Nations In Arms: July 2022

Another great find on Youtube was a channel run by a group of North American wargamers called Little Wars TV: Little Wars TV - Home If you are not familiar with it, I suggest you check it out - it is a surprisingly professional set up. One of the things they have done is take the old (and excellent) set of AWI rules: Loose Files and American Scramble by Andy Callan and add a few bits and twists of their own. The result is a set of rules called Live Free or Die, which give a great game. There is also a scenario pack available and several free scenarios also feature on their website. Our regular group has played them a few times and really enjoyed them. Two of their main virtues is that they are short (4 pages) and simple, but seem to cover all the bases pretty well. The games move at a great pace and the rules have really re-ignited my interest in this period, which had stalled a bit of late.

That said, I thought I would show some of the units I have painted up since my last AWI post - which was nearly 3 years ago!

First up is my interpretation of Lee's Legion (only done the infantry so far). This was a high class unit, led by "Light Horse" Harry Lee, which distinguished itself in numerous engagements. They are based in pairs, rather than 4s so they can deploy in skirmish order if desired. At 20 figures, it is somewhat over-strength, but much smaller and it becomes a bit fragile in action.

Next is only my second unit of continentals: the 1st Maryland, to go with the 2nd Maryland that I painted some while back. At 36 figures, this gives me a very nice Maryland brigade to serve as a core for my American army. The flag is another Mark Allen hand painted job (as are all the the banners for this collection). I have portrayed most of them in the light infantry cap as per the Blandford illustration, although it probably isn't that accurate. As with my other American units, I have mixed up the headgear and dress to same extent to make them a little less uniform. Some units will get this treatment more than others, but I wanted my Maryland brigade to be a bit smarter, as befits the elite of the army.