1798 Rebellion Project Part 22: More Artillery

 I've been busy working on some more artillery crews- here are the results! 

The first piece is a rebel-crewed howitzer. At the Battle of Three Rocks, a British relief column, sent from Duncan on Fort to reinforce Wexford Town, was ambushed. This column included two howitzers, which, along with their gunners, were captured. According to Pakenham, both the howitzers and the captured artillerymen were used by the rebels at New Ross. One prisoner, suspected of deliberately missing the British Militia, is said to have remarked "Isn't that a fine shot?" as he blew away a chimney. A rebel responded "it is; but this will be a better one" before shooting the prisoner dead. 

This model is actually a French Gribeauval howitzer, as Trent Miniatures don't produce a British one. 

This crew is commanded by Esmond Kyan. Although a member of the gentry, Kyan became involved in the Wexford Catholic Committee, and may have been one of the founders of the United Irishmen movement in Wexford. Kyan was a colonel of the United Irishmen. 

He had previously fought in the British army, as part of the artillery; he might even have fought on the continent. As such his knowledge was useful to the rebel force. Kyan wore a prosthetic arm, having lost his right arm in a duel with a debtor. This prosthesis was torn off by a cannonball at the Battle of Arklow. Kyan is said to have shouted ‘My loose timbers are flying, God bless the mark . . . now for the right arm of the British line’ in response (according to Furlong's book on John Murphy). 

 He returned to Wexford Town to seek medical aid, and intervened to prevent sectarian murder there. Kyan marched to Wicklow with the rebels, but soon returned to Wexford. He was soon caught and executed. 

This information comes from the book "Fr John Murphy 1753-1798" and this website.

The above engraving is the only image I could use to paint this figure. I chose a model with the closest features I could. I assumed the light coloured hair in the image was blond, but have no idea if this is correct. The right arm was repositioned using a pliers. 

This crew are from the Royal Irish Artillery. This regiment was founded in 1760 from an earlier Artillery Company ("The Uniforms of 1798-1803", F. Glenn Thompson). Furlong states 16 members of this regiment were captured at Three Rocks. 

One of their guns (I think it's a 12 pounder) is on display at Collins Barracks, Dublin. Its undercarriage is painted black, but I believe it is a reconstruction. Thompson's book on the uniforms of the period states this regiment painted their cannons' carriages grey.

In other news, I'll be participating in this year's Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge, which begins on December 21st. It's my first time taking part. I'm looking forward to it as I've been enjoying the great work of the Challenge participants for a few years now. 

Best of luck to everyone involved! 

Go dtí an chéad uair eile, beir bua! 

Ral Partha Dwarf Thief

 I haven't painted any fantasy figures in ages, so I got this lad from my FLGS. He's a "Dwarf Thief" from Ral Partha Europe, and is quite suitable for this season. He seems to be in the Kevin Adams style, but seems a bit small. Either way, I really enjoyed painting this model!

1798 Rebellion Project Part 21: Homemade Artillery!

 Something a bit different this week: improvised artillery! I've been planning on painting rebel artillery for a while now. As soon as I read about this particular cannon I knew I'd have to include it in my army!

In Thomas Pakenham's "The Year of Liberty", the author describes a ramshackle cannon used by Henry Joy-McCracken's men in County Antrim. The rebels had possession of an old Irish Volunteers cannon barrel. The barrel had been buried under a church for safekeeping. The rebels had to mount the barrel on an old civilian cart. The gun's "cradle" was hewn from a log.

Pakenham notes the instability of such a weapon, as it was not built to withstand the force of recoil. He notes it was soon put out of action, possibly as a result of this. Furlong's account of the Battle of Vinegar Hill in "Fr. John Murphy" also describes a cart-mounted cannon. As part of the defence of Enniscorthy, a 4 pounder on a cart was used at the town bridge. Furlong refers to it as a "morale stiffener"; it is unlikely to have been very effective. Regardless of its real world performance, this model is a fun way to represent rebel artillery. 

Among the crew is a sharply dressed fellow armed with... socks? He's another character from Antrim as described by Pakenham. He states that a Quaker haberdasher provided the rebels with grapeshot cartridges by filling socks with musket balls. 

The gun is made of a spare Trent Miniatures barrel, coffee stirrers and wheels from Warbases. 

I've also painted another rebel leader. This time it's Michael Dwyer, "The Wicklow Chief". He was a contemporary of Joseph Holt who fought in the Wicklow Mountains. Dwyer is notable for continuing a guerilla campaign until 1803.  

Dwyer was transported to Australia, where he later became a Chief of Police. He was frequently under suspicion of fomenting rebellion among the Irish in Australia, but this is unlikely. Dwyer was ultimately dismissed from his police job for drunkenness. Declared bankrupt, he was imprisoned and became ill, dying in his early 50s.

Go dtí an chéad uair eile, beir bua!