ORBATS after player allocation
Now, the total number of men shown probably isn’t 100% accurate but as with most historical research of this period it depends upon what you read and a lot of it is subjective so if you like we can agree to disagree.
There isn’t that much solid information concerning what units were present at vinegar Hill so I’ve worked things back and looked at the forces involved in previous battles such as New Ross, Arklow, Tubberneering, Foulksmill etc and then hypothesised on what reinforcements could have been sent after these battles. For example we know that Needham’s force was reinforced from Dublin after the battle of Arklow and that reinforcements were sent during the battle of New Ross from Waterford, albeit they retreated back to Waterford as soon as they saw that Johnson had been booted out of the town but they turn up again after the battle.
As for the UI forces, again we know that on the eve of New Ross politics interfered and half of Bangel Harveys force decided to quit the field due to the fact that they didn’t like his plan. Even though we’re not sure where these men went they could easily have gone back to either Wexford or Enniscorthy.
So on that basis I went for the higher numbers I’ve read of if nothing more than to give more of a spectacle on the table.
Crown Forces
General Gerard Lake and Major General David Dundas (5,500 men)
10 units of Line Infantry
4 troops of Yeomanry
6 pieces of Field Artillery
4 battalion Guns
Major General William Loftus (1,200 men)
2 units of Line Infantry
2 troops of Heavy Dragoons
2 Pieces of Field Artillery
1 battalion Gun
Major General James Duff (1,300 men)
2 units of Line Infantry
4 troops of Light Dragoons
2 Pieces of Field Artillery
1 battalion Gun
Major General John Moore (1,900 men)
4 units of line infantry
2 troops of yeomanry
2 Pieces of Field Artillery
Major General Henry Johnson (2,150)
4 units of line infantry
3 troops of Yeomanry
2 Pieces of Field Artillery
1 battalion Gun
(Off table)
Major General Francis Needham (4,450 men)
8 units of line infantry
7 troops of Heavy Dragoons
8 troops of Fencible cavalry
Total = 16,500 men
United Irish Forces
Note: Captured field artillery is that captured at the battle of Three Rocks on 30th May.
Anthony Perry - 2nd in Command (5,200 men)
6 units of pikemen
2 units of guns men
1 Piece of captured Field Artillery
1 Curricle or improvised gun
Father John Murphy (5,400 men)
6 units of pikemen
1 unit of guns men
1 Piece of captured Field Artillery
1 Curricle gun
Myles Byrne (5,200 men)
6 units of pikemen
1 unit of guns men
2 Pieces of captured Field Artillery
1 Curricle or improvised gun
William Barker (5,300 men)
6 units of pikemen
2 units of guns men
2 Piece of captured Field Artillery
1 Curricle or improvised gun
Father Mogue Kearns (4,300 men)
5 units of pikemen
1 unit of guns men
3 Curricle or improvised guns
Off Table (Umpire Allocated force)
Father Philip Roche - Army Commander (7,100 men)
7 units of pikemen
5 units of guns men
Total 32,500 men
Objectives
Victory conditions were in the hands of the United Irish players and I gave them two options to choose from to try to simulate the historical point at which the United Irish leaders were making their decision to either leave the battlefield or carry on fighting.
Mandatory Objective
Stay on the table until a minimum of 6 of your Pike units are beyond the point of rallying then commit yourselves to ONE of the options below:
Option 1
Stay on the table and continue fighting. However to ensure complete victory you will need a kill ratio of approximately 3:1.
Option 2
Start to withdraw units off of the table through any favourable exit to the south. Every unit of Foot or Artillery that is under control and gets off of the table will help offset your losses and therefore increase your chance of victory.
