Tag Archives: French

French and Indian War: Mounted Officers and Characters from Sash and Saber Castings and Warlord Games

In the close forests on 18th-century North America during the French and Indian War, the vast majority of the skirmishes and battles among French, Briitsh and Indian forces took place on foot among individual warriors. That said, especially among Europeans, mounted officers still held a place on many battlefields.

Of the hundreds of figures in my collection, few are mounted for this very reason. Aside from that, I’m not a big fan of painting horses although I’ve developed some quick techniques to get tabletop quality mounted models on the table. With this in mind, I recently set to fiishing up some horses and riders for the period.

First up, I bought the excellent three-figure set of British Characters from Warlord Games. This trio includes the young Virginia Colonial Militia officer Lt. Col. George Washington, a mounted figure of British Lt. Col. George Munro and General James Wolfe on foot. These metal figures each come packed with some real animated personality, and I’m a particular fan of the young Washington brazenlt cocking his pistoal as he charges forward.

One other Warlord figure is a plastic officer on a rearing horse. I pulled this figure from the Field Artillery and Army Commanders box made for the American War of Independence. This is one of the few plastic figures in my entire collection, but its sprue provided some options for choices in heads and poses. I’ve modelled mine as a British officer, and atop his bucking horse he is serviceable as a command figure for the earlier period.

To these Warlord figures, I also added four figures — two more British and two French — from Sash and Saber Castings. These sculpts are from the huge line of FIW figures launched via Kickstarter that makes it one of the broadest lines currently available for the period. Like the Warlord models, the Sash and Saber figures tend more toward a leaner, smaller 28mm scale. The horses reveal a lot of detail and varied poses while riders can be a bit flat in their facial expressions.

Together, this half-dozen mounted officers made for a bit of a break in my usual rotation of purely foot figures. Set at the lead of dozens of other soldiers in the American wilderness, they’ll be a great fit with any number of units of my tabletop.

French and Indian War: French Regulars from AW Miniatures

The majority of my French figures for my French and Indian War collection tend toward irregular Canadian miltia and Compagnies Franches de la Marine troops. To supplement them, I’ve endevoured to add some models to represent more regular French troops to the mix that became a greater battlefield presence particularly as the war went on.

For my French regular troops, I first turned to UK-based AW Miniatures for their stout 28mm scupts which scale well with most of my other figures. To create two units, I picked up two of their eight-packs of French regular infantry (FIW30) and supplemented them with a three-pack of French regular command (FIW31) and one additional standard bearer (FIW37).

Together, this gave me two ten-figure units of French regulars. I like the mix of poses and headwear, as well as their bayonets tipping their muskets. One officer, my favorite of the bunch, sports a broad mustache with a sword at the ready and a commanding hand pointing his troops forward. For the standard bearers, I printed period French flags on paper, attached and stiffened them with white glue.

I am not generally a fan of painting white uniforms, but the blue waistcoats, lapels and cuffs, as well as the yellow-trimmed tricornes, provide a pretty stunningly graphic contrast. Once deployed, twenty of these French regulars on the table in a double-ranked firing line really present an imposing force as they must have in the many of the pivotal FIW battles in which they fought.

French and Indian War: Compagnie Franches de la Marine from Galloping Major Wargames

Fan favorite Galloping Major Wargames launched its second Kickstarter campaign in July 2017 with a line featuring Compagnies Franches de la Marine. Billed as “regular soldiers recruited in France for colonial service,” this 28mm campaign added seven new packs to their catalog, plus a single character figure which instantly became one of my favorite.

I ordered three packs of figures (FIW FCFI, FIW FCF2 and FIW FC3) featuring soldiers and command clad in “Canadian/outpost” clothes and wearing a mix of bonnets and tuques. I chose to paint them up in a variety of colors so they mix equally well with my Canadian militia units or stand alone as recruited French soldiers.

These soldiers were commonly posted at forts and fought in battles all across the French and Indian War era, so they come in pretty useful in a lot of gaming scenarios. Overall the poses are pretty basic in loading, at the ready, advancing and firing, with a little extra personality in the command figures. Other figures in the Kickstarter featured more formal short jackets and tricorne hats, and the entire range is now available for sale through the company’s website.

The gem of the entire offering is the individual Daniel Hyacinthe de Lienard de Beaujeau figure. A Canadian officer and veteran of King George’s War, Beaujeau was an inspiration to his men and often led them into battle bare-chested and dressed in Indian garb. He died in the opening minutes of the Battle of the Monongahela in July 1755 and remains a somewhat legendary character of the FIW period.

I’m always glad to add more Galloping Major figures to my collection, and the Beaujeau figure really made this campaign worth it.

French and Indian War: Woodland Indians from Galloping Major Wargames

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To add yet more Indians to my French and Indian War 28mm collection, I’ve turned again to a current favorite miniatures manufacturers — Galloping Major Wargames. After a recent project using GM’s Provincials and supporting their recent French Marines Kickstarter, I filled out a direct order from the UK with a few of their Indian models which didn’t disappoint.
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GM miniatures are the among the largest in my collection, cast at a 28mm heroic scale. That said, I found my first purchase of their Indians to be just a bit smaller than their other figures I own. The size of the models presents the opportunity for a lot of detail and individual personality, especially in some great facial expressions.
These Indians present a more traditional look with chests bared and dress in leather loincloths and leggings. Knives, hatchets, jewelry, powder horns and various shoulder-slung bags equip these figures nicely for any campaign. As a bonus, the six figures I ordered were supplemented with a seventh figure thrown in for free, a nice thing GM offers to larger orders. And with these Indians complete, I’m sure there will be more of those orders to Galloping Major Wargames in my future.
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French and Indian War: Woodland Indians from Knuckleduster Miniatures

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In my recent quest to add more variety to my French and Indian War Native American forces, I’ve had to look a bit beyond the usual FIW miniatures manufacturers. My core requirements in seeking new models is that they are metal, a reasonable representation of tribes present during the FIW period and that they scale well at 28mm with my other models. With this criteria in mind, I was happy to stumble across a rack of Knuckleduster Miniatures at a convention earlier this year.
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Knuckleduster, as the name evokes, focuses largely on an expanding line of Old West themed miniatures in 25mm, 28mm and 40mm scales. Beyond this core offering, they also have a small selection of British, American and Canadian soldiers for the War of 1812. And, it’s within this era’s figures where you will find a small collection of Native Americans usable in the FIW.
Packaged as “Grand River Nation” Indians, Knuckleduster offers two packs of six models, one in summer dress and one in winter clothing, plus a two-model leader pack. I picked up the summer dress pack for $10, a pretty good deal for a half dozen metal models cast at a true 28mm scale. These are really beefy models with lumpy facial features but with some nice detail in jewelry and clothing. Their dress generally depicts the European-influenced style from trade goods many Indians wore during the FIW era. And, it is their scale, style and variety that makes these a great hidden find for my Native force collection.
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French and Indian War: Woodland Indians from North Star Military Figures

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With the majority of my core 28mm forces for my French and Indian War gaming complete, I’ve been focusing on filling out my model variety with more Indian figures from a number of manufacturers. The FIW lends itself to having a lot of different Native American models on the table, given the numerous North American tribes which participated in the conflict. Most of my Indians are from Conquest Miniatures distributed by Warlord Games but my next few posts are focusing on some small units I’ve been adding from other makers.
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First up are a half dozen figures from North Star Military Figures. Until recently, Northstar was manufacturing figures packaged specifically for use with the very popular Muskets & Tomahawks rules set. With a second edition of M&T pending at some unnamed future date, Northstar recently put their figure line on hold.
Fortunately I had grabbed a pack of Indian reinforcements at a convention earlier this year. The six models, armed with muskets and hatchets, all come with nice detail of equipment, jewelry and some hooded frocks. I chose to paint them in colorful reds, greens and blues, reflecting the steady trade of European goods during the era. The sculpts are solid with a real 28mm feel a bit larger than my Conquests which stand closer to 25mm. With these Northstar Indians, my native forces have grown in variety and scale as I build out a larger group of allies for my French.
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French and Indian War: Rogers’ Rangers From Galloping Major Wargames

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The French and Indian War (1754-1763) called for new tactics for old, professional armies steeped in traditional European warfare. With hostilities among French, French-allied Indians and Canadians, British and colonists of all stripes erupting over territorial disputes on the frontier of North America, locally-mustered soldiers were of paramount importance to all sides.

Robert Rogers, born in Massachusetts of Irish immigrants in 1731, was key in raising forces in New Hampshire for the British in the mid 1750s on the eve of the conflict. With animosity toward Indians in the region, his recruits formed what came to be known as Rogers’ Rangers. Operating out of Northeastern and Central New York, the company of some 600 men who formed Rogers’ Rangers participated in some of the key actions of the war including the Battles on Snowshoes and the Battle of Carillon, both in 1758.

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Aside from his leadership during the FIW, he also contributed significantly with his “Rules of Ranging.” Written in 1757, the 28 rules provide an outline for the discipline and tactics which defined Rogers’ own brand of guerilla-style wilderness war. So visionary in their combination of Native American style warfare with some European principles for the rules of war, some version of these have been used by US Army Rangers to this day.

Following the end of the FIW, Rogers continued to work with the British military during Pontiac’s Rebellion that swept through the Great Lakes in 1763-1766 and finally during the American War of Independence in the 1770s and 1780s. Despite having devoted his entire adult life to warring on behalf of the British in North America, Rogers died in 1795 poor and in obscurity in England at the age of 63.

Rogers’ Rangers in Popular Culture

Robert Rogers has managed to hold considerable space in pop culture for generations. Even though his alliances were with British rule during his decades-long career, his legend rests squarely within a particular type of colorful American frontier character who succeeds by breaking the rules and forging his own path. The persistence of his legacy has been helped by comics, books, movies and TV shows that continue to today.

Northwest Passage, the 1937 bestseller by Kenneth Roberts, probably did the most keep the legacy of Rogers alive in pop culture. The book’s popularity led to a 1940 MGM epic starring Spencer Tracy. Nearly two decades later, Rogers came to life anew in a 1958-1959 NBC half-hour show of the same name. This time Buddy Ebsen portrayed the famed ranger during the post-World War II boom in western and frontier pop culture.

The modern iteration of Robert Rogers appears in the AMC series TURN: Washington’s Spies, now into a fourth season. While the story focuses on the spy network surrounding New York City in the early days of the American Revolution, considerable space is given to Rogers and his complicated relationship with the British a decade after the FIW.

Modelling Rogers’ Rangers

For my Rogers’ Rangers, I’ve turned again to Galloping Major Wargames. GM figures, like those I modeled as my FIW Virginia Provincials, have a chunkier heroic 28mm scale I love for their detail and personality. The ranger miniatures offer some variety of irregular outfits and weapons including muskets and hatchets. Headgear include the signature bonnets as well as tricorn and rounded jockey hats with fronts cut and cocked back to the crown and detailed with white edging.

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The famed short forest green jackets are detailed with lighter green lapels and cuffs finished with silver buttons over earthy red vests. For leggings, I mixed the figures up with colors ranging from a light brown buckskin to a more colorful blue.

Together, I feel my painted Rogers’ Rangers typify how they would have looked as they fought in the fields and forests of 18th-century North America.

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Major Robert Rogers and “Duke” Jacob, a freed former slave who is said to have been a member of Rogers’ Rangers

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