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Monday, February 24, 2014

1st Maryland Infantry Regiment(Smallwood's Regiment)


This regiment is pretty much a must do on many AWI enthusiasts list of units to do as they fought in both the Northern and Southern campaigns with distinction. It terms of the American army I consider them to be an elite regular regiment.

The regiment was first raised on 14, January 1776 under the command of Colonel William Smallwood and fought in most the major battles of the war including The New York  Campaign, Battle of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Camden, Guilford Courthouse before being disbanded on 15 November 1783. The regiment really stood out on Long Island where it virtually by itself  earned the nickname "The Maryland 400" by holding off  some 2000 British long enough for Sterling's entire Brigade to retreat and join the rest of the American army intact by charging the enemy some 6 times, before itself withdrawing. They fought stubbornly in most engagements and only retreated when ordered to do so.

When deciding to do my first Continental unit in coats I knew the first regiment was going to be the 1st Maryland. They were originally in brown hunting shirts, but I decided to do them in the latter Continental army regulation uniform of blue coats with red turnbacks. I painted them to look somewhat like the painting from H. Charles McBarron 1st Marylanders at Guilford Courthouse which I've long admired, but took some liberties. What I like about the painting other then the drama is how it shows even this well equipped regular army unit isn't perfectly uniformed and is how I picture American units to look and not surprisingly is how I model and paint them. It was fun to paint the unit, but time consuming with the color changes all the straps which I find difficult.

The figures are a mix of Perry and Foundry(early Perry) and the awesome flag is from GMB designs. A little on the flag in that to my knowledge nobody knows exactly what flag the 1st Maryland carried so I had the freedom to pick and choose what I wanted. Since GMB does two conjectural flags for the 2nd Maryland and I only use one flag for my American units I decided to give one to the 1st Maryland and the second I'll give to the 2nd Maryland. Since I really like the flag I was very happy to have the choice! 

More units coming soon(ish)!

Thanks for viewing!:-)
Miniature Company-Perry, Foundry


42 comments:

  1. Another splendid painted AWI Regiment Christopher, and nice to have the historical info too!

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    1. Thank you very much Chris and happy you found the info useful!

      Christopher

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  2. Very very impressive paintwork and basing Christopher!

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  3. Fantastic AWI regiment Christopher with an interesting regimental history!

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  4. As I already told you they're splendid. Figures, painting and arrangement really capture the feel.

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  5. What a superb looking unit, seriously impressive work Christopher.

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    1. Thank you kindly Michael very kind of you to say.

      Christopher

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  6. Impressive painted unit !!!

    Best regards Michael

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  7. Beautifully painted figures. That flag is unusual, certainly makes an interesting focal point.

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    1. Thank you very much Matt and GMB did indeed do a fantastic job on the flag.(Like always)

      Christopher

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  8. Very impressive as always: the painting, the basing and the flag – top-notch work!

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  9. A beautiful unit, details are awesome!

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  10. A great looking unit. Just how I like AWI units to look

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  11. This is another beautiful AWI unit. It has look of what an American unit should look like like IMO. The blue coats with red facings, as well as a smattering of civilian attire - to include the ubiquitous hunting frock coats. Best, Dean

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    1. Thank you very much Dean I do appreciate your kind support.

      Christopher

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  12. I love that little history lesson you incorporated into the post and as for your miniatures ... excellent painting! ^_^

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  13. More stunning brushwork! I agree with Dean. Perfect rendering of the mix of American infantry. Beautiful composition.

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    1. Thank you very much Jonathan I really do appreciate the kind sentiment!

      Christopher

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  14. Superb painting and basing. This unit would be perfectly at home under display glass, but better on a tabletop!

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    1. Thank you very much Monty! I hope it does see the tabletop this year!

      Christopher

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  15. Wonderful stuff Christopher. Beautifully detailed and superbly based.

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  16. Lovely neat and clean painting style!

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  17. More fine work Chris - positively splendid!

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  18. Hi Chris, I'm painting the 9th of foot for Saratoga if they look half as good as yours I will be doing well . I hope you put some more pictures up soon. The one thing I don't do is set the units in a proper background, something you get right every time .
    Regards Furphy.

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    1. Thank you very much Furphy. Saratoga is interesting campaign and I wish you luck on the 9th of foot!

      Christophe

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  19. It's great to see you painting AWI again! They look fantastic!

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  20. Did I tell you liked firing lines best? Well, you know now. They might be impractical for gaming sometimes but done right you can't beat a firing line. Great stuff!!

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    1. Thank you very much Michael and I do enjoy firing lines as they give a feeling of action! Currently I'm doing quite a few as I'll be adding other posed formations a bit latter.

      Christopher

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