Wednesday 27 October 2021

The First of the Hessians

When I started the expansion of the British AWI collection I decided that I need to create a small Hessian force. I always intended to include a unit of Jägers and bought a pack each of the command and rank and file figures. But once I had the figures I changed my mind and decided to create two small company sized units instead of one half sized battalion. I also decided that one company would be in the initial uniform with straw coloured waistcoat and white or straw coloured pants (I particularly like the officer with the eyepatch):


And the other in the later all green uniform:


As I perused the Perry Miniatures AWI lists further I saw the code “Hessian Jägers with Amusettes”. I had no idea what an amusette was, but after a little bit of research discovered that they were just thumping great musket, sometimes with a bore of one and a half inches and sometimes rifled. They had a range reported as greater than 500 yards, but since they could weigh as much as 50 pounds, five times the weight of a regular musket, they were often mounted in brackets on the walls of fortresses, earning the time of wall or rampart guns. In the American theatre they proved valuable as a heavier weapon in terrain where artillery couldn’t go. They could be mounted on small carriages or on tripods as shown in the images below.


What an excellent idea to support the jäger companies. The Perry models come as a pair and are lovely little sets, supplied with wheeled mantlets, with one set firing and one loading.




I have given some thought about how to use these weapons on a game. It would be a simple thing to use them like light artillery pieces, but I fear that may be over rating the weapon. They would not have had the impact of artillery for the simple matter that their projectile would not have had the mass or energy  for bouncing shot and the weapons could not have delivered an effective scattered shot. But they could well have had a morale impact at extended ranges. Do why not just let them fire as muskets, but at double the range? And maybe they could be used to target enemy officers?





16 comments:

  1. Very nice and full of character.
    Cheers
    Stu

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    1. Thanks Stu. I thought the officer with the eyepatch was a bit casual under fire, while the two blokes loading the amusette are having a great chat!

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  2. Great work Mark and I like your idea of fielding two smaller units, which I think fits in more with the character of the Hessians. I'd never heard of the Amusettes but now want some for my AWI armies! I think the idea of them firing at double musket range works or maybe adding a negative modifier to morale or firing saves when shot at infantry. Plenty of options to ponder:)

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    1. The amusettes have caught my imagination. I can’t see that they will be hugely effective in games, but they could snipe away at long range and really annoy the opposition.

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  3. Wow, that's a third period and just as wonderful. Your fellows look dead ringers for those in the photos too!
    I love the figures in intense discussion. Whose turn is it to look over the tops to see if the coast is clear, perhaps?!
    Regards, James

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    1. Thanks James. I am trying to jump between a number of projects, as you will see in the next few weeks to keep interest fresh. I almost wonder if with the two in discussion if one is saying “what do you mean ‘I thought you had the powder horn’”?!

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  4. That first Hessian uniform with the straw-coloured waistcoat is particularly striking, but great work all round. I know I have heard of amusettes somewhere and in a different context and am now trying to think if I have seen one in a museum in Europe somewhere. They are great little models, and I think doubling the musket range is a great idea to incorporate them on the gaming table.

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    1. Yes I prefer the straw elements, but apparently the uniform changed within the first year of service in the Americas. I too have heard of the wall gun, but hadn’t heard of them being used on wheeled mantlets.

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  5. Splendid stuff Mark… keep on fluttering 😁
    I love the amusettes…
    Also a type of Belgian chocolate… https://www.neuhauschocolates.com/en_GB/amusettes/Amusettes.html


    All the best. Aly

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    1. Thanks Aly…I have fluttered twice since I posted this and as Homer Simpson would say in a dreamy voice “Mmmmm…chocolate”.

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  6. Nice work on these Hessians Mark - I too like the amusettes - the Perrys used to have one for the Queens Rangers too - I always thought I should get one or two for my Loyalist units!

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    1. Yes they are a bit of fun…not sure how effective they really were.

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  7. Replies
    1. Thanks Mark…some more AWI are passing through the painting table now.

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