Horse & Musket IV: Tides of Revolution

After the Seven Years’ War, the forces of revolt and revolution gathered strength. First there were protests in the 13 American colonies as well as a minor rebellion in Louisiana, and a short but sharp guerilla war in Corsica. The great powers though continued on, making a few concessions but assuming their power was unbroken. Then came Lexington, where British regulars and American militia traded shots. In the end, the British lost the American colonies, but avoided losing territory to France and Spain. France, having bankrupted itself aiding the Americans, underwent a revolution that is often considered the dawn of the modern age.

The French Revolution was complicated, confusing, violent, and inspiring. It was an age of wonders and nightmares. It also would have ended if not for the French army. The combination of post-Seven Year’s War reforms and the transformation of the army from an instrument of the Bourbons into a citizen’s army made it a formidable force. Warfare in this age blended old and new tactics. Linear formations in the style of Frederick II continued, but with a greater use of skirmishers and light troops. The French mastered this new style of warfare and won a series of sweeping victories that undermined the old powers and ushered in the bloodiest and most fevered war of the era.

Battles included are...

Borgo - October 8, 1768 – “Europe is watching you.”

Kagul - August 1, 1770 – The Glory of Catherine

Bunker Hill - June 17, 1775 – “Another such would have ruined us.”

Long Island - August 27, 1776 – “If you refuse I shall shoot you through the head.”

Princeton - January 3, 1777 – “It’s a fine fox chase my boys!”

Germantown - October 4, 1777 – “Form! Form! It is only a scouting party!”

Bemis Heights - October 7, 1777 – The Decisive Battle of the American Revolution

Newtown - August 29, 1779 – The Sullivan Expedition

Camden - August 16, 1780 – “…the death of a soldier fighting for the rights of man.”

Guilford - March 15, 1781 – “We fight, get beat, rise, and fight again.”

Pensacola - May 8, 1781 – Yo Solo

Eutaw Springs - September 8, 1781 – “…the most obstinate fight I ever saw.”

Zieleńce - June 18, 1792 – Virtuti Militari

Jemappes - November 6, 1792 – The French Republic’s First Triumph

Neerwinden - March 18, 1793 – Death Knell of the Bourbon Army

Hondschoote - September 6-8, 1793 – “Failing cartridges, are there not bayonets?”

Fleurus - June 6, 1794 – The End of the Terror

Castiglione - August 5, 1796 – Denouement of the Five Days Campaign

Würzburg - September 3, 1796 – Archduke Charles Ascendant

Caldiero - November 12, 1796 – “What shall become of these brave men?”

Arcole - November 15-17, 1796 – The Birth of the Napoleonic Legend

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