It was a good year! Thirty-six individuals competed across a spectrum of five Revolutionary War games at RevCon during Prezcon in Charlottesville, Virginia last week.
As always, players either played in only a single favorite game, in multiple games, or they competed in all five games in pursuit of the coveted “George Washington Award” for excellence in American Revolutionary War gaming. This year’s “George,” as we affectionately call the plaque, was once again provided by friend of the series Tim Miller with Miller EG Designs. We are grateful to Tim for his generosity.
Small Battles of the American Revolution: There are many interesting American Revolution battles that are simply too small for the Battles of the American Revolution series scale (200 yards/hex, 100 men/strength point and 1 hour/turn). That’s why I’m pleased to report that Bruno Sinigaglio is designing the first “Small Battles of the American Revolution” game!
In the Small BoAR series, the base scale will be 25 yards/hex, 12 men/strength point and roughly 7.5 minutes/turn. At this scale individual units are identified as carrying predominately muskets or rifles, and all infantry units will be able to fire (something that is abstracted at the current BoAR scale). Fire results are also more granular with results such as “reform”, “recoil” and “shattered” now possible. At this scale, cavalry will have the ability to charge, and players will be able to put cavalry in reserve during movement and then to charge!
The first game in the series will be Cowpens, which lends itself perfectly to this smaller scale. This game introduces a new unit type (Skirmishers) and terrain features (cane brake and “gentle slope”). Research on this battle has been extensive, including a day-long visit to the battlefield by Bruno, developer Dave Stiffler, and BoAR series designer Mark Miklos. The result is what might be the most historically accurate Cowpens battle map ever produced.
Other Small BoAR designs in progress are the Battles of Hubbardton and Bennington by Curtiss Fyock and Cooch’s Bridge by Rob “Cappy” McCracken.
Update from Mark Miklos:
Battles of the American Revolution: Volume 11
The Battle of Green Spring Plantation
I am hard at work designing volume 11 in the Battles of the American Revolution series, The Battle of Green Spring Plantation. Fought in Tidewater Virginia in July 1781, this battle was the immediate prelude to Yorktown and represents Cornwallis’ last victory during the American Revolution.
British forces had been rampaging virtually unchecked in Virginia until General Clinton, expecting a Franco-American attack against New York City, requested Cornwallis send him reinforcements. As ordered, Cornwallis moved his army from Williamsburg, VA to Jamestown Ferry on the James River, intent upon crossing over to Portsmouth.
Shadowing the British in Virginia were the Marquis de Lafayette, Baron von Steuben, and “Mad” Anthony Wayne. Their combined forces of crack light infantry, Pennsylvania Line, and Virginia militia remained just out of reach. Deceived by British “deserters” and run-away slaves into thinking the British had already crossed the bulk of their forces over the river and that only a rear guard remained holding the ferry, the impetuous Lafayette, and the equally impetuous Wayne, rushed ahead to defeat this exposed element of the British force in detail. Little did they know that Cornwallis had laid a trap into which the Americans obligingly fell. Only the heroics of Wayne and his Pennsylvanians prevented disaster.
The Battle of Green Spring Plantation will feature a historical scenario and a campaign game. Very little new chrome will be added to the core series rules in this volume although rules for skirmishers, who played a key role in springing the British trap, are being developed. Counter density will approximate that of Saratoga.
The sketch map, reflecting on-site and archival research, is complete as is the British Order of Battle. American Order of Battle and Exclusive Rules are being written as this goes to press. We anticipate Green Spring Plantation to be ready for P-500 in 2024.
I didn’t know he was doing that. I occasionally saw him pointing his phone at me but assumed he was taking some still shots. I hope you enjoy hearing the story as much as I enjoyed telling it.
We were blessed with good weather. As late as the night before, we were concerned that we might have to cancel because of the threat of thunderstorms in the middle of the day. Overcast and damp when we started, and it was sunny when we finished as you can plainly see in the final video installments.
We were so fortunate to have several members of the local battlefield restoration committee at Butts Hill Fort where we began our tour. They added granular detail to the story and led small groups around the fieldworks. They were prepping for a Centennial celebration the next day which was just plain good luck for us. They were very gracious, and I know our folks were grateful for that added experience.
The scenario for the Final match was “Howe’s Grand Assault” at White Plains. Father Todd and I each wanted the British and so we bid. It only took one round. He bid zero and so I prevailed with a bid of 1 army morale point. I surrendered it from my at-start morale, and we completed the game set-up. Father Todd rolled for General Washington’s combat modifier and was successful in bringing Washington into the game with a combat DRM of “1” vs. a possible 0. In a classic example of turn-about being fair play, his Militia Attrition die roll yielded the worst possible outcome and he had to remove seven militia counters from his deployed forces. The seven units he selected amounted to 1,300 men! The roads to upstate N.Y. and Connecticut must have been clogged with this human flotsam and jetsam as they streamed homeward, wanting nothing to do with His Majesty’s forces. He made his secret die roll to determine his Ruse de Guerre set-up and we drew our starting hand of two Opportunity Cards each. We were ready to start playing. It was 10:00 AM.
We tied our third-best attendance record for Battles of the American Revolution at the WBC this year with 31 players participating. Among those were eight new, unrated players which speaks to the continued popularity of the series. Also participating this year were six of the top ten AREA rated players which made for good leavening within the field.
I conducted a scheduled demo (since AGM Rob “Cappy” McCracken was an unfortunate late-scratch and couldn’t attend) as well as two 1:1 tutorial for individuals who couldn’t make the demo. Among these folks, two showed up to play.
We ran six Heats to qualify eight players for the single elimination quarterfinals. In-all, 52 separate games of BoAR were played from Heat #1 through to the Final match. It was a long week for those players who committed wholeheartedly to the event, including the three players who had selected BoAR as their WBC team game. On the other hand, the Swiss-Heat format provided others with maximum flexibility to come and go as their overall schedules allowed. It was a nice mix.
Mark Miklos, designer of GMT’s 10-volume Battles of the American Revolution series, recently attended the Camden Burials honoring fallen soldiers from the 1780 Battle of Camden, South Carolina and shares his experience in the following article. Enjoy! -Rachel
It has been suggested by author David Smith in his book, Camden, 1780 (Osprey Campaign Series, #292) that fully one third of all the battlefield casualties suffered by American arms during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution occurred at the Battle of Camden. It is no surprise, therefore, that relic hunters in the 1990s stumbled upon the shallow grave of a soldier while digging for musket balls, buttons and other artifacts of war.
That chance encounter was later verified by Mr. James Legg, Archeologist with the University of South Carolina’s Institute of Archeology & Anthropology in 2001. Tasked with surveying the battlefield, which then as now is primarily undeveloped long-leaf pine forest, Legg thought to interview relic hunters who had been scouring the area for decades. As a consequence of those interviews and his own exhaustive, 20-year effort to find artifacts, another thirteen bodies were discovered and the Camden Burials project was eventually born. Forensic anthropologists working for the Kershaw County, South Carolina Coroner’s Office were enlisted in 2020 and tasked with the exhumations and the study of the remains.
More recently the American Battlefield Trust, working in cooperation with the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust and the Historic Camden Foundation, has been granted an easement by the timber company that currently owns the land, to interpret the site. In addition, the battlefield has been added to the Liberty Trail, a comprehensive network of historic sites and parks spread across the state to highlight the pivotal role South Carolina played during the struggle for American Independence.
When it was announced that a reburial with full military honors would be held for these soldiers, and given that Camden is only a three and a half hour drive from my home in the Atlanta area, I made it a priority to attend. The ceremonies were held April 20-22, 2023. The impact they made on me will last a lifetime.
Below is a great interview from The Players’ Aid at WBC 2022 with Dave Stiffler, Rob McCracken, and BoAR series designer Mark Miklos. In this interview, they discuss Small BoAR, the new American Revolution Tri-Pack including Monmouth, Germantown, Newtown and Oriskany, and lots more! Enjoy! -Rachel
Twenty one players joined the BoAR tournament at the WBC this year. While that number is a bit lower than our average draw it was nevertheless a respectable showing for a down-year overall. And, with six Heats plus a Quarter Final, Semifinal, and Final we played a total of 42 games representing 218 playing hours. That’s not too shabby.
Among those twenty one players were four of the top-ten A.R.E.A. rated players, a player who had been on the A.R.E.A “Inactive List” for a while, and three players brand new to BoAR tournament play. My AGMs Rob McCracken & Dave Stiffler and I want to thank everyone who played this year whether you joined for only a single Heat or played in the entire event.
Below is the last in a 3-part AAR series from Mark Miklos covering the Battles of the American Revolution tournament at WBC 2019. Parts 1 and 2 can be found here and here. Enjoy!
