User blog comment:El Alamein/Lewis and Clark vs. Paul Revere/@comment-4661256-20120926215940

El Alamein's "Yes, I'm Voting on My Own Battle" Edges:

 Long Range: 1792 Contract Rifle vs. Pennsylvania Long Rifle:  At first glance, the rifles appear to be the same, but the 1792 rifle does enjoy minor benefits in an improved rifling system for greater accuracy. Combine that with the fact that Lewis and Clark's party were backwoodsmen who had experience with this weapon, and city-boy Revere won't be able to shoot at a distance as effectively.

Edge: Lewis and Clark

 Mid Range: Springfield Model 1795 vs. Brown Bess:  The Brown Bess has a higher rate of fire and does pack a larger caliber round, and this is the main weapon Paul Revere and his militia would have used, whereas the Lewis and Clark party would have been more reliant on their longer ranged rifles.

Edge: Paul Revere

 Close Range: Knives and Axe vs. Swords:  Paul Revere's swords are obviously longer and meant to be used in a disciplined military fashion, while Lewis and Clark's backwoodsmen would use their knives and axes in a Native American guerrilla style of combat that focuses on closing the distance rapidly to attack. These two weapon sets are meant to do different things, and if Revere can keep his foes at bay, his swords will do better. But if Lewis and Clark can close the distance, then their knives will do better.

Edge: Even

 Special Weapons: Pipe Tomahawk vs. 6-Pound Cannon:  It's not as lopsided as it would appear - the Tomahawk is versatile as it can be thrown or used in a melee fashion, and it compliments the down-and-dirty fighting style of Lewis and Clark's party. However, Revere was an artillery officer, so he and his men will have great skills in being able to position and fire their cannon for maximum effect. The rate of fire means the cannon won't be great for more than a few shots, but the devastation it will pound out is easily more than enough to outweight the Tomahawk's close-ranged versatility.

Edge: Paul Revere

You guys don't seem to know how to really use my X-Factors, so I'll demonstrate.

Leadership:

Lewis and Clark do have a minor advantage in leadership here, because Paul Revere was court-martialed for stubbornness and insubordination. Lewis and Clark really held the party together, and their leadership was enough to take the group all the way to present-day Washington state. Paul Revere isn't a bad leader, but his stubbornness may hurt his group's performance.

Lewis and Clark: 77

Paul Revere: 70

 Teamwork: 

Lewis and Clark take another minor advantage, simply because for their expedition to be successful, every single member of their small party had to pitch in maximum effort. Paul Revere worked as part of one larger military force, so responsibilities weren't so demanding for each individual person.

Lewis and Clark: 79

Paul Revere: 74

 Training: 

Paul Revere and his men don't have a lot of training, because they're just militiamen, but Lewis and Clark don't have any at all - they're simply backwoodsmen and educated men thrown together on an expedition meant for exploring.

Lewis and Clark: 6

Paul Revere: 33

 Experience: 

Lewis and Clark and their men do have a lot of experience hunting and with survival out in the wilderness, and that counts for something. But, Paul Revere's more conventional and more consistent experience fighting the standing British army will leave him with more combat experience.

Lewis and Clark: 55

Paul Revere: 71

 Logistics: 

Both groups score relatively well here. Lewis and Clark have a very minor advantage because the US government supplied them for their trip, while Paul Revere's colonial militia had a more limited set of resources provided by the revolutionary US gov't.

Lewis and Clark: 80

Paul Revere: 76

 Stealth: 

Lewis and Clark's men had to be stealthy, as they had to hunt to survive and sometimes sneak past hostile Natives to avoid conflict. Paul Revere's minutemen aren't bulls in a china shop, exactly, but they're not quite ninjas either.

Lewis and Clark: 78

Paul Revere: 68

Audacity:

Paul Revere's men are very audacious - the colonial militia were never ones to shy from a fight, even against larger, more powerful foes. Lewis and Clark's men didn't back down from fights, but they didn't fight too often, and they weren't looking for trouble if it wasn't necessary.

Lewis and Clark: 67

Paul Revere: 78

 Killer Instinct: 

Again, Revere's men were soldiers in a conventional war, even if they were simply poorly-trained regulars. Lewis and Clark were on an official peacekeeping mission, and they only killed to defend themselves (or, in the case of animals, to eat them).

Lewis and Clark: 69

Paul Revere: 74

 Fatigue: 

Lewis and Clark are at a very large advantage here. Their men had to make do with what shelter they could find in the wilderness, and they literally had to persevere through whatever nature could throw at them. Revere and his men had beds to go to at night, and if the fight drags on for hours and hours, Lewis and Clark's men will have the energy to keep going while Revere and his men simply might gas out.

Lewis and Clark: 84

Paul Revere: 75

 Discipline: 

Neither group is very strongly disciplined (Paul Revere was court-martialed, in fact), but the minutemen are still part of a standing army, as opposed to Lewis and Clark's group of backwoodsmen oddly matched with scientists and other learned men.

Lewis and Clark: 44

Paul Revere: 56

OVERALL WINNER: LEWIS AND CLARK

Paul Revere and his men do have better training and combat experience, but they're really out of their element trying to fight resourceful men like Lewis and Clark. The expedition group were literally stuffs of legend, because they went on foot across the continental United States with what they could carry on them. The rifle is the deciding weapon, for me, because of its long range and great accuracy, and the Lewis and Clark group will really be better with their rifles. Once Paul Revere's men start to suffer casualties, the musket volley will be less effective, and really Revere's cannon and musket require numbers of people operating them to be successful. Paul Revere is a more brash, bold leader, but he's not a very wise one when it comes to making battlefield decisions. Lewis and Clark had to be great leaders or else have their expedition fall apart in the middle of nowhere. Lewis and Clark's better long ranged weapon, greater endurance and lower fatigue factor, and their strong sense of teamwork and leadership are what will catapult them to triumph in this fight.