An eighteenth-century company was commanded by its officers but run by its sergeants. The captain or lieutenant gave the orders; the sergeants made sure the orders happened — drilling the recruits, dressing the firing line, handing out cartridges, replacing the loaders who went down, keeping discipline in camp, and teaching every new private how to load and fire by the eight-step manual exercise. The Non-Commissioned Officers were where Continental Army discipline lived in practice. In the Continental Line, sergeants were drawn from the most experienced and reliable men in the company, often promoted from corporal after years of service. They wore a red worsted sash over the right shoulder as their visible badge of rank, and many carried a halberd or short polearm — partly as a symbol of authority, partly as a practical tool for dressing the line and arranging the men by physical contact when voice orders couldn't be heard. The 1779-87 period this figure depicts is when that NCO corps was at its most professional.

This figure shows a Continental Line sergeant in the standing position — halberd grounded, free hand on his belt near the pistol he carries for emergency use. He wears the standard Continental late-war uniform — blue coat with red facings, white waistcoat and cross-belts, buff breeches, the tricorne worn brim-up — distinguished by the red worsted sash worn over the right shoulder, the NCO badge of office. He pairs with a basic Continental Line soldier, the 1st American Regiment variant, and a soldier in the standing defending position — together composing a Continental infantry section under NCO leadership.

1/30 scale (60mm), matte-painted, single figure boxed. Catalog number 16082. 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.