I took part in Jim's massive 54mm battle between Republican Romans and Hannibal's army. Spread out over two sets of tables it was a massive affair and a feast for the eyes. The terrain was magnificent and included a Roman town. The figures were outstanding and beautifully painted. Simple rules which kept the game moving quickly. What more could you ask for!
The game is set up on two very long tables with a gap between them. This facilitate the movement of players and being able to move the large commands.
On one end of the table is a beautiful Roman city. There are lots of buildings, and many civilians going about there business.
On the other end is a magnificent Roman camp. All built by Jim.
The Republican Roman army is mostly heavy type infantry with a small cavalry force guarding the left flank.
The Carthiginians of course are much more diverse. You get heavy infantry, light infantry slingers, Celtics, lots of cavalry of all types and of course elephants!
And so the two armies line up and march forward....
On the Roman left, a massive cavalry battle. Although out numbered the Romans held there own. It went back and forth for the game. But in the end the Romans (barley) held on.
In the center elephants attacked but were destroyed by Roman spears.
I was on the right of the Roman line., with three legions. Opposite me I could make out light Cavalry, Celtics and infantry with spears. And they we're all marching g towards me!
The Celtics had an interesting attack. On the first charge they got a +2 for their fury. After that they were regular no modifiers.
Here they come! Steady boys and hold on to your spears!
We managed to see off the light Cavalry. That was more to my good dice rolling and Kevin's poor dice rolling. But at least my line was not turned. Then it was a slug feast with both sides losing figures. Pretty bloody battle. In the end my morale just held while their morale didn't and off they went.
About this time Jim called the game. It was bloody and both sides had lost a lot of troops but the Roman line held; just. Jim called it a tie and I would go with that since I am not sure many of our commands would have passed any more morale tests.
None of us realised over three hours had passed! The rules were simple and got the job done in an efficient manner. By the second turn we understood them and could concentrate on playing and not figuring things out. Just what you want for a convention or game night. Actually in my old age just what I want in any game!
Thank you Jim for an great game. Its fun playing with 54mm figures and you really put a lot into thus game. Thank you to Steve and Kevin who I played against. They both were excellent players, very funny great Players and just the people you want in a game. All in all an outstanding game and excellent day.
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.
