Fort Fisher revisited part 2 - US briefing

 

The US Navy:  a raggle-taggle of wooden ships from junk shops, Playmobil plastic, two mdf ironclads and the nearest monitor lovingly hacked from balsa and insulation board.

The attack on Fort Fisher – 24 December 1864

Rear Admiral David Porter, US Navy

Brevet Brigadier General Newton M Curtis, US Army

Commander Alexander Rhind, US Navy

Forces:

1 Brigade, 2^nd Div, XXIV Corps

                                    3 New York Regiment

                                    112 New York Rgt

                                    117 New York Rgt

 

2 ships of the line:       USS Brooklyn (carrying half of 3 NY)

                                    USS Juanita (carrying half of 3 NY)

2 transport ships          Nyack (carrying 112 NY)

                                    Saucy Mary Todd* (carrying 117 NY)

1 Battery Ironclad       USS Ironsides

2 Monitors:                  USS Mahopac

                                    USS Saugus

1 Bomb ketch (towed by a ship)

Boats to land 1 regiment

USS Portland (aka ‘The Experiment’ – TOP SECRET

Portland is a captured screw-driven Confederate blockade runner which has been loaded with 300 tons of gunpowder.  It is intended that this be run aground near the fort and detonated.  The plan indicates that this will destroy the fort but it all sounds damn risky.  You may want to get rid of this vessel sooner rather than later!

 

Orders:

Bombard the fort into submission and then land troops to mop up survivors.  There is no time to spare and you have been allocated considerable resources.  The eyes of the President and the Union are on you.  Detonate the Portland by 1130 real time, land troops by 1330.

Ben Butler

Major General B F Butler

Expeditionary Corps (Army of the James)

The sneaky Yankee players refined the plan by re-flagging Portland with a spare CS flag.  It was then to sail towards the rover mouth pursued by two US warships.  The rotters!

Oh, and it it possible that not all of the ship names are entirely historically accurate.  

The Portland - a wooden ship found in a junk shop.  I removed the remains of the masts and added a couple of balsa funnels.  It bears - to my eyes at least - more than a passing resemblance to the Louisiana, on which the Portland nonsense is based.

The two US ships in hot pursuit.  More junk shop finds.  They're from a rather earlier era but a sailing ship is a sailing ship, right?

  

 * 100 Vanity Points if you can tell me in a comment who Mary Todd was. 200 if you can do it without Google.

Fort Fisher re-visited part 1 - Confederate briefing

For our game a couple of weeks ago I revisited one which Bertrand and I played in London back in 2019.  This gave me an opportunity to get out and use several gun emplacements and the like which hadn't previously seen action and also the three ironclads I built in late 2019.  

I put together briefings and on the day, rose early to lay out the fort.  This post will be confined to the CS briefing, the next to the US brief and subsequent posts to the action which ensued.

some guns awaiting targets

 The attack on Fort Fisher – 24 December 1864

Colonel William Lamb, Cmdr, Fort Fisher Garrison

Brigadier General William Kirkland

Forces:

Fort Fisher artillery     1 North Carolina Heavy Artillery

                                    3 North Carolina Light Artillery

All guns have limited ammunition

17 North Carolina Regiment

 Reinforcements – roll 1D6 from turn 10.  On a ‘6’ half of 42 North Carolina Rgt arrives:

  

Orders

Hold the Fort to the last man and gun – Wilmington must be saved!

In the event of serious threat reinforcements will be dispatched from Hoke’s Division.

  

William H C Whiting

Major General William H C Whiting

Cape Fear District Commander

The first blunder of the game was all my own, as I forgot to deploy 17 NC Rgt.  Luckily nobody noticed so it's really the CS players' fault.  There, I think I got away with that.

The fort.  Impressive eh?

Saturday Knight Fever - part 3

Back at the Kickyerhead Inn, things are hotting up.  Russell twangs off an arrow at Peter but this is deflected by the latter's leather outfit(!)  

Having caught Lady E in his arms, Robin proposes marriage.  An angry Lord John asks his daughter what the hell she thinks she's playing at.

Battered by the combined effects of beer and Doris, Mark stumbles upstairs and collapses.

Fred announces - rather late - that Robin isn't in the inn.

Clearly wanting to move up the billing somewhat, Russell twangs at Robin but misses, hitting Martin

Martin then attacks Robin who is soon beaten to the ground and killed.  Bending over the corpse, Martin dodges another arrow from Russell.  The Inkeeper tries to collect payment from his increasingly rowdy guests.

At this point Doris reappears, whispers in Lady E's ear and the two run off.

Lord John pursues, grappling his daughter to the ground.  Doris attacks John and between blows, pours beer in through his helmet visor.  Soon John expires.  Russell tries to sneak up but is felled by Martin.

In the final scene, Doris and Lady Ermentrude run off hand in hand into the sunset.

A very entertaining game to run and my thanks again to the players who entered into the spirit of the thing with some splendid role playing.

Of course, like the ending leaves the way open for a sequel!

        Who is Lord John's heir?

            

                    Who will lay claim to his estates?

                                    Why is Doris still carrying tankards of beer?

                                                        How bad is Sir Mark's hangover?

No doubt these and other questions will be sorely neglected when we again return to this era.

                                

Saturday Knight Fever - part 2

Meanwhile back in the middle ages....  As Russell skulks on the woods....

Lord John's party approaches the inn.

Outside the inn is Gaston, a handy-looking bloke with a staff and the inevitable lute player.  The white box I used to indicate who was in the inn - upstairs and down.  So Ye jolly Innkeeper and Doris the barmaid are in the bar while Robin and Lady E are upstairs.  In separate rooms, one trusts!

Gaston challenges the party as it approaches and on hearing Fred the bodyguard announce Lord John he moves aside.

A combination of having read his objectives and an ear as tin as his helmet leads Sir Martin to kill the lute player.  He'll not be missed.

The innkeeper and Doris issue forth to offer refreshment, assuring Lord J that they didn't like the bloody lute music either.

Friar Paul tries to engage Gaston in religious debate while Sir Mark sneaks toward the barrels of beer.  Or Doris.

Russell skulking in a different wood.

The drinks are soon flowing.  The innkeeper tries to persuade Sir Martin to pay while Friar Paul chats up Doris.

Lord John sends Fred indoors to search for the fugitives...

...while Russell sneaks ever closer.....

...and closer.  Sir Mark disappears into a quiet corner with Doris.

As Fred clatters up the stairs, Robin leaps dramatically from un upstairs window (actually Lady E pushed him) and then catches the lady when she too jumps!