'Mercenary' from ChristopherS: Gone to Texas

While the Texas War of Independence from Mexico did inspire many Texans and those that travel to Texas to fight for the cause there were others who went for adventure and yes profit and this is one of those individuals.

The Texas War of Independence or Revolution if you prefer was fought from Oct 2 1835 to April 21 1836 between the American/Texan colonists, Tanjanos (Mexican  Texans) and Volunteers from the US against the Mexican Government led by President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna because they felt their rights were being taken away by the increasingly centralization of the Mexican goverment. After defeating the small Mexican garrisons in Texas the colonists declared the Republic of Texas to be born. This resulted in Santa Anna marching with an army to reclaim Texas with victories at Gollad and the famous battle of the Alamo before eventually being defeated by Sam Houston's newly trained  Texan army at the battle of San Jacinto. While the Mexican army was forced to retreat behind the Rio Grande they never recognized the Republic of Texas and continued a slow burn conflict until the US Annexed Texas in 1845 which led directly to the Mexican - American war resulting in Mexico's defeat and the end to Mexico's bid to reclaim Texas.

I've always been interested in the Texas War of Independence since I was a kid really from watching John Wayne's Alamo version(still think it's the best) and always thought it would be nice to do the period, but just didn't like any figures for it until I discovered Boot Hill miniatures and was blown away and knew I had to collect them! The figures just ooze character!  I now already have a box full of these wonderful figures in my lead pile just waiting for me to really fully commit to them, but right now I have other projects that first need attention. However, this will give a small sample of what is to come for those that are interested.

What is also great about this period is it's perfect for Sharpes Practice which I'll be modeling my forces for. It will work wonderfully for skirmishes due to the small size of the forces involved. However, I might need to create my own lists as there isn't any for it just yet that I know of.

I mostly painted the figures using Foundry paints and some Vallejo and were a pleasure to paint. While it's tiring for my old eyes I did some black lining on this figure as the range is very well suited for that and I wanted to bring out more of the character in these figures.

So that's 1 28mm mounted miniature + bonus round for 60pts.

Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company- Boot Hill Miniatures

'Reconnaissance' from ChristopherS: River Hawks

The American Indian is an iconic symbol of reconnaissance and is the first thing that comes to my mind when thinking of the ideal scout. There is no doubt myth and legend are part of it, but with these type things it usually is based on some foundation of truth.  There is enough written testimony of both civilians and military leaders using valuable information gathered from Indians or on the flip side being surprised on their sudden appearance out of nowhere to substantiate this belief.

The scene before is set in the French and Indian Wars with a couple of Huron warriors allied to the French gliding up the Mohawk river looking for the best location to conduct a raid on the English and their Mohawk allies.

The figures are from Redoubt who have an excellent French and Indian war range with canoes included for Indians, French and the English. I painted the miniatures using a combination of Foundry paints and Vallejo paints.

This is a planned Deployment marker for Sharp Practice from TFL. If you like making deployment markers then French and Indian Wars is excellent period for that as you can make both water and land markers offering lots of creative ways to explore making markers. I plan on making some more.:-)

Let me see that's 2X 28mm figure for 10pts, 1 canoe 10pts. as I don't know how to score it and 50pts. for the theme round for a total of 70pts.

Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company Redoubt Miniatures

'BFG' from ChristoherS: Hessian Jaeger Amusettes

An  Amusette was a very high caliber rifle that could be anywhere from 90 to 200 caliber and weigh some 50 plus pounds! Due to it's weight it was often attached to fixed walls or gun carriages. However it wasn't so heavy that single infantry men couldn't carry it and in fact they often did, but if possible in teams to help with firing, loading and carrying.

Typical amusettes were huge at around 7ft in length to a standard 5ft Brown Bess musket although they could be shortened to make them more portable. They could fire up to 10x the distance a normal musket and with accuracy. A standard musket could fire up to 50 to 100 yards and an amusette could fire 500 to 1000 yards giving it not only greater punch but range as well.

When available these weapons proved popular in North America during the AWI because they could go places artillery had difficulty in traversing in the hilly, wooded terrain that commanders had to deal with.

This one is mounted on a pivot and is probably not what the Hessians used, but is similar in purpose as a super high caliber rifle

A few Hessian Jaegar re-enactors showing Amusette's in action

Hessian Jaegers were elite light infantry that served in the German Hessian mercenary forces hired by the British Crown in the fighting in North America in the AWI and gained a reputation for excellence in the field. It's recorded that the Jeager's did have some Amusette's and were used in some actions, but as to how wide spread or often is difficult to say.

The figures are 28mm from Perry Miniatures painted using Foundry paints with some Vallejo and Mig pigments for some dusting.

Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company- Perry miniatures

'West' from ChristopherS: Abraham Lincoln Brigade

Many Americans living in the west were not content to sit idle and watch events unfold in Spain and so elected to join in the fighting with most ending up in what's now called the Abraham Lincoln brigade which supported the Republicans although some Americans also joined the Nationalists they were fewer in number.The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was composed of battalions from the 17th and later the 58th Lincoln battalions which were largely made up of American volunteers who were part of the International brigades( Foreign fighters in Spain) fighting on behalf of the Spanish Republican Government vs the Rebel Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39.

The battalion while commonly called the Lincoln Brigade was actually made up of  the Lincoln battalion initially, and later was joined by the George Washington Battalion, Canadian MacKenzie-Papineau Battalions, some Irish, Latins and eventually a small amount of Spanish. The Lincoln battalion was formed in January 1937 of highly motivated recruits and after less then two months training were thrown into action with a rifle and some bullets and used primarily as assault troops. Obviously this lead to the battalion having very high casualty rates indeed losing some 22.5% of it's strength by the end of the war.

In 1937 the Lincoln Brigade participated in the battle of Jarama losing 2/3 of it's number including it's commander in fruitless assaults. After a short reconstitution the battalion then moved on to the offensive at Brunete where it was joined by the Washington battalion and secured the town of Villanueva de la Cañada after a hard fight before attacking "Mosquito Ridge," in series of grinding assaults that failed to remove the Nationalists. The casualties were very high including the loss of another commander resulting in the two battalions being joined together. The brigade then saw action again in the Aragon offensive fighting well and were later joined by Macenzie-Papineau Battalions for the fighting at Fuentes de Ebro again receiving high casualties in leading the action at the front. After Fuentes de Ebro the exhausted brigade was given a rest. In December the brigade fought in the battles around Teruel both fighting defensive and offensive engagements to dislodge the Nationalists before ending in a stalemate.

1938 could best be described as a disaster as the brigade was caught up in what became known as "The retreats" which was basically a series of delaying and holding actions as Nationalists forces cut the Republic in two. The brigade was dispersed and reformed repeatedly during the retreats losing it's two highest ranking officers before finally consolidating at the Ebro river. The brigade then participated in the Ebro offensive which eventually stalled out after the Nationalists regrouped halting the offensive in it's tracks. At this point the International brigades were withdrawn from the conflict by prime minister Negrin in the vain hope that Franco's Nationalists would do the same with his German and Italian troops which they of course did not as they had the advantage at this point.

The brigade included 3,015 volunteers over the course of the war made up mostly of Americans and included some Canadians and small amount of Latins and Irish. Because the Americans were an independent bunch that preferred to vote on things rather then dogmatically follow orders so they eventually included Spanish troops and commissars both for communications and to insure loyalty to the government on their terms. The brigade was mostly white, but did include some African Americans making them the first American integrated combat unit. They were also mostly communists/socialists and ardent anti-fascists, but did include some who joined just for adventure or to escape a bad life back home.

The figures are of course from the excellent Empress miniatures SCW line and are 28mm. The very nice flag is from Flags of War. I painted the figures using mostly Vallejo paints, but did include some Foundry paints. They are organized for Bolt Action with a Captain/Lt. and two guards and Standard bearer and his two guards, but they can also be used with Chain of Command as well.

I still have more SCW on my near to do list to try and keep competitive in the SCW side challenge with Curt, Nick and Phil plus I'm starting to get close to a battle worthy force which is always nice!:-) I have a some more Republicans in the pipeline, but will be tackling some Nationalists pretty soon as well.

Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company- Empress

'Home' from ChristopherS: North American Blockhouse

The scene above is of a supply train trundling past a blockhouse bringing much needed supplies to a nearby frontier settlement.

Since I'm American I wanted to enter something into the "home" bonus round that gives an image of my home and thought a North American log style Blockhouse fits that bill rather nicely as it conjures up that colonial feel of the frontiers of North America.

A blockhouse is a small fort intended to protect against enemy that probably didn't have any serious siege equipment . If a blockhouse was upgraded to defeat siege equipment then it was more of a redoubt or fortress. Some were fitted with artillery, but all had some form loopholes or window ports to fire out of. It could serve as a small fort, barracks, store house, place of refuge or a guard post on the frontier.

This particular blockhouse is a typical North American log cabin style constructed of logs and boarding supported by a stone block cut base with gravel coating and the door is of reinforced oak wood. The window ports a large enough for defenders to lean out if needed to both defend the base of blockhouse or pour water on it if attacked by fire.

The model itself is from Grand Manor terrain which I happen to be a huge fan of and is quite a large model that is intended for 28mm. You can fit an artillery piece plus several figures in the model itself which is rather nice. It's a resin piece so some clean up is required, but wasn't too much trouble. I painted the model in mostly craft paints with some Foundry colors for the moss and a bit of Vallejo on the gravel. I also used a healthy amount of Mig pigments to give some weathering effects.

Well it's been a tough week as I've been dealing with a nasty case of man flu, but I'm happy I crossed the finish line in time to get this in for the bonus round as it was a bit dicey. Only the blockhouse was painted for this entry as the figures and carts were already from my collection.

Thanks for viewing!
Miniature Company- Grand Manor

'East' from ChristopherS: Aftermath in the East Woods

I've had an enduring passion for the American Civil War since a boy really and just about every challenge I try and include at least one ACW piece and while I was reading up on Antietam again the idea came to me for the "East" bonus theme round.

Just to set the mood I thought I would include the soundtrack "Ashokan Farewell" in the youtube clip below assembled by Curt Franz made famous by Ken Burns monumental American Civil war series. Enjoy the photo's in the clip and listen to the song while you read the post if you wish. Personally I find the song just seeps into your bones and pulls you right into 1860's America.

Antietam or Sharpsburg as known by the confederates occurred on September 17, 1862 and was the bloodiest single day of combat in the American Civil War resulting in a staggering 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing. This was the South's first invasion of the North and resulted in the confederates achieving a remarkable tactical draw when one considers the enemy commander had your plans and had considerably superior numbers of 87,000 men to your 38,000! That said, it was a strategic victory for the union as the confederates were forced to withdraw the following morning having not the men or materials to press the invasion.

So how does the East Woods fit into all this some may ask? The East Woods is where the first infantry engagements took place during the battle starting with the evening exchanges between pickets prior to the battle and moving on into a full on infantry slugfest in the morning between parts of Hooker's Corps and Jackson's division. This went on for about 3 hours with each side changing control of the woods until reinforcements of the union 12th Corps finally pushed the confederates out, but at high loss of men including their commander Gen. Joseph K.F. Mansfield.

"The shells crashing through the trees and fluttering overhead as well as the musketry… all contributed to mark the time, and place, fixed in one's memory forever."
Diary of Sergeant Charles Broomhall, 124th Pennsylvania Infantry

Ambulance Corps

Other then disease and direct combat soldiers often died simply by waiting for medical attention while wounded on the battlefield. Wagons were employed to gather the wounded to cut down on losses, but the problem was that often these early wagons had issues with corruption of the drivers who required payment to carry wounded, stole from their passengers and some were just flat out to lazy to gather the wounded. Also it didn't help that often the wagons were so lightly constructed that riding them was very uncomfortable due to damage to the roads from weather and shells not to mention some even turning over causing further harm to the wounded

The situation dramatically improved with Dr. Jonathan Letterman's system which increased the weight of the wagon, number of horses and increased passenger load. Additions were given to the wagon like compartments to store medical supplies, stretchers, water, and removable benches and seats that adjusted with the number of passengers. Also units started to train ambulance crews and have routine inspections. Letterman's system became so effective that all wounded were gathered within 1 day at Antietam and inspired the formation of the ambulance corps after the battle. The confederates adopted a similar system, but was not as effective mainly due to shortages of men, supplies and wagons.
 

The uniforms of medical officer/surgeon was dark blue frock coat or whatever coat he liked with emerald green epaulettes with "MS" inserted, emerald green sash and an 1840's medical staff sword. His stewards(NCO's) usually wore frock coats with inverted half chevrons of emerald green with yellow edging and a red sash. Privates typically wore normal union infantry uniform with perhaps a green trim on the kepi if at all.

The model itself is from Perry miniatures and has been on my to do list for some time. A bit tricky to construct and clean, but works out nicely in the end.

I painted the piece using mostly Foundry colors with some Vallejo and MIG pigments for the stones. I decided to have some fun with the horse and went for a "painted pattern Appaloosa". Appaloosa horses are something quite American so I included one to round out the piece.

Thought I would include an old fashioned looking sepia picture to further add to the atmosphere.

All are 28mm so I think this gives me 15pts for wagon, 30 pts for full figures, 5pts for lying down figures, 10 pts for the horse and 50 pts. for the bonus round for a total of 110pts.

Thanks for viewing!:-)
Miniature Company- Perry Miniatures