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Saturday, 15 April 2023

Get Rid Of Norton

So I've just installed Norton on my phone and it won't let me on to this blog, nor Dave's because they have been classed as Dangerous and Phishing Sites.

I reported this to Norton and had a reply refusing to change the classification of mine.

Goodbye Norton  you've just lost a subscriber. I suspect its to do with blogger not being HTTPS friendly.

Monday, 3 April 2023

Flames Across the Border

 I'm only up to page 90, but bloody hell this is a brilliant book. I've already got some ideas for Sharp Practice scenarios based on forces I knew nothing about.

The book is effectively written as a series of scenes based on the viewpoints of one or two characters. It's actually history written almost as a novel, and it's addictive.

So far it has painted a really good picture of the mayhem in the Niagara peninsula in 1813 and the attack on York. It has also highlighted the actions of Lt Fitzgibbon's "Bloody Boys' who were 50 volunteers from the 49th foot whom he dressed in green and fought with Merit's provincial dragoons and Dominique Ducharme's Caughnawaga Indians against Chapin's mounted marauders, helping to keep the Americans bottled up in Fort George. That's an SP campaign in itself!!!!

Here's a link to another website with some details

Bloody Boys / Green Tigers

Another link that seems to suggest they wore 'stolen' American rifles uniforms. Which probs means another Oldgloryuk order when I get back. (If Andy has got the website back up and running)

Bloody Boys uniform reference



Friday, 31 March 2023

Blog Reboot?

 Possibly..........when I get home from visiting the family in Canada. I'll have more time on my hands, so maybe I'll actually finish writing up campaigns (unlike the last one - the Americans got the upper hand if you are still wondering.).

So, currently in Saskatchewan, I spotted the following book on Abebooks from a seller in BC,  so it had to be ordered. I'd been wanting a copy for a long time, but it's out of print and of course , me being me , it had to be a hard back with intact dust jacket. Hopefully it will inspire some more 1812 campaigns with Murdoch and the crew. It only took a couple of days to arrive.



Sunday, 23 August 2020

Carry On Up The St Lawrence - Game 3 Table and Forces

 






James Pendrick & the local scouts


Brackenreid, Higgins, Bonzo and the Canadian Fencibles


Murdoch with the 6th Battalion SEM and the Voltigeurs Canadiens


Jim Rockford with the 23rd US Infantry Flankers


Brett Maverick & Sergeant Columbo with the Pennsylvania Militia and Rifles


Magnum with Sergeant TJ Hooker, Buddy Rich, and the 8th US Infantry

The scenario is "Fighting Withdrawal" from "Dawns and Departures" by TooFAtLardies. All the forces are based on the lists in Mike Hobbs' "The War of 1812" supplement for Sharp Practice.

Wednesday, 12 August 2020

Carry On Up The St Lawrence - Chapter 6 - If you've been bad, Oh Lord I bet you have, And you've not been hit, Oh by flying lead

But even though they were sheltering in the upper storey of Cheery Welcome's tavern,  Murdoch's voltigeurs canadiens were beginning to suffer from the fire of Captain Rockford's skirmishers. Reduced to half their original numbers they were  thinking of abandoning the position, when suddenly the American officer who had been urging his men on fell to the ground. The grey-clad men from Lower Canada regained their composure and continued firing with renewed purpose. The officer was seen to recover, but not before the blue skirmish line had fallen back a little.


Meanwhile, on the right of the Canadian position, Henry Higgins could see trouble coming and there was very little he could do about it. A wall of grey was approaching and Brackenreid was nowhere to be seen. Time seemed to slow down. The Americans marched towards him. They paused, then aimed and ultimately fired. He felt an agonising pain in his shoulder and several of his men fell. The little band of redcoats recoiled from the fence and when time resumed its normal speed Higgins suddenly realised that he wasn't dead.

Then, just when it seemed as if all was lost, he heard the unmistakable sound of Bonzo's drumming and there at the fence stood Brackenreid and the rest of the company.

"Present.........fire!", and once again the men of the 9th U.S. infantry felt the full force of Canadian musketry. When the ringing stopped in his ears, Major Magnum saw that of his men only one rank remained.



The end?
Maybe not..................................................................

Sunday, 2 August 2020

Carry On Up The St Lawrence - Chapter 5 - Groundhog Day For Henry Higgins

Major Thomas Magnum was quite pleased with his progress down the St Lawrence thus far. He had successfully outmanoeuvred the small force sent to oppose him previously and he was pretty sure that he had managed to do the same again. Swinging off the main road he advanced parallel to it with all the speed that only American forces without any actual opposition in front of them can achieve. Having now reached the twin landmarks of Cheery Welcome's tavern and Ford's farm, he swung back towards the road in order to cut off the enemy forces.


Captain Jim Rockford deployed his flankers speedily from the orchards to the rear of the tavern, heartened by the thought of not only outsmarting the Canadians, but also replenishing supplies. He might even be allowed to burn the place to the ground too, that would be fun. But as Magnum's men were deploying to his left and rear, much to his consternation shots rang out from the fields to his right. "Oh dear, what is happening?", were not exactly the first words that came to his mind.

***************************************************

Mr James Pendrick was not a man who was troubled by setbacks. In fact Captain Murdoch had come to know him as a man to whom retribution and revenge came as naturally as thinking Canada belonged to America did to American presidents. He had been hurt in the previous skirmish and had barely escaped the field accompianied by only half the men he had taken into action. It was now time to do what he did best - be sneaky and devious.

Whilst Brackenreid and Murdoch had taken the militia and fencibles straight back down the Montreal road, Pendrick had patched himself up and followed the bluecoats across the countryside. Seeing the Americans turn back towards the road, he had hidden  his scouts in a field on the american flank, and when they cleared Cheery Welcome's orchards, he opened fire.

Back down the road Brackenreid and Murdoch heard the crack of musketry as the scouts opened fire. "Bloody hell Murdoch, the buggers have done it again!", he exclaimed. "Indeed I fear they have", replied Murdoch in a tone that suggested he was not entirely surprised.

"Higgins, get a shift on and take some lads down to the fence by the tavern and hold on until we get there. Murdoch, get the Voltigeurs up there with them and chivvy the militia along. I'll follow as fast as I can with the rest of the fencibles", ordered Brackenreid.

Henry Higgins sighed to himself and thought that if ever a day came when you were able to copy what people said to some sort of device and that device got stuck, it would probably sound just like Major Brackenreid. He then became very concerned as he realised that was exactly the bizarre sort of thing that his friend sergeant Crabtree would come up with. "I've been hanging around with that daft Newfie for too long", he thought to himself.

Captain Murdoch moved his men speedily down the road, and soon after Higgins had positioned himself at the fence, the Voltigeurs Canadiens opened up a destructive fire from the upper floor of the tavern. Rockford's flankers were now caught in a crossfire  between Pendrick's scouts and Murdoch's voltigeurs. Blue coats began to litter the field.

To be continued................

Pendrick's scouts open up on the flank of the advancing american skirmishers.

Magnum's men advance from the orchards
Men of the 6th battalion of the Lower Canada Embodied Milita rush to the sound of gunfire.

 
The Voltigeurs Canadiens open fire from the tavern.


Note: "Cheery Welcome's tavern is based on a real tavern near Oshawa owned by a Mr Acheus Moody Farewell and his wife. Details can be found here and here.