Washington's Bodyguard Officer with Spontoon

Washington's Bodyguard — officially the Commander-in-Chief's Guard, often called His Excellency's Guard or the Life Guard — was raised in March 1776 to provide personal security for George Washington and to safeguard the Continental Army's papers, baggage, and pay chest. Washington selected the men himself by physical specification and character: between five-nine and five-ten in height, marksmen, sober, of unquestioned loyalty. The unit grew from about fifty men to a peak of two hundred and fifty during the worst of the war, was present at every campaign Washington commanded, and was disbanded in 1783 when the Continental Army went home. The officers of the Bodyguard wore the same blue coat with buff facings that distinguished Washington's headquarters staff, and were drawn from the most experienced men in the Continental Line.

This figure shows an officer of the Bodyguard in dress uniform with his spontoon — the seven-foot polearm with a spear point and crossbar that was the symbol of infantry officer rank in eighteenth-century armies. Officers used the spontoon ceremonially and as a signaling tool: tilting the point forward signaled advance, tilting it back signaled withdrawal, and the salute with the spontoon was a recognized military courtesy. By 1779 most British officers had stopped carrying them, partly because Continental sharpshooters had been targeting men with spontoons specifically. He pairs with the Washington's Bodyguard Drummer (the same-unit complement, in musician's reverse colors), General Washington Mounted (the man he protected), and the broader American Revolution & Federal Era collection.

1/30 scale (60mm), matte-painted, single figure boxed. Catalog number 16102. As with the rest of the W. Britain modern range, the painting is photographic-quality detail intended to read well in dioramas and display cases.