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! 

Sharpe Diorama

 Here's a small Sharpe diorama I made as a birthday present for a friend. The figures are from Tangent Miniatures' Ahistorical range. I hope he had a great day!

1798 Rebellion Project Part 18: The Completed French Force

 I got lots of painting done this week. So much so that my lead mountain is home to only two figures! I've finished the last models for the French list.

First up is General Jean-Joseph Amable Humbert. Before the French Revolution, Humbert worked as a dealer in animal skins, but rose to become a general. In August 1798, he landed at Killala with the 70th Demi Brigade. The "Republic of Connacht" was then proclaimed by the French, with John Moore (no relation to the British General) as its president. Humbert had initial success at the Battle of Castlebar, and intended to advance into the Irish Midlands. However, his small force surrendered against impossible odds at the Battle of Ballinamuck.

Humbert was taken as a prisoner of war and repatriated. He continued to fight for the French army, and was sent to Haiti to suppress the revolution. Quite ironic considering his activities in Ireland! Humbert was accused of looting while in Haiti and returned to France. He joined rebel movements in both New Spain and Argentina, before fighting in the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. He spent the rest of his life as a school teacher. Like many figures in this period, Humbert is a fascinating character. I'd love to see a detailed biography of his life in print.

That cartridge box caused a lot of headaches

I put together some Shock markers to go along with the force. 

A group photo of the full army:

I had some leftover figures from the British force that I wanted to get painted. Here are the Monaghan Militia Light Company. 

"U wot m8?"

Finally, I made a small holy well. These are very common in Ireland, and have many superstitions attached to them. Although their veneration is entirely Christian nowadays, evidence suggests that bodies of water were important ritual sites in pagan Celtic culture. It's not a substantial piece of terrain, it's just a nice bit of decoration. 

The wall is made of pieces of gravel. The water is gloss varnish. 

I built up the earth texture around the edge to give a stronger illusion of depth.

The Wicklow general Joseph Holt is currently on my painting table. He's another truly interesting character and I can't wait to finish painting him. After that I'll move on to the next stage of the project - artillery!

Go dtí an chéad uair eile, beir bua! 

1798 Rebellion Project Part 16: The Halloween Special

 Halloween has always been my favourite time of the year. It's an ancient tradition in Ireland, as Oíche Shamhna ("Samhain Eve"). Such was Samhain's importance that it gave its name to the month of November in the Irish language. Irish myth describes Samhain as a big festival, lasting a week, almost always coinciding with supernatural happenings. The Gaulish Coligny Calendar, dating from the first Century BCE, lists "Samonios" as a month at the end of Summer, evidence that Samhain was a Celtic rather than Irish tradition.

I felt I had to do something wargaming related for Halloween. I decided on some graveyard terrain, as it's particularly suitable for the 1798 Project. At the Battles of Tara, Old Kilcullen and Antrim, the rebels made use of graveyards for cover. Graveyard walls seem to have been the best defence available, especially against artillery.

I did some research on 18th Century Irish headstones, and found some interesting results. Many of them are suitably "gothic"! This website gives information on Donaghmoyline Graveyard in County Fermanagh. It features some unusual round gravestones with skull-and-crossbones motifs, a design found in some parts of Ulster in the 18th century.

All the headstones were made from coffee stirrers and Milliput. 

The two headstones on the right are of the previously mentioned type. They are accompanied by hourglass designs, a grim reminder to the living of their mortality. Scary stuff. 

This is a "box tomb". It was fairly common for gravestones to feature images associated with the crucifixion, and it was easier to add them on a flat surface like this one.

The graveyard itself is just an MDF base with some stone walls made of gravel. I think I might make a few more headstones to fill the empty space. 

        A collapsed section of the wall. 

I've also finished a group of (far less spooky) 60th Rifles for the project. This regiment fought in the American War of Independence before taking part in the 1798 Rebellion. I couldn't find that much information about their involvement in the uprising, but they were present at the Battle of Foulksmills, and fought the guerrillas of the Wicklow Glens. If anyone has further information I'd love to know. Here is one article on the subject. 

The 60th Rifles were among, if not the first British unit to wear shakos and use rifles. They're technically my first ever Napoleonic figures, as they fought in the Peninsular War. You might notice I've painted a certain officer from that conflict to lead them! He's from Tangent Miniatures. 

Go dtí an chéad uair eile, Samhain sona daoibh! 

1798 Rebellion Project Part 13: Shock Markers

In Sharp Practice, Groups pick up Shock points as a measure of disorder. I've seen some really nice casualty markers made by other gamers online, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to make some. Trent Miniatures produce suitable casualty figures, and the counters themselves are Warbases' Custom Markers. 

I soon realised that this style of marker has a border that's lower than the central circle. I should have done more research! Warbases standard casualty markers don't have this feature. To lessen the gap between the figures and the marker, I built up the borders with Milliput and pieces of coffee stirrers. It's not perfect, but it is less noticeable from above. 

I found the casualty figures very quick and easy to paint. I thought of adding blood to them, but decided it isn't really in keeping with my painting style. I only added a few spots here and there. After all, Shock does not technically represent dead troops. Instead, I used a purple glaze to create a few black eyes. This will hopefully get across the message of units being "beaten up". 

First up are the Militia:

The United Irishmen :

I've started the next batch of troops for the project. They will be the first Group of French soldiers from the 70th Demi Brigade. I don't suppose I need to say they are really enjoyable to paint. I can't wait to write a post about them! 

I have been thinking about creating a campaign once the French are completed. I'm still very unsure how I will organise it. I'd love to do a campaign which encompasses the entire island of Ireland, but that might be too ambitious. I certainly want to include a naval element. I have been looking into the Tony Bath campaign rules and I really like them. I don't think they'd work for Sharp Practice without a bit of modification, but nothing too drastic is needed. I like the DIY aspect of these rules, in that they encourage modification to better suit time period and location. 

I'm also quite interested in Dawns and Departures, the official campaign supplement for Sharp Practice. It seems to focus on small locations and individual characters, so I don't know if it would work for an all-Ireland game. I'd still love to try it out. 

Go dtí an chéad uair eile, beir bua!