Ready for Longstreet!
At the start of the Christmas holidays I set myself the target of painting the 10mm ACW force I’d purchased to play in a Longstreet campaign at the South east Scotland Wargames Club. Well I’ve done it before New Year, which is good. I’ve now got a total of 46 infantry stands and seven assorted artillery pieces, which should be more than enough to meet my campaign needs for the next few games.
My actual Brigade in the campaign currently looks like this.
Israel B. Richardson (2 eagles) – Drillmaster, Politically Savvy, Mexican War Veteran
- 1st Massachusetts – 3 Seasoned Veterans
- 2nd Michigan – 2 Seasoned Recruits
- 3rd Michigan – 7 Seasoned Veterans
- 12th New York – 4 Seasoned Recruits
- 25th New York – 2 Eager Recruits
- 12th Massachusetts – 10 Eager Recruits
- 17th Ohio – 8 Eager Recruits
- 1st United States Artillery Company G – 2 x 6pdr Smoothbores, 1 x Howitzer
- 2nd United States Artillery Company H – 1 x 12pdr Napoleon
I’ve not had a lot of luck in the campaign, losing both battles so far, but the real killer, and the reason for all those small units, has been dysentery. My men have been dying like flies in the Reduction step of the post battle procedures. Looks like my Brigade has been camping in swamps and putting the latrines upstream of the cook-house.
Here’s the 12th Massachusetts
And everything I’ve got painted.
The plan now is to expand the force so I can use it to provide Sedgwick’s VI Corps for Gettysburg using the Fire and Fury rules. That’s 63 stands, so only another twenty to go for that. A new order for Pendraken in the New Year.
And I’ve already got together the necessary markers for Fire and Fury – Low on Ammunition (figure reloading) , Disordered/Silenced (dead man), Damaged Battery (wheel or gun barrel) and Breakthrough (officer waving sword about).
Another plan is to use these troops to try out the Altar of Freedom rules from Iron Ivan games. These rules use the Brigade as the basic unit and are designed to be used to refight the larger battles of the American Civil War. You can refight Gettysburg on an 8ft by 6ft table.
Here’s what a Division of three brigades will look like for Altar of Freedom – though I need to paint up a Divisional general and will fit the three Longstreet/Fire and Fury stands into sabots.
And for those of you on various forums who are saying these things are not that badly painted here’s the truth.
it’s a really basic block and wash technique. I haven’t even painted the straps on most of the figures and there’s dry-brushing from the bases all over their trousers.
