The Orders of Battle are somewhat conjectural and are my own work. I have been able to discover only one source of names for the regiments present at the battle which although useful, threw up several anomalies which make its provenance somewhat questionable. When in doubt, I chose to base units on typical compositions of forces in the field during the conflict. For the company level scenario I have cut the Protestant foot regiments down to 10 companies each to keep the ratio of troops proportional to the Jacobite units. An alternative was to reduce the number of figures per company which is easy to do if your collection is singly based or you re-fight the battle using 1644. If you have a multi based collection like my own and are using a rule system which shoots by ‘firing groups’ like Beneath the Lily Banners, then to keep the firing groups (of 6 in this case) intact it is easier to remove a number of entire groups to keep the ratios right and the rule mechanisms working. A final alternative would be to deploy all of the companies but treat each base of figures as representing 4 or 5 figures to begin with regardless of how many actual figures are on the stand. This way attrition will remove firing groups at a quicker rate.
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| It is likely that most troops of both armies dressed like these Warfare Miniatures |
Notes on the Jacobites
Sapherson states that Montcashel’s force consisted of a
dragoon regiment, some horse and three regiments of foot – about 5,000 men. He
also states that in the initial contact of the two vanguards Berry Hamilton Boyne . He concludes that units may have fielded more than
their established number of troops. All of this is logical but the battle
evidence offered goes beyond even these potential estimates of over strength
units.
One could deduce that
there were actually less than thirteen troops ‘scattered’ at Lisnaskea (and
that someone somewhere over time has exaggerated the Jacobite strength) or,
that there was one regiment which had at least thirteen troops (possible but
not probable) or, that there was more than one dragoon regiment represented in
Montcashel’s force or, that some of the mounted troops in the engagement where
in fact Horse and not dragoons. Working from official establishments of the
time a troop of dragoons would at full strength be roughly 60-70 officers and
men. Thirteen troops could then field 780-910 men, possibly more if a lot of
volunteers were available. Sapherson concludes that some Jacobite dragoon
regiments may have fielded as many as 800 men each in the early stages of the
war. These numbers should not be dismissed but must be treated with caution as
figures presented in the same book for Williamite dragoon regiments in the same
period of the conflict produce average troop strengths of 56 all ranks and 403
all ranks in a regiment.
Before dealing with the Horse the infantry deserve some
scrutiny. The Irish regiments of James were built on the English model;
thirteen companies each of 60 to 70 men plus a regimental staff giving on paper
between 790 - 920men per regiment. If Montcashel had three regiments of this
size, that makes between 2,370 and 2,760 foot. It is possible that the
regiments were bigger if the oversize dragoon regiments can be taken as an
indicator of Jacobite enthusiasm for the cause but actual strengths listed for
identified units elsewhere in the book rarely if ever reach these levels. The
average for battalions in the field is between 600 and 650 far less than my minimum
stated theoretical establishment figure of 790 above .
If we add together the dragoon total of 910 with the foot
total of 2,760 we get 3,760. There were some light guns which with crews,
wagons and transports may have amounted to 100 men maximum. This force is
described by one source as a ‘Flying camp’ the implication being that it was
travelling light. If we assume little in the way of wains and hangers on, that
leaves us either 240 Horse if the approximate 4,000 figure is to be believed or
1,240 Horse if the 5,000 is accepted. I prefer to go with the lower strength
for the Jacobites for two reasons. Firstly, winners write history and it would
be in the interests of any cause to create the impression that their own
smaller force defeated a vastly superior enemy. Secondly, if the Jacobites did
in fact have 910 dragoons and roughly 1,200 horse then up 50% of their force
would appear to have been mounted. Even by the norms of the period, where
cavalry were much more numerous, this figure seems high.
I offer this analysis not as a study in pedantry but to
allow gamers to draw their own conclusions about the composition of
Montcashel’s force whilst still offering my own OoB for those disinclined to
reach for calculator and reference book.
I have chosen to give Montcashel a regiment of Horse and use
as justification the fact that Horse and Dragoons are cited in every source and
that Sapherson’s indefinable ‘some horse’ could be anything from a troop to a
regiment.
The only source I could find which actually named the
Jacobite regiments present was a website http://mackays1626.com/Site/Dumbartons166085-677.html
belonging to
a Jacobite re enactment group based in Virginia Ireland April 18th 1689 . The Battle of
Newtown took place on July
31st 1689 . It is possible that the regiments stayed
together in Ireland
