Hamptons Brigade ptII

I finally managed to finished the dismounted cavalry for Hampton's Brigade. Its the one pain with the cavalry brigades in that you need to have a foot version. The figures are all Peter Pig. The unit has 5 stands and 1 horse holder stand.

Worm fences

Just a couple of photos of some home made worm fences. These have been made using wooden toothpicks, they were then spray undercoated chocolate brown and then dry brushed with GW bleached bone to give a more worn look. The second photo has a few infantry stands position to give a scale comparison. All 3 sections were made from 1 box of toothpicks.

O'Neal's Brigade

This is the 3rd brigade from Rodes' division. It is made up of 8 stands. This is the first Confederate unit that I have used Warrior miniatures, they have turned out alright and fit right in with the rest of II corps.

The brigade is made up of the following regiments

- 3rd Alabama
- 5th Alabama
- 6th Alabama
- 12th Alabama
- 26th Alabama

Humphreys Division

A quick photos of the completed division of 3 brigades.


I've also managed to finish the artillery for III corps, these are warrior miniatures castings. All that is left to do is the Corp command stand to represent Sickles.

Carr's Brigade

This is the last union brigade for Humphrey's Division. The figures are all warrior miniatures, apart from the command who are peter Pig castings. I must admit I like these warrior miniatures, they don't have the detail of the Peter Pig figures but they paint up well and match in.

This brigade is made up of the following regiments

- 1st Massachusetts
- 11th Massachusetts
- 16th Massachusetts
- 12th New Hampshire
- 11th New Jersey
- 26th Pennsylvania

Thoughts for next year

As the Border Reiver show has past I have been turning my thoughts to what sort of game to put on for next year. I really enjoyed making the terrain boards and want to do something similar. So far I have come up with a number of options

1. Do nothing, I know some of the other club members are planning a WW2 game, but not my cup of tea

2. El Cid using the impetus rules. Just got these rules and want to really try them out this year. As for figures both Jon and myself already have a considerable collection of Christians, Moors and Andalusian, though they will all need re-basing.

3. Greeks. Always wanted to do these. I already have a very small collection that need painting up and this could be the inspiration I need. It is helped by those wonderful people at immortal miniatures bringing out those plastic hoplites.

4. ACW, possibly day2 of Gettysburg, mainly because the units that both me and Jon are collecting for a big game would provide the bulk of the forces needed. You can follow progress on my other blog . The main downside, it is a considerable terrain making task and the table would need to be 14ft x 6ft...eek!

Think I'll need to mull over this for a couple of weeks.

Update

Been busy this week both painting and building some scenery. Using some wooden toothpicks that I managed to sneak into the weekly shopping with the wife (73p for 60, got three boxes) I have been making some rail fencing. Each box can make 2 lengths approx 10" long and 1 of 6". I'll post some pictures when I manage to get some new batteries for the camera.

On the painting front I have finished the artillery for the Union III corps, the models are all from Warrior miniatures and turned out well. For the confederates I completed a 3rd brigade for Rodes' Division - O'Neal at 8 stands, again these are all Warrior miniatures and I think they stand up well alongside my Peter Pig models. They are well worth the price at £2.00 for 12.

Ramseur's Brigade

Ramseur's is the second brigade I've managed to finish in Rodes' Division. I also managed to paint up Rodes himself as well as the divisional artillery. Ramseur's is a small brigade of only 5 stands and consisted of the following regiments.

- 2nd North Carolina
- 4th North Carolina
- 14th North Carolina
- 30th North Carolina

The figures are all Old Glory apart from the command & artillery which are Peter Pig. The figure of Rodes is from Warrior miniatures.

This week at the club I managed a quick game of Fire and Fury with Jon. It was a quick run through of the rules with 10 brigades a side. It's been about 10 years since I last played these rules but they quickly came back. Suffice to say the newly painted unit syndrome occurred with both the last union and confederate brigades painted being severely man handled by their opponents.

Burling's Brigade

This is the first completed Brigade of Humphrey's Division. The Brigade consisted of the following regiments at Gettysburg.

- 2nd New Hampshire
- 5th New Jersey
- 6th New Jersey
- 7th New Jersey
- 8th New Jersey
- 115th Pennsylvania

The figures are all Old Glory, apart from the command stand which is a mix of Peter Pig and Warrior miniatures

Birney's Division

All 3 brigades of the Division ready for action.

Ward's Brigade

This is the last Brigade in Birney's Division. It is eleven stands and includes Berdans Sharpshooters, which I have represented with 4 stands. The Brigade was made up of the following regiments.

- 20th Indiana
- 3rd Maine
- 4th Maine
- 86th New York
- 124th New York
- 99th Pennsylvania
- 1st US Sharpshooters
- 2nd US Sharpshooters

The majority of the figures used are Old Glory, the Sharpshooters I believe are Lancashire miniatures.

Doles' Brigade

Doles' Brigade is part of Rodes' Division. The unit is made up of seven stands and the figures are all Peter Pig. The Brigade is made up of the following regiments.

- 4th Georgia
- 12th Georgia
- 21st Georgia
- 44th Georgia

Andrew A. Humphrey

When Meade assumed command of the Army of the Potomac just before the Battle of Gettysburg, he asked Humphreys to be his chief of staff, replacing Maj. Gen. Daniel Butterfield, who was considered to be too close politically to the previous commander, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker. Humphreys declined the opportunity to give up his division command. His new division immediately saw action at Gettysburg where, on July 2, 1863, Sickles insubordinately moved his corps from its assigned defensive position on Cemetery Ridge. Humphreys' new position was on the Emmitsburg Road, part of a salient directly in the path of the Confederate assault, and it was too long a front for a single division to defend. Assaulted by the division of Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humphreys' three brigades were demolished; Sickles had pulled back Humphrey's reserve brigade to shore up the neighboring division (Maj. Gen. David B. Birney), which was the first to be attacked. Humphreys put up the best fight that could have been expected and was eventually able to reform his survivors on Cemetery Ridge, but his division and the entire corps were finished as a fighting force

Robert E. Rodes

When Lee reorganized the Army of Northern Virginia to compensate for the loss of Jackson, Rodes joined the Second Corps under Richard Ewell. At the Battle of Gettysburg, on July 1, 1863, Rodes led the assault from Oak Hill against the right flank of the Union I Corps. Although he successfully routed the division of Maj. Gen. John C. Robinson and drove it back through the town, his attack was not as well coordinated as it could have been and his pursuit was not as aggressively pursued as his reputation would have implied.
Rodes’ division sat idle for the remaining two days of the battle.

Completed Divisions

First up Johnson's Division. These were the figures that I picked up at the Bring'n'buy at the Border Reiver show. A quick touch up was all that was required. the infantry are all old glory, only the artillery are Peter Pig. As figures go the old glory are not as detailed or refined as the Peter Pig castings, however when painted up and displayed on mass they look excellent with huge variety in the poses.



Next up Early's Division. All of these figures are Peter Pig except for the model of Early, which is from Warrior Miniatures. I've order some of their infantry to help complete Rodes' Division.

Hay's Brigade - Louisiana Tigers pictures

Finally managed to take a couple of photos of Hay's Brigade. I painted up a couple of stands of Zouaves for this unit, just for the dash of colour. Particularly enjoyed painting the striped pants.

David Birney

At the Battle of Gettysburg, the III Corps commander was the notorious Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles, under whom Birney command the 1st Division. On July 2, 1863, Sickles insubordinately moved his corps from its assigned defensive position on Cemetery Ridge. This meant Birney's new position was from the Devil's Den, to the Wheatfield, to the Peach Orchard, part of a salient directly in the path of the Confederate assault. It was too long a front for a single division to defend. Assaulted by the divisions of Maj. Gens. John Bell Hood and Lafayette McLaws, Birney's division was demolished. Army commander Meade rushed in reinforcements, but the line could not hold. Birney’s division and the entire III corps were finished as a fighting force.
As Birney watched the few survivors of his division gather about him on Cemetery Ridge, he whispered to one of his officers, "I wish I were already dead". Birney assumed temporary command of the corps after Sickles was grievously wounded by a cannonball, despite having received two minor wounds himself.

Edward Johnson

In 1863, following the reorganization of the Army of Northern Virginia to compensate for the death of Stonewall Jackson after the Battle of Chancellorsville, Johnson was promoted to major general and given command of the "Stonewall Division" in Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's Second Corps. He was summoned back from medical leave to take the command.
By May 1863, Johnson had recovered enough to lead his new division in the Gettysburg Campaign. He still required a heavy hickory stick to move around on foot (and was known to use it against men he believed were shirking battle), giving him the nickname "Old Clubby" by his men.Johnson arrived at the Battle of Gettysburg on the evening of the first day, July 1, 1863. In a move that is still controversial, Ewell did not take advantage of Johnson's division and attack Cemetery Hill immediately that evening, when it might have been decisive. Johnson then controversially declined to attack Culp's Hill that same evening, for which he had a discretionary order. Johnson's division was the primary force that attacked Culp's Hill on the second and third days, suffering considerable casualties assaulting this impregnable position multiple times with no lasting success.

Figures

Visited the Border Reiver show today and managed to pick up a bargain from the bring and buy. Enough painted old glory 15's confederates for 27 fire and fury base and a divisional commander. Just need to paint up 7 spare figures that I have and I will have completed Johnson Division. The figures needed a little work. I've given them a wash with GW Badab black wash to help the figures match those that I have already painted, touched up the flesh and the white on the knapsacks and some of the belts. When finished basing I'll post pics of the 3 completed brigades as well as Hays' brigade from Early's Division.

Border Reiver Show Pictures

Just before my cameras batteries decided to pack up I did manage to get a few pictures of the Viking game we put on at the show. The game was well received by the public and we received a number of nice comments, which is very pleasing and a bit of a reward for all the effort Jon, harry and myself put into the game. The 2 longships and the construction of the terrain boards were common topics of discussion.

Layout of the game

The Saxon Village

Viking raiders launch their attack

Saxons move to block the viking advance

Saxon relief force begins to arrive


Vikings try their hand at shepherding

The vikings making their way towards the riches in the Church.

As for the show itself, it seemed to be well supported by both traders and public. There were a variety of games on show, Project X, 15mm Sci-fi. Medieval, ECW and a Sherlock Holmes game in the sewers of London (very nice terrain).