Thursday, March 04, 2010

2nd Maryland



These are my 2nd Maryland figures. They are a mix of Perry figures, with a couple of Old Glory guys thrown in to fill it out to 36 figures. I ordered figures in regulation uniforms, hunting shirts and shirt sleeves to show the varying attire of the unit. It's size represents the strength of the 2nd Maryland at Guilford Courthouse, the first of several engagements the regiment went on to fight in 1781. The unit was also at Hobkirk's Hill and Eutaw Springs. At each succeeding battle the unit got a bit smaller due to casualties and, no doubt, desertion.

At Guilford the 2nd Maryland was a green regiment. Unlike the veteran 1st Maryland, they didn't receive the blue regimentals, faced red. They drilled and trained under Nathaniel Greene as the light corps of his army maneuvered north through North Carolina, leading Cornawallis and his army a merry chase. However, the unit was drawn from the entire state of Maryland, rather than a particular locale, loosening those necessary bonds of unit attachment, and many of their officers were transferred to the First Maryland.

Their first action was at Guilford, where they formed part of Greene's third line of Continentals. Unfortunately, they broke under the British attack, which led to the counterattack by the 1st Maryland and Greene's withdrawal despite brilliant fighting on the day.

The Perry figures are mix of uniform types as I explained above. I chose to go with the firing line poses because of the nice mix of miniatures. It's pretty impressive in a large unit. Standards, as with all American units, were problematic. I went with a version of the stars and stripes based on the Jonathan Trumbull version at Yorktown. I also went with a divisional flag, just for something different.

This is the first of three large units for the American Revolution I want to complete by the end of the year. The first and second Virginia regiments are next in line. However, it's unlikely I'll begin working on them until school is out for summer.

My photography is, as always somewhere between crappy and execrable.

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