Just got back home from the convention. I had planned to post after each day but my Kindle Fire gave up the ghost and stopped working. So now that its fixed I will give a recap of the events and a separate post on the two big games I played in.
Not sure about the game but a zeppelin is always going to grab your attention. I think it was some science fiction game in a alternative universe. No matter the airship is pretty cool.
American Revolution game, the Battle of Guilford Courthouse with 15mm Wofun miniatures. Simple but very nice looking game. These look like great travel type figures when on the go and you don't want to lug around the painted lead. I like these very much.
Wings of War air plane game. Fighting over the skies of France.
The War of the Worlds Martian invasion. Based on the books by Scott Washington the Martians invade the world again.
Attack on Roman fortifications. Really nice looking game with excellent terrain.
Old School style Napoleonic game. This was great! Reminded me of when I got started with miniature games in the 1970's. Simple terrain and basic painted figures. Big beefy battalions that look the part. Not sure of the figures, might be minifigs.
Ice Station Zebra? Very clever terrain for fighting in the Arctic. Great looking submarine popping up through the ice.
Hunting Moby Dick the great white whale. Or is the whale hunting you?
Interesting part of Wargames history. This is from the US Army and was one of there tables for gaming out situations in Europe in the 1980's. The table is made of pressed tin. Its most interesting.
Really interesting WW1 game on a hex type table for movement.
The Battle of Chelsea Creak 27-28 May 1775. During the siege of Boston both sides sent troops to gather hay, livestock and food from the islands of Boston Harbour. One one of these raids British Marines landed from tge Royal Navy Schooner Diana and the sloop Britannia coached with Americans under John Stark. When the ships entered Chelsea creek the Diana ran aground and had to be abandoned. Outstanding looking game
Battle of Bunker Hill 17 June 1775. Great terrain! Especially the ships in the harbour and Charlestown. They definitely put a lot of work into this one.
A favorite of the convention; the Alamo in 15mm. Always a popular game this one fills up fast and I have not been able to play it. But everyone always looks like they are having fun and there are crowds around it. Outstanding! The Alamo is scratch built and follows the latest research rather then the John Wayne movie.
My posts about Historicon will be delayed due to technical difficulties. My Kindle Fire gave up the ghost and died! Waiting for the replacement from the evil empire.
Yes folks its that time of year. My annual visit to Historicon. I look forward to this each year and I am never disappointed. This year its a bit complicated as I have to first fly back north since we have been in Florida. I get to check out the house, get everything ready and then my buddy George picks me up Wednesday morning for the eight hour drive. On Thursday morning I get to play in Jim's Hannibal game. So more to follow.
Statue of the Burr Hamilton duel at Museum of Finance NYC
In American history the phrase, "The Duel" means only one thing. On July 11, 1804, the two political rivals met on a dueling ground in Weehawken, New Jersey. Hamilton’s shot went high. Burr’s shot hit Hamilton in his abdomen, pierced his liver, and lodged in his spine. He died the next day.
The Burr-Hamilton duel is famous, but also misunderstood. The practice of dueling makes little sense from the distance of two centuries. Why would rational and intelligent men risk their lives? Hundreds of men faced each other on the field of honor in early America. They fought duels because dueling made sense to them.
Marker at Weehawken New Jersey
What caused the Burr-Hamilton duel? In 1804, Burr ran for governor of New York and lost the election, due in part to Hamilton’s ardent opposition. The two men had been political rivals for fifteen years. So when a friend showed Burr some of Hamilton’s charges in a newspaper clipping—providing written proof of Hamilton’s insults—Burr acted.
The negotiation process was highly ritualized. At the outset of most honor disputes, an offended man would write a carefully phrased letter to his attacker demanding an explanation. From that point on, the two men would communicate through letters delivered by friends—known as "seconds"—who tried to negotiate an apology that appeased everyone and dishonored no one. In many cases, the seconds were successful, and there matters ended. Upon receiving Burr’s initial letter of inquiry, Hamilton may well have expected little more than a ritualized exchange of letters, particularly given that before 1804, Hamilton had been involved in ten bloodless honor disputes.
Burr
Yet sometimes, an insulted man felt so wounded that only a life-threatening exchange of fire could repair the damagein his opinion. In such casesl by demanding an apology so extreme that no honorable man could concede to it. Burr did this when his negotiations with Hamilton went awry and spawned new insults. Feeling profoundly dishonored and desperate for a chance to redeem his name, Burr demanded that Hamilton apologize for all of his insults throughout their fifteen-year rivalry. Predictably, Hamilton refused, Burr challenged him to a duel, Hamilton accepted the challenge, and their seconds began planning their pending "interview" in Weehawken.
Even at this point, knowing that he would soon face Hamilton on the field of honor, Burr probably wasn’t eager to kill him. For political duelists, killing their opponent often did more harm than good, making them seem bloodthirsty, opening them to attack by their opponents, and making them liable for arrest. Burr suffered this fate after killing Hamilton. Political opponents accused him of being a dishonorable, merciless killer (insisting, for example, that he was wearing a bullet-proof silk coat during the duel, and that he laughed as he left the dueling ground). He was charged with murder in New Jersey and New York. With the public turned against him and criminal charges pending, Burr—the Vice President of the United States—fled to South Carolina and went into hiding.
Hamilton
Was Hamilton trying to commit suicide by fighting a duel as some authors suggest? Probably not. There’s no denying that Hamilton was in low spirits in 1804. His political career was in decline. His political enemies, the Jeffersonian Republicans, were in power and seemed likely to stay there. And his oldest son Philip had died in a duel defending his father’s name three years past. Hamilton had reason to feel depressed. But given that deaths were relatively uncommon in political duels, it is highly unlikely that he was trying to kill himself by accepting Burr’s challenge. He had no reason to assume that he would die. By Hamilton’s logic, not accepting Burr’s challenge may have seemed suicidal; by dishonoring himself, he would have destroyed his reputation and career.
Why didn’t Hamilton decline Burr’s challenge? Why didn’t he just say no? For Hamilton, the answer was no, and he explained his reasoning in a four-page statement to be made public only in the event of his death. He didn’t want to fight Burr, he admitted, and for good reason: dueling violated his religious and moral principles, defied the law, threatened the welfare of his family, put his creditors at risk, and ultimately compelled him to "hazard much, and . . . possibly gain nothing." But by Hamilton’s logic, the duel seemed impossible to avoid. He couldn’t apologize for his insults, because he meant them. And during their negotiations, Hamilton and Burr had exchanged harsh words, making a duel near unavoidable. Equally important, Hamilton was thinking about his future—yet another reason to doubt that he was suicidal. Had he refused to duel, he explained, he would have been dishonored and thereby unable to assume a position of leadership during future crises in public affairs. To preserve his reputation as a leader, he had to accept Burr’s challenge.
The dueling pistols. Note that one was changed to cap from flint lock in the 1850's.
What happened to Burr after the duel? After hiding in South Carolina for a time, Burr returned to Washington to resume his responsibilities as vice president. In 1805, ousted from the Vice Presidency after President Jefferson’s first term, and having destroyed his career in both national and New York State politics, Burr turned his gaze west, heading towards Mexico with a small band of men, his intentions unclear. But the Jefferson administration felt sure that he was planning something treasonous, perhaps plotting a revolution to separate western states from the Union. Tried for treason in 1807, Burr was acquitted and fled to Europe, where he remained in self-imposed exile until 1812, when he returned to New York and resumed his law practice, deeply in debt. He died on September 14, 1836.
Did the Burr-Hamilton duel end dueling in America? Hamilton’s death launched an outcry of anti-dueling sentiment. Religious and social reformers denounced dueling and demanded the enforcement of anti-dueling laws. Dueling was already in decline in the North, and Hamilton’s death likely furthered its fall. But it continued to thrive in the South. Increasingly viewed as a Southern practice, it died a slow death throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, with elite politicians using it to their advantage until its demise.
Lastly, there is that funny "Got Milk " commercial about the duel
And a remake of the commercial done with Leslie Odom Jr who p!ayed Burr in the musical Hamilton.
July 5 is the 211th anniversary of the Battle of Chippewa. Although minor in terms of numbers the Battle is important in the rebuilding of the American army during the War of 1812. General Winfield Scott 's highly trained brigade is able to stand toe to toe with British regulars. The brigades gray jackets becomes the stuff of legend in the history of the American regular army.
The battle today is remembered by a number of units of the US Army. The old 25th Infantry was later combined with the 27th, 29th and 37th Infantry Regiments to form the present day 6th Infantry Regiment. The 6th Infantry's motto is "Regulars, by God" from General Riall's remark about the American regulars during the battle. A number of present day units of the United States Army trace their lineage to this battle and Scott's brigade. The 25th US Infantry was later combined with the 27th, 29th and 37th Infantry Regiments to form the 6th Infantry Regiment. The 6th Infantry's motto is "Regulars, by God" from General Riall's remark about the American regulars during the battle. Ten active regular infantry battalions of the United States Army (1-2 Inf, 2-2 Inf, 1-3 Inf, 2-3 Inf, 4-3 Inf, 1-5 Inf, 2-5 Inf, 1-6 Inf, 2-6 Inf and 4-6 Inf) perpetuate the lineages of American infantry regiments (the old 9th, 11th, 19th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd Infantry Regiments) that fought at the Battle of Chippawa.
The Corps of Cadets of the United States Military Academy at West Point wear gray parade uniforms, but the assertion that they were adopted in commemoration of Scott's troops at Chippawa appears to be a legend, possibly started by General Scott himself. There were a number of reasons given in 1815 for its selection. Gray wool jackets simply wore well and were considerably cheaper than the regulation blue coat. Also, the Secretary of War disliked Scott and sent gray jackets (usually associated with militia) for his Brigade as an insult.
The actual battlefield is preserved as the Chippawa Battlefield Park, a unit of the Niagara Parks Commission. For a tour of the battlefield check this post from my blog: "A Visit to the Chippewa Battlefield"; https://bravefusiliers.blogspot.com/2018/07/visit-to-chippawa-battlefield-chippawa.htm
Lastly, if you are interested in reading about the battle I highly recommend "Red Coats and Grey Jackets" by Donald E. Graves. Outstanding!
If you are thinking of building a War of 1812 army this is a perfect place to start. You can, for a very reasonable amount of money build both sides. Because of the colorful and varied collection of troops its a great way to start your new army. In addition to British regulars you get American regulars in gray jackets, Federal used militia in civilian clothing and buts and pieces of uniforms, Canadian militia in cast off uniforms and lots of Native warriors. It is how I started my collection. There are a number of companies that make figures for this period but most of mine are from the old Knuckleduster miniatures line. They are now sold by Wee Wolf at https://weewolfminiatures.com/
Here is an Order of Battle for the game:
American Order of Battle:
Brig.General W. Scott
9/21st Regiment (24 figures)
11th regiment. (24 figures)
25th regiment (24 figures) (elite)
Towson's battery (1 gun)
Brig.General Porter
Pennsylvania Volunteers (24 figures)
Red Jackets Six Nation Warriors ( 2 x 10 figures each)
I picked up these two very nice vignette from Perry Miniatures at Cold Wars too many years ago. It went into my "to do" box and got forgotten about. When organizing my figure boxes I came across them recently. Items like these really dress up a table and add interest.
First off, a scene of some crown forces officers interrogating a captured Continental line officer. A very interesting group of figures and uniforms. But something about the set looked, well, like there was much more to the story. And after a bit of asking around here is the story I found out. This is from Giles Allison's blog, Tarleton's Quarter.
"It was noted that Alan's AWI range was nearing the magic "100 packs" mark. Shortly afterwards, I suggested on the TMP forum as a joke that a suitable way of celebrating this landmark would be for Alan to do a "National Army Museum characters" pack. It was then suggested (I'm not sure by whom, perhaps Eclaireur or Alan himself) that a suitable vignette might be a group of British/Hessian officers interrogating Alan, as an allegory of the pestering that Alan has to put with from those of us who are always demanding that he makes specific packs of obscure AWI troops.
And so pack AW100 was born. Mug-shots and measurements (our heights, obviously...) were sent to Alan early in 2006, there was a bit of discussion about what uniforms the various, er, "personalities" should be wearing and then in July I received an email from Alan with a picture of the greens he had finished. The likenesses that he has captured in such a small scale are absolutely incredible. The Perries together with other Games Workshop designers have already demonstrated their superb skill as portrait artists through their "Lord of the Rings" figures, so I suppose we should not really have been surprised at how well these figures turned out. But many thanks to Alan for being so game and taking on this capricious idea!
In front of Alan are a gesticulating Eclaireur (in the uniform of a Guards officer; of impeccable breeding is EC), Dave Brown in the yellow facings of the 44th Foot (which became the East Essex Regiment in 1782) and myself reading the captured despatches, dressed as an officer in the Black Watch. Behind Alan are two Hessians in the orange facings of the von Lossberg regiment. The tall officer is AWI expert and guru Supercilius Maximus (as he is known on TMP) whilst the sentry is a chap I think is called Norbert. I also painted a set of masters for Alan's own collection which he's put up on his site. Painted November 2006. Tree stumps and fence from Redoubt Miniatures. Base size: 100mm x 100mm. "
(I would like to see a different version of this scene. Perhaps some of the same characters but this time at either Trenton or Yorktown when the show is on the other foot!)
The camp scene is a series of small set pieces. Here is a woman cooking over a fire, while a soldier brings a barrel of water. Two soldiers settle the problems of the world over a drink while another soldier gets his hair dressed. The set is full of life and very charming.
I decided to set it in an American camp. The timing is 1776 around New York city. The Continental Army is not yet field tested and their clothing has not acquired the campaign look from hard service. One soldier is in a typical New England brown faced red coat. Those Yankeesdo like abrown coat one british office said during the F&I war. The one getting his hair dressed is in the uniform of the famed Delaware regiment. The women's clothing is very well done and unlike too many miniatures correct for the time period. No "farbs" here! It is also of a better quality then you may find in camp. Hence my setting it around New York before the fighting starts.
The two continental line soldiers holding a animated conversation reminds me of two old friends from the Park Service. To me they look like my old comrades in arms from the Park Service; Eric Olsen from Morristown NHP and Joe Craig from Saratoga NHP.
.webp)
.webp)
