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  1. #1
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    I am not planning in carrying all of the weapons all of the time. But I am looking for one example of each and generally striving for typicality. Ie, if God plucked a random member of a Highland regiment from North America on a random date in the war, what musket is he most statistically likely to be carrying?

    The reasoning behind the Murdochs that I have heard is, prior to the 'royal' designation, pistols were not issued at all, but some of the company officers are known to have bought lots of civilian pistols to issue to their own men in the earlier part of the war. Dunno if it's true but, that's it.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by JMorganKuberry View Post
    I am not planning in carrying all of the weapons all of the time. But I am looking for one example of each and generally striving for typicality. Ie, if God plucked a random member of a Highland regiment from North America on a random date in the war, what musket is he most statistically likely to be carrying?

    The reasoning behind the Murdochs that I have heard is, prior to the 'royal' designation, pistols were not issued at all, but some of the company officers are known to have bought lots of civilian pistols to issue to their own men in the earlier part of the war. Dunno if it's true but, that's it.
    There are a few of the Bissel's that look to have been marked HR on the top of the barrel, and then in an obvious different hand had added an "R" to the marking.

    As to pistols and swords its all time/place dependant. What was the practice in 1743, was no longer the practice in 1756.... Far to often "Facts" are taken way out of context to justify modern reenactor practices that simply make it easier.

    I have a rather jaded view of reenacting, and reenactors, based on a lifetime in the hobby, so I feel I have the right to say that reenactors will almost invariably make the wrong choice if presented with a choice.

  3. #3
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    Yeah they do. They also like to use very narrow source material. You will meet units that only want to use orders, others that only want to use letters and diaries, others that only want to use art, etc.

    1743 is irrelevant to me since I'm doing French and Indian War. Or are you saying that the practice of officers buying civilian pistols for whole units was limited to that year?

    One thing I am finding is, most reenactment units want to exclusively use modern kilts.

  4. #4
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    I know that LTC's Fraser and Montgomerie were reimbursed by the Govt for the purchase of 100 pistols for each regiment in 1757. We don't know if that was for the 40 Sgt's and the Gren company of each regiment, or how exactly those pistols were distributed. But the cost of the pistols was not such that would lead one to believe they were "Officer Grade", and from Vol Sgt Thompson's memoirs, the pistols in the 78th were regimentally marked in the Gren Company. Later each unit received an issue from govt stores for pistols for each man.

    As to the pistols of 42nd during the F&I war era, I have photos of surviving Battalion Quarter Master records and COL Murray's papers. The COL thought that the entire 2d Battalion was getting pistols, but each company only received on average 6 pistols.
    It could be assumed that only the NCO's of 2/42 had pistols.

    My choosing of 1743 was not just a random year. In that year when the regiment was reviewed by the Army prior to a deployment to the Continent they were short 480 swords, and it was noted that the contractor who was supposed to make them had defaulted on the order. This was the first time the govt had purchased swords for the men, before It had been bring from home.

  5. #5
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    Oh I figured it was something specific. But I haven't dug into pre-(7Y)war history much yet.

    I know what you mean about reenactors wanting to pick wrong. The trouble I am running into with FnI is this. I can pick a target date and stick to it for everything. But event organizers pick target dates and seems like no matter what I do, it's wrong to someone. Plus this was a period of transition. I want to just do it right but that's turning out to be far easier said than done. In the end I might need to get two of everything so I mix and match for different events.

    What do you make of the claim that Lord Murray added a red overstripe to the tartan that lasted until the end of war? I find wargamers all agree on it and reenactors insist it wasn't so. I wonder if this is because wargamers can paint their figures any wya they want, while reenactors are economically motivated to endorse the much more readily available undifferenced blackwatch cloth.

    For now I will plan on the Gedney backsword for my next acquisition and if no good deal on a used musket appears before fall, I'll order a new one.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by JMorganKuberry View Post
    Oh I figured it was something specific. But I haven't dug into pre-(7Y)war history much yet.

    I know what you mean about reenactors wanting to pick wrong. The trouble I am running into with FnI is this. I can pick a target date and stick to it for everything. But event organizers pick target dates and seems like no matter what I do, it's wrong to someone. Plus this was a period of transition. I want to just do it right but that's turning out to be far easier said than done. In the end I might need to get two of everything so I mix and match for different events.

    What do you make of the claim that Lord Murray added a red overstripe to the tartan that lasted until the end of war? I find wargamers all agree on it and reenactors insist it wasn't so. I wonder if this is because wargamers can paint their figures any wya they want, while reenactors are economically motivated to endorse the much more readily available undifferenced blackwatch cloth.

    For now I will plan on the Gedney backsword for my next acquisition and if no good deal on a used musket appears before fall, I'll order a new one.
    Ive seen nothing in the period that differentiates Grenadier plaids, all the shipping documents only say privates and NCO's plaids. They do list Grenadiers coats separate from everyone elses, as well as caps. The red stripe thing I think comes from Stewart of Garth, so way later than our period.

    Tartan, that is a huge issue. No one is making the correct stuff at the moment, Im wearing doublewide just so I can have a true twill woven tartan. The "Cheap" stuff from places like Pendleton and Woolrich is not twill woven from what I can remember.

    An even worse issue is the use of lace on anyone other than grenadiers coats, and the use of red bands on enlisted mens bonnets

  7. The Following User Says 'Aye' to Luke MacGillie For This Useful Post:


  8. #7
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    The red stripe is not just from Stewart of Garth. But this isn't the part of the forum for that rabbit hole. Seems like when it comes to plaid fabrics though, every unit is making their own decisions about what pros and cons they are going to put up with and have to go with "close enough" whatever their version of "close enough" may be.

    Don't get me started on lace. People are obsessed with it.

  9. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by JMorganKuberry View Post
    I am...generally striving for typicality.
    This is music to my ears.

    I did various kinds of re-enacting back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the bane of much of it was people doing the opposite, going for the outliers and oddities. Even if an outlier is fact-based, it violates the principle of typicality.

    So on a local Civil War battlefield maybe a quarter of the Union troops were dressed the way that 99% of actual Civil War Union troops were dressed.

    The strangest was, if I remember the cockamamie story correctly, a unit that captured a circus train and dressed in top hats, tailcoats, and all sorts of outlandish clothes.
    Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte

  10. #9
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    Yeah it can get pretty bad. With weapons usually you're safe but in this period they keep re-arming, the highland regiments each wind up with slightly different stuff, etc. The 42nd Highlanders are more fraught with these kinds of debates and problems than any other period I've done so far.

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