Keep Your Powder Dry

 The seventeenth-century siege was 'an affair of artillery', but the Irish had no proper artillery Raw Generals and Green Soldiers, Catholic Armies in Ireland 1641-1643 Padraig Lenihan The above quote sums up the state of the Irish Confederate artillery train  rather succinctly; plus, it also explains why they didn't fare particularly well in a war of sieges.  Demi-culverin Clearly the Irish had some guns, but what did they have and how many? Details are scant. The Irish did not have expertise in gun-founding, just two gun foundries existed in Ireland and they were in the Anglo Scottish settler communities: Boyle's foundry at Cappoquin and Blacknall's at Ballinakill.  Irish attempts at artillery manufacturing did not go well: Viscount Clanmalier had a tin cannon made that simply did not work; the leather cannon used at Ballyalla was even worse as it effectively blew up. They fared much better making fake cannons: a wooden cannon helped Daniel O'Dunne capture Cas...

Just as Montrose's army has had some more command figures, so have the Covenanters. These are from Peter Pig Scots generals pack 40. All three have had headswaps. Sir Alexander Hamilton Hamilton was the Covenanter general of artillery until 1649 when he died. Known to friend and foe as 'dear Sandy' he fought for both Denmark and Sweden. It is believed that he may have refined the Swedish leather gun, but he is best known for inventing the 'Dear Sandy Stoups' - four light bronze barrels mounted upon a frame. John Campbell, 1st Earl of Loudoun Loudoun was more of a politician than a soldier, despite being the colonel of regiments of foot and horse. A leading light in the Covenanter cause, he was one of the commissioners sent to London to negotiate with the King after the First Bishops War. Appointed Lord Chancellor of Scotland in 1641, in a vain attempt by Charles to win Loudoun's loyalty; his loyalty was with the Solemn League. He would venture south again: to ne...

 Just as my Royalist command got a bit of a spruce up, so has my Parliament command. A gentle reminder that these figures are true 15mm sized; the names given but figure manufacturers and sculptors is 'nominal' at best, as they are too small to look definitively like portraits of the people that they are supposed to represent. Whilst some of the Steel Fist character figures do have more than a passing resemblance to portraiture, they can represent whomsoever you jolly well want them to be - very few will have any idea, and the few that do, probably don't have a magnifier with them. These figures are tiny. With this in mind, I have picked my Fantasy Football League team of Parliamentarian command figures... This time, additional figures coming from Steel Fist's ECWH 21 pack: Parliamentarian Commanders. As a number of the characters in the pack are already represented in my Parliamentarian army, a little repurposing will be required.  My 'senior commanders' are ba...

After much prevarication I finally took the plunge and purchased the Steel Fist commanders packs to boost my command figures representations. A gentle reminder that these figures are true 15mm sized; the names given but figure manufacturers and sculptors is 'nominal' at best, as they are too small to look definitively like portraits of the people that they are supposed to represent. Whilst some of the Steel Fist character figures do have more than a passing resemblance to portraiture, they can represent whomsoever you jolly well want them to be - very few will have any idea, and the few that do, probably don't have a magnifier with them. These figures are tiny. With this in mind, I have picked my Fantasy Football League team of Royalist command figures... Steel Fist list their Royalist command figures (pack ECWH 22) as King Charles I, George Digby Earl of Bristol, Sir Jacob Astley, officer with telescope, aide delivering message and standard bearer. The standard bearer woul...

The last of the 'oooo, I've got space in my storage boxes, I'd better fill it' expansion  horsey men. I won't be missing death by brown paint for a while. Colonel Herbert Morley’s Regiment of Horse was a combined Regiment of Horse and Dragoons serving in Waller’s Southern Association, then as garrison of Arundel until  they were disbanded in 1653. Raised in Sussex in April 1643, the Regiment originally consisted of 80 horse and 100 dragoons. By the end of 1643 their strength rose to about 400 men in total. Combined horse and dragoon regiments appear to be a way of having two small regiments for the price of one: a combined regiment has one colonel (and just one colonel's pay to find). There are a number of examples of these dual regiments recorded, Morley's was not a 'one off'. There is some confusion as to their first engagements: they were ordered to join Essex's Army at Gloucester, along with the Regiments of Colonels Norton and Harvey, but wh...

Regular readers (hello all eight of you), will have seen me complain that I had underrepresented the Solemn League artillery train, so I added a paltry minion and limber to beef up their artillery train. A handful of frame guns and a minion doesn't really cut it, does it? So I have added a brace of  sakers. Sakers and crews from PP; limbers from Museum Miniatures, with a PP horseholder who has had a headswap. Custom casualty markers from Warbases This time I went for Cd'A wood for the gun carriages, with my now trusty mix of Foundry blackened barrel shades for the metalwork (light for the wheel tyres and dark for everything else). If you enjoyed reading this, or any of the other posts, please consider  supporting  the blog.  Thanks .

The best thing about painting highlanders is that when you have finished, you know that you don't have to paint them again. Technically that is true for any figures that you paint, but to be honest I don't actually mind painting harquebusiers. I positively enjoy painting London Trained Band regiments. But not highlanders. I really dislike painting highlanders. I mean I REALLY dislike painting highlanders. It's not like it is just an aversion to painting 'tartan'. They are just all round bloomimg horrible to paint. With their little knees on show; the tricksy billowing folds of their plaid; their 'apostles' hidden amongst it all; not to mention their strange fixation with offal based 'food' products. But I digress. Colonel William Gordon’s Regiment was raised in Strathavan, a small glen some thirty miles south of Elgin. This branch of the Gordons came from the town of Minimore, near what is now  Glenlivet. The Regiment was commanded by Colonel William...

When I planned my Army of Montrose, it was, as in real life, quite cavalry light. A unit of lancers and a unit of harquebusiers (for the Gordon Horse). But... well I fell down a rabbit hole... and, discovered the intriguing story of Captain Frances Dalyell alias Mrs Pierson. Well, once I knew about her, it just had to be done a Frances in 15mm. It was intended to be the final Montrose unit to be painted, unfortunately I was in headswapping mode and needed to scratch that itch. So here they are. Captain Frances Dalyell, alias Mrs Pierson, was reputedly the illegitimate daughter of the Earl of Carnwath. There are many contemporary tales of women dressing as men and serving in the Wars, so many that Charles had a draft proclamation drawn up, setting out required standards of behaviour for Charles I’s army. It included a hand-written memo in the margin from the king himself stating "lett no woman presume to counterfeit her sex by wearing mans apparall under payne of the severest punis...