18th Century British Army battle formation (1 Viewer)

Cornwallis

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Someone posted in the K&C section a picture of 2 battalions of Redcoats ages ago and it was I think an accurate dipiction man for man of how they formed for an advance.

I cannot seem to have much luck googling to find out how many men were in an infantry unit, company, battalion etc? :confused:

Does anyone know this or could point me to a useful web link for this information.

I am trying to create a diorama as authentic as possible and would like to have a proper set up.

Thanks
 
In the 1750 -60s Plans of Discipline such as Bland's or Norfolk the normal size of a company was to be approximately 40 men in the line units, excluding the Musik and Hatchet men. Typically this could be as low as thirty men fit for service per company and on campaign this might be even less.

The companies were sized with the tallest men in the front rank. Each rank was also sized with the tallest men on the other ends of the line and the shortest in the center. ( I suppose this is moot with toy soldiers!)

In a company drawn up for exercise in one rank, with three officers present they would be equally spaced along the front a few paces in front of the ORs.
If you were viewing the company in front of you, the Captain would be in the center with Lieutenants on either side.
The NCOs would be at the left end of the line.
The Musik would be to the left of the NCOs, and if there were Hatchet men or Pioneers, they would be to the left of the Musik.

When the ORs were formed into three ranks the Captain would be posted to the center front, with the two junior officers posted at the right and left ends of the center rank.
The NCOs are posted to the left with the Musik to the left of them. These command sections are posted on the first and third ranks, with the Hatchet men to the left of the first rank.

During movement on the field it was the norm for the NCOs to move as needed to keep control of the men, and it was not unusual to have one posted at both the right and left.
It was also typical to have the Musik posted to the center front just behind the officer and a few paces to the front of the men. This was to insure that the commands could be communicated by drum.
To the front of this command group of officer and Musik would be the Pioneers in an advanced position.

There are many minor variations, and the Drill of 1764 continued to make adjustments to these arrangements, and additional changes were always adopted on active campaign.
Hope this helps a bit.
Ken
 
This is just what i was looking for so that i could set my britains redcoats up more authentically thank you Ken :) dont surpose you could post a picture of some toy soldiers representing what you have described???? :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
That sounds like a fun project. I am sure that I have enough Guards including enough for a Hat Company and a Grenadier Company.
I will unpack some more so I can stage a photo after Ericka and I return from the West Coaster and the New York Symposium.
I have been working on a front facade of a stockaded fort so maybe this will make me finish it!
Ken
 
That sounds like a fun project. I am sure that I have enough Guards including enough for a Hat Company and a Grenadier Company.
I will unpack some more so I can stage a photo after Ericka and I return from the West Coaster and the New York Symposium.
I have been working on a front facade of a stockaded fort so maybe this will make me finish it!
Ken

That sounds great thanks Ken look forward to seeing the finished picture!!! & cant wait to see your fort :D:D:D
 
I second that! :)

I found the picture I was referring to in my original post.

This has three ranks of 17 men in each rank, is this typical of a unit?
 

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Hi All!
The number of men on the British establishment varied considerably during the Eighteenth Century.

During the AWI the average strength of an Infantry regiment in North America was about 475 effectives. A regiment had eight center companies and two flank companies, one Grenadier and one Light company. This would put you at about 47 men per company.

It would be fine to use a few less men to represent a war time establishment however, factoring in the number of men really fit for service.
Three ranks of 12 would put you at 36. Even this is a pretty fully company for the AWI period considering losses from disease and service. If you choose the reduced numbers it would make sense to reduce the number of Sergeants to two. Take a look at my posting earlier in this thread... before the AWI it was normal to have only two Sergeants anyway.

During peacetime a company of a regiment on the English establishment would have about 56 ORs and in some sources as few as 40, and others as many as 70 by the end of the century.
If it was a regiment serving on the Irish establishment the company strength was about 30 to 36 ORs. You can see the difference in manpower between Regiments when you consider that units from both establishments served in North America during the war.

A typical breakdown would be this:
1 Captain
2 Junior Officers
3 Sergeants
3 Corporals
2 Drummers
1 Pioneer
56 Other Ranks
The Pioneers from each company would be formed under a Corporal.

This should help you make a decision.
All the Best!
Ken
 
hi Ken hope you both had a good time at the West Coaster and the New York Symposium? was just wondering if you had come along any further with your stockaded fort? it sounds really interesting and i cant wait to see the finished piece
 

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