Napoleonic Haitian Cavalry.

Finally..... After what seems an age the Haitian Cavalry are finished. 

In my reading of the battles in Haiti there are scattered reports of Haitian cavalry, Osprey's book on Napoleon's overseas forces depicts Colonial Dragoons but I wanted some line cavalry to bolster the forces of the native Haitian forces.

As usual great service from Steve at Arcane Scenery who in addition to the packs of French Cavalry from the Trent Revolutionary Range a bunch of extra heads from the Haitian range, this gave me plenty of variety in the unit. I quite fancy a Maroon unit eventually but am struggling with mounted civilian types perhaps ACV Bushwacker's might do?

These will be a useful addition to a number of the factions, as they can be used for the French forces, the Haitians or the freed slaves perfect timing as the campaign starts to pick up again.

Next up something a little different and definitely not on a horse.....

Yet more Spanish - Trent Miniatures Black Militia

With the varnish just about dry the Spanish Black Militia make it to the table top for the battle between the Spanish regulars and the rebellious slaves of Princess Amethyste.

The full battle report should be up this weekend.

Some great castings from the guys at Trent, at the moment only enough to make up an Irregular skirmish unit, but eventually I will paint up the remaining 14 to give me a couple of militia stands.

Let's hope the curse of freshly painted figures can be broken... :-)

Next up.... something a little more modern.

The Spanish Army in Haiti - 1790 - 1802

With a change of job just around the corner, I seem to have a little more time on my hands in the evenings, which is good as the Spanish won't paint themselves, with a self imposed deadline of Thursday evening I wanted to ensure these were off the paint table.

Within the campaign setting they will be regulars in sections of 8. I have a couple of Big men to bolster the ranks with a couple of mounted figures to come later. As usual the Infantry are from Trent Miniatures, with Officers and drum from Front Ranks Spanish Range, they are a good match once painted and based.

The Spaniards whilst a major player in the region seem to be somewhat overlooked in terms of history and documented accounts, I suspect because they seem to be on the losing side in a number of the encounters. There may be some Spanish text but I have not been able to track down much.

Here's my take on events pulled from a couple of different sources for those interested.

Once the French Revolution reached Haiti shores it's impact was bound to spread across into the Spanish part of the island. As early as 1789 the governor of Santo Domingo, Don Joaquín García y Moreno, put his troops on alert when news of the revolution broke. Despite the events across the border there was no significant incursion into Spanish territory. The Spanish undertook a policy of watching and waiting hoping that the mutual destruction of the warring factions would allow them to regain their lost influence and power in the region.

When Spain and England declared war on France in 1793 the Spanish colonists stopped cooperating with the French. They supplied arms to the likes of Biassou and Louverture as well as offering asylum to rebel leaders, before to long Spanish troops were fighting the French alongside the rebel slaves. 

The Spanish abolished slavery to win over the black majority. However Louverture abandoned the Spanish and went over to the French as he believed they were more genuine in their desire to free the black majority. With the loss of the black rebels the Spanish started to lose territory to the French and Haitian loyalists. The Spaniards abandoned the frontier posts of San Rafael, San Miguel, and Hincha, and to regroup in the towns of Las Caobas and Bánica in the center of the island, and in Dajabón, Bayajá, and Montecristi, in the North. 

Las Caobas und Bánica fell to Louverture when news of the end of the war in europe reached the island in 1795 just as the Spanish were starting to fight back.

Peace was to be short lived once again Louverture crossed the border in 1801 and captured the city of Santo Domingo followed quickly by the rest of the island. Despite the promise of ending slavery to incite the local blacks to support him, he was to break this promise. 

Louverture only left Spanish territory when a newly arrived French expedition landed to retake the island.

So there you have it a potted history of the Spanish in Haiti - Let's see if they can do better in our campaign.

Here come the Spanish - Spanish Colonial Troops in Haiti

Just a short post more for reference than anything else.

With the Spanish being one of the more aggressive factions I need to move them up the painting queue to bolster their forces before their second engagement next week.

Trent Miniatures have produced a small selection of Spanish troops but finding additional reference was proving rather hard, I came across these useful uniform guides whilst trawling the web.

The first troops should be leaving the paint table this weekend.

If anyone can give me any further pointers please let me know.

A bag full of heads and yet more Haitians.

A bag full of heads - Well you can imagine the postman's face when he enquired what it was.

The opening moves of the Haitian campiagn is well underway and it's already serving it's purpose as it's got me painting again. Although the back log has just got worse.

Trent Miniatures do a great range for the French in Haiti and with many of their blister packs coming with seprate heads you can build quite a variety into your units, it also means as the units build I can set about creating my own. Surprisingly Trent don't do a pack of a pack of spare black heads however a quick chat with Steve over at Arcane Scenery and a few days later enough heads to kit out several regiments.

   

Given the trouble Steve went to and how quickly he turned them around, it would be rude not to use the opportunity not to bolster the ranks before the first games kick off.

The prep is done I just need to put paint to metal, with the various head swaps I should be able to field these extra's against the various factions.

First up Trent bodies from their 8th Cavalry with African heads attached, their are several accounts of the Haitian loyals using cavalry in a formal capacity, uniform details are hard to comeby but these should be a nice addition to colonial forces or the Regular Haitian's as they get more organised.

Everyone loves an uprising judging by the number of people picking the cheap but nasty - escaped slaves so another unit of stick welding freemen is in order.

I with the extra heads these Haitian regulars man it out of the spares box, suitable for all sides from runaway soldiers to colonial militia they are bound to see plenty of action.

Reading the Osprey Men-at-Arms publication many of the French of the period wore the conical hats and I wanted to re-present these to give me forces for the Republicans and Royalists. 

I am undecided yet where to paint them in the earlier white or more traditional blue, eventually I imagine both.

To get the early war look I took the bodies from the Polish Haiti packs and gave them the round hats from the Colonial cavalry which gave them an earlier war feel, I left a couple of the sombero's and sun hats to break them up a little, they have a far more lived in feel.

I am really looking forward to getting these painted up and in the field.

 

Boukman & Lamaretiniere - Trent Miniatures

Remind me next time not to fit my own bathroom, it's taken far longer than planned for and seriously dented by playing and painting time. I think I will still to modelling on a far smaller scale.

I am sure I am not the only one but if I don't pick the brushes up on a regular basis it takes a little longer to get my eye in, with a battalion of half finished French staring at me from the paint table, I thought I would ease myself back in with a couple of leaders for the Haitian campaign which is now likely to kick off in the new year.

Both figures are from the Trent minaitures range and give me a couple of extra options in Sharp Practice for some additional big Men and Women...

First up - Boukman, the first leader of the August 1791 slave revolt in St. Domingue.

Boukman was a true big man reported to have a large and powerful physique and was reputed to be a Voodoo priest. He was killed in battle in November 1791.

Then we have Marie-Jeanne Lamartiniere, a female soldier in Toussaint Louverture’s army.

She fought with Dessalines in the defence of Crete-a-Pierrot against Napoleons invading French.

It seems ages since I last did a show, so really looking forward to Warfare tomorrow where me and the rest of the Wyvern guys are supporting Paul and Kallistra by putting on the Battle of Varna.

It's sure to be bloody, be sure to drop by for a chat if you are at the show, with 000's of Ottomans on the table we will need some help moving them all....

 

French Dragoons st. Domingue - Trent Miniatures

I finished these a couple of weeks back and hoped to have them available for the Plantation game, but felt the Cuban dog handlers would have been better suited for defending the grounds.

During the early years of the revolution, dragoons were sent to Saint-Domingue from France, as well as being recruited locally. The colonial dragoons wore all green jackets with green dragoon housing and make a useful addition to the French forces for Haiti.

In 1799, during the early years of the revolution, also known as the War of the Knives (Haitian Loyalists Toussaint vs Rigaud), Toussaint was known to have fielded cavalry who were a mix of French and newly-freed Africans slaves, so some further head swaps will be needed in the future good job the Trent Miniatures come with separate heads.

An English observer noted that Toussaints cavalry lacked carbines and were armed with pistols and sabres only, and dressed in blue coats, cocked hats and half boots, with a minority uniformed as hussars so plenty of scope to adapt further figures from their range. 

Plans for the campaign is coming along nicely and I should have the Orbats complete for each faction over the weekend, I am hoping to have around 6-8 potential factions all looking to capture and control St Domingue and its valuable plantations.

The Postman Always Rings Twice

Just as lead mountain was starting to shrink along comes a few more extra purchases.

Warlord had a sale recently offering up their Terminator rules for £10.00 who could resist, rules, figures and a playing surface... I am not sure how much game time they will get but could be fun to paint and the rules might suit my 15mm modern sci-fi stuff for a quick 1 hour outing.

Meanwhile on the same day a fresh batch of reinforcements for the Haiti project, plenty of new infantry to flesh out the ranks, the plans for the campaign are well underway so these can double up as forces for the slave armies or French.

 

I had a few spare african heads in the spares pot so made a couple of changes to give them less of a european feel. Let's see how these shape up in the weeks ahead.

Cuban War Dogs in Haiti

A little behind on posts this week, but good news the focus is back on the Haiti project with new units landing on the paint table, thoughts for a campaign and new terrain items.

I picked up these Caban War Dogs from Trent Miniatures several months ago and with a game based on an attack on the Plantation House, it felt the right time to get those on the table. These units were pressed into service by both the British, Spanish and French in trying to supress the various slave revolts.

The dogs were a cross between a Bloodhound and a Lurcher were and initially used to chase down escaped slaves “These dogs can catch up with a Negro even if they are unleashed two days after he escaped,” wrote Louis de Noailles. In military planning they were also used as "the most efficient way to avoid ambushes and pursue the rebels as they flee,” 

The punitive expedition to La Tortue marked the dogs’ first use in combat. Hopes were high and their deployment was prepared conscientiously. The Cubans handlers and their dogs were segregated from the main body of troops to ensaure their effectiveness. People of color, it was feared, might attempt to poison the dogs. There was also the risk that the dogs would become used to “the Negroes’ appearance and smell” if they lived in close proximity with the guardsmen, or that they might mistakenly turn against loyal troops of color if they were sent into combat side by side.

Without doubt a weopon of terror there is a mixed view of their effectiveness. 

In Jamacia when used by the British the following was reported. "The dogs were loosed on a small body of troops and despite a volley of musket fire being discharged (presumably blanks) the dogs charged home into the ranks of the soldiers, seizing the muskets in their jaws and causing the commander to run for his carriage to escape, before the handlers brought the dogs under control".

However Madiou and Ardouin (drawing from oral traditions) specify that 50 dogs were used in a French attack to help pursue retreating rebels. The French columns’ own retreat sparked so much confusion, however, that the dogs turned against their own side in the heat of battle. The account is consistent with a memoir by a French officer that described how “the dogs devoured some of our wounded” during the retreat.

Thinking about how to portray them in Sharp Practice, on first impressions it feels like they should be similar to Impact cavalry, with the Big Chopper rule once the first round of combat is complete, with perhaps ignoring all morale or break rules due to their training and bloodlust.

I would welcome people thoughts.

The pack includes two Dog handlers, or Chasseurs and four dogs. I purchased the specific movement trays to make them easier to move and deploy on the table.  

Stay tuned to see how they perform....

Bank holiday round up.

I had great plans for this weekend in terms of painting and an attempt to clear some of the items which have been languishing on painting table for a few weeks, but the wargaming gods were against me and I only managed to grab a few hours early in the morning before the clan awoke.

I finished the first tester for the Haitian Colonial Dragoons, the unit were said to be equiped with all-green jackets and green housing and saddles etc.

The Trent horses feel a little on the large side,  but I have been used to Perry's offering in recent years, they should be fine once flocked and the static grass added.

I do dislike painting cavalry and was not that convinced by the green jacket colour and needed to complete one to see what the whole would look like once the wash was applied.

He is growing on me.
Let's see how a unit of dragoons does to help keep the slave army at bay. The clock is ticking as they are needed on the table next Sunday.

In the absence of any serious painting I did manage to complete another batch of warbase movement trays, I have tried several over the years and warbases are still the best.

On the gaming front I had a run through of Vikings 878.
Playing the part of the English I had to defend the kingdoms from the rampaging Vikings.
The Viking come on in waves which can feel rather over whelming, but with the support of the locals and calling up the Fyrds you can stem the invasion until you run out of cards. :-(

We only played with 2 players but I can see how 4 would be fun.
Whilst I lost due to not holding enough cities after the 4th Viking wave and their berserkers ran roit in the Midlands, it did not feel like a loss in fact the turn before I felt I was on the verge of a herioc victory having struck down three Viking leaders with my Housecarls.
A fun game and a great way to spend an evening.

Having tried to keep spending down in recent months, focuing on painting the backlog, a couple of annoncements lead me to raid the paypal account.
Firstly the Warlord Summer Sale - Some great savings, more on that in future posts.

TSS have announced they are putting their system tile system up for sale, in recent years there has been a trend back to cloths, they are blocks are great pieces of kit but storage was always a problem.
In any event their flock is some of the best on the market so I ordered several bags just in case they can't find a buyer.

https://www.thewargameswebsite.com/total-system-scenic-for-sale/

I was sent a link from a good friend of mine on ebay for the following Shroud Mages Submarines.
A pretty poor paint job, but it won't take much to match them up to my current fleet.
Besides the way I have played of late everything seems to be on the ocean floor.

I also put a further order into Arcane for more Trent Haitians after seeing the latest releases and completion of the plantation house. The French definately need more reinforcements to defend against the Slave Armies.

Finally it looks like Star Eagles is edging forwards with an update from Andrea that the tokens are almost ready, this are being produced by LITKO and look pretty good.
Good job the Flash Gordon toys only come out of the box every so often, this kickstarter is so far behind now, I would be pretty cross if I had backed it and was still waiting for the resin fighters.

Let's see what the postie brings next week.

Charlie Foxtrot Models - Tidewater House - Part 2.

Nothing spurs you on to complete a micro-project like committing to put the next game on at the club. Having constructed Tidewater House a weeks ago I have finally finished the plantation house for the Haitian campaign of any of the occasional battles in the ACW or AWI that the club runs.

I opted for the a slightly off white colour with white facings to give it thta classic colonial feel,

I have decided not to base. Originally I thought about putting it on an MDF base surrounded by lawn's and cultivated shrubs but this might reduce it's use in perhaps more urban tables.

Now let's see if Gareth Chasse can defend the Plantation Oiseaux Moelleux?

Meanwhile news from Trent Miniatures several new items have appeared in the Haiti collection, with leaders of the slave revolt from both the begining and end of the revolution, with a bit of luck these will arrive and be painted in time for next game in early September.

Boukman, the first leader of the August 1791 slave revolt in St. Domingue. Boukman had a large and powerful physique and was reputed to be a Voodoo priest. He was killed in battle in November 1791.

 

Marie-Jeanne Lamartiniere, a female soldier in Toussaint Louverture’s army. She fought with Dessalines in the defence of Crete-a-Pierrot against Napoleons invading French.

Both of these characters are available from Arcane scenary and models or Northstar Miniatures.

It's encouraging to see some new releases including new French Sailors, things are starting to hot up in the Caribbean.