Battle Road Project

 In for a penny in for a pound.

  First the what:

Almost 250 years ago the column of British regulars went into the towns around Boston to destroy or collect 'stores of war' from the local citizenry. 

They were met by uncoordinated efforts of small units of militia from dozens of those small towns. The militia forces didn't stop the column, but did make it cut short  its mission. These same militia units, with an effort unforseen by the British command in Boston,  harassed by the column with musket fire to the point of threatening the column's the destruction.  Eventually a bigger column was sent out to meet and cover the detachment on its journey back.

Now the why:

The actions  have been done often on the table top but the actions that day are part of the warp and woof to being an American,  and maybe even a little more so being a New Englander.  So a little bit of history to supplement booklets like Battle Road, films like April Morning, etc.  Plus the action can be done for a small number of castings, which I will need to paint. 

Now some of the how.

The rules will be Rebels and Patriots, they fit the bill for giving units differentiated abilities.Working out the set up and what will be needed for the game.

At present the plans include:

The British column will have at a unit of 12 light  company infantry,  two units of 12 Grenadiers, a 6 man unit of light company skirmishers.  

The Americans will have five units of 6 skirmishers.  These 'embattled farmers ' have no bayonets . One militia unit of 12 for desperate situations.  One or two of these will be armed with rifles.  There may be some 'mission creep' since I already know that the British will need a few mounted officers.  

The terrain is simple, a fragment of the road from  Concord Bridge and the Concord Green  back to Boston.  Lots of ground to cover, and for the British to also carry their wounded. Almost twelve feet of very lonely road.  Having been to the Memorial park a few times, the feel and look of the road should be doable on a twelve foot long table. 

The two Concord locations will be shown as the kits from Things in the Basement are being used, as well as the Captain Smith house. 

https://www.thingsfromthebasement.com/store/p930/Hartwell_Tavern_-_Complete_Set.html

 

No captions today, the photos explain the builds. Or the planned builds. Thee are two 'New England Houses'  beyond these kits listed, I may very well include them on the table.

And all this in time for Patriots Day.  Maybe 2025 Patriots Day.  

I ordered from Things in the Basement this Monday morning,  they emailed me in the afternoon afternoon the order has been shipped.  Got the package earlyFriday.