Last weekend brought the opportunity to play another Sharp Practice game at one of my local conventions, Williamsburg Muster.

Williamsburg Muster is a small but growing local convention which in concert with Guns of August provides the Pennisula with some much needed Wargaming activity.   These conventions are both run annually by the Hampton Roads Wargamers.

 

Kellogg’s Pirate was lifted rather liberally from Too Fat Lardies excellent product THE COMPLEAT FONDLER.  This is a scenario where the hero finds himself aided (or perhaps hindered) by the Royal Navy while attempting to rescue Portuguese civilians taken into slavery by Barbary Pirates.  In an attempt to weaken the Anglo-Portugeuse Alliance, the wily French have provided these pirates with British Redcoats, an obvious attempt to confuse the poor people of Portugal!

Changes I made from the scenario as written?  The scenario called for 80 redcoated figures to use as pirates.  Lacking that number, my pirates were represented by a mixture of Darkest Africa Baluchi, Spanish Irlanda, and smattering of French Dragoons as well as the redcoats.  The location was also changed.  The site is supposed to be a North African port, due to a lack of proper buildings I decided to place it on a small, unnamed Portuguese Island, allowing me to build the town from my Mediterranean buildings.  Lastly, I changed all the names.  too Fat Lardies leans towards humorous but often off colour names which I feared might offend some of the more puritan Americans I am like to find at a convention.  Oh, my rifles are also 60th American rather than the 95th.  That fact that I am an American is partly the reason for this last change but it isn’t the only one.  I find the 95th  overdone thanks to the success of Bernard Cornwell and the 60th is so odd.  They serve in the British Army, they are called the Royal Americans but they are made up mostly of Germans!

The pirates were played by Mark and his son Armand, until the younger one was distracted by his new Imperial Assault game.  The British were Malcolm and Alfred.  As it fell out all of the players are friends of mine and Mark and Al have played some of my other Sharp Practice games.

The fight began with the rifles landed on the beach right on the flank of a group of pirates on patrol.  Shots were fired and the alarm was raised!  Sargent Hoffman, one of the British Bigmen, was seriously wounded by the first Pirate volley!

The riflemen spent most of the fight in firing upon the house of Pirate leader, the notorious Qadar A’sad.  The house was defended by the pirate and his bodyguard and remained so throughout the fight.

Finding no luck on their frontal assault of the Pirates home, the rifles began to move to the flank.

Not satisfied simply firing from the firing steps of their fort, the pirates began to send sorties out after the surrounded riflemen.  This made a great deal of sense as the small fort was quickly becoming chaotic and overfull as the hung over pirates continued to wake up and flood the courtyard.  While nothing very dramatic was happening the rifles were gathering shock quickly.

On the third blank card Lt Porter arrived with a landing party of sailors.  By this time the riflemen were pulling back.  One group and lost its bottle and ran back into one of the warehouses by the beach.  The pirates had also, by poorly designed firing ports apparently, managed to set fire to their fort.  Upon the arrival of the sailors, the pirates forced the burning wall down.

the pirates took advantage of the collapsed wall to charge forth into the sailors.  Though out numbered the sailors fought well and pushed the pirates back, their victory would be short lived however….

Soon pirates began to flow out of the fort, completely overwhelming  the sailors on the flank.  Lt Porter himself was seriously wounded and no doubt fell prisoner to these diabolical pirates!

 

Sensing their opportunity had passed the riflemen raced back to the boats to return to the ship.  They would have to row themselves as in the end very few of the sailors survived!  No slaves would be rescued this day…..

All in all the game was enjoyable and everyone had a good time, well except perhaps the Portuguese civilians.

Until next time, cheers,

Ron