MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING
OF THE OFFICERS OF THE BRITISH BRIGADE
January 9th, 2016
1. The business meeting of the British Brigade was called to order by Commander James
McGaughey at 9:02 - January 9th, 2015, in the town of King of Prussia, PA.
2. The Chaplain’s Prayer was delivered by Malcolm MacWilliam.
3. The Roll Call was taken. 39 voting member regiments were present and active for the
roll call. In attendance were:
Artillery
Company C, Company F, Company M, Company N (Mortar Coy), Company W of the 4th
Battalion Royal Artillery, Royal Irish Artillery, Pausch’s Co. Hesse Hanau Artillery
Infantry
1st Foot Guards, 4th (Coldstream) Foot Guards, 7th, 10th, 17th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 40th,
42nd, 43rd, 54th, 62nd, 64th, and 84th Regiments of Foot
Horse
16th & 17th Light Dragoons
Loyalist
1st New Jersey Volunteers, 4th New Jersey Volunteers, King’s Rangers, Butler’s Rangers,
King’s Royal Regiment of New York, Maryland Loyalists, Loyal American Regiment,
Capt. Hugh Munro’s Batteau Company, Royal North Carolina Regiment, Queen’s Rangers
Hessian
Regiment von Donop, von Prueschenk Hessen-Kassel Jaegers, and Regiment von Huyn.
Navy/Marines
His Majesty’s Ship, the Somerset – Marines, HM Marines
More than one-fifth the active member units had voting officers present, therefore the
meeting continued as a legally constituted meeting of the British Brigade.
Proxies were accepted by and for the following units:
4th Regiment of Foot – proxy to – 10th Regiment of Foot
8th Regiment of Foot – proxy to – King’s Royal Regiment of New York
9th Regiment of Foot – proxy to – 16th Light Dragoons
20th Regiment of Foot – proxy to – 24th Regiment of Foot
29th Regiment of Foot – proxy to – 24th Regiment of Foot
33rd Regiment of Foot – proxy to – 64th Regiment of Foot
47th Regiment of Foot – proxy to – King’s Royal Regiment of New York
60th Regiment of Foot – proxy to – Marines
71st (Capt. Sutherland’s Coy) Regiment of Foot – proxy to – 40th Regiment of Foot
74th Regiment of Foot – proxy to – 10th Regiment of Foot
2nd Battalion Delancey’s Brigade – proxy to – King’s Rangers
2nd (3rd) Battalion Delancey’s Brigade – proxy to – 4th New Jersey Volunteers
Jaeger Companie von Roeder – proxy to 7th Regiment of Foot
Claus’s Rangers – proxy to – Capt. Bull’s War Party
Queen’s Own loyal Regiment – proxy to – 17th Regiment of Foot
Detached Hospital – proxy to – 4th RAR Coy W
Absent were: Company H, 5th, 21st, 35th, 55th, 63rd, 1st Battalion Delancey’s, 4th
Regiment 2nd Battalion Jersey Militia (UK), Capt. Bull’s War Party, Regiment von Bose,
Regiment von Knyphausen, Regiment Anspach Bayreuth and the Northern Indian
Department (Foresters).
Applicant units attending: 3rd Battalion Royal Artillery Company T.
4. The Agenda was introduced and reviewed. No additional new business was added.
5. The reading of the 2014 minutes – Motion from the 23rd Foot Regiment to accept the
2014 minutes without reading; seconded by Company M – unanimously accepted.
6. Election of Officers and Trustees: Horst Dressler elected to step down as Secretary.
Following this announcement, all of the Officer and Trustee positions were unopposed.
President/ Brigadier – Jim McGaughey; Vice President/ Executive Officer – Mark
Hagenbuch/Malcolm MacWilliam; Treasurer – Dick Amsterdam; Secretary – Lester
McIntosh
Trustees – Hela Beale, Jim Corbett, Bill DeFrenza, Horst Dresler, Peter L. Ford, Lester
McIntosh, Paul Novotny, Gary Vorwald.
Kevin Carroll has been assigned to take the vacant Trustee position of Jim Bezio.
Motion to approve – 43rd Regiment; seconded by Company C: unanimous.
Ken Siegel resigned as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, assigning Paul
O’Shaughnessey to take his place.
At this point of the meeting, the Brigadier elected to discuss participation/recruiting
issues. For example, over 400 men at arms were registered for Fort Ticonderoga with
roughly 200 actually attending the event. He noted that our inability to meet event
sponsors expectations by fielding numbers that are respectable in comparison to those
from registration costs the sponsors money and us - credibility. The Brigadier informed
the membership that the results from the 2015 survey on membership and attendance
had been tabulated and were available for perusal. The results were broken out by
region and different sections focused on reasons for non-attendance at events, the
impact on the length of drive time to events, the best time of year for events and
thoughts on activities at events. The Brigadier felt that while attendance at Brigade
events was still good, there must be issues that the survey did not uncover in regards to
individual units being able to muster for events.
7. Discussion of 2016 & 2017 Proposed National Events – The proposed national events
for 2016 7 2017 were showcased for the general membership.
2016
Mt Vernon, VA., April 30 – May 1 2016; This event is Artillery friendly. Much to
the chagrin of the Continental army and G. Washington himself, the
British army will camp on the river front side of the mansion.
Meadow Mills, VA., June 2016;
St. Jeans, Quebec, August 2016; US citizens need passports to enter Canada, a
letter will be provided to expedite border crossings, compensation is
being offered for artillery: $300 - $500.
Monmouth, NJ., September 2016; A chance to attend Monmouth outside of July
on ground never before used by reenactors, scenarios possibly based
on the battle of NY.
2017
Spring 2017 – Epping, NH; Tentative date May 20-21
Spring 2017 – Brattonsville, SC
Meadow Mills (if not chosen in 2016)
Aug 2017 – Fort Wellington, Canada; Aug 19-21
Sept 2017 – Sandy Hollow (Not presented as a national BB/CL event, but
presented as an anniversary event)
8. 2015 Officer reports were presented:
Paymaster's Report (R. Amsterdam): Unit commanders, please identify unit name on
dues checks or use the Paypal function on the Brigade website. Dues are set at one
dollar per member with a $25 minimum for each unit. The British brigade remains in
excellent condition financially. Revenue was $4762 of which dues were about $2100,
event fees $150, donations $150, Sutler fees $165 and the meeting raffle $1143. Total
costs were about $3000, including event expenses of $1140, operating costs (meetings,
legal/accounting, office, web, fuel supplies, and miscellaneous) of $1269, including an
annual meeting net cost of $652. With the raffle money we had a net profit from the
meeting of $591. Our Excess (revenue minus expenses) was $1708 (versus $1064 in
2014). This raised our net cash assets to $13,941. “All of our assets are tied up in cash”.
The full Paymaster’s financial report can be found in attachment 1.
A suggestion was made that the British Brigade investigate investing reserve fund to
increase the worth of the organization.
Motion to accept the Treasurer's Report was made by the 43rd Foot Regiment, seconded by
Company N, unanimously accepted.
Followers of the Army (E. Brown): At Fort Ticonderoga, there were 10 distaff members
in attendance on Saturday and a tea was held. By all accounts the event went well but
more participants are needed. The Distaff group also supported the Mt Vernon Event.
Erin noted that the attendance and availability of distaff for events appeared to be
limited and it may possibly be due to each unit only having a single point of contact for
communication with the distaff group. Erin would like to open the Distaff Yahoo
communication group up to all distaff to increase communication and participation
within the group. A full Distaff report can be found in attachment 2.
Motion to accept the Distaff Report was made by the Butler’s Rangers, seconded by 22nd
Foot Regiment, unanimously accepted.
Master Gunner (M. Crosby): After 20 years as Master Gunner of the British Brigade,
Mark Crosby has elected to stand down. He was effusive with his praise of the many
infantry commanders he has worked closely with over the years who have helped
integrate both functions into a synergistic whole. Mark also thanked the British
artillery for their support and friendship over the years. They are the best there is!
Mark announced that the new Master Gunner will be Lester McIntosh. He will be
responsible for concluding efforts started by Mark at creating a single set of artillery
safety regulations for both the British Brigade and the Continental Line.
Motion to accept the Master Gunner’s Report was made by the 10th Foot Regiment,
seconded by Company W, unanimously accepted.
Acting Inspector General (W. Moss): While inspections at Ft Ticonderoga went well,
there is a continuing issue with troops falling in without hammer stalls and flash
guards. At this stage of the game, the sergeants should be ensuring that this does not
happen by inspecting their units prior to the formal army inspection and parade.
Inspectors have been trained and the inspection procedure for the whole army is down
to five – six minutes in total. The IG will also continue to stress the rule of “no-facial
hair” for British troops and expressed the need for all units to endeavor to continually
increase their authenticity standards. The Brigadier took a moment during this report
to congratulate Paul Novotny for organizing and running a successful event at Ft
Ticonderoga. At the end of the AIG report, Malcolm announced that Bill Moss will be the
official Inspector General of the British Brigade going forward.
Motion to accept the AIG’s Report was made by the 10th Foot Regiment, seconded by
Company F, unanimously accepted.
Sgt. Major (S. Raby): Mr. Raby has been promoted within his unit (23rd RWF) starting in
2016 and has stepped down at BB Sergeant Major. He thanked all the people who
worked with him during 2014 and 2015. The membership expressed its appreciation
of all his hard work and thanked him for his services.
Drum Major (K. Siegel): Attendance by musicians has dropped significantly and there
were no music demonstrations at Ft Ticonderoga. Please encourage your musicians to
attend events even if your unit will not be attending. They will be well placed and cared
for. The Drum Major expressed the need to find and train musicians who want to be
NCOs. He also noted that he would publish the Brigade’s musicians closed Facebook
page on the Crown Forces Yahoo group in the hopes that he can get all Brigade
musicians to sign up. This is the primary focal point for communications within the
Brigade for musicians.
Motion to accept the Drum Major’s Report was made by the Company C, seconded by
Company N, unanimously accepted.
Quartermaster (P. Ferwerda): The Brigadier recognized Peter for his tireless/thankless
efforts to set up a well organized camp at Fort Ti.
At 10:00, the meeting was recessed for regional breakout meetings, followed by a
CL/BB Joint Meeting to review national events for 2016 & 2017. For the joint CL/BB
session, four events have been proposed for the 2016 season as discussed in item 7
above. These events were:
Mt Vernon, VA., April 30 – May 1 2016
Meadow Mills, VA., June 2016
St. Jeans, Quebec, August 2016
September 2016
Following presentations on each event, a vote was taken to determine the events to be
supported by the British Brigade for the 2016 year. Votes from each organization are
tabulated below:
Event
Continental Line “Yes” votes
British Brigade “Yes” votes
Mt Vernon, VA.
33
33
Meadow Mills, VA.
8
8
St. Jeans, Quebec
27
23
Monmouth, NJ.
37
30
Based on the voting, Mt Vernon and Monmouth will be the two British Brigade
supported events for 2016.
Directly following the vote for 2016 events, four events were briefly highlighted for the
2017 calendar. Since the Meadow Mills, VA. event was not chosen as a 2016 event, it
remained on the schedule as a possible event for 2017. The five events presented for
consideration in 2017 were:
Spring 2017 – Epping, NH;
Spring 2017 – Bratttonsville, SC
June 2017 - Meadow Mills, VA.
Aug 2017 – Fort Wellington, Canada
Sept 2017 – Sandy Hollow
At 1:30, the Brigade meeting resumed with a question from the Brigadier. In light of the
poor actual attendance vs registration seen for Ft. Ticonderoga and previous Brigade events,
is there a better way to do national event voting? An interesting discussion ensued about
the possible causes of drop in scheduled attendance from personal time/travel
limitations to the electronics age issue of instantaneous weather reports leading to
massive last minute participant bail-outs. Further discussion focused on possible
solutions on how to address the disparate gap between registration and attendance.
Suggestions included follow up email/notification from event staff closer to the event
date to try to capture and update attendance figures and the possibility of running one
day versus two day events. Several suggestions that were discussed as options for national
event voting are listed below:
Direct democracy, everyone votes (not just officers);
Set up members only Facebook page for voting (officers);
Use a website for sign up, but make leaders AND members sign up (to put more
responsibility on the individual members);
Get preliminary count, then 2-3 weeks before the event confirm registration for final
count;
Tom Delucco of Butler’s Rangers stated that he felt the Board was doing an excellent job
but there may not be much that can be done to address the attendance issue at national
events because of the variety of issues the general membership is facing. Suggestions
quickly turned to the need for better communication between Brigade leadership and
local unit leadership as well as intra-unit communications. The debate became heated
with regards to which medium to use as the communication source for the brigade, i.e.
the use of the Crown Forces Yahoo group site, a closed Facebook group or traditional
email. It was noted by Ken Siegel that there is no single source answer for the
communications issues within the Brigade and its member units. The discussion ended
when the Brigadier closed the topic and stated that the board would consider options
for future communications within the Brigade for the next business meeting.
9. Old Business: Constitution Revisions.
Ken Siegel submitted the revised constitution to the board for review. Ken noted that one of
the remaining issues still in front of the committee was that not every unit has a vote/voice
in BB decisions. The Brigadier assigned the current committee the task of investigating and
proposing a solution for the issue of units who are currently subjugated to a primary unit and
as such cannot vote under the current constitutional rules. With Ken’s departure as leader of
this committee, Neil Sorenson has been assigned to take over Ken’s role as the new
constitutional committee leader.
10. New Business:
a. Battle Road;
All willing redcoated units are invited to attend. There will be an encampment from
Friday through into Monday for those wishing to encamp. Sunday events are being
added to the mix, such as the Jason Russell House in Arlington. The scenarios will build
upon battle archaeological evidence recently uncovered along the Battle Road. See
attachment 3.
b. Safety Regulations;
Assigned Infantry, artillery and cavalry officers have been working with counterparts in
the CL to define standard safety regulations that are acceptable to both organizations.
Safety regulation changes identified during this exercise include lowering the opposed
infantry firing distance for the Brigade to 30 yards and a set minimum safe distance
between horse and infantry of five yards. More safety regulation changes will follow.
c. Authenticity Committee (E. Schnitzer):
The authenticity committee has proposed a series of ideas and thoughts for enhancing
the authenticity of individual unit presentations. The report was submitted to the board
for review.
d. Camps and Fire Regulations:
Current rules within the Army Manual involving camps and fire regulations include; no
unattended fires, no sleeping near fires, no fires can be left burning after 11:00 pm, fires
are only allowed in the kitchen area and a fire bucket must be present at each fire ring.
Concern was raised about these rules and their application to campaigner/progressive
camps. Since sleeping in kitchen areas is also forbidden by Brigade rules, how can
groups portray these impressions which involving eating and sleeping in the fire pit area,
which is not in the kitchen area? Many units weighed in on the discussion of this topic.
In the end, Rich from the von Pruschenk's Jaegers was tasked with drafting guidelines
for addressing safety in campaigner/progressive camps by March 1st, 2016. The
Brigadier will in turn seek an opinion of the draft responses from the Judge Advocate
General, T. Villardi.
e. Training Goals for 2016:
Not addressed during the meeting. This topic was waived by the Brigadier. Updates
will be put in the Army Manual.
f. Tavern Funding:
The Brigade has been providing a bit of seed money over the past couple of years to two
organizations that have held taverns for Brigade membership at National events. This
money is typically used for food and other expenses. What is the liability of the Brigade
in such instances? Michael Pollock volunteered to research this issue and report back to
the board. The Brigadier previously consulted with Tom Vilardi, BB Judge Advocate
General.
g. Second Impressions/Additional Companies:
The issue of subjugate units/additional companies was covered under item 9 above and
was removed from discussion here. New impressions within an existing unit will be
treated as a new unit. They will need to follow the rules governing new/applicant units
joining the Brigade that are listed in the Army Manual, including standing for inspection
and attending the required number of events as a probationary unit.
h. Brigade Structure:
The traditional army structure of three brigades will possibly change to two
brigades/battalions for upcoming events. A new BB structure will be posted to the BB
webpage and in an updated Army Manual.
i. Future Events
The brigade held straw votes to gauge interest in non-traditional events.
45 members indicated interest in a closed, non-public event to be held in conjunction
with the Continental Line. 20 members indicated interest in holding a Brigade garrison
event.
j. Web & Facebook pages:
It was recommended that all units check and update their web and facebook page links
on the brigade site for dead links. Please contact Dick, Malcolm or Jim with this
information. In similar work, the Brigade recruiting liaison, Dan O’Connell, has been
tasked with coming up with new ideas for updating Brigade recruiting efforts.
11. Trustee Report: The Trustees welcome our new Chairman, Paul O’Shaughnessy.
12. Nomination of New Applicant Units: The King's 8th regiment of Foot - sponsored the
current King’s 8th Regiment of Foot (D. O'Connell commanding).
Motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Company N at 2:56pm, seconded by the 43rd
Foot Regiment – unanimously accepted.
The Chairman reminded the Trustees that they would meet immediately following the
meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
January 28th, 2016
Lester McIntosh
ATTACHMENT 1
Paymaster’s, 2015
RUN DATE: 12/31/15
PAGE
1
RUN TIME: 10:23 AM
THE BRITISH BRIGADE
Income Statement
FOR THE MONTH ENDING
12/31/15
GENERATION 16 - PERIOD 12
------ T H I S
Y E A R -------Y E A R ----THIS MONTH
12 MONTHS
12
MONTHS
THIS MONTH
12 MONTHS
=============================================================================
REVENUE
GROSS REVENUE
0.00
4,086.00
0.00
86.005,819.02
SALES CHGE CARD DISCOUNTS
1.3713.380.00
0.00
25.14-------------- -------------------------- -------------- -------------TOTAL GROSS REVENUE
1.374,072.62
0.00
86.005,793.88
BUDGET----
------ L A S T
COSTS
0.00
---0.00
---0.00
DIRECT COSTS
0.00
0.00
3,489.72
--------------------------- -------------TOTAL DIRECT COSTS
0.00
0.00
3,489.72
0.00
--------------
----------
1,137.26
-------------- --------------------------- -------------REVENUE BEFORE OPER EXP
1.372,935.36
86.002,304.16
OPERATING EXPENSES
MEETINGS EXPENSES
0.00
0.00
LEGAL & ACCOUNTING
0.00
404.12
POSTAGE
0.00
0.00
OFFICE SUPPLIES
0.00
0.00
FIELD SUPPLIES
0.00
0.00
DATA COMMUNICATIONS
0.00
20.00
MISCELLANEOUS
0.00
0.00
----
1,137.26
102.25
652.12
0.00
0.00
0.00
68.17
0.00
95.36
0.00
0.00
20.00
453.00
0.00
371.00
--------------------------- -------------TOTAL EXPENSES
122.25
424.12
1,273.60
0.00
----------
476.53
20.8861.81
0.00
31.17
353.97
-------------1,268.65
----------
---0.00
0.00
---0.00
-------------- --------------------------- -------------NET REVENUE FROM OPERAT
123.621,666.71
510.121,030.56
19.89
41.24
33.10
-------------- --------------------------- -------------EXCESS (DEFICIT)
103.731,707.95
501.211,063.66
----------
OTHER INCOME
8.91
==============
==============
==============
RUN DATE: 12/31/15
PAGE
2
RUN TIME: 10:23 AM
----------
============== ==============
THE BRITISH BRIGADE
Income Statement
FOR THE MONTH ENDING
12/31/15
GENERATION 16 - PERIOD 12
------ T H I S
Y E A R -------Y E A R ----THIS MONTH
12 MONTHS
12
MONTHS
THIS MONTH
12 MONTHS
=============================================================================
*** SUBSIDIARY SCHEDULE ***
GROSS REVENUE
REGIMENTAL DUES
0.00
2,103.00
0.00
86.002,192.00
EVENT FEES-GROSS
0.00
150.00
0.00
0.00
250.00
DONATIONS
0.00
150.00
0.00
0.00
165.00
SUTLER FEES
0.00
165.00
0.00
0.00
1,807.00
RAFFLES
0.00
1,143.00
0.00
0.00
905.02
Liability Insurance
0.00
375.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
OTHER
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
500.00
-------------- -------------------------- -------------- -------------0.00
4,086.00
0.00
86.005,819.02
BUDGET----
------ L A S T
SALES CHGE CARD DISCOUNTS
Bill CC Dsct - Rgt Dues
0.00
0.00
6.43Bill CC Dsct - Donations
0.00
0.00
0.00
Bill CC Dsct - Sutlers
0.00
0.00
18.71-
1.37-
12.35-
0.00
1.03-
0.00
0.00
----
--------------
0.00
0.00
-------------- --------------------------1.3713.3825.14-
DIRECT COSTS
EVENT FEES-DISTRIBUTION
0.00
0.00
0.00
2,895.83
EVENT COSTS
0.00
0.00
0.00
593.89
Liability Insurance
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
----------------- -------------- --------------
0.00
1,137.26
0.00
RUN DATE: 12/31/15
PAGE
1
RUN TIME: 10:21 AM
----------
0.00
545.26
592.00
--------------
0.00
----------
3,489.72
THE BRITISH BRIGADE
Balance Sheet
AS OF 12/31/15
** THIS MONTH THIS YEAR **
** THIS MONTH LAST YEAR **
=============================================================================
ASSETS
------------------------CURRENT ASSETS
CASH
12,321.21
13,941.16
---------------
--------------TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS
12,321.21
13,941.16
FIXED ASSETS
----------------------------TOTAL FIXED ASSETS
0.00
0.00
OTHER ASSETS
----------------------------TOTAL OTHER ASSETS
0.00
0.00
---------------
TOTAL ASSETS
13,941.16
12,321.21
===============
LIABILITIES & EQUITY
-----------------------
CURRENT LIABILITIES
PREPAID DUES
150.00
62.00
----------------------------TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES
150.00
62.00
---------------
--------------TOTAL LIABILITIES
150.00
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
RETAINED EARNINGS
11,107.55
CURRENT EARNINGS
1,063.66
62.00
12,171.21
1,707.95
---------------
--------------TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY
12,171.21
13,879.16
---------------
--------------TOTAL LIAB & STOCK EQUITY
12,321.21
13,941.16
ATTACHMENT 2
Followers of the Army Report, 2015
It was great seeing those of you who were at the annual meeting this weekend. I hope everyone
had a safe drive on home as well! Just a friendly reminder that we would like to put forth every
effort this year to see that followers are added to either the distaff yahoo group or Facebook page
(a specific distaff facebook page is in the making). This past year, we noticed that word about
the camp follower events didn't spread as widely as hoped when we designated one distaff per
unit to receive the notifications, and thus wish to expand the yahoo group to all distaff. I would
ask that you please do me the huge favor of introducing me to your followers and to request that
they join the BB Distaff yahoo group by emailing: britishbrigadedistaffsubscribe@yahoogroups.com, or if they would prefer I can also add them to it myself, pending
receiving their email addresses. In addition I will attend the morning officer meetings at BB
national events and inform those present about the weekend's distaff activities (please then
spread word to your followers), however as much advance notice about attendance is desired and
thus the effort to improve channels of communication.
I would also like to take this time to report on the Camp Followers meeting that took place this
weekend. Please note that this year the meeting was conducted in an informal manner, so as to
be conducive to socialization. I had noted this year that many followers indicated a desire to
know more followers hence this decision. Attendees brought crafts/projects to work on and
everyone swapped tips and advice, and also shared stories. I think I can confidently say that all
had a good time and we all know one another better. In addition we also discussed this past
year's distaff events and discussed ideas for the upcoming year. There were 6 in attendance:
Vickie Woodford, Fran Florio, Doreen Kruk, Jane Pease, Gracie McNeal and myself. The
meeting started at 9am and concluded at 11:30am. Here were the findings for the upcoming year:
-More scenarios involving followers in camp- this provides followers with something to partake
in and also will aid in attracting the public into camp.
-Ensure that distaff activities are made known to the public by adding them to the event program
(if available), having a caller, etc
-Having stations for specific crafts, letter writing, nursing station, etc and create a "scavenger
hunt" for the public to find each and ask questions.
-People of the Armies Programs that involve asking for volunteers the day of from each unit,
giving each one minute to speak about what they are wearing and if there are any doubles (ie:
multiple British infantry) asking the other person to speak for one minute about their firearm.
Jane Pease as done the People of the Armies this way in the past and experienced much success.
Respectfully Submitted.
Erin Brown
ATTACHMENT 3
Battle Road 2016