An eighteenth-century army on campaign lived behind a ring of sentries. Outside the camp proper, picket lines of alert infantry stood watch at fixed posts; further out, mounted vedettes patrolled the approaches; further still, occasional scouting parties ranged beyond. The infantry sentry's job was to spot the enemy and give warning, then hold his position until reinforcements arrived or he was ordered to fall back. The kneeling alert position depicted by this figure — weight low, musket horizontal with bayonet fixed, eye on the ground in front — was the standard posture for a sentry expecting trouble. He could move quickly in any direction, his musket was ready to fire or to receive a charge with the bayonet, and his low silhouette made him harder for an approaching enemy to spot. The 1779-87 dates on the figure cover the long second half of the war, when the Continental Line had become disciplined enough to hold positions properly through long, tense nights.

This figure shows a Continental Line soldier in the kneeling alert position — right knee down, left knee up, musket held horizontally across the body with the bayonet fixed forward, eyes scanning for movement. He wears the late-Continental uniform: blue coat with red facings, white waistcoat and cross-belts, buff breeches, the tricorne worn brim-up. The pose is the moment of watchfulness rather than action — a sentry, a flank guard, or the leftmost man in a kneeling firing rank waiting for the order to fire. He pairs with a kneeling firing soldier (the same posture in the act of shooting), a basic Continental Line soldier, and a soldier in the standing defending position — together composing a defensive line of alert, ready, and engaged infantry.

1/30 scale (60mm), matte-painted, single figure boxed. Catalog number 16086. 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.