Saratoga Anniversary on September 19th

 

Battle of Freeman's Farm at Saratoga. British figures are depicted in the cut down
uniforms and caps used in General Burgoyne's army.

Benedict Arnold directs the New Hampshire brigade into battle at Freeman's Farm
Fife and Drum Miniatures

CLICK ON ALL PICTURES TO ENLARGE THE VIEW

Is anyone thinking about war gaming the Battle of Saratoga on its anniversary date September 19th (1777)? Actually, this is the date of the First Battle of Saratoga, more commonly known as the Battle of Freeman's Farm. Below is a link to the American Battlefield Trust's website and their rather extensive description of the Saratoga Campaign and the battle at Freeman's Farm. It is well worth the look:

Freeman's Farm

Fife and Drum Miniatures added the British infantry wearing its Saratoga Campaign uniforms. Their jackets are cut down (turn backs removed), they are wearing "overalls" (what we would call pants or trousers) and their unique cap that was made by cutting off the brims of their hats and adding a front plate to the head gear.

Fife and Drum Miniatures web store: British

Note that all British and Hessian/Brunswick infantry and Mohawk Indians can be found in the "British Infantry" pull down menu on the web site.

The British in Saratoga uniforms and their Mohawk Indian allies were added to the Fife and Drum figure range in early 2020. The figures were sculpted by Richard Ansell. Below are some representative "greens" of some of the new figures. The British are available as center company and flank company figures in marching poses as well as in skirmish poses. Highlanders for the same campaign are also available. The Mohawk have firing poses and melee weapons poses.

Fraser's brigade of converged British flank companies at Freeman's Farm.

One of the appeals, to me, of the Saratoga Campaign is that you have two evenly matched British and Continental armies along with the British allies, Brunswickers and Iroquois. The Americans have a mix of Continental regiments wearing uniform coats or hunting shirts. And they have lots and lots of militia that were well suited for skirmish warfare in the forests that played such a key role in the campaign. 

And did I mention the terrain?

This is one of my all time favorite pictures that I took. American militia
defend a fence line against a party of British skirmishers.

Vast wooded areas of terrain, broken up by individual farmsteads that were carved out of the forests.

Lots and lots of trees of all different sizes add visual impact to the table top terrain.

Finally, the Saratoga Campaign is well-suited for smaller skirmish games that can employ as few as a dozen figures per side (or more if that is your preference). Thus it takes but a small investment in figures to get started in the Saratoga Campaign.