Gakuheitai Reenactors
The Gakuheitai (額兵隊, "Western-style Army") was a modernised unit of Sendai Domain, founded by Kyotaro Hoshi in 1868 that served during the Boshin War. They saw very little action on mainland Honshu, however, upon their retreat to Hokkaidō alongside other Shogunate forces, they would participate in the battle of Hakodate.
Here, their performance showed that the previous failures of the Shogunate military were not down to a lack of conviction but rather a gap in military technology. The vast majority would die during the battle, however, due to overwhelming Imperial strength. Those few that survived presumably disbanding not long after the dissolution of the Ezo Republic.
History[]
Following the upset at the battle of Toba-Fushimi, Sendai Domain found itself in a precarious position. Nominally a supporter of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Domain nonetheless was not eager to participate in the Boshin War, especially against an opponent like the Satchō Alliance. However, they watched the unfolding events of the war and gradually soured towards the Imperial faction, especially following the brutal treatment of Aizu Domain. Yet they feared the widening gap in military technology between themselves and the Imperial forces, especially those of Chōshū Domain and thus recalled Kyotaro Hoshi, then stationed in Yokohama, to train and equip a more modern unit to combat the Imperials.
Purchasing a large number of British Snider-Enfield Rifles from arms dealers in Yokohama, Hoshi chose to form the unit from the second and third sons of various samurai clans. Formed of 6 platoons, the unit numbered 800 men, possessed a howitzer and several field guns alongside having a military band and engineers attached to them. However, the unit would fail to see action in the early stage of the war due to Sendai's surrender to the new Imperial Government. Despite Sendai's daimyō, Date Yoshikuni, pleading with loyalist units to follow suit, many including the Gakuheitai refused to do so. The Gakuheitai, lead by Kyotaro Hoshi sortied south and seized Soma Castle.
However, knowing they would be unable to hold Soma Castle without the support of Sendai Domain the Gakuheitai instead followed Enomoto Takeaki, boarding his ships in Matsushima Bay and travelling north to Hakodate. Alongside numerous other pro-Shogunate units, such as the Shōgitai, Karasugumi and Yūgekitai the Gakuheitai would participate in the battle of Hakodate, most prominently at the battle of Kikonai. The vast majority would fight to the death in this last stand.