This year will mark the 50^th Anniversary of the National Capital Model Soldiers Society Show (The Washington Show) and to commemorate the event the club has commissioned Alan Ball to sculpt a 75mm figure of (then) COL George Washington, as he appeared in the Braddock Campaign. The casting is by Paul Ondeck of Model Cellar. The kit includes a painting guide.

Copies of the kit will be available for sale at the show. You can also get one by mail by contacting Jack Stresing at gonzo_miniatures@comcast.net. The cost is $29 for non-members plus $5 shipping in the U.S. (International buyers contact Jack for shipping costs).


The NCMSS Show will be held on 10 SEP 2011. For more information go to www.ncmss.org.

Congratulations on the club's 50th anniversary. The NCMSS was my home show for many years and puts on an excellent show each year.

Congratulations on the club's 50th! I won't be able to attend the show, but I will be dropping Mr. Stressing an e-mail as I must have that figure.

A beautiful figure but Washington was wearing a redcoat during that campaign.
Mark

Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Model Cellar table at MFCA to puchase and/or just admire this awesome figure.

For ease of puchase/shipping, this figure is available on line exclusively through the Model Cellar's website on behalf of NCMSS.

Regards,
Paul
www.ModelCellar.com

Cool! I'll be placing my order very soon

I disagree

During the Monongahela campaign the Virginia regiment was changing to the blue uniform but some still had the red.Washington wasn't part of the regiment during this campaign but part of Braddock's staff and it has been stated in different accounts that he wore a long red coat.Robert Griffing who greatly researches his material has a painting called the "Wounding of Braddock".In it he has Braddock laying against a tree.On the right is an officer in a blue coat leaning on the tree.A lot of people think this is Washington but it is not,it is Stewart.The officer on the left on his knees with his hand on Braddock's shoulder is Washington.Like I said there are written accounts about what Washington was wearing so I'm not going by the painting alone.
Mark

<FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">I don’t know of any definitive source on what coat color <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com</st1:date><st1:date Month="7" Day="9" Year="17" ls="trans"><st1:date Month="7" Day="9" Year="1755">July 9, 17</st1:date>55</st1:date>. <st1:State>Washington</st1:State>, though serving unofficially as an aide to Braddock and not as commander of the Regiment, probably would, as former and future commander of the Regiment, be in the lead to the changeover to blue coats.

• “Primary Impression March 1755-December 1762 In December 1754, Governor Dinwiddie writes that he had locally procured "cheap blue Clothing" for the regiment's new recruits, and was importing "1000 Suits of Clothes" from England, which were to arrive by March (1755), when the uniform coat changed to blue faced red regimental coats, with blue breeches. Although no clothing specific deserter descriptions from the Regiment exist from the Braddock campaign (Spring-July 1755) deserters of the <st1:State><ST1<st1:State>North Carolina</st1:State></st1:State> forces are listed on <st1:date Month="6" Day="12" Year="1755"><st1:date Month="6" Day="12" Year="17" ls="trans"><st1:date Month="6" Day="12" Year="1755"><st1:date Month="6" Day="12" Year="17" ls="trans">June 12 17</st1:date></st1:date>55</st1:date></st1:date> in "regimentals, which is blue coats, with red lapels, and blue breeches." (<st1:State><st1:State>Pennsylvania</st1:State></st1:State> Gazette). This is significant in that on May 5th, 1755, Governor Dinwiddie writes to governor Dobbs of North Carolina that North Carolina troops that marched to Virginia without being supplied were" supplied...with powder and Shott, and w't Cloth'g he (Dobbs) may want he will be supplied at Alexa's, from the Cloth'g I had from Engl." (the previously mentioned 1000 suites of clothes) for the Braddock expedition, so the deserter descriptions for <st1:State><st1:State>North Carolina</st1:State></st1:State> troops tells us how the Virginians were attired. A 1772 post war portrait of Washington in a Virginia officer's uniform survives, and soldier's coats would have basically been of similar appearance, although without the lace embellishments and would have been made of cheaper cloth, as well as having brighter colors (time has faded the portrait). From deserter descriptions we know that new recruits and veterans who had worn out issue clothes frequently wore civilian clothes and men from the same detachments frequently had on a mix of regimentals and civilian attire. --virginiaregiment.org/ <O

• …Therefore it appears that the real first uniform followed the color scheme of blue with red facings; a scheme that was followed for the regiment’s entire existence. This uniform was ordered and purchased in <st1:City><st1:City>London</st1:City> through John Hanbury in the fall of 1754 and arrived in March of 1755, in time for the regiment to leave Will’s Creek (<st1laceType>Fort</st1laceType><st1laceName>Cumberland</st1laceName>) with General Edward Braddock on the ill-fated <st1laceType>F<st1laceType>ort</st1laceType><st1laceName></st1laceType><st1laceName>Duquesne</st1laceName></st1laceName> campaign. In spite of no order for the making of the uniforms having yet been found, there are a couple of hints that lead to a conclusion that this first uniform was blue. One, is a reference of Captain Robert Orme’s, in a description of the <st1:City><st1:City>Battle</st1:City></st1:City> of the Monongahela, to the "<st1:State><st1:State>Virginia</st1:State></st1:State> blues". The other reference is in a letter from Governor Dinwiddie to Captain Robert Stewart on <st1:date Month="11" Day="26" Year="1754"><st1:date Month="11" Day="26" Year="1754">26 November 1754</st1:date></st1:date> advising him to purchase "some cheap blue Clothing" for his men while they await the arrival of the uniforms from <st1:country-region><st1:country-region>Britain</st1:country-region></st1:country-region> (Brock, v.1, 413). The quality of this first uniform seems to have been something less than the expectations for a standard uniform, for <st1:State><ST1<st1:State>Washington</st1:State></st1:State> described this uniform to Lord Loudoun as "a suit of thin sleazy Cloth without lining, and without Waistcoats except of sorry Flannel" (Abbot, v.4, 86). -- hardynet.com/<O</st1:City>

Regarding the painting, "The Wounding of General Braddock," by Robert Griffing, the only description I’ve come across of those surrounding the wounded Braddock is this mention describing the blue-coated officer as <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<st1:State><st1:State></st1:State></st1:State>

“Robert Griffing is the foremost artist in <st1:country-region><ST1<st1:country-region>America fo</st1:country-region></st1:country-region>r colonial-era historical art. All his works show clarity, historical accuracy and attention to detail. Note the tree cover as compared to the view above. Confusion reigns on the battlefield. Notice you don't see any French or Indians. They are in covered positions. You can also see an artillery piece - probably a brass six pounder - sitting unused. Washington, who is standing in the blue coat, will soon use one of these to lead the rear guard action that saves the force from complete annihilation.” -- offthebeatenpath.ws/Battlefields/Monongahela/<O

Stewart, captain of a contingent of mounted Virginians, reportedly gives his horse to Braddock upon the latter’s horse being shot out from under him, only to have the General shot through the body and fall into Stewart’s arms. Stewart was reported to have been very attentive to the mortally wounded Braddock upon his wounding and during the retreat.<O

“…Braddock refused to be removed, and bade the faithful friends who lingered by his side to provide for their own safety. He declared his resolution of leaving his own body on the field; the scene that had witnessed his dishonor he desired should bury his shame. With manly affection, Orme disregarded his injunctions; and Captain Stewart, of <st1:State><ST1<st1:State>Virginia</st1:State></st1:State>, the commander of the light-horse which were attached to the general's person, with another American officer, hastening to Orme's relief, his body was placed first in a tumbrel, and afterward upon a fresh horse, and thus borne away. Stewart seems to have cherished a sense of duty or of friendship toward his chief that did not permit him to desert him for a moment while life remained.” -- canadahistory.com/

"...<st1:State>Washington</st1:State> sees Robert Stewart assisting Braddock. He finds a small cart still possessing its horses, and helps Stewart place Braddock in it with some of his equipment." --san.beck.org/<st1:stockticker><st1:stockticker>WASH</st1:stockticker></st1:stockticker>3-Defeat.<O</O

In Griffing's first volume of his paintings there is a diagram of that painting with the figures numbered and the one with his hand on Braddock's shoulder is identified as Washington.I'm looking for the sources which state that Washington was in a redcoat.I don't want to take away the fact that this is a beautiful figure.Who knows maybe he wore both types of coat on the campaign.
Mark

Mark,

I have “The Art of Robert Griffing: His Journey into the Eastern Frontier” (2000) but there’s no image of "The Wounding of General Braddock" because that painting was produced after publication of the book. I understand Griffing has produced a second book, “The Narrative Art of Robert Griffing: The Journey Continues” (2007) but I don’t have it.

The Lord Nelson’s Gallery description of the earlier Griffing painting from the Braddock series of the British column crossing the Monongahela has Washington in a blue coat. It would be odd for Griffing to swap Washington to a red coat for the subsequent painting.

“The Crossing (2nd Braddock Series Print)
<OAt <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com</st1:time>11:00 am on <st1:date Month="7" Year="1755" Day="9"><st1:date Month="7" ls="trans" Year="17" Day="9">July 9, 17</st1:date>55</st1:date>, General Braddock's army reached the second ford of the Monongahela. Braddock, on his bay horse with his aides Washington (in blue) and Orme on either side, accompanied by bodyguards were set to observe the crossing.” -- www.lordnelsons.com/gallery/frontier/griffing/21.htm

Osprey’s Campaign #140 book, “Monongahela 1754-55” has an illustration on pages 78-79 of <st1:State><ST1Washington</st1:State>’s rear guard that has a numbered diagram on the following page that identifies the officer in the blue coat as <st1:State>Washington</st1:State>.

These are artistic renditions and artistic renditions can get it wrong but these are likely based on some of the documents, and analysis of those documents, I mentioned earlier.

As I stated, there’s no definitive identification of the coat worn by <st1:State><ST1Washington</st1:State> on July 9 as far as I know, but there are records, both written and artistic, that point to a blue coat.
<O
And, given that <st1:State>Washington</st1:State>, as colonel of the Virginia Regiment, had a red coat at <st1laceType>Ft.</st1laceType> <st1laceName>Necessity</st1laceName> a year earlier, and probably unlikely that the style would have changed significantly in the intervening time, another option is to depict <st1:State>Washington</st1:State> at <st1laceType>Ft.</st1laceType> <st1laceName>Necessity</st1laceName> in a red coat. --Glenn

This is proving to be an interesting discussion. Either way, that is a fantastic figure that I am going to have to add to my growing collection of 75mm FIW/AWI figures.

Glenn,
My error on the book as I had both but not now.I have the Osprey book also.All I can say is that I saw a first person account that he was wearing a red coat but I just can't remember where so I will defer to you as you have more evidence for the blue coat.Great figure either way.
Mark

Mark,

I'd be interested in anything you discover that suggests a red-coated

The hundred-year-old painting of Braddock's defeat depicts a blue-coated Washington reaching out to a wounded Braddock.<O

Braddock’s Defeat, oil on canvas, by Edwin Willard Deming, 1903. American artist Edwin Willard Deming (1860-1942) dramatized the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com</st1:date>July 9, 1755 <st1:City><ST1Battle </st1:City>of the Monongahela from the French allied Indian perspective in this stirring painting. More than 600 warriors, supported by about 200 Canadian and French soldiers, took part in the action. In this scene, Ottawa-French leader Charles Langlade (left foreground, raised fist) offers encouragement as George Washington reaches for the wounded General Braddock. Courtesy of <ST1Wisconsin Historical Society. --www.heinzhistorycenter.org/uploads/Media/28_DMChapter9Clash.pdf<O

BUT, as I stated earlier, I believe the uniform coat lends itself to a representation in red for Col. Washington of the Virginia Regiment at <ST1<st1laceType>Ft.</st1laceType><st1laceName>Necessity</st1laceName> in 1754. <O

There will be a show figure competition for the W<st1:State>ashington</st1:State> figure at the NCMSS Show on Sept. 10. It would be great to see at least one done up in a red coat to represent <st1:State><ST1Washington</ST1</st1:State> at <st1laceType>Fort</st1laceType><st1laceName>Necessity. This was probably a more plain coat as depicted by the full-size mannekin of Washington at Ft. Necessity at the "Clash of Empires" exhibit at the Heinz Center in Pittsburgh (see </st1laceName></ST1http://www.fortedwards.org/gazette/clash/clash.htm) with the facings and lining in red (though Osprey's MAA48, "Wolfe's Army" mentions "red coats faced blue" and I've seen one artistic rendering of Washington at Ft. Necessity in red coat with blue facings), but there seems to be even less information on Washington's 1754 coat, which unlike those of the enlisted, was likely tailored.

--Glenn

Glenn,
I haven't found anything to support me except a member of another forum says that Washington wasn't a member of the Virginia militia but a civilian aide to Braddock during the campaign.I have the documentries The War that made America which shows Washington in red while the Forest Ran Red shows him in a red coat and a blue one!I guess we will never really know unless a first person account (which I thought was out there)comes to light descibing him.Still fun to speculate.I also hopes someone does the figure in red.
Mark

Anyone have the color coat we may have been wearing at FT Necessity (sp). I'm planning on doing him up with a stockade backdrop.

Walt Damon

Walt,

Below left is an image of Washington from the Clash of Empires exhibit that made the rounds of several museums and is housed at the <ST1<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = " border=" /><st1laceName>Heinz</st1laceName> <st1laceType>Center</st1laceType> in <st1:City>Pittsburgh</st1:City>. This is a red coat with red facings, a 1:1 rendition that I believe was done by Gerry Embleton. A view of the exhibit on tour can be seen at www.fortedwards.org/gazette/clash/clash.htm.<O

Below right is another image of Washington in the red coat signing the capitulation of Ft. <st1laceName>Necessity (http://images.virtualology.com/images/861.jpg).</st1laceName>
<st1laceName></st1laceName>
<st1laceName></st1laceName>
<st1laceName></st1laceName><OThe third image at bottom is from a detail from a painting by Ray Forquer that shows W<st1:State>ashington</st1:State> in a red coat but with blue facings. There are references here and there to blue facings for the Virginia Regiment but it’s not clear if <st1:State>Washington</st1:State>’s uniform coat at <st1laceType>Ft.</st1laceType> <st1laceName>Necessity</st1laceName> had blue facings. Full painting can be seen at: www.paladincom.com/forquer.shtm <O

A section of Robert Griffing's painting "A Charming Field for an Encounter," shows <st1:State><ST1North Carolina</st1:State> (foreground) and <st1:State><ST1Virginia</st1:State> troops (background) at <st1laceType>Ft.</st1laceType> <st1laceName>Necessity</st1laceName> on <st1:date Month="7" Year="1754" Day="3"><st1:date Month="7" ls="trans" Year="17" Day="3">July 3, 17</st1:date>54</st1:date>. An officer in the foreground may be a representation of <st1:State>Washington</st1:State> as he is in an all-red coat. The N. Carolina Independent Companies had green facings. (www.post-gazette.com/downloads/20020609hobushy.pdf

Hope this is useful


--Glenn<O

Correction: That would be the South Carolina not North Carolina soldiers with the Virginia Regiment at Ft. Necessity. --Glenn