Dullcote as of yet.

I painted the regimental commander and a couple of officers as a “proof” of the uniform and to see if I could make these understated figures look good on the wargame table. The NCOs show the black lining I used and the mounted officer shows how they look sans lining. I plan on going back and adding the lining to the commander because I like the way it looks. It takes about 10 minutes a figure to add this but the effort is worth it as it shows up well at a distance. The flag is a paper printout of some I got off of the Warflag Yahoo Group, I believe (this is a fairly big group with 1300+ members). I sprayed the figure with Dullcote so the flag colors (printed with an inkjet) would not run.

*Master Series Paints

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03.19.07

7YW Bibliography

Posted in 7YW, Books and Audiobooks at 10:26 am

I was searching the internet for a review on a set of rules and found this on TMP from 2004. I pulled it out and reformatted it for general use. The author was Steve Bruce. His email to me is as follows:

I don’t have any problem with you putting that up on your site. Its actually part of an old bibliography from the history I wrote a few years back on British, French, Spanish and Indian Colonial history 1700 to 1774. Also wrote a full rule set with army lists for all the various conflicts, points picks or random generation basis, plus if I recall correctly orders of battle with named officers for over 500 battles and skirmishes.

I never got around to publishing any of it as real work took over my life unfortunately.

General & campaign histories

• Battle for a Continent. H. Bird. Oxford University Press 1965.
• The French and Indian Wars. The Story of battles and forts in the wilderness. Edward P. Hamilton. New York 1962.
• Navies in the Mountains. Harrison Bird. NY. Oxford University Press 1962.
• Lake Champlain and Lake George. Frederic Van De Water. Ira J. Friedman Inc 1969
• The French And Indian War 1754-1763, The Imperial Struggle for North America. Seymour I Schwartz. Simon and Schuster Academic Reference Division, 1994.
• Guns at the Forks. Walter O’Meara. University of Pittsburg Press. 1979.
• Empire of Fortune. Francis Jennings. New York: Norton, 1988.
• Montcalm and Wolfe. Francis Parkman. Boston: Little, Brown, 1909.
• A Set of Plans and Forts in America. Reduced from Actual Surveys. John Rocque. London: Mary Rocque, 1763
• The British Empire before the American Revolution. Vols. 1 – 8. Lawrence Henry Gibson. New York: Knopf, 1930 – 1961.
• Quebec 1759, the siege and the battle. C. P. Stacey. The Macmillan company of Canada Ltd. Toronto. 1959.
• Braddock at the Monongahela. P.E. Kopperman. University of Pittsburgh Press 1977.
• Atlas of Early American history. Lester J. Cappon.
• Betrayals; Fort William Henry and the Massacre. Ian K. Steele. New York. Oxford University press 1990.
• Siege 1759. The Campaign against Niagara. Brian Leigh Dunnigan. Old Fort Niagara Association. Old Fort Niagara Assoc. 1986.
• Uniforms of the Seven Years War. John Mollo & Malcolm Mcgregor. Blandford Press 1977.
• The Wilderness War. Allan W. Eckert, Little, Brown & Company, Boston, 1978
• British maps of colonial America. William P. Cumming, University of Chicago. 1974.
• The colonial civilisation of north America. 1067 – 1763. Louis B. Wright. Eyre & Spotswood Ltd. 1949.
• The Indian Wars. Robery Utley & Wilcomb Washburn, American Heritage Publishing 1977.
• The General History of the Late War : Containing it’s Rise, Progress, and Event, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America 5 Volumes. John Entick. E. and C. Dilly, London, UK 1764-66
• A Compleat History of the Late War, or Annual Register of its Rise, Progress, and Events in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America 2 Volumes. J. A. Wright. David Steel, London, UK 1765
• The History of the Late War in North-America, and the Islands of the West-Indies, including the Campaigns of 1763 and 1764 with His Majesty’s Indian Enemies. Thomas Mante. London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1772.

Indian Histories

General

• The Indians of the western Great Lakes. W. Vernon Kinietz. University of Michigan Press. 1940.
• Warpaths. Invasions of North America. Ian K. Steele. Oxford University Press. 1994.
• The middle ground. Indians, Empires and Republics in the Great Lakes region, 1650-1815. Richard White. Cambridge University Press 1991.
• Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History. Edited by: H. Tanner, A. Hast, J. Peterson, R. Surtees. Newberry Library. Norman. University of Oklahoma Press 1987.
• Wilderness Politics and Indian Gifts. The Northern Colonial frontier 1748 – 1763. W. R. Jacobs. University of Nebraska Press. Lincoln 1950.
• Adairs History of the American Indians. Ed. Samuel Cole Williams. NY. Prom Press. 1973.
• American Woodland Indians. Michael G. Johnson and Richard Hook. Osprey Publishing London 1988.
• Sketch Book ’56 Vol. 4. Indian Allies. Ted Spring 1991.
• True Stories of New England Captives. C. Alice Baker. Heritage Books. 1990.
• 500 Nations. Alvin M. Josephy Jr. Alfred A. Knopf. New York 1994.
• A Century of Dishonour: The Early Crusade for Indian Reform. Helen Hunt Jackson. 1881.
• American Indian Tomahawks. Harold Leslie Peterson, Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York, NY 1971
• “A Kind of Running Fight”: Indian Battlefield Tactics. Leroy V. Eid, The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, 71, 2, April 1988.
• “National” War Among Indians of Northeastern North America. Leroy V. Eid, The Canadian Review of American Studies, 16, 2, Summer 1985. Delaware, Shawnee & Ohio tribes
• Shawnee! James H. Howard. Athens. Ohio University Press 1981.
• King of the Delawares: Teedyuskung 1700 – 1763. Anthony F.C. Wallace. Philadelphia 1945.

Iroquois & Mingo

• The Iroquois Restoration: Iroquois Diplomacy on the Colonial Frontier 1701-1754. Richard Aquila. Detroit: Wayne State University Press 1983.
• The Canadian Iroquois and the Seven years war. D. Peter Macleod. Dundurn Press. Toronto & Oxford. 1996.
• The Trail of the Iroquois Indians. G. Elmore Reaman. Frederick Muller Ltd. London 1067.
• Lords of the Valley. Sir Willaim Johnson and his Mohawk Brothers. F.W. Seymour. New York and London 1930.

Potowatomis & Ottawa

• The Potowatomis: Keepers of the Fire. R. David Edmunds. Norman. University of Oaklahoma Press 1978.
• History of the Conspiracy of Pontiac and the war of the North American tribes against the English colonies after the conquest of Canada. Vols 1 & 2. Francis Parkman. Lttle Brown 1851.
• The Siege of Detroit: the journal of Pontiacs Conspiracy. Milo Milton Quaife. Lakeside Classics. Chicago. R.R. Donnelley and Sons 1958.
• Abenaki, Etchemins & Micmacs. The Abenakis and their History. Rev. Eugene Vetromile. New York. James B. Kirker. 1866.
• Micmacs and Colonists; Indian white relations in the maritimes 1713-1867. L.F.S. Upton. Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press 1978.
• The Western Abenakis of Vermont, 1600-1800 War, Migration, and the survival of an Indian people.
• Colin G. Calloway. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman and London 1990.

Cherokee, Caddo, Choctaw, Creek, Natchez and Chickasaw

• The Caddo Indians of Louisiana. C. H. Webb. Baton Rouge. Louisiana
• Archaeological Survey & Antiquities commission. 1986.
• On the convergence of Empire; the Caddo Indian confederacies 1542 – 1835.
• Foster Todd Smith. New Orleans. Tulane University 1989.
• Historic Indian tribes of Louisiana. From 1754 to the present. Fred B. Kniffen. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press. 1987.
• Louisiana. Ed. Alice Forties. XV Century historical Assoc. 1914.
• The Louisiana Historical Quarterly. Vol. 18. No. 4. Oct. 1935.
• American Indians of the Southeast. Michael Johnson and Richard Hook. Osprey 1995.
• History of the Choctaw, Chickasaw and Natchez Indians. H.B. Cushman. New York. Russell and Russell. 1972.
• The Chickasaws. Arrell M. Gibson. University of Oklahoma Press 1971.
• The History of the Chickasaw Nation. James H. Malone. Morton & Company 1922.
• The Creek frontier. David H. Corkran. Norman. University of Oaklahoma Press 19??
• Old Frontiers, the story of the Cherokee Indians. John Brown. Arno Press & the New York Times. 1971.
• The Cherokee Frontier. 1740-1762. David H. Corkran. Norman. University of Oaklahoma Press 1967.

Western Tribes

• The Imperial Osages. G. C. Din & A. P. Nasatir. Norman, University of Oklahoma Press. 1983.
• The Fox Wars. Edmunds and Peyser. University of Oklahoma Press. 1939.
• American Plains Indians. Jason Hook and Richard Hook. Osprey 1985.

French & Canadian forces and perspectives

• Montcalms Army. M. Windrow. Osprey Publishing 1973.
• La Marine: The French Colonial Soldier in Canada 1745-1761. Andrew Gallup, Donald F. Shaffer. Heritage Books, Inc. Bowie, Maryland 1992
• Adventures in the Wilderness: The American Journals of Louis-Antoine de Bougainville, 1756-1760. Louis-Antoine de Bougainville. Edward P. Hamilton, ed. Norman: University of Oklahoma, 1964.
• Jesuits and Savages in New France. J.H. Kennedy. Hamden Connecticut, Archon Books 1971.
• New France the last phase. 1744-1763. George Stanley. Toronto 1967.
• The Seven Years war in Canada 1756 – 1763. Compiled by Sigmund Samuel. Toronto. Ryerson press 1934.
• Montcalm’s Correspondence. Anonymous, The Report of the Public Archives of the Dominion of Canada for the Year 1929, F. A. Acland, Ottawa, Canada, 1929.
• Bougainville, Soldier and Sailor Maurice Thiery, Grayson and Grayson, London, UK 1932
• Montcalm, The Marvelous Marquis. Meriwether Liston Lewis, Vantage Press, New York, NY 1961
• An old frontier of New France. 2 Vol. Frank H. Severance. New York. Dodd Mead & Co. 1917.
• Canada, the war of the conquest. Guy Fregault. Trans. M. Cameron. 1969.
• Louisbourg: a Key to a continent. F. Downey. Prentice Hall 1965.
• Royal Fort Frontenac. Compiled & Translated by Richard A. Preston. Ed. Leopold Lamontagne. Pu. Champlain Society. Toronto 1958.
• Colonial Mobile. P.J. Hamilton. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston 1910.
• Annals of St. Louis in its early days under the French and Spanish dominations. F. Billon. Arno Press / New York Times.
• Louisbourg from foundation to fall. 1713-1758. J.S. McClennan. The book room 1978.
• The French Soldier in Colonial America. Rene Chartrand. Museum restoration service. Ottawa 1984.
• Glorious Old Relic. The French castle and old fort Niagara. Brian Leigh Dunnigan. Old Fort Niagara assoc. 1987.
• French Infantry Regiments. 1740-1762. R.D. pengal 1982.
• The Lace Wars. Parts 1&2. L.&F. Funcken. Ward Lock. 1977.
• Historical Atlas of Canada. Vol. 1. Toronto Canada. R. Cole Harris. University of Toronto Press 1987.
• Acadia; the geography of early Acadia to 1760. Andrew Hill Clark. Madison Milwaukee & London. University of Wisconsin Press 1968.
• Louis XV’s Army. Vols. 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5. Rene Chartrand and Eugene Leliepvre. Osprey 1996 & 1997.
• Canadian Military Heritage Vols. 1 & 2. Rene Chartrand. Art Global Inc. 1995.
• Memoirs on the Late war in North America between England and France. Pierre Pouchot. Michael Cardy. Ed. Leigh Dunnigan. Old Fort Niagara Assoc. New York. 1994.
• Memoir of a French and Indian war soldier. “Jolicoeur” Charles Bonin. Ed. Andrew Gallup. Heritage Books Inc. 1993.
• The Ancien Regime. French society 1600-1750. Pierre Goubert. Orion Books. London. 1979.
• The French armies in the Seven Years war. Lee Kennett. Duke University Press. Durham. 1967.
• Sketch Book ’56 Vol. 2. The French Marines. Ted Spring 1991.
• Costume in New France 1740 to 1760. A visual dictionary. Suzanne and Andre Gousse. La Fleur de Lyse. 1997.
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. 2 1741 – 1770. University of Toronto Press. 1974.
• The Battle of Restigouche. Judith Beattie & Bernard Pothier. Canadian Historic sites. No. 16.
• Mississippi, a History. John Ray Skates. W.W. Norton & Co. Inc. New York 1979.
• Spanish American Frontier. A.P.Whitaker. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1927.
• A Campaign of Amateurs: The Siege of Louisbourg, 1745, Raymond F. Baker, Canadian Historic Sites, Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History, # 18, National Historic Parks and Sites Branch, Parks Canada, Indian and Northern Affairs, Ottawa, 1978.
• An appearance of strength The Fortifications of Louisbourg. Bruce W. Fry, Studies in Archaeology, Architecture and History, National Historic Parks and Sites Branch, Parks Canada, Environment Canada, 2 Vols.
• The Soldiers of Isle Royale, 1720-45, Allan Greer, History and Archaeology #28, National Historic Parks and Sites, Parks Canada, Environment Canada, 1979 ( Ministry of Supply and Services Canada 1979)
• Officers of Isle Royale (1744) Accommodations and Biographical Summaries. A.J.B. Johnston, Manuscript Report Number 270, Parks Canada, Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, 1978.
• Sergeant Koller in Peace and War, Louisbourg Portraits: Life in an eighteenth-century garrison town. Christopher Moore, Macmillan of Canada, 1982.
• Social Structure and Life in Louisbourg, in Canada: An Historical Magazine, Volume 1, Number 4, Robert Morgan and Terrence D. MacLean, June 1974, Published Quarterly by Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada, Limited in Association with McMaster University.
• Study of Military Costume at Louisbourg. Gilles Proulx, Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site, In-House Report, May 1971.
• A Loose and Disorderly People: British Views of the French Canadians of the Upper Great Lakes, 1760-1774. Kerry A Trask. Voyageur Magazine, The Historical Review of Brown County and Northeast Wisconsin, Vol. 5, Number 2, winter, 1988/89.
• The French Army in America Edward P. Hamilton, Museum Restoration Service, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 1967
• French Arms Drill of the 18th Century, 1703-1760 J. A. Houlding, Museum Restoration Service, Alexandria Bay, NY 1988
• The Soldier Off Duty. Francois Miville-Deschenes, National Historic Parks and Sites, Environment Canada, Parks Service, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 1987
• The Garrison of Quebec. Gilles Proulx, National Historic Sites, Parks Service, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 1991.
• A Different Kind of Courage: The French Mililtary and the Canadian Irregular Soldier during the Seven Years’ War. Martin L Nicolai, Canadian Historical Review, 70, 1, 1989.
• American Colonial histories and forces
• Dictionary of American Biography.
• Arms for Empire. A Military History of the British colonies in North America. 1607-1763. D.E. Leach. The Macmillan Company 1973.
• An enquiry into the causes of the alienation of the Delaware and Shawnee Indians from the British interest. Charles Thompson. London. J. Wilkie 1759.
• Fort Johnson. Historic structure report. Preservation League of New York. Sept-Oct. 1982.
• French and Indian cruelty. Peter Williamson. Thoemmes Press 1996.
• The Population of British Colonies in America before 1776. A survey of Census data. Rupert V. Wells. Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton University Press 1975.
• Dawnland Encounters. Indians and Europeans in Northern New England. Colin Galloway. University of New England. Hanover & London.
• Colonial America. A History. Richard Middleton. Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 1996.
• Sketch Book ’56 Vol. 5 The women of the French war era. Ted Spring 1991.
• The Most Extraordinary Adventures of Major Robert Stobo. Robert C. Alberts. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1965.
• That Dark and Bloody river. Alan W. Eckert. Bantam Books. 1995.
• Journal of Nicholas Cresswell, l774 -1777. Cresswell, Nicholas. Dial Press, Norwood MA., 1924.
• The northern colonial frontier. 1607 – 1763. Douglas Edward Leach. Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc. 1966.
• Arms and Armor in Colonial America, 1526-1783 Harold L. Peterson, Stackpole Co., Harrisburg, PA 1956
• Round Shot and Rammers Harold L. Peterson, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA 1969
• The Early American Way of War: Reconnaissance and Appraisal. Don Higginbotham, William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Series, 44, 1.
• Anglo-American Methods of Indian Warfare, 1676-1794. John K. Mahon, Mississippi Valley Historical Review, 45, 1958.
• Colonial Warfare in North America. Edward P. Hamilton, Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 80, 1969.
• Sails and Steam in the Mountains : A Maritime and Military History of Lake George and Lake Champlain Russell P. Bellico, Purple Mountain Press, New York, NY 1992
• Roots of Conflict: British Armed Forces and Colonial Americans, 1677-1763. Douglas Leach

Rangers

• The battle on Snowshoes. Bob Bearor. Heritage Books. 1997.
• Robert Rogers of the Rangers. John R. Cuneo. New York: Oxford University Press, 1959.
• Reminiscences of the French War. Major General John Stark. Luther Roby. Concord NH. 1831.
• Sketch Book ’56 Vol. 1 Rogers Rangers. Ted Spring 1991.
• Sketch Book ’56 Vol. 3 Highlanders and Provincial rangers. Ted Spring 1991.
• Journals of Major Robert Rogers. Robert Rogers. London: n. p., 1765.
• North & South Carolina & Georgia
• Colonial Forts of South Carolina. 1670 – 1775. Larry E. Ivers. Columbia SC 1970.
• An Historical Account of the Rise and Progress of the Colonies of South Carolina and Georgia. Hewatt 1779
• British Drums on the Southern Frontier. The Military organisation of Georgia 1733 – 1749. Larry E. Ivers. University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill. 1974.
• Militiamen, Rangers and Redcoats. The military in Georgia 1754-1776. James M. Johnson. Mercer University Press. Georgia 1992.

Maryland and Delaware

• French and Indian war. Roster of Maryland troops. 1757 – 1759. Maryland Historical Magazine. Vol. 5. 1910.
• Colonial Delaware, a history. John M. Munroe. KTO Press. Kraus Thompson Organisation Ltd. Millwood NY 1978.
• Delaware Archives Military Volume 1. Public archives of Delaware. Mercantile Printing Co. 1911.
• Colonial Soldiers of the South. Murtie June Clark. Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc. 1983.

Virginia

• The Old Dominion at War; Society, Politics & Warfare in Late Colonial Virginia. Titus, James. Colombia, S. C. : University of South Carolina Press, 1991.
• New Light on Washington’s Fort Necessity. J. C. Harrington. Richmond: Eastern National Park and Monument Association, 1957.
• Major General Adam Stephen and the cause of American liberty. Henry M. Ward. University Press of Virginia.
• Duty, Honour or Country. General George Weedon. Harry M. Ward. American Philosophical Society. 1979.
• Chronicles of Border Warfare. Alexander Scott Withers, Cincinnati: The Robert Clarke Company, 1895. Reprinted by the McClain Printing Company, Parsons, West Virginia, 1994.
• The Extraordinary Adventures of Major Robert Stobo. Robert C. Alberts, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1965.
• Contrecoeur’s copy of George Washington’s journal for 1754. Donald H. Kent (ed). Eastern National Parks and Monument Association, 1989.
• Washington. Douglas Southall Freeman, New York, Macmillan Publishing Co., 1968.
• Virginia and the French and Indian Wars. Hayes Baker-Crother. Chicago 1928.
• The Virginia Frontier, 1754-1763. Louis K. Koontz. Baltimore 1925.
• The Journals of Major George Washington. Washington, George. Williamsburg, Virginia, 1754.
• Virginia’s Colonial Soldiers. Lloyd Dewitt Bostruck. Baltimore Geneolgical Publishing Co. Inc. 1988.
• Christopher Gist’s Journals with Historical, Geographical, and Ethmological Notes and Biographies of His Contemporaries. William M. Darlington, ed. Pittsburgh; n. p., 1893.
• Fort Cumberland. Allan Powell, Parsons WV, McClain Printing Co., 1989.
• The Journal of Major George Washington. Reprinted facsimile Williamsburg VA.: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, 1959.
• The Writings of George Washington. Ed. John C. Fitzpatrick. Washington D.C., 1931- 44. Compiled by Peter Koch. 1994.
• An Extract from a Journal kept by An Officer in the Army under Col. Andw. Lewis on the expidition against Our Enemy Ohio Indians. Colonel William Fleming.
• Battle of Point Pleasant October 10, 1774. Livia Nye Simpson-Poffenbarger.

Pennsylvania

• Forts on the Pennsylvania Frontier 1753-1758. William A. Hunter. Harrisburg 1960.
• The Settler’s Forts of Western Pennsylvania. John DeMay.
• The First Rebel. N. Swanson, Farrar & Rinehart, 1937.
• Pennsylvania Provincial Soldiers in the Seven Years War. R.S. Stephenson. Pennsylvania History.Vol. 62, No. 2 (Spring 1995).
• Pennsylvania Provincial Soldiers in the Seven Years War. Matthew Ward. Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, (April 1995).
• Order, Discipline, and a few Cannon: Benjamin Franklin, the Association, and the Rhetoric and Practice of Boosterism. Sally F. Griffith. Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, (April 1992)
• The Pennsylvania Men of the American Regiment. William A. Foote. Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, (January 1963).
• Connecticut & Rhode Island
• Rolls of Connecticut men in the French and Indian war 1755 – 1762. Vols. 1 & 2. Connecticut Historical Society. Heritage Books 1993.
• Israel Putnam, Pioneer, Ranger, and Major-General. William Farrand Livingston, The Knickerbocker Press, 1901.
• War and Society in Colonial Connecticut. Harold E. Selesky, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT 1990
• Rhode Island in the Colonial Wars. A list of Rhode Island soldiers and sailors in the old French and Indian war. 1755 – 1762. Howard M. Chapin. Providence Historical society 1918.

Massachusetts & Nova Scotia

• Freemen, Freeholders, and Citizen Soldiers: An Organizational History of Colonel Jonathan Bagley’s Regiment, 1755-1760. Brenton C Kemmer. Heritage Books, Inc., Bowie Maryland 1997
• Redcoats, Yankees and Allies. Brenton C. Kemmer. Heritage Books. 1998.
• A Peoples army. Massachusetts soldiers and society in the seven years war. F. Anderson. University of North carolina Press. 1984.
• Massachusetts Officers in the French and Indian wars. 1748 – 1763. Edited by Nancy S. Voye. Society of Colonial wars of Massachusetts. 1975.
• Massachusetts officers and soldiers in the French and Indian wars. 1755 – 1756. Ed. David K. Goss & David Zarowin. New England geneological Society. 1985.
• The History of Massachusetts. The Provincial Period. John Stetson Barry. Boston 1856. Phillips Sampson and co.
• Commonwealth History of Massachusetts. Vol. 2 . Ed. Albert Bushnell Hart. The States History Company. 1928.
• Nova Scotia’s Massachusetts. 1630 – 1784. George A. Rawlyk. McGill Queens University Press. Montreal and London 1978.
• Why Did Colonial New Englanders Make Bad Soldiers? Contractual Principles and Military Conduct During the Seven Years War. Fred Anderson, William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Series, 38, 1981.
• A People’s Army: Provincial Military Service in Massachusetts during the Seven Years’ War. Fred Anderson, William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Series, 40, 1983.

New Jersey

• The Story of the Jersey blues. Col. C. Malcolm B. Gilman. Trenton Printing Co. 1962.
• History of the Oranges to 1921. Vol. 1. David Lawrence Pierson. Lewis historical publishing Co. 1922.
• Laws of the Royal Colony of New Jersey 1746-1760 Vol. III. Bernard Bush. New Jersey Archives. Series 3. NJ State Library. Bureau of archives & history. Trenton NJ. 1980.
• New Jersey in the Colonial Wars. An Address Before the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey at the University Club, New York by The Hon. Richard Wayne Parker. December 19, 1919.
• Origin and Sketch of the “Jersey Blues” Proceedings of the Historical Society of New Jersey. William H. Benedict. New Brunswick. N. J.
• The French-and-Indian War Fort in Sussex County. Proceedings of the Historical Society of New Jersey,” Vol. XIII, No. 2 (April 1928) Sussex County Sesqui-Centennial September 2, 1903. Ed. Jacob L. Bunnell

New York

• Muster Rolls of New York Provincial troops 1755 – 1764. E. F. De Lancey. Heritage Books. 1990.
• Mohawk Baronet: Sir William Johnson of New York. James T. Flexner. Boston: Little, Brown, 1959.
• Fort William Henry – a history. Stanley M. Gifford. Bullard Press. Glen Falls. 1955.
• Relief is greatly wanted. The battle for Fort William Henry. Edward J. Dodge. Heritage Books. 1998.
• Old Fort Edward. William H. Hill 1929.
• Crown Point. T. D. Titus. Crown Point State historic site. 1993.
• Joseph Frye’s Journal and Map of the Siege of Fort William Henry, 1757. James L., Kochan, ed., The Bulletin of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum, 15.
• An Eyewitness Account by James Furnis of the Surrender of Fort William Henry, August, 1757. William S., Ewing, ed., New York History, 42, 1961.
• A Message to Fort William Henry: An Incident in the French and Indian War. Wilbur R. Jacobs, Huntington Library Quarterly, 16, 1953.

New Hampshire / Vermont / Maine

• A House of hewen timber. Fort Western on the Kennebec. Jay Adams. Fort Western Museum. 1990.
• Lovewell’s Men. Ezra Stearns, NEHG Register Vol. 63, July 1909.
• The Adventure of Captain Lovewell. Frederic Kidder NEHG Register Vol. 7, Jan. 1853.
• Pigwacket. George Evans, Conway, N.H. Historical Society 1939.

British forces, histories and perspectives

• Amherst Papers, 1756-1763, The Southern Sector: Dispatches from South Carolina, Virginia and His Majesty’s Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Edith Mays.
• Amherst and Canada. Louis des Cognets Jr. Princeton New Jersey 1962.
• Wolfes Army. Robin May and G. A. Embleton. Osprey Publishing 1989.
• Military Affairs in North America, 1748 – 1765: Selected Documents from the Cumberland Papers in Windsor Castle. Stanley M. Pargellis. New York, 1936; reprint, New York, 1969.
• Writings of General John Forbes relating to his service in North America. John Forbes. Arno Press 1938.
• An Historical Journal of the Campaigns in North America for the years 1757, 1758, 1759 & 1760. 3 Volumes. Captain J. Knox. 43rd Foot. Greenwood Press. 1968.
• An Accurate and Authentic Journal of the Siege of Quebec, 1759. By a Gentleman in an eminent Station on the Spot. London: J. Robinson, 1759.
• An Authentic Account of the Reduction of Louisbourg, in June and July 1758. By a Spectator. London: W. Owen, 1758
• A History of the 15th (East Yorkshire) Regiment. Robert J. Jones. Unpublished, by kind permission of the Regiment.
• Ever Glorious. The story of the 22nd Cheshire Regiment. Bernard Rigby. Unpublished. By kind permission of the Regiment.
• Ill Starred General. Braddock of the Coldstream Guards. Lee mcCardell. University of Pittsburgh Press. 1958.
• The Bloodybacks. The British serviceman in North America. Reginald Hargreaves. Rupert Davis 1968.
• Wolfe at Quebec. Christopher Hibbert. Longmans Green 1959.
• Lord Loudoun in North America. Stanley Pargellis. Archon Books 1968.
• Britains Sea Soldiers. A History of the Royal marines. Col. Cyril Field. R.M.L.I. Lyceum Press 1924.
• Braddock’s Defeat: The Journals of Captain Robert Chomley’s Batman; The Journal of a British Officer; Halkett’s Orderly Book. Charles Hamilton. ed. Norman, Oklahoma, 1959.
• Records of the Royal Scots. Leask & McCance 1915.
• History of the Royal Corps of Engineers. Vol 1. Whitworth Porter. Reprint 1951. Published by Institution of Royal engineers.
• The History of the Northamptonshire Regiment 1724-1934. Lt. Col. Russell Gurney. Gale and Polden Ltd. 1935.
• The Journal of Jeffery Amherst. J.C. Webster. Ed. Toronto. Ryerson Press 1931.
• History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. 2 volumes. Major Francis Duncan. London Murray 1874.
• An Historical account of the expedition against the Ohio Indians in the year 1764. William Smith. London T. Jeffries 1766.
• The History of an Expedition against Fort Duquesne in 1755 under Major – General Edward Braddock Winthrop Sargent, ed. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1855.
• King George’s Army. Vols. 1, 2 & 3. Stuart Reid and Paul Chappell. Osprey 1995 & 1996.
• British redcoat. Stuart Reid and Richard Hook. Osprey 1996.
• Redcoats along the Hudson. Noel St. John Williams. Biddles Ltd. 1997.
• A History of the uniforms of the British Army. Vols. II, III & IV. Cecil C. P. Lawson. Kaye & Ward. London. 1966.
• An historical memoir of the 35th Regiment. Richard Trimen 1873.
• History of the 12th Regiment. E.A.H. Webb. 1914.
• The Royal North Lancashire Regiment. H.C. Wyley. 1933.
• Records of the 40th Regiment. R.H.R. Smythies 1894.
• The Story of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Sir Henry Newbolt. 1915.
• A History of the Royal Sussex Regiment. G. D. Martineau. 1955.
• Historical Records of the 43rd Regiment. R.G.A. Levinge. 1868.
• Historical records of the 28th Regiment. F. Brodigan 1884.
• Cap of Honour. Story of the Gloucestershire Regiment. D.S. Daniel 1951.
• The Kings Royal Rifle Corps.
• The Battle of Restigouche. Ed. Commodore C. H. Little. Halifax. 1962.
• Tried and Valiant, the 55th Regiment.
• Mad is he? The character and achievements of James Wolfe. Duncan Grinnel-Milne. Bodley Head Ltd. 1963.
• James Wolfe, man and soldier. W.T. Waugh. Louis Carrier & Co. 1928.
• A Journal of the Expedition up the River St. Lawrence; Containing A True and Particular Account of the Transactions of the Fleet and Army, From the Time of Their Embarkation at Louisbourg ‘Til After
• the Surrender of Quebec. By a Sergeant-Major of Gen. Hopson’s Grenadiers. Boston November 1759.
• Fit for Service: the Training of the British Army, 1715-1795. J. A. Houlding, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK 1981
• British Light Infantry in the Eighteenth Century. J. F. C. Fuller, Hutchinson & Co., London, UK 1925
• The British Army of the Eighteenth Century. H. C. B. Rogers, Allen and Unwin, London, UK 1977
• Redcoats in the Wilderness: British Officers and Irregular Warfare in Europe and America, 1740-1760. Peter E. Russell, William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd Series, 35, 4, 1978.
• Factors Behind the Raising of the 80th Foot in America. John R. Cuneo, Military Collector and Historian, 11, Winter 1959.
• The Adaptation of the British Army to Wilderness Warfare, 1755-1763. Daniel J. Beattie in Adapting to Conditions: War and Society in the Eighteenth Century. Maarten Ultee, University of Alabama Press, University, AL 1986

British Highland forces, histories and perspectives

• The Black Watch. Eric & Andro Linklater. Barrie & Jenkins. London 1977.
• Sketches of the Highlanders of Scotland. Col. David Stewart of Garth. Reprint of 1822 edition. 2 vols. John Donald, Edinburgh 1977.
• Officers of the Black Watch. 1729 – 1986. Ed. J.L.R. Samson. Samson books 1989.
• Broadswords and Bayonets. Ed. Robert G. Carroon. Society of Colonial Wars in the state of Illinois. 1984.
• The Fraser Highlanders. J.R. Harper. Historical Publications, the society of the Montreal Military and Maritime Museum.
• 18th Century Highlanders. Stuart Reid and Mike Chappell. Osprey 1993.
• The Black Watch at Ticonderoga and Major Duncan Campbell of Inverawe. Frederick B. Richards. New York Historical assoc.
• Regimental Routine and army administration in North America in 1759. Extracts from company order books of the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment. Ed. Col. R.F.H. Wallace. Army Historical research. 1994.
• Sketches of the Character, Manners and Present State of the Highlanders of Scotland; with details of The Military Service of The Highland Regiments. Major-General David Stewart, Vol I & II, (1825), Edinburgh.
• Historical Record of the Forty-Second, or, The Royal Highland Regiment of foot: Containing an account of the formation of six companies of Highlanders in 1729, which were termed “The Black Watch”, and were regimented in 1739; and of the subsequent services of the Regiment to 1844. Richard Cannon, Adjutant General’s Office (London, 1845)
• An historical account of the settlements of Scotch Highlanders in America prior to the peace of 1783; together with notices of Highland regiments and biographical sketches. John Patterson MacLean. (Cleveland, 1900)
• The New Highland Military Discipline. George Grant. (London: 1757) reprint (1967)
• The Official Records of the Mutiny in the Black Watch, 1743. (London: 1910)

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03.17.07

Closet Cleaning!

Posted in Uncategorized at 12:30 pm

I have posted a list of a number of items for sale on this page. Contact me if anything strikes your fancy. I will be updating it with more to offer periodically.

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03.16.07

Character Generation

Posted in Fictional Countries at 5:51 pm

In the book Setting Up a Wargames Campaign by Tony Bath, there is a system for generating characters with personality. I took the liberty of modifying it slightly and putting it up on my site. Go to this page:

Character Generation

If you don’t like the first one, hit the “Refresh” button on your browser and it will automatically generate another. If you have any suggestions for it, let me know!

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