The Silver Bayonet... on the road!

 

    For the past few years - with the exception of the Pandemic times - a reenactment of the battle of Culloden has been held at the Backus-Page House Museum's territory. It is a lovely spot just south of Wallacetown, ON, and I'd recommend it for hikers, birders, lovers-of-wetlands, and people generally interested in history of Southwestern Ontario. This year's even, held on Canada's Victoria Day weekend, had another special event. (The photo is from a few years back.)

A game of The Silver Bayonet was held for a few players after Saturday's battle!

     We had planned this a few weeks ago and I hosted a game for Neil (British infantry unit), Bill (French infantry unit), and Mike (British Naval unit.) Rochy, Silas, and Bill K. watched and enjoyed game. Rocky assisted Mike with the Naval crew. (Made up based on the British list.) Bill had the books (main rules and Canada supplement) and it appeared that he has gnawed through more than half the book. Neil and Mike are waiting to receive the books they'd ordered. Actually I was the only one who had played the game before so I worked up a scenario and we started the game. As I said, Rochy assisted Mike, Silas took charge of handing out cotton balls to denote a discharged firearm, and Bill K appeared to quickly memorized the books I had. 

     (For those who are interested, Rochy, Silas, and Bill K all said they wanted to play next time or sooner and Bill K was already planning to set up a Trading Company unit.) {My evil plan was working! Heh-heh-heh!}

     The scenario: A small convoy of wagons hauling the food supplies, ammunition, and the pay for a near-by garrison. It never arrived and different teams of Silver Bayonet troops when out to find them. The presence of the French in Canada was a surprise... but why not? The Vatican unit would have been out of line but not the French!

Neil, Bill, Bill K, Mike, and Rochy prep the table and the units.
Bill brought the tangled-up castle in the middle of the table, part of his collection.
He also provided his own figures, while I provided for Neil, Mike, and the Harvestmen.

Prior to Bill coming to the table, I had places a log cabin in the center.
It was a Dollar Store buy, probably $2. Well worth it!
Note Bill K devouring the rules!

Action under the fly.
Silas watches and soaks up the game and the rules.

We're starting to kick off the game.
Some spectators have been "blurred" in the interest of privacy.

Mike's two Royal Marines, ship's carpenter (rated as "sapper") for the game,
Junior Officer/Master Gunner encounter a demon outside the log cabin,
He was a pretty inept demon, doing little damage before returning
to the Immaterium.
(Marines by Knuckleduster, sailors by Blood & Plunder/Firelock Games) 

Meanwhile, Mike and Rochy's Supernatural Investigator encounter
none other than Sasquatch! I said Mike could fight, run, or try to communicate.
The Investigator offered Bigfoot some food and Bigfoot JOINED THE NAVY!
Mike's Crew added Sasquatch to their outfit.
(Sasquatch by Paymaster, Investigator from Trent Miniatures Irish Rebellion range.) 

At the other end of the board, Neil ran into a batch of Jo-Ga-Oh Stone-Throwers, 
a sort of Iroquois goblin who throws stones. They played catch with the Army for a
brief time and disappeared into a wooded area.
(Stone Thrower from Paymaster, Blunderbuss man from Trent, figures called Beddles with easy
head swops. They were Officials of the Church of England, protecting parish borders,
and investigating possible frauds.) 

Silas has his bag of cotton balls, ready to go!

   Bill found a cannon, but had no artillerist in his crew, while Mike turned green with jealousy. (Mike runs the cannon crew of the HMS Earl of Moira reenacting unit.) Neil and Bill exchanged some shots.

The action turned again to Mike and Rochy who encountered the TRUE HORROR
OF LIFE IN CANADA... Canada Geese! Although these do not appear in the books,
I decided these nasty beasties had to be present. The Ship's Carpenter/Sapper waded into
the gaggle with his two-handed axe and did tremendous destruction to the Cobra Chickens.
Just what they deserved! I had no figures of geese so I made a stand-in in paper.

On his side, Neil put his unit in a small copse of trees, using his infantryman,
veteran hunter (with blunderbuss), and his rifle-armed woodsman to good effect
against Bill. Each unit had a dog added to them (a freebee) and Neil's went searching.
When his troops caught up, they found a barrel of corned beef! 

Mike and Rochy's pup ran up to the small wagon. All three teams could see numerous
bodies of bandits around the wagon. (I don't have the cash or patience to paint up a load
of casualties, so I downloaded paper casualties from the Junior General paper soldier
website. That site is worth a look.) The cart contained musket cartridges and a few
bags of loose gun powder.

The Naval crew entered the "castle" and encountered 3 werewolves who
were defeated in a true battle royal! Bigfoot was not a great fighter, despite
his size. I chalked it up to the Sasquatch folk being very peaceful.
Mike actually intended to have Bigfoot carry the cannon once he got to it!

Bill's French crew came skulking around the castle. The big pink/purple thing
is a tape measure. The grounded musket is the marker for the attack geese!
You can see the cannon barrel peaking out from behind the trees in the center.

When the werewolves appeared, so did 4 Dark Wolves, who sped toward the castle.
Bill tried to shoot the barrel in the wagon since it was probably explosive.
He hit it but did not damage it. After that he was distracted by melee!
(Wolves from Old Glory)

Bill's French officer, grenadier, and infantryman engage Mike and Rocky's 
sailors and ship's carpenter in hand to hand. It was messy.

   Since it was almost dinner time, we called the game at about 5:30. There were point values assigned to defeated creatures, found items, and other things... but nobody seemed to care! All the players were satisfied with the game and we all enjoyed ourselves. Dinner for Bill, Neil, Beth, and was cooked by Neil's wife, Jane - spare ribs and new potatoes. It was as good as could be.

   Neil, Bill, and Mike all said they'd play again. Silas, Rochy, and Bill K were all bit by the bug. In my opinion, the game remains a good cross-over for RPG players who want to do a more "historical" game and for historical figure gamers who want a small-unit skirmish game with a twist.

   By the way, did I mention a Vatican unit?

Sure! Why not?

Table clutter, especially for those looking for trouble.

A selection of Firelock Games sailors.

Paper casualties

Enough for now! Enjoy your holiday!

The Road to Culloden -- 2022

 

Back a while - on the so-called "May 2-4 weekend", just ahead of Victoria Day - the annual reenactment of the Jacobite rising and campaign of 1745 was held at the Backus Page House Museum in Wallacetown, Ontario. I am more than a little bit late in blogging this, so I beg your forgiveness.

The photo above was taken on Sunday with the reenactors of both sides in the photo to honour the St. Andrew's Society of Detroit who were generous contributors to the success of this event. Even we who served as Crown forces say "Thank you!"

(Photos are courtesy of Paula H., Steve Z, and Beth G. Many thanks!)

Saturday's battle was one that the Crown loses. There is a brave Highland Charge against entrenched cannon and the red-coated infantry either surrender or melt away.

Musket inspection at the start of the day on Saturday

The small, but mighty Crown forces for the day.
I had the "honour" of command.

A bit of the Crown camp

Our flags were knocked down by the wind a few times.
We missed most of the truly nasty weather that hit London, ON.

The infantry was ready to go!

Here we are, with even myself.
Ollie and the guys from the US 22nd (1812 reenactors) got the bug for this event,
and were planning to obtain proper coats, since what they were wearing was borrowed,

A fine draft of men!

The guns were on the top of the hill and the Highlanders were getting ready to charge.
The uniformed French troops (a new addition this year)
covered the flanks in a disciplined manner.

Some of the Jacobites prepare for the battle.

The guns work hard in the hope of breaking up the impending charge.

... but it didn't work.

Sunday say the reenactment of the aftermath of the battle of Culloden with the Crown forces chasing the Jacobites, their families, and the French as they retreated. The reality was quite bloody and we don't  reenact the entire situation.

Clan MacLachlan (under their chieftain, Tom H.) prepare to move backed by French regulars.

Taking the field (actually this is Saturday! But it's a great photo!)

The refugees, the clan soldiers, their colours, and their piper come out of the woods.

The Jacobite column try to hold off the Crown forces.

Chris T., a major force in organizing this event, portraying one of the Jacobite leaders
assists a refugee running from the Crown forces.

The Crown forces advance and "gave no quarter."

The French (a welcome addition) served as rear guard and surrendered to... ME!

Clan MacLachlan holds the flank against the Crown artillery.

Mourning the casualties

The crowd takes advantage of the shade.

All the reenacting participants gather for a time of remembrance.
At the end of the battle on Sunday, there is silence and a lament for the dead
as well as a spreading of ground from the actual battlefield in Scotland

By the way, here's what missed us. A few views of what the weather did in London, ON:

Should you have time and interest in May 2023, please come out to this event on the Victoria Day weekend. If you are a reenactor, equip yourself as closely as you can for the period (flintlock, plaids, red jacket, tam-o-shanter or tricorn), and march with a side. If you enjoy a day out, the park offers bird watching, wetlands trails, and other delights before or after the event. If you are a "wee tad Scottish", come celebrate your heritage.

Sláinte!

the Culloden event ---2019

The so-called "Culloden event" took place a few weeks ago at the Backus Page House Museum grounds in Wallacetown, ON. These grounds really work well for the event and those who plan it decided a few years ago to make this the permanent place for the event. Prior to that it had moved around in Canada and the USA.

A few changes were made in the usual scheduling and structure. The gentleman who often took command of the Georgian/Hanoverian forces had withdrawn because of a number of personal factors that don't bear repeating here, so the ultimate command of the Government forces fell to ...

...me.

Here I am with my field aide and runner.

     I actually had a load of fun. The Jacobites usually had a man portraying "Bonnie Prince Charlie", and although he was present, he decided to portray someone else. As always, he did a fine job. He and I and a few others mapped out the battle and included the stealing of a Jacobite cannon for use by the Government forces.

     Saturday, The Government loses. For the battle reenactment, we set up an artillery strong point on the top of a small ridge on the property... well within sight of the spectators! (It is a sort of a show, after all.) Pickets were set out and whistle orders were arranged. ("One blast - go forward. Two blasts - come back to the commander. Three blasts - run like mad and save yourself!") The Jacobite heavily out-numbered the Government, but for once the entire Government force of infantry were in red coats or jackets, some dresses as various militia units, some as regulars.

     We set up as two lines of muskets, a mighty four men each with two cannon in the middle. The Jacobites moved in from two directions, working their way slowly up the hill until command was given - "Broadswords!" At that point, the surviving Government troops either surrenders or took to their heels. Soon after that, we paraded and saluted each other and the crowd.

Chris, who had portrayed the Prince in the past, served as Jacobite commander under another name.

The day began at the flagpole.

Bill served as captain of one of the guns, although not as over-all gun commander.
He was the safety officer for the site.

Jacobite clansmen in all their tartan glory.

The Government command confers. "So when to we die?"

Actually the fact that we were all in red made a huge difference.
We also had a more experienced reenactor teach us the proper manual of arms for the times.

     I got there late on Sunday, since I had to lead the worship service at the church I serve. But I got there in time for a light lunch and the afternoon battle. Here, representing the retreat of the Jacobites from Culloden, the Government wins. The real pursuit was horribly gruesome, so we toned it down a bit and kept it to moderate bloodshed. We started on the hill again, sweeping down to chase and harass the retreating clans. One gun - whose crew included my wife - stayed on the hill while a smaller gun, captained by Bill followed the infantry down the hill. We kept advancing on the rear guard, whose commander, Tom, was uniformed as a French officer and who gave all the command in French. At one point, we moved up while he we passing behind his unit and he was surprised at how close we had come! The Government forces knelt, and the clan regiment fired over our heads, then we stood up ("Spring up!" was the command; "Are you kidding?" was the grumble from some of the older reenactors.) Before the clans moved out of the sight of the spectators, I ordered a charge and we chased off the clans, dispatching some stragglers. ("Charge your firelocks! At the double... Advance!") Were these the proper commands? I don't know... but we had fun. One fellow we called Wee Tom (who was in uniform with his fiance) ran up to a Jacobite who had fallen and I heard him say "Scream! I'm pretending to stab you!" The shriek of terror was worthwhile.

Passing through the picket line.

Kevin repairs his rifle (Yes, rifle, being a German mercenary and all) while on picket.

Ever vigilant, Wee Tom stands his post.

The MacLachlans with their French officer serve as rear guard.

 

Clansmen engage the Government troops, who have the high ground.

 

Following their piper, the clans retreat across the government front.

The gun moved down the hill, firing for effect... with safety always in mind.
Notice how I amble around like a good officer of the day.

Meanwhile the Government infantry takes up a position blocking any return.

"Charge your firelock! At the ordinary... Advance!"
I never fired a shot. I just waved my sword a lot.

The clan rear-guard prepares to fire.

The Government - all in red - return the fire.
Tom's sweetheart is down!

The wounded are tended to and the troops use what little cover there is.

"They're disorganized! Get 'em!"

Everyone was safe once they got past the big pine tree.

Day's work done. Time to put up the broadsword.

We all reform to march to the final ceremony of remembrance.

In a moment of silence, the dead of both sides were mourned.
Wallacetown, ON was settled by Scots (and some Irish) uprooted from their homes.
This commemoration of the heritage means a lot.

The Governement forces - redcoats all - line up for the ceremony.

The women of the clans - whose mother's mother's mothers must have suffered so much - stand at the ceremony.

Reenactors all, we remember history and the people who made it.

 There was one more ceremony to be held in the government camp. On Saturday, Caitlin, who is well attached to Tyler, served on the gun crew and, according to artillery tradition, had to "kiss the sponge" after her first time out. No actually kissing is involved; the new gun crewman has the wet sponge rammer from the cannon smeared across both cheeks. On Sunday, my wife, Beth, served on a gun crew and the gun commander permitted me to "do the honours."

Heh-heh-heh...

Beth and Caitlin served at the hill-top gun.

My dear wife... who is a MacGregor... all be-sponged.

I did my duty... and enjoyed every minute of it.
(That's also the biggest smile I've ever seen on Bill's face.)

Celebration!

 A few more photos.

Caitlin visiting friends in the Jacobite camp.

Our reenacting group - Tyler, your humble blogger, Tyler's son, and Kevin.

Caitlin and Tyler relaxing.

The Government infantry on the ridge at the beginning of the Sunday battle.

The Forces of King George at the flag-raising Saturday morning.
Gunners and infantry

We were blessed with three fine pipers who played for the crowd on both days.
Thank you, gentlemen!

The advance to pursue the retreating Jacobites.

At the present!

This event usually takes place on the Victoria Day long weekend here in Ontario. If this period interests you, come out and see us. If you want to join as a reenactor for either side, contact me and I'll do my best to hook you up. In any event, I'd enjoy seeing you there!