Wednesday, August 27, 2014

And the Award goes to…


General Manley Power, for having the best name of the Napoleonic Wars!

Swag.

 Hello everyone!
Another small addition to my Napoleonic forces, the command stand for my Portuguese brigade, ably commanded by the brilliantly-christened Sir Manley Power.

 (Remember to click on the pictures for bigger versions.)


 
Sir Manley (how cool is that!?!) is from AB miniatures, while his Portuguese second-in-command is a repurposed American from Blue Moon.  Power is wearing the uniform of a British general, while the Portuguese colonel is wearing the facings of his regiment. In the Peninsula Portuguese infantry brigades which were integrated into British divisions (such as Power’s Portuguese, which was fully integrated into the 3rd Division for the duration of the Peninsular War) were ordered by the overall Portuguese commander William Beresford to have a chain of command that comprised of both British and Portuguese officers.  For example, if a regiment was commanded by a Portuguese colonel, then his lieutenant colonel would be British, the major Portuguese, and so on down the line. As such, I’ve put a Portuguese officer on this stand with Sir Manley, in accordance to General Beresford’s directive.
If you haven’t noticed, I really like Manley Power, and not just because of his name. One in a long line of men serving in Britain’s armed forces, Power served in Canada, Holland and Minorca as a young officer before he was sent to Egypt to fight the French under Sir Ralph Abercromby, where he fought at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. During the Peninsular War Power was attached to Portuguese Army, where he led his brigade in the Battles of Salamanca, Vitoria, Fuentes de Onoro, Torres Vedras, and Nivelle. His actions both during and after the siege of Badajoz earned Power special recognition by Parliament, and in 1813 he was promoted to Lieutenant General. After the end of the Peninsular campaign Power was sent to America to fight in the War of 1812, where he helped remove the impotent General George Prevost from overall British command after Prevost’s failure at the Battle of Plattsburg. In January 1815 Power was part of the expedition under Sir Edward Pakenham sent to Louisiana which was repulsed by Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans. His service during the War of 1812 meant Power was not present at Waterloo. In 1815 he rejoined the 3rd Division in France for occupation duty, and after the war was knighted, served as the Lieutenant Governor of Malta, and died in 1826 following illness. His legacy continues in the form of a march named after him, still used by the 4th Battalion of the Queen’s Regiment.
That’s all for now. I may have some more soon.
Questions comments and criticisms are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

Chuck