Work in progress Wampanog Indians

 

Slowly getting my Wampanoag Indians painted.  These are from Brigade Games and are very nice figures.  But, used to painting multiple same uniforms its taking me a bit to paint these individualistic warriors.  But now I have a little over half of the fifteen figures done I am starting to get the feeling of how to do them.  

Bases for both these figures and the militia are in order so I will be a basing fool come the  end of the month.  Simple round bases for these fine fellows.

And here is the portrait figure of King Philips himself.  Of course there is no picture of him from real life and most illustration of him are artist imagining. The most common illustration if him was done by Paul Revere in 1772.  It appears to have been "borrowed" from an earlier portrait if some Mohawks done by another artist.  Things like this did not bother Revere who freely borrowed from many people.  But that could be another post some day.

WIP Warfare miniatures militia for KPW

 

Started on my first batch of militia from Warrior miniatures.  These are very nice figures with lots of character and easy to paint.  Because they are militia and must look non uniformed I will be working in batches of five at a time.  Counting the figures I have I should be able to field three "companies" of fifteen figures each for a game when done.

I started these five fellows this morning.  More to follow!  They are a joy to paint and will look good on my table.  My only complaint is they side tracked painting my Wampanoag warriors who are most displeased at being put in a back burner.  Also in the background is the first of the six wagons I have been working on which will be adding soon.  These should work for not only King Philips war but also Rev War and War of 1812.  

If you are curious how these fit in with Brigade Miniature figures (Hello Ross!) the figure on the right is a Brigade miniatures and on the left  Warfare miniature figure.  Very different sculpting styles but they could work together on a table top.

More Pilgrim militia and wagons

 

My friend George suggested I check out the Warfare Miniatures USA put out by League of Augsburg.  He felt the civilian militia would fit in well as KPW militia.  He was right!  They look good for the period. 

Civilians with muskets from Warfare miniatures

 I am looking at them as local militia.  They have good enough clothing for the period and have the  "twelve apostles" for loading  their muskets.  These would carry a powder charge with balls carried separately.  These are right for the period for local militia and volunteers.  Flint lock muskets had replaced match lock in America by this time.  Some local militia did use match locks but volunteers or men drafted for field service had to have flint locks for field use.   Interestingly paper cartridges were just coming into use.  The better commanders like recommended using them rather the the apostles. They made less noise (the apostles banged together) and were quicker to load with.  So these figures wil represent the local militia called out for field service.   The Brigade Games miniatures will be the better trained companies like those under Captain Samuel Mosley and Captain Benjamin Church.

Pictures of wagons from Warfare miniatures

For a number of actions I needed wagons.  Something to ambush or carry supplies.  Bloody Brook is an example of a typical KPW action.  These will be super useful and I am sure will be turning up in a lot of gamed.

BTW any hints on how to assemble these wagons or base them would be appreciated!

An important wagon.  Save the beer!

Please note that all pictures here are from Warfare Miniature USA website.

Work in progress: KPW militia

 

Slowly making progress painting the Puritan militia figures from Brigade games.  These are typical civilian dressed figures representing the field forces sent to combat the native warriors or defenders if the local town.  The figures are nice with good details and pretty easy to paint.  But being used to mass painting uninformed regulars its a bit different having to make up civilian colors and make sure each figure is different.

Once done I will be mounting the figures individually on round bases.  And since they will be handled a lot extra garnishing to protect the painting.

Next up will be the Wampanoag warriors of Philip himself.  In addition I have a number of wagons and more armed civilians on order from  Warfare miniatures USA.  These are I believe the League of Augsburg line ief figures.  The wagons can be used for all of my miniature collections and the figures are wearing the correct clothing for the period.  More on these once they arrive!

Painting will be on hold for a couple of days as we are off to visit Maine this weekend.

Brigade Games King Philips War figures

 

I have made the jump into a new period.  I just got my first order from Brigade Games King Philips War range of 25mm miniatures.  These include King Philip himself, three packs of Pilgrims type militia and three packs of Wampanoag Indians.  Interestingly I traded with one of guys in our club a Rev War infantry regiment to pay for these.  So, it sorta free.  Thus will not be a big period for figures.  I plan on adding a small troop of mounted Pilgrims and some praying Indians to assist the settlers.

In ordering the King Philips War deal I got the three packs (15 figures) of the Pilgrims...

...And three packs (15 figures) of the Wampanoag Indians.

...and King Philip (Metacomet) himself.  Interestingly the figure has him armed with his war club.  The actual artifact is in a local museum near where I live.

Brigade games are the only manufacturer to make figures for this time period.  I suspect you could use English Civil War for the setterlers.  In fact I have to look through lists for these figures as I will need both male and female civilians to add to thus collection.  

The figures are nicely done and arrived with little clean up needed.  Just mount them on my painting sticks and prime and I am ready to go.  

Stay tuned for more!

The Sudbury Fight as a wargame

 

I think the Sudbury Fight could make a interesting  game.  You would not need hundreds of figures, but you would need to spread out and have a couple tables.  Although it was fought in King Philips War (1676) the flint lock smooth bore muskets used were standard through the French and Indian wars and up through the War of 1812 and slightly beyond.  Adapt for your chosen period!  The game I am suggesting here is not a exact recreation of the fight.  More a flavor and highlights of the actual event.  After all we are looking for a fun game.

    Possible layout for center with garrison house and
other buildings and fields.

For set up I would suggest a very large table or two or three smaller tables that connect with roads.  In the center should be the table with the garrison house.  This sould be a large building.  They were reinforced to make them almost bullet proof and supplies of weapons and ammunition stock piled within. The various civilians taking refuge in the house assisted with loading weapons.  Thus enabled a small group of defenders to maintain a Hugh rate if fire.   They were difficult if not impossible to capture by assault.  One house held out for three days against constant attack until a mounted militia group arrived to drive off the attackers.  This is where the the residents of the town ran to.  Around it may be barns, other smaller houses and fields.  These were abandoned and the native forces could get victory points for their destruction.  To the table west (left) of the house should be two large hills which the road runs through and heavily wooded.  To the table east (right) of the house should be a river with a sturdy bridge.  Remember the native forces did not destroy the bridge.  Mixed in should be woods, wet lands bordering the river and lots if good places to hide figures and set up ambush.

Have plenty if woods and hills to set up ambush.

Militia marching to the rescue would have to cross river and exit off end if table to reinforce the garrison house.

How many figures do you need?  Estimates are 500 or so followers of King Philip.  the Sudbury garrison had about 60 to 80 militia and civilians.  During the fight various reinforcements tried to come to the rescue.  There were the 11 men from Concord;  two different troops of horse of about 18 or so came from the east and from the west;  Wadsworth's and Brocklebank's command from Marlboro of about 50 men; Captain Mason with about 80 men from Watertown (east) and finally Captain Hunting's company of militia and praying Indians from Charlestown arriving near evening.  That gives you three good sized infantry commands, two cavalry commands and the 11 men from Concord.  I would not worry over much about exact numbers.  The Native warriors should have almost double the colonists numbers.  

To start the game you could have the colonists hold up in the garrison house or retreating to it.  The players for the Native American' s place their forces about the table.  The colonists reinforcements must roll for which turns they enter and which direction they will come onto the board.  So make sure you have a good number of roads!  the idea here is to have various commands entering randomly and from different directions.  Waiting for them will be King Philips warriors.  The object for the colonists would be to rescued the garrison house and drive the invaders off.  The native warriors want to kill as many colonists and destroy the village.  Assign points for various activities.  Its possible that both sides achieve their objective and both could win.

At present I have ordered figures for this conflict but I have not yet started painting.  So it may be a while before I can actually fight this out on my table top. I am actually hoping to run this as a club game night in the fall.  But should any of you out there try this (no matter the time period) I would be delighted to hear from you. Best of luck 

The Sudbury Fight Sites today

  There is very little today of the Sudbury Fight.  The area has been built over but there are a number of markers where buildings were located.  The site of the Green Hill fight is now a very upscale and crowded neighborhood who's people will get rather upset with you if you tramp through it near or on their land. And the Sudbury police just want to test you for drinking or drugs if you explain you are looking for the 1676 battlefield.   The Sudbury river has been famed and tamed and the wet lands filled in and cultivated.    In other words it looks nothing like it did in 1676. 

  But if you know where to look it can be a fun day.  The text description here is from the book "King Philips War:  The History and Legacy of Americas forgotten conflict. ". This is a outstanding book.  Good summary of the war and individual battles. If you want to trace the battlefields and what is located there today thus book tells you.  Highly recommended!

Haynes Garrison house; 

The site of the Deacon Haynes garrison House is on Water-Row Road, about two-tenths of a mile north of Old Sudbury Road (Route 27). The house was situated about fifteen yards from the road, facing south. It survived the Sudbury Fight, only to be demolished sometime after 1876. The cellar hole of the garrison is still visible.

John J. McCann, a Sudbury resident who was born in the Haynes garrison in 1860, remembered that “the rooms on the second floor toward the hill were bricked about four feet high, between the outer and inner walls” to keep the Indians from shooting those sleeping."

Goodenow Garrison House:

A state marker at the intersection of Old County Road and the Boston Post Road (Route 20) designates the site of the Goodenow garrison. The marker reads: THE GOODENOW GARRISON HOUSE PORTION OF THE GOODENOW GARRISON HOUSE IN WHICH SETTLERS TOOK REFUGE FROM KING PHILIP’S INDIANS DURING THE BATTLE OF APRIL 18–21, 1676. The house was standing as late as about 1815, but was moved or destroyed shortly thereafter.

Noyes’ Mill:

The site of Noyes’ Mill is marked on Route 20, west of Concord Road, near the present-day Mill Village shopping center. The marker reads: HOPBROOK MILL TO THE LEFT IS THE SITE OF HOPBROOK MILL, ERECTED IN 1659 BY VIRTUE OF A TOWN GRANT TO THOMAS AND PETER NOYES, “TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN A MILL TO GRIND THE CORN OF THE SETTLERS.” IT IS NOW THE PROPERTY OF HENRY FORD. 

Sudbury Fight Marker and Green Hill Fight:

Wadsworth, Brocklebank, and twenty-seven of their men were buried in a mass grave described by Alfred Serend Hudson as about six feet square “in which bodies were placed in tiers at right angles to each other.” The spot was marked by a heap of stones, in part to deter wolves. In 1852 the remains of these men were excavated and moved fifty feet north to the site of a new monument. A state marker at Boston Post Road (Route 20) and Concord Road designates this memorial, which is four-tenths of a mile north on Concord Road at the Wadsworth Cemetery. The marker reads: SUDBURY FIGHT ONE-QUARTER MILE NORTH TOOK PLACE THE SUDBURY FIGHT WITH KING PHILIP’S INDIANS ON APRIL 21, 1676. CAPTAIN SAMUEL WADSWORTH FELL WITH TWENTY- EIGHT OF HIS MEN. THEIR MONUMENT STANDS IN THE BURYING GROUND.

The Wadsworth Monument and Grave:

The monument itself sits toward the back of the cemetery and reads: THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS AND THE TOWN OF SUDBURY IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF THE SERVICE AND SUFFERINGS OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE STATE AND ESPECIALLY IN HONOR OF CAPT. S. WADSWORTH OF MILTON CAPT. BROCKLEBANK OF ROWLEY LIEUT. SHARP OF BROOKLINE AND TWENTY SIX OTHERS, MEN OF THEIR COMMAND, WHO FELL NEAR THIS SPOT ON THE 18 OF APRIL 1676 WHILE DEFENDING THE FRONTIER SETTLEMENTS AGAINST THE ALLIED INDIAN FORCE OF PHILIP OF POKANOKET 1852

 Samuel Wadsworth’s stone, set up in 1730 by his son, Benjamin (then president of Harvard College), was moved with the bodies to the base of the new monument. It reads: CAPT. SAMUEL WADSWORTH OF MILTON, HIS LIEU. SHARP OF BROOKLINE, CAPT. BROCKLEBANK OF ROWLEY, WITH ABOUT TWENTY-SIX OTHER SOLDIERS FIGHTING FOR YE DEFENSE OF THEIR COUNTRY WERE SLAIN BY YE INDIAN ENEMY, APRIL 18TH 1676, & LYE BURIED IN THIS PLACE