Wargaming the War of 1812

    Before I had access to the internet, for several years my main interest was the American War of 1812. Recently I read a biography of the American general, Jacob Brown. He was commander of the American army that invaded the Canadian side of the Niagara area in 1814. He was the most successful American general during the war, but is largely  forgotten today. Reading of the 1814 campaign has renewed my interest in the war.

    Right now my big decision is which figures will be used.

Some of the figures I'm thinking of using; 15mm Minifigs 1st generation British Napoleonics(for both sides), 15mm Heritage Napoleonics, 20mm Frying Pan and Blanket Amalgamated War of 1812 figures, and 40mm Homecast Prince August and Zinnbrigade figures.

Some of the figures I started painting for inspiration.

Two other options are using Old Glory 10mm or Historfigs N gauge Scrubys. These are some Old Glory Napoleonics that were painted for a different War of 1812 project that I was working on.

Old Glory British infantry painted as Americans for the above mentioned project.

A Zinnbride figure converted for use as a early American infantryman. I got the idea for this figure from Ross Macfarland's Battle of the Month blog. In one of his War of 1812 games, I saw such a converted figure and liked the pose.

Two Zinnbrigade conversions. The  painted Zinnbrigade figure was converted to a march attack  figure. The musket is simply a piece of garden wire. Besides deciding on figures, I'm thinking of different rules from the usual Battle Cry or C&C rules. My wife and I are going camping next week. I plan to bring several War of 1812 books to reread for inspiration. Hopefully at the end of the vacation I'll have a better idea of where this project is going.

Simplicity in Hexes: Battle of Cheese Hill

   The Bluvian cavalry reports to their commander that the only obstacle to their advance is a couple of infantry regiments holding a hill known as Cheese. Hill.  He decides for a quick advance on Cheese Hill before the regiments get reinforcements.

As the Bluvian army advances on the blocking force on the road, the Verdian army storms out of a hollow the Bluvians right flank.  The Bluvian commander had deployed his dragoons on the left flank, expecting an attack from that direction.

The Bluvian cavalry and dragoons attack down the road, hoping to clear the road. The artillery deploys  and the infantry starts to form line to meet the threat.

The Verdian fire eliminates the charging cavalry.

The Verdian cavalry charges the battery and the infantry on the road starts advancing down the road.

The first Bluvian infantry retreats behind the artillery.

The last two Bluvian infantry units form a line on the hill while the dragoons attack the infantry and Verdian dragoons.

The Bluvian guns manage to break one of the cavalry regiment's attack, while the second regiment loses heavily from musketry on their flank.

The Verdian cavalry rallies and attacks the Bluvian infantry's flank on the hill. The Verdian infantry in the meantime is forming to advance in line.

The Bluvian infantry that was driven off the hill rallies and drives off the cavalry.

The Verdian cavalry concentrates on seizing the hill. 

The cavalry rotes the infantry on the hill.

The Bluvian commander orders the dragoons to disengage on the left flank, and to try to retrace the hill.

The Bluvia artillery drives back one regiment that had been trying to take the guns.

The Verdian cavalry charges down off the hill and eliminates one infantry regiment (no picture of the attack) . The battery was forced to retreat from infantry fire. In it's retreat, it runs right into the victorious cavalry, which proceeds to overrun the battery.

The Bluvian dragoons sees that all is lost and flees the field. What's left of the infantry isn't so fortunate.

The Verdian general decides to march back to the capital (to show off what a great general he is). The Bluvian army has  been eliminated as a threat, at least for now.

The colors of the victorious regiments, along with the captured colors. As for the Bluvian general, there is no sign of him. He hasn't returned with the remains of his army; he isn't a prisoner and his body isn't on the field of battle. Of course, the fact that the army's payroll disappeared has rumors spreading through the Bluvian capital.
The Bluvian losses are over 200; the Verdian losses only amount to 25.

Simplicity in Hexes; Battle of Hook's Crossroads

       For the Bluvian commander, to retreat back to Bluvia was not an option. After such a humiliating defeat, he knew he would lose all, including possibly his head. With a brigade of reinforcements coming up, he decided to try to turn the Verdian left flank. Scouts told him there was a small force at Hook's Crossroads. If he could move fast enough he might just be able to slip by the left of the Verdian army. After the army rested, it was learned that the army lost about 200 men at Apostrophe Hill.  With his army fed, he ordered the army on the move.

       For the Verdian general, he thought the fighting was over. He had next to no losses, most of those injured could return right to the colors.  After the total collapse of the Bluvian army, they must be running back to the Bluvia border. Still, he decided to keep an eye on the retreat. His cavalry was blown from the day's fight. He ordered his dragoons to follow the retreating army.

    The dragoons were surprised when the Bluvian army turned north towards Hook's Crossroads instead of continuing to Bluvia. A dispatch rider went back to raise the alarm. The Verdian general ordered most of the army on the road, leaving a small guard to protect Apostrophe Hill.

The Bluvia army moves forward to seize the vital Hook's Crossroad. 

The Verdian army moves to hold the high ground, and he sends forward his dragoons to skirmish with the Bluvians.

The Verdian dragoons engage with the Bluvian dragoons. A Verdian infantry regiment forms line and starts to engage  the infantry at the crossroads.

The Verdian fire forces the infantry back.

The Bluvian commander decides to try to advance his army in line.

The Verdian dragoons are driven off.

The Bluvian cavalry hits the Verdian cavalry in the flank.

The Bluvian fire continues to inflect casualties along the Verdian front.

The Verdian left launches a strong assault against the crossroads.

The Bluvian dragoons are driven off, however, the infantry holding the crossroads holds fast.

The Bluvian right starts their attack on the hill.

The Verdian cavalry is routed off the field, while one Verdian infantry regiments is eliminated.

At the battle of Apostrophe Hill, the Verdian commander resisted the temptation to advance his infantry off the hill. However, now he decides to try to take out the Bluvian battery with a direct attack off the hill.

He is now hopeful of turning the Bluvian's right flank.

However, the Bluvian forces attack along the line.

They push back the infantry on the road. Worse for the Verdian army, the infantry regiment that advanced off the hill  is broken by the crossfire from the Bluvian artillery and infantry on their flank. Meanwhile, the bluvian cavalry starts working their way around the Verdian rear.

The Verdian general orders a retreat before his army is surrounded. The Verdian army falls back to a chosen position along the road. They have lost 225 men.  The Bluvian losses number around 125.

Simplicity in Hexes; the Battle of Apostrophe Hill

    For the campaign, I am using the Simplicity in Hexes campaign maps and result tree. The opposing armies are the Nation of Bluvia  and Verdia (easier for me than the names in the rules!). The rules are a thrown together set using mainly Battle Cry and See the Elephant.

     The Bluvian army crosses into Verdia, expecting a quick advance. However, Verdia has a good spy ring and know when and where the Bluvian attack is to take place. The Verdian general sends two regiments to Apostrophe Hill, a high ridge on the main road the Bluvian army is going to advance down. Meanwhile he quickly assembles what forces he can to reinforce the two regiments.

    The Bluvian cavalry reports of the occupation of Apostrophe Hill. The Bluvian general decides to deploy his army and launch an attack before the rest of the Verdian army can come up.

The Bluvian army deployed. Three regiments will assault the hill, and the dragoons will charge down the road to either attack the hill in the flank, or try to delay any troops on the road.

The Verdian army advances quicker than the Bluvian general expected.

The Bluvia dragoons attack the flank of the hill, and the Bluvian cavalry attacks the approaching Verdian cavalry.

The dragoons drive off one of the infantry regiments. Meanwhile, the Bluvia cavalry drives off the Verdian cavalry. In the rules I came up with, dragoons act like skirmishers. They can either fire on the enemy, or close with the enemy. However, to melee with the enemy, they must have equal or a greater number of stands to melee. As they only had 2 stands (they lost one stand to Verdian musketry from the hill) as opposed to the infantry's 4, they can only fire on the infantry. Only a unit engaged in close combat can "take ground", so the dragoons can't move onto the hill.  I'm not sure if this rule works, but for this campaign I am sticking to the rules for this campaign.

The Verdian cavalry counterattacks the Bluvian cavalry; another regiment of cavalry attacks the dragoons on the road. The Verdian dragoons move up onto the hill to support the infantry regiments.

The Verdian cavalry causes heavy casualties on the Bluvia cavalry, and the Bluvian dragoons are wiped out.  Meanwhile, the advancing Bluvian infantry suffers staggering losses in front of the hill.

The Verdian cavalry continues their attack. One regiment charges down the road and hits a blue regiment still in column.

The cavalry attack eliminates half the infantry regiment; the Verdian infantry fire from the hill  decimates the Bluvian infantry to their front. The Bluvian general orders a retreat to save what little is left of his command. It has been a catastrophic battle for the Bluvian army. Of course, the general's main concern is how to save his head!