I bought a copy of Republic to Empire. It all works very nicely, elegant even and is simple to master.
Any basing style will do.
Troops have the usual categories, Guards, Veteran and whatever else. There is also an Elite designation that improves morale. You could have Raw Elite for very enthusiastic recruits.
As ever with Barry's stuff it is well researched. Consequently the artillery plays differently from most other sets. Batteries have a large foot print and cannot be passed through and they need to retire and refit after a certain number of rounds.
It has options for the Revolutionary Period and 1812.
It is a big book and very nicely illustrated. Should you go ahead make sure you get the fold out card QRS it is often all you need to play the game.
Worth a look certainly. I recall there are AAR on line somewhere.