The Chew House Model by Herb Gundt

 

One of the topics on the Fife and Drum Miniatures forum relates to the Chew House, which was the centerpiece for the AWI Battle of Germantown on October 4, 1777. The combatants were Howe’s British army and George Washington’s American army.

Washington must have been reading up on the Austrian tactics during the Seven Year’s War because he proposed attacking the British camp at Germantown, Pennsylvania in the early hours of the morning using four converging columns of attack.

After some initial success, the Americans got bogged down in attacking the solid stone Chew House. Several companies of the British 40th Regiment held off the Americans despite being on the short end of overwhelming numbers. Had Washington simply bypassed the fortified house, he might have won the battle.

A few years ago I commissioned Herb Gundt with the building of a model of the Chew House for 28mm figures. The model has a lift off roof and lift off second floor to accommodate a skirmish level war game. This was one of the last models that Herb made before he retired from the business and I am most fortunate in having it in my collection.