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'A gaping silken dragon,/Puffed by the wind, suffices us for God./We, not the City, are the Empire's soul:/A rotten tree lives only in its rind.'

Wednesday 21 March 2012

1812 - Canada, not Russia

At last, I have had the chance to add a little more paint to my Upper Canada Militia. I am still at the block painting stage with these fellows, but in the unusual colours of blue 'trowsers' [sic] and green short jackets, a result of the shortages in Canada as it faced the aggression of the Imperial Republic, still at the early stages of its expansionism:

These fellows are the rather neat Hat Peninsular War British infantry, of the pre-Belgic shako period. When finished they will join their brothers in arms from the Upper Canada Sedentary (now we're talking!) Militia in their civvvies, with rather fetching 'round hats', Lower Canada Select Embodied Militia (Vive le Roi!!), and some regulars, seen here in their 'barracks':


Until recently, I have relied on three Ospreys for the period, one, British Forces in North America, 1793-1815, by the prolific, and rather marvellous, Rene Chartrand, illustrated by Embleton pere.  
Chartrand is incredibly learned in the military history of North America, and his barbed asides (thrusting into the thick historical hides of the partisans of that most infamous revolution against His late Majesty, George) enliven his many Ospreys. Imagine my delight recently when I discovered that last year he published what must be the authoritative account of British and Canadian forces in the War of 1812:

This - A Scarlet Coat: Uniforms, Flags and Equipment of the British in the War of 1812 (Ottawa, Service Publications, October 2011) - is a wonderful book, and an absolute must for the enthusiast of 1812. It is pricey, and only available from Canada or the United States, but how pleased I am that I have a copy. And for those who wish to read of the aggressors, M. Chartrand has also penned a matching volume on the blue coats.

6 comments:

  1. Nicely painted militia unit there and it is nice to see a different area of fighting. I am jealous as I can never paint soft plastics.

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    1. Indeed, there is a real variety of troops for the war. I have some Revell British rifles waiting to do shift as the Glengarry Light Infantry - a unit of great fame. The other attraction is, for most actions, the numbers involved were, by European standards, small, and one can quite easily field all units involved, often at a ratio of 1:10. As for soft plastics, well no Banana Oil was involved (did that puzzle the entire wargaming world in the 1960s and 1970s?), but a base coat of PVA, which is the key.

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  2. Very interesting. I considered something very similar, before I became mired in the Peninsula. I may steal the idea of using Hats roundhatted Spaniards as militia though. Intriguing.

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    1. 'Mired' is the word, Sir! I have always steered clear of the Peninsula and its gratuitous horrors. Full marks for identifying the round hats! A rather mixed bag as a box of figures, but the only chaps with the all-important 'topper'.

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  3. Super looking militia chaps on good solid heavy bases,can we expect a skirmish with them soon?

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    1. Skirmish? Er, well ... manouevres perchance. I have figures waiting to take on the role of Canadian light infantry, Royal Artillery, and dragoons. But, um, none of the rascals from the Republic as yet. Perhaps in time for the 200th anniversary of the END of the war.

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