James II Irish Foot Guards

I finished off James ll's Irish Foot Guards a few weeks back but I just got around to photographing them. These are the first of my foot regiments for my Irish Jacobite army and I have another three to paint up before the demo game at Conquest, Christchurch, in late October. I'm halfway through painting Antrim's regiment (in white/grey coats) and I've also started another horse regiment (Tyrconnel's). I thought I would have a few more units done by now, but never mind, I'm sure the other Southern Strategists will be progressing their painting to ensure we have enough units for a decent game...fingers crossed!

James's Irish Foot Guards. Three stands of 6 figures in double-ranks and one stand of 3 pikemen in single rank at the rear.

The centre command stand. These figures are by Front Rank and the flags are by Warfare Miniatures via the League of Augsburg website. 

One of the two musketeer stands. I've chosen to have blue garters for this unit based on the examples found in the Guards Museum in London.

I decided to include pikemen with this unit as extra defence against cavalry. During this period there was a move away from using pike, with greater emphasis being placed on firepower. However, most Jacobite units used pikes to compensate for the limited number of firelocks and matchlocks they had compared to the Williamite forces.

I wasn't sure what colour to use for the sashes and there is very limited information regarding uniforms for the Jacobite units. I think white provides a nice contrast to the red coats and is in keeping with the traditional white rosettes worn by Jacobites.

The next posting will features James himself, along with my favourite Jacobite general, Patrick Sarsfield.

Until next time!