Tomorrow is the anniversary of the British capture of New Amsterdam, precipitating the 2nd Anglo Dutch War. They recaptured it again in the 70s renaming it New Orange but negotiated it away in exchange for Surinam. That's my idea of what happened. I may have got it wrong. See some lovely reconstructions of Dutch colonial forts on the Rampjaar blog. I wonder if there's anyone out there who wargames these colonial actions in the Americas? Something for the Glory of the Sun range?
I recently got into this era. This week I bought Brigade Games King Phillip's War minis (1675–1676). Unfortunately, none of the models carry matchlocks! I'm going to paint the 11 models I have first, then I'll look through other manufacturers for some matchlock carrying models. Maybe there are some European armies that would be suitable for English colonists.
ReplyDeleteFrom what Ive read about King Philips war the flintlock was already weapon of choice among colonists. 'A Skulking Way of War' is good for the weaponry and tactics. Presumably the Carignan Salieres was partly matchlock armed.
ReplyDeleteI ordered Skulking Way of War a few days ago. It should arrive soon! I haven't read too much about the period yet, but I had heard that the Indians were actually better armed than the Mass. militia. The conscripts tended to be men in the lower levels of society, so many did not have the means to buy the fancy new flintlocks. In any case, it would be nice to have a little variety among the models. Copplestone's Dutch soldiers look like they might fit in. Too bad Osprey doesn't have a book devoted to this conflict.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how they would mix with Brigade Games range, but I would check out Mark Copplestone's "Glory of the Sun" range. These were done specifically for the era of the Anglo-French-Dutch Wars and there are several figures with matchlock. You can do a search on this blog using the word Copplestone and see sample photos of most of the range.
There's an excellent example of a painted sample as a member of the Carignan-Salieres Regiment on our friend Legatus' blog here along with some great plates of reenactors of this regiment
http://legatuswargamesarmies.blogspot.com/2009/04/painted-regiment-de-carignan-salieres.html
http://legatuswargamesarmies.blogspot.com/2009/03/regiment-de-carignan-salieres-1665.html
I agree with Ralphus' comment that the firelock would have been the weapon of choice among colonists, but many of the regulars dispatched to the colonies would have still been armed with matchlocks unless specialist regiments like marines. You can also add the Spanish in La Florida, most of whom would have been armed with matchlocks.
Bill
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteWhile not an Osprey, you might want to check this out at On Military Matters:
http://onmilitarymatters.com/pages/
1-27740 Church, Thomas edited by Samuel G. Drake HISTORY OF PHILLIP'S WAR Covers the Indian Wars of 1675, 1676, 1689, 1690,1692, 1696 and 1704. Numerous extracts from period documents, Drake provides notes about people and places referred to in the text. 1 vol, 360 pgs 2001 BOWIE, HERIATGE PRESS NEW-softcover, Facsimile of 1827 Ed ......$27.00
Bill