Troop Quality of Jacobite Infantry

[Old Grunt]

Thanks to Barry and Clarence putting on BLB 2 at Historicon I'm now addicted to a new period of history.

I'm putting together a small force of Infantry six units per side to try and generate some interest within my local gaming group.

I'm starting with a Jacobite force which will be modelled after the forces in and around Oldbridge at the Boyne.

My plan is:
King James's Foot Guards (2 Battalions) - Elite - Flintlock muskets
Clanrickarde's Regiment of Foot - Drilled - Matchlocks
Earl of Antrim's Regiment - Drilled - Matchlocks
Boisseleau's Regiment of Foot (2 Battalions) - Drilled - Matchlocks

I based the unit capabilities around my readings and the currently available PDFs. Am I on the right track with this? Do these troop qualities and weapons make sense historically?

Thanks

[turrabear]

Just my opinion but i won,t class king james foot guard as an elite unit.

[arthur1905]

I would give possibly one battalion of King James foot guard as Elite, the other as drilled, regarding the rest I would make at least a third of the Jacobite foot Poor, remember that they are newly raised and don't have that many experienced officers and a lit had sub standard equipment.

Hope this helps, with the Williamite troops I would make any newly raised English troops Poor as well

Mark

[barr7430]

Old Grunt, welcome to the Boards!

Some serious work done by Clarence and I SINCE Historicon. On this very subject. Something big imminent in terms of publication and directly related to this question.

Remember by 1690 some Jacobite troops had been in action in Connaught, Londonderry, Cavan, Fermanagh and Antrim for months. The King's had at least one battalion at Derry. Boiselleau's, Antrim's and Clanrickarde's perhaps not better than Raw but it is a relative argument, many of the enemy were inexperienced too.
Elite under the current BLB classification is probably generous but under a new classification we have agreed the Elite status would take on a different meaning.

My own view is that the only non Dutch/Danish unit worthy of an enhanced classification on the Williamite side is Kirke's. They had served in Tangier continuously between 1680-84 and fought at Sedgemoor. Few other units from England had that kind of experience.. Trelawney's maybe.

Don't over estimate the Williamites. The Enniskilleners had more battle experience than almost every English regiment yet most people see them as Raw and untrained. Unmilitary and Raw are two completely different things!!

[quindia]

Welcome to the boards!

The beauty of this is that you can alter unit ratings from game to game as well. Some units preformed differently in different battles so there is no need to worry about a definitive answer. For instance the Blue Guard may rate as elite at the Boyne considering they crossed the river under fire from Old Bridge, pushed the defenders back, and withstood a jillion (just an estimate) charges by horse.

I tend to rate everyone as Drilled unless there is evidence to the contrary in the battle I'm portraying (i.e. I know the unit was just raised or formed of conscripts, etc). In 'generic' or 'pick up' scenarios, I alter ratings to support my narrative or balance the game. Units that forced marched to an engagement or who are low on ammo might be downgraded for a game.

Enjoy!