Black Powder Rebellion!

Very rarely do I write reviews. I don't consider myself an expert on the periods for which I paint little men, nor do I think others particularly care what I think. However, the American War of Independence is one of my periods of concentration and this book seemed worth the effort.

I just got my copy of Rebellion! for Black Powder. The book was written by Stephen Jones and published, of course, by Warlord Games. To be honest, the main reason I pre-ordered the book was to get the exclusive American officer sculpted by Alan Perry (I don't mind recycling drummers and standard bearers, but I am a sucker for distinctive officer models). I have never played Black Powder, but I enjoy the spirit in which the game is written and presented.

While I have not read the book cover to cover, simply flipping through revealed the extensive use it will see. First of all, Rebellion! is crammed full of great color photos of Perry AWI models deployed on stunning terrain. I guess putting on the critic hat I would say that a few of the pics appear a bit fuzzy or out of focus and several more could have benefited from better lighting, but the majority are top quality. As someone who has published wargame books full of photos it is something to which I am sensitive, but none are so bad as to detract from the overall presentation. Most of the book is laid out in the standard two column format and is easy to read.

The Exclusive Mini

Rebellion! features a thorough summary of the conflict across the different theaters of the war, but my favorite part is the army guides. These are worth the price of the book on their own. They cover the armies of Britain (including Hessians and American Loyalists), America (broken into four separate regions), France, and the Native American Indians. Each section covers organization, the various arms (infantry, cavalry, etc.), and uniforms of the forces. There are charts to cover specific units where such details were known. As I mentioned, I haven't read everything yet, but I see very little on the flags of the period. Highbrow AWI gamers will no doubt be annoyed to see the stars and stripes waving proudly over some of the American units...

There are also several pages on the weapons and tactics of the period and capsule biographies of the most prominent commanders on each side.

Finally we come to the scenarios. There are nineteen battles from Bunker Hill to Gloucester Point. The introduction to this section outlines the special rules needed to give Black Powder the proper feel for the period. Each scenario is presented with historical background, orders of battle, maps and terrain, deployment, and objectives. These are great scenarios for any rule system, not just Black Powder (and even make great set ups for fictional games in many horse and musket periods, not just the AWI).

Rebellion! provides inspiration to fuel collectors, painters, and wargamers. There is a wealth of information in the book, as well as a bibliography for more reading. You can also read Stephen Jones' designer notes here.

In case you can't tell, I highly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the American War of Independence. I'm off to pore over the uniform guides!

The Return of the Gostelowe Return Flags

It has been a long time since these were offered on the website, but I only ever posted the first seven or eight. Now you can buy them from the LoA shop. If you order both sets, we will send the 13th flag (rumored to be carried by the 1st New York in 1777) free...

Gostelowe Return 01-06

Gostleowe Return 07-11

Gostelowe Return 13

The standards of the Gostelowe Return are named for Major Jonathan Gostelowe who prepared an extensive inventory (or 'return') of arms and other military supplies on hand in July and August of 1778 in Philadelphia. One section of the report is titled "A Return of ye New Standards & Division Colours for ye Use of ye Army of ye United States of America In the Possession of Major Jonathan Gostelowe, Com'y Mil'y Stores". There are thirteen standards, most listed with their color, their device, and their motto.

The standards are based on the designs of Edward R Richardson in his book Standards and Colors of the American Revolution. Besides the descriptions given in the return, Richardson drew on devices of seals designed by Francis Hopkins and Benjamin Franklin and similar iconography from the symbols of currency and state arms of the colonies.

We really don't know who carried these, but here are some speculative choices...

One: Pennsylvania (Philadelphia Militia)

Two: Pennsylvania (Captain James Duncan of Hazen’s Regiment recorded in his journal that the same motto was on a flag he planted on the ramparts of the trenches at Yorktown.

Three: No information

Four: New York (the rising sun symbol is part of New York’s state arms).

Five: No information

Six: No information

Seven: 3rd Virginia (captured at Battle of Waxhaws by Lt. Col. Tarleton).

Eight: No information

Nine: Connecticut (the state ordered all its regiments to use this device on its colors in 1780).

Ten: Massachusetts (similar icons were used on the standard of the Bedford Troop of Minutemen and the state arms)

Eleven: Massachusetts (the state arms has similar symbols).

Twelve: No information

Thirteen: 1st New York (same symbol in drawing on a powderhorn that belonged to a soldier of the 1st New York regiment of 1777).

No doubt gamers who are seeking these have their own theories, but this will get you started. More American flags coming soon...

More Flags!

I am happy to announce we are expanding the period covered by the Quindia Studios flags to include the American War of Independence, starting with five sheets of British infantry that cover most of the units you need for the southern theater.

The first four sheets cover the 7th Foot (1st battalion), 17th Foot (1st battalion), 23rd Foot (1st battalion), 33rd Foot (1st battalion), 43rd Foot (1st battalion), 63rd Battalion (1st battalion), 71st Foot (1st and 2nd battalions), 78th foot (1st and 2nd battalions), and 80th Foot (1st and 2nd battalions)...

The last sheet features British loyalists and includes the King's Loyal Americans, the Queen's Rangers, and the British Legion. These flags are pure conjecture but are based on the conventions of the time. It is possible these units did not even have colors, but I include them for the wargamers and have every intention of using them for units in my collection.

Moving forward I will cover the British units in the northern campaign, the Hessians, American continental and militia units, the Gostelowe Return flags, and even some French! Of course there will also be more flags from the League of Augsburg period including British, Dutch, and Danish from the later part of the period and more flags for the Great Northern War...

You can order them now from the LoA shop!

More French Flags by Quindia Studios

Soon there will be more (9 sheets featuring 27 new regiments) French Infantry flags circa 1693 available in the League of Augsburg store...

As usual, you may order them Heroic LoA size (50x50mm), Bold Quindia Studios size (40x40mm), or Humble Realistic size (30x30mm).

Death Korps of Krieg

A small squad of DKoK Grenadiers...

Love the skull masks! These are my Militarum Tempestus equivalent in the new list.

Death Korps of Krieg

Here is another unit I painted a few months ago and never got around to photographing...

These Death Korp of Krieg Engineers are Veterans in the new codex, with the Demolitions and Grenadier Doctrines. They are armed with shotguns, two plasma guns, and a heavy flamer. Annoyingly the new codex does not allow you to give your sergeant a Basic Weapon, but mine is armed with a shotgun like the rest of the squad.

I like the short coats on these models. I painted the piping on the uniform red to make them stand out among their brethren on the tabletop, even though such displays are probably seen as frivolous among the Death Korps.

I have a small squad of grenadiers up next...

For the Emperor

Things are still not really back to normal, but I did have a few minutes to take some photos of models I painted months ago... a couple of motivational speakers for the Emperor!

The chaplain is from the Eighth Company of the Red Scorpions and the commissar for my Death Korps of Krieg army (more pics of units from the DKoK over the next few weeks).

The photos look a little washed out, but that's what I get for rushing!

In Reserves

No doubt you have noticed my lack of posts of late... real life has become rather real over the last few months and I have precious little free time. I've also had trouble focusing my efforts resulting in a mishmash of half baked ideas and half completed projects. Barry has been left holding the fort on the LoA blog as well (thankfully he is prolific and a little mad so he is well up to the task). I hope to resume life as usual in a bit...