The Earl Cornwallis - AWI British Commander

I am pleased to introduce the Earl Cornwallis to you.  At long last I have finally painted up a British commander, plus two other senior officers, to take charge of my American War of Independence British Army.

Thanks to the internet, there are some excellent portraits available to see and use as reference material. It was interesting to note that Cornwallis seemed to prefer the simpler uniform, devoid of lace, that became more prevalent as the war went on.  Even in his position he felt comfortable dressing down considerably.

The other senior officers on the command stand could easily be ADCs, though I believe ADCs tended to wear silver buttons.  What actually occurred by this stage of the campaign, in terms of procurement of buttons, who knows.  As Cornwallis is the commander and my main interest is the Southern campaign of 1781, I decided to have these officers also in a simplified uniform, far better for being in the field and not getting lace snagged on trees and so forth!

The Earl Cornwallis is a Foundry figure and the other two officers are from the excellent Perry Miniatures range.  I used Foundry paints mostly but did finish the red with Vallejo 70.947 Red to make the colour more rich and stand out from the scarlet/brick reds of the lower ranks.

The figures were a pleasure to paint, and took a lot less time than I thought they would.  I don't know the reason for this - I think I just enjoyed myself!  The first battle for these officers is due in two weeks time.  We shall see how they perform!