I’m taking a break from the Civil war – a few reasons firstly there is a fresh burst of fantastic mods coming out and I want to see how these pan out and also as we say in the UK “Too many cooks can spoil the broth” – Although a mod is a truly great way of freshening up a game too many mods can cause issues so holding off on ACW OOB packs until I can get them working with the new batch of popular gameplay enhancements. I was considering doing Austerlitz but 1/ this has been covered in excellent “KriegsSpiel Napoleon Mod” and 2/ I suspect that the game makers might be considering a move in that direction.
So I’m sticking to research at the moment one that has caught my interest is the War of 1812 it’s a war that a lot of people are not too familiar with (well apart the many history buffs on this forum!) namely due to the fact that it played out during the final few acts of the Napoleonic war and was overshadowed by Napoleon invading Russia in his famous but ill-fated campaign.
A bit of background. The war was fought between June 1812 and February 1815 the main protagonists were the United States of America and Great Britain in addition fighting for the British (and fighting well) were Canadians militia/volunteers and contingents from the Indian Nations under the famous leadership of Tecumseh. Its most famous battle was New Orleans – a battle that was fought after formal terms for ending the war has been agreed in Ghent, Belgium (but not ratified by the US government and news hadn’t reached the men fighting) It was a war which very nearly spectacularly back fired on the fledgling United States with the march into Canada now considered as one of the biggest military blunders in US military history it led to several embarrassing defeats and included the capture and near destruction of Washington DC by British forces in reprisal for the sacking of York in Canada by the Americans. It was also a war where very little was gained by both sides with the biggest loser being the Indian nations who would suffer greatly after the war due to forced displacement and being dispossessed of their ancestral lands - One of the saddest episodes in American history - over the next few decades thousands of Indians would die of disease and starvation. It’s fair to say that today only Canada remembers the War of 1812 in any kind of meaningful way with Isaac Brock and Tecumseh seen as heroes of the Canadian cause and their sacrifice would lead to the Canadian nation that we are all familiar with today. War was declared for the following reasons 1/ Forced Impressment of American Sailors 2/ Trade restrictions on trading with France 3/ British support for Native Americans and 4/ British resistance to further American expansion ...if you are cynical the real reason was the last four points were excuses to grab Canada whilst the British were fighting Napoleon...As Thomas Jefferson famously quoted "The acquisition of Canada this year will be a mere matter of marching".....
In terms of a mod the existing Napoleonic sprites could be employed (although new sprites always welcome!) and there are enough maps out there to simulate the war (ditto the sprites, new maps are always welcome too!) I would like to freshen up the console and game launch pages to give it a “1812 feel”
So research I’m going to look at the weapons employed in the conflict.
Firstly small arms:
The “go to” weapon of the British Army was the famous “Brown Bess” or to give its proper name the British Land Pattern Musket. The origins of the nickname is actually not fully known it could be reference to Queen Elizabeth I - Bess being a popular 17/18c abbreviation for Elizabeth. It could even be named after a prostitute in the Jamaicas immortalized much later in Rudyard Kipling’s poem “Brown Bess” or perhaps a combination of a popular girls name and the colour of the wood used for the stock of the weapon - I personally believe this is the most plausible explanation. The weapon was used from 1722 right through to 1838 the most popular variation was 39 inches long, it had a smooth bore and its effective range between 50–100 yards but in the hands of a skilled marksmen it could be effective up to 120 or 130 yards. There were several variations of the weapon including a shorter cavalry version and a naval version used by the Royal Navy and Marines. It was robust, reliable and easy to repair in the field with interchangeable parts, during the American war of independence Americans would regularly discard their French muskets for the British counterpart (the same was true in 1812). A good infantryman could fire off three rounds a minute although in the heat of battle this rate would probably have been lower. Delivered in a massed volley (something the British were well versed at doing) the effects of the “Brown Bess” could be devastating as well as the follow up charge with the 41.5cm long bayonet!
“Brown Bess” Musket
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Bes ... n_Bess.png
Along with the musket the British also used weapons with rifled barrels the most famous being the Baker Rifle this was used very successfully in the Napoleonic war and was issued to specialized Rifle units such as the 60th and 95th Regiment shorter than the musket (32 inches) it featured a rifled barrel that was far more accurate that the smooth-bore musket, the rifle was effective up to 200 yards although famously in the Spanish Peninsula a French General Auguste Colbert-Chabanais was shot and killed from a range of over 500 yards (his aide was also shot and wounded proving it wasn’t a fluke!) During the war of 1812 the Baker rifle was issued to several specialist rifle units the most famous being Canadian Voltigeurs.
Baker rife
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker_rif ... _rifle.png
The Americans used several different muskets the most popular being the Springfield Model 1795 Musket this was based on the popular French Charleville musket (a musket also still used by the militias of the time). The smooth-bore firearm was the first model manufactured by the US government It was very reliable and slightly lighter (around 9lbs) than the British equivalent (around 10lbs) although it could be prone to fowling in the barrel a later 1812 version was released in small numbers but this saw no service in the 1812 war. Like the Brown Bess it was most effective between 50 and 100 yards and could be fitted with a bayonet, rate of fire was also the same, 3 rounds a minute. American also utilized rifled weapons the most famous being the Kentucky long rifle (or Pennsylvania rifle) it was popular on the frontiers for hunting. The weapon was around 54 inch long and weighed around 8-9lbs it had a spiralled rifled barrel that had an effective range of between 80 to 200 yards although like the Baker rifle in skilled hands there were instances of shots hitting their mark over 400 yards. It was a much-feared weapon although not available in numbers matching that of the Springfield musket.
Kentucky Rifle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_rifl ... ky%27s.jpg
At close range in melee several weapons were employed for the British and American regular forces the weapon of choice was the bayonet or the short sword for rifle companies however unique to the fighting on the American continent the militia’s (American and British) employed long knives and the famous tomahawk (Indian hand axe). Native Indian’s of the period were armed primarily with the Musket and an assortment of “up close and personal” weapons such as tomahawk, hunting knife and a highly effective club made of hard wood – it was primitive but in the right hands deadly. Single shot pistols were used again mainly by militia’s and the navies of both sides however, it was highly inaccurate and had an effective range of only 5 to 10 yards in addition it was hard to reload and once fired its owner would simply use it as a club as trying to reload in close combat would have been unwise.
Tomahawk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomahawk# ... 26.802.jpg
Indian War clubs
https://p2.liveauctioneers.com/406/6088 ... 21_1_l.jpg
http://files.thecobbs.com/a28_lot119_0-max.jpg
http://cdn2.brooklynmuseum.org/images/o ... _view1.jpg
Looking at Artillery and Cavalry next over the next few days but if you have any useful info please post your links and thoughts here
Zeke
