The Green Mountain Boys

 The more I read about the background to this unit, the less involved I suspect they were in the general "revolution" - but I liked the uniform, and they are painted now - and they certainly took some part in the hostilities! See below what I am referring to - I suspect this will be unknown to most readers - possibly even some in the US itself!

The original Green Mountain Boys were a militia organized in what is now southwestern Vermont in the decade prior to the American Revolutionary War. They comprised settlers and land speculators who held New Hampshire titles to lands between the Connecticut River and Lake Champlain, an area then known as the New Hampshire Grants, that is now modern Vermont. New York was given legal control of the area by a decision of the British crown and refused to respect the New Hampshire titles and town charters. Although a few towns with New York land titles, notably Brattleboro on the Connecticut River, supported the change, the vast majority of the settlers in the sparsely populated frontier region rejected the authority of New York.

When the American Revolutionary War started in 1775, Ethan Allen and a troop of his men, along with Connecticut Colonel Benedict Arnold, marched up to Lake Champlain and captured the strategically important British military posts at Fort Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and Fort George, all in New York. The Boys also briefly held St. John's in Québec but retreated on word of arriving British regulars.

In Summer 1775, the Green Mountain Boys became the basis for the Green Mountain Rangers, a regiment in the Continental Army that selected colonel Seth Warner as its leader. Some of the Green Mountain Boys preferred to remain with Ethan Allen and were taken prisoners along with Allen in August 1775 in a bungled attempt to capture the city of Montreal. Among them were Congressman Matthew Lyon and Lieutenant Benjamin Tucker.

Vermont eventually declared itself an independent nation in January 1777, and organized a government based in Windsor. The armed forces of the Vermont Republic were based upon the Green Mountain Boys. Although Vermont initially supported the American Revolutionary War and sent troops to fight John Burgoyne's British invasion from Quebec in battles at Hubbardton and Bennington in 1777, Vermont eventually adopted a more neutral stance and became a haven for deserters from both the British and colonial armies. George Washington, who had more than sufficient difficulties with the British, brushed off Congressional demands that he subdue Vermont. During the Haldimand Affair, some members of the Green Mountain Boys became involved in secret negotiations with British officials about restoring the Crown's rule over the territory.

For the Green Mountain Boys, I have reverted to the Warlord hard plastic figures.

Quite a striking looking uniform, and I like their flag, too!

I have assumed reversed colours for the musicians, as this seems to have been a standard feature of American units.

I really do like the faces on the Warlord figures!

The variety of poses possible from the kit is nice, too.

My next unit will be another 18 Perry miniatures, this time wearing the peaked cap and painted to represent Henleys regiment, to the left of the image below

Thanks, once again, to Uncle Google, here is some info on this unit:

Henley's Additional Continental Regiment was raised on January 12, 1777, with troops from Massachusetts and New Hampshire at Boston, Massachusetts for service with the Continental Army. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Monmouth and the Battle of Rhode Island. The Regiment was merged into the 16th Massachusetts Regiment on April 9, 1779.

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