In the Footsteps of Ulysses

 Ulysses S. Grant that is, Not the Greek one!

Cindy and I took our pup Sammy to the Land Between the Lakes area to see how our new pup would do as a camping dog.  In the midst of camping, I was able to sneak in a nice battlefield tour.  The area we were camping in is right next to the Fort Henry trail system that traces the route Grant took when moving his forces from Fort Henry to Fort Donelson in the opening phases of the American Civil War in the Western theatre.

The park website can be found here: https://www.nps.gov/fodo/index.htm

Cindy and I walked along a trail that followed the old wagon road that Grant used to move his artillery.  In many places you could still see the sunken road running parallel to the modern footpath, as in the photo above.

It wasn't all hard work, as Sammy had a great time in the stream blowing bubbles.

We would have had to blow bubble too to visit Fort Henry.  The Fort is now submerged under Kentucky Lake since the TVA damned the Tennessee River!

This is a small section of the Fort Henry trail system.  We walked a couple of these loops, but beware if you try it, the connector trails are not always maintained as we found to our dismay as we walked through grasses and briars as tall as we are!

While I don't have a picture of it, we came across the graves of five confederate soldiers, the first casualties of the battle.  They were killed when their own artillery piece exploded.  It was an odd little cemetery surrounded by a dilapidated and unmaintained snake rail fence on three sides.  Someone had put tacky little solar powered lights near each plaque, which was a bit discordant.  There were also flag holders with confederate battle flags, as well as, somewhat surprisingly for this area, a couple of US flags as well.  There were no period markers visible, so I don't know if the plaques were on actual burial sites or were just an approximation.  Many coins were laid on the plaques by visitors as a show of respect for the deceased soldiers, which was another surprise given the remoteness of the site.

Unlike Fort Henry, Fort Donelson escaped the rising waters of TVA damns and is still an interesting battlefield to visit which is very well maintained, though the visitor's center is still in a trailer of sorts while the permanent structure in under construction (which apparently it has been for 7 years!)

Cindy and Sammy near a thirty pound Columbiad!  The guns of Fort Donelson devastated the Union fleet of gunboats, despite their novice crews.

Coastal artillery lined the banks of the Cumberland blocking Union access to the river.

Cindy and I were exhausted after a short hike up and down the ridges leading to the fort, but it was an incredibly hot day and we were running short on water.  Cindy and Sammy stayed under the shade of this lovely Magnolia, while I hitched a ride back to the visitor center with some helpful construction workers.  I have always found that the vast majority of folks are lovely and willing to help given the opportunity to do so.

The Dover Hotel was the site of the confederate surrender to U.S. Grant.  It was here that he earned the nickname Unconditional Surrender, due to what the confederate General Buckner called his ungenerous terms.

There is a small museum in the hotel that is well worth a visit.

While I can't imagine the exterior was able to be salvaged when the hotel was saved, but I believe the three chimneys are original to the structure.  I wondered if the floorboards could be as well.

Cindy very much enjoyed our tour of the battlefield which combined a little history and culture with the natural beauty of the area.  Give it a visit if you get a chance!

Closing in on One Million Page Views!

Oh Sooo Close!

 I know the uber popular fancy folk probably hit a million page views every day, but for a blog about toy soldiers, I figured it was something worth celebrating.  So how does one celebrate hitting one million - with a sword!  I have always wanted an office sword to display, but originals cost crazy money, and my blog is lazy and not generating any cash, so I opted for a prop sword.  This Pattern 1803 British Napoleonic Light Infantry sword was used in the production of "The Pale Blue Eye", a rather creepy Christian Bale film in a period piece which includes a portrayal of a young Edgar Allen Poe.

I had left a space above this print of Napoleon and Marie Louise with the young Napoleon in the hope of one day displaying a sword there.  The print was actually inherited from my wife's grandmother, which we always found pretty funny.  I don't think she ever knew how perfect it would be for our home!

Have to love the lion's head pommel.  One of the nice things about a used prop sword, is that it shows a little age, and is not all bright and shiny, kind of like me, so I appreciate that!

So the sword was actually a birthday present to myself, which just happened to correspond with closing in on a million page views.  The other present I got from my dear one, is this picture of our dog Sammy, done up like Samoleon "Bone"apart.

This is Sammy without the fancy hat curling up with his mom.

Mesas de Ibor Battlefield - Progress Continues!

The Spanish Guerrillas have left the village and headed for the cover of the trees.

Their ultimate goal is to take cover in the rocks of the high ridge to the Southwest of Mesas de Ibor. 

One of the nice perks of doing an old school style classic toy soldier look is the ease of terrain construction.  Keeping it simple is the goal!

Some insulation foam and a quick coat of paint, and voila, done.

No sooner was the ridge done, than the Germans occupied the town.  Here a column led by the Garde de Paris and Frankfort battalions heads down the rode to the west of the town.

The Guerrillas take up position in the high rock outcroppings.

Spanish Garrochistas position themselves on the East side of the ridge.

Two of the six battalions of Spanish infantry occupy the eastern section of the ridge, with some support from a detachment of Cazadores in the rocks below.

Two battalions of Baden Infantry and an artillery battery take up position on a small hill overlooking the village and some vineyards.

Two battalions of Nassau infantry have already crossed the small stream, with more Bavarians following them across.

The local cows are seemingly unperturbed by all of the commotion.

The divisional commander for the Confederation of the Rhine troops oversees the deployment.

The Von Kinkel regiment of Bavarians are taking up a position of support behind the Nassauers.

Nassau forming the tip of the spear for the upcoming assault.

Unbeknownst to the Nassauers, more Spanish Infantry are on the way as soon as they can get glossified and re-based.

Mesas de Ibor - Pre-battle Maneuvers in the Classic Style

 Extremadura, Western Spain, March 16th, 1809 - 5000 Spanish infantry, under General Duke del Parque, have taken refuge in the small village of Mesas de Ibor, roughly halfway between Madrid and Portugal.  After a brief stay, they have decided the village is too unprotected to provide a suitable defense.  A forbidding ridgeline is just 1.5 kilometers away guarding the main approach to Portugal.  General del Parque abandons the village to await the French vanguard on the heights.  Eight small battalions of German infantry in French service under General Leval, the vanguard of Victor's 1st Corp of 15,000, are in hot pursuit.

General Parque's cavalry and artillery lead the way.  The type of cavalry he had is actually unknown, but is listed as a small detachment, so I have opted for a squadron of Minifig s-series Spanish Lancers.  The artillery would likely have been mule drawn and the muleteers in native garments, but I have modelled a later period artillery train equipped with uniforms and horses.  The artillery pieces would likely have been older French style cannons, as Britain is not recorded as having supplied any artillery.  The carriages of the cannon were painted a light blue grey, which would likely have faded to grey over time.

A General of Brigade leads the artillery and cavalry out of Mesas de Ibor.

Detached Cazadores in skirmish order emerge from the vineyards, while a regiment of Marines on the hilltop forms up for departure.

A unit of local guerillas is taking up position in support of the army, while the Regimiento de Santiago takes the road to the West.

An overview of the village.  Four more Spanish regiments are still due to depart (ie, still need to be spruced up and based before the battle)

For this battle, the Marechal de Campo will be playing the part of General del Parque.

Regimiento del Santiago on the road out, with their cigar wielding Colonel to the fore.

I was very glad to have an excuse to use this bridge, that I designed and built using the old Linka plaster casting system for HO scale buildings.

Next up, constructing the ridge!

Guerillas Not so Much in the Mist, but Out in the Open!

 Well these fine gentlemen have been in the works a very long time, but they have finally stepped out of their hiding place in the rocks of the Spanish mesas to give us a glimpse.  Of course the French were in hot pursuit as ever!

Two more skirmish units for the upcoming Mesas de Ibor battle, well at least the guerillas will be there...

This is my favorite stand of Guerillas, with a British naval officer painted as a Spanish guerilla leader.  He is a genuine HH casting, as is the converted British light infantryman.  The Guerilla on the right is my favorite pose of the poses, here recast by Der Kriegspieler.

Another original HH figure is a British sailor with the addition of a crown to his straw hat.  I was surprised at how closely the British sailors garb mimicked peasant Spanish wear.  The other two are Der Kriegspieler.

From the rear you can see the sddition of a Spanish blanket to the British light infantryman, just to give him a bit more Spanish flair.

One of the most distinctive features of the Spanish guerillas is the soft footwear with leather straps on the ankle and knee length pants.

I didn't really need another unit of elite Voltigeurs, but i got these as part of a larger purchase and they were so well painted I couldn't resist spiffing them up a bit to match my collection.  They will serve as a dedicated skirmish unit to the combined Grenadier battalions.

Of course I now have way to many elite voltigeurs in my army, but why not, those colpaks are just so cool, though they had to be really hot in Spain!

Before I start in on the 4 remaining battalions of Spanish infantry that need to be glossified and spiffed up, I'm going to finish this unit of Burgundian Pikemen for Never Mind the Billhooks.

I purchased these pre-painted men at arms last weekend at our local wargaming convention, Nashcon.  All I'm doing is adding a new flag and changing the livery to Burgundy.  I have some more heavy foot knights from the Agincourt French Infantry box that should make up the missing four figures nicely.  My good friend Ed provided the 3D printed movement tray for both this unit and the Pikemen.

There have been some nice changes to my painting space recently.  Here you can see I was able to add a standing desk for the two layered painting space that helps me to look up while painting rather than hunch down!

I also managed to find an old media cabinet that makes excellent storage for finished projects.  I do need to make a ton of new shelves though to maximize the display space.

Lastly, I have been repairing and cleaning the table and organizing the surrounding space which stores my pile of shame for the most part.  The lightbox breaks down for easy storage on the shelves behind the table.