User blog comment:El Alamein/French Revolutionary Militia vs. American Minutemen/@comment-379205-20120821222536

119's "Don't Fire Till You See the Whites of Their Eyes" Edges


 * Melee 1: The Bayonet beats the crude club as it is more likely to kill instantly with its sharp force trauma, and has a longer reach. Edge: Minutemen
 * Melee 2: While the French Revolution-era fish hook is more dangerous than a modern fishhook, I'd still rather have a Tomahawk than a fish hook in a close-in fight, as the tomahawk can cause greater damage with a powerful strike, and is still probably a bit longer than the fish hook. Edge: Minutemen
 * Melee 3: The French dagger would likely be some sort of Main Gauche-type weapon, which would be longer than the Iroquois knife. Edge: French Revolutionary Militia.
 * Swords: While Washington had a colichemarde, now that I think about it (admittedly I have also give the Minutemen a Colichemarde), I'm not sure how common colichemardes would have been in comparison to say a saber, but whatever, The colichemarde has greater length and is better for thrusting, where as the cutlass has a heavier blade and is better for slashing. Neither side would be exactly expert swordsmen, so the cutlass probably takes this as it would have been easier to use effectively. Edge: Militia.
 * Muskets: The Brown Bess and the Charleville were both muzzle loading muskets that couldn't hit the broad side of barn at more than 50 meters and even then, were none to accurate and most effective in massed formations. Even.
 * Cannon: The French cannon fires a heavier ball. Edge: Militia
 * X-Factors: While no X-Factors are listed here, I will note here that the American Minutemen were mostly members of the colonial militia prior to the outbreak of the Revolution, so would have some training in combat, and may have been veterans of the French and Indian/Seven Years War (whatever you want to call it). Those who were newer recruits would likely at least have some experience using a gun, as a significant number of American colonists were farmers who would have learned to use a musket for hunting and protected. The Revolutionary Militia, on the other hand, were more urban, and would not have much experience with firearms or combat. For this reason, I give the edge to the Minutemen.
 * Overall Winner: I'm going against the flow and giving this to the Minutemen, with their better training and experience giving them a slight edge, just enough to win them this battle between two very similarly armed forces.