About Bonaparte: Some Rule Modifications for the War of 1812

As many of you are aware if you've followed my thoughts and musings over the last few years, the Anglo-American War of 1812 is my favorite Napoleonic Era conflict, and this goes back well-over fifty years. Recreating the war in 54mm however is something I've only done in the last seven of so years. Part of the issue, and this is applicable to other eras, is the need for a set of rules that are relatively simple but at the same time convey the essence of what is trying to be recreated. Before discovering Dirk Donvil's laudable About Bonaparte rules, I had tried several others including the almost venerable Charge! rules of Charles Grant. It was a long, albeit enjoyable trek. I have now played Dirk's rules several times including solo, club, and convention venues. They work. They are fun and they capture the spirit of Napoleonic battle. But, as always, and most of us have done this a some point in our pursuit of the hobby, we feel the need to tweak the basic rules to satisfy our particular interpretation of an issue or event. Within the basic rule set, Dirk has provided a number of properties unique to each of the major powers during the Napoleonic Wars. But while Great Britiain has a full set of these, the fledgling United States, that upstart on the other side of the Atlantic was totally ignored (along with the Royal troops in Canada). I'll discuss my American Army distinctions today and will follow up with the British next time. I've tweaked those also. American regular infantry can only deploy in line. Since the flank companies of these regiments were usually light infantry, each regiment may deploy two (2) skirmishers . American Rifle regiments, both militia and regulars, always deploy as skirmishers, unless behind works or fortifications. U.S. Regiments 1-7 are considered to be trained, and may progress to veteran status as the war enters its second year. All other U.S. Regiments will initially be considered green. Those under the command of Scott, Ripley, or Brown may be upgraded as the game designer sees fit. U.S. Regular Artillery may be either trained or veteran . Militia line is mostly green. Miltia Rifles and/or uniformed volunteer units (very much like military clubs) drilled with more frequency and may be considered trained. Johnson's and Coffey's Regiments of Kentucky Militia are considered to be mounted rifles and veterans. Finally, U.S, forces are organized into Brigades of 3-4 regiments. Two or more Brigades will form a Division. Artillery was generally controlled at the Division level. That's the basics. I'll go into more details later or for that matter modify these as I play more games. Until next time...