How do you game the French Indian War?

  I am lucky, in these strange times, to have a weekly Zoom game with friends .Yesterday saw us again fighting in the Woods of North America with Provincals ,Rangers and their foes. Here are a couple of pics

I’ve been gaming it since the eighties when I remember the excitement of Bill Protz’s “Drums along the Mohawk “ rules arrived through the letterbox. Exciting too were the SYW society newsletter. I was moving houses a bit then so had it delivered to my mother’s house. I remember the excitement of visiting her and another issue was awaiting me.  

Recently we have been using Muskets and Tomahawks but have been increasing dissatisfied with the rules representing cover and spotting. They just don’t seem ok to us and are at the very core of gaming this period. I wondered what rules others are using?  Our wee group don’t seem to get Rebels & Patriots and are not sure of investing time to get used to it. Years ago I played “Ranger” by Pete Berry but don’t recall anything about it. So two questions for Saturday morning- what rules do you use and what of M&T handling of the terrain,cover and spotting? 

New York State National Guard Painting

 

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Today sees me painting whilst listening to the latest Prancing Pony Podcast prior to playing a Zoom game of Musket & Tomahawks this afternoon. We may be branching out into another period for our Friday games but more of that anon. I posted this interesting print for your enjoyment.  

Snapshots of another time and place...

 It has been fascinating to delve into another time and place, in my case later nineteen century America. Reading through records and looking at old photos asks as many questions for me as it offers answers. Two things particularly stood out for me this week. Firstly a photo of New York National Guardsmen in their uniforms posing for the camera. I wondered about their lives, families and military service ( if anyone can recommend further reading about the place of the National Guard in society at the time let me know) etc. The second was a clip from a San Francisco city directory  showing the different groups meeting together, often according to their origins, to train together as independent military companies. Enjoy the photos below

Further conversions...

 Using the cut off heads with HaT bodies- 

Yet more National Guardsmen for Army Star Spangled 

Yaegers! Another unit for Army Star Spangled

 Here is a unit for Army Star Spangled. It is the California Jaeger ( which I found referred to as yaegers in some documents) Company from the first half of the 1870s. I found these pictures on which to base the conversions below. I felt that some skirmish or light infantry were needed to be recruited. They are Britains plastics with metal replacement heads.

Invasion Plans

 Over the weekend I have been reading this enjoyable book about America’s plans to invade Canada and vice versa. It was an easy read but engrossing.

Particularly interesting to me was the audacious plan for Canada to invade America and the figure of 

James Sutherland Brown who undertook plain clothes reconnaissance trips to America in the first half of the  1920. Here is a link to the plan he came up with- https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_Scheme_No._1

Interesting drawing

 I found this interesting drawing of Victorian Canadian militia whilst trawling for  images online of Canadian militia. I was looking for interwar photos to no avail but found these snow shoes fellows instead. A most evocative drawing and one worthy of turning into a converted figure or three. Does anyone recognise the uniform?

I assume this is from some illustrated London News type journal, maybe a Canadian equivalent perhaps? I feel such journals offer much of interest to us gamers. Does anyone know if such things can be looked at on line ?