The War of 1812

 It is 1812 and war with America is fast approaching.  At Port John in New Brunswick the Canadians are nervous that the Bay of Fundy will once again become home to Yankee privateersmen out of Maine.  Hope is pinned on the Royal Navy and the sixteen gun Brig Bruiser. 

A Yankee sloop on the slipway, card and balsa, with a ship's barge mounted on a coin to make it heavier.

The Brunswick Bugle

Tis to Glory we Steer!

Why waste on Shore, While King, Country and Fortune point to the Ocean! His Majesty’s Brig of War Bruiser, of 16 guns, commanded by Lieut. Harry Farthingdale has arrived on station, as fine a vessel of her size as ever floated on salt water, wants a few jolly, spirited fellows to complete her complement for a short cruise ...  Apply on board, at the Navy Yard.

I've been reading up on the sea war 1812-1815 along the Gulf of Maine and the Bay of Fundy.  The 1:2400 ships I have won't really cut it for small actions between tiny warships and I decided that a lockdown project would be to prepare some forces to game this. Controversially I went with 1:700 Black Seas for this, ships too large for fighting fleet actions but given the superb detail of the models it seems like a winner for this size of battle.  

Having bought the box of Brigs and frigates I am well on with my fleet.  I also did some kit bashing to produce a Corvette and Topsail cutter from  the brig sprues, as well as some old fashioned scratch building for a few extra Sloops and boats.

The first game uses Warlord's own Black Seas rules. Quite different from Post Captain, and nowhere near as detailed, but I rather like the straight forward wargame sense of these.  As rules they are a great step forward from Cruel Seas, Warlords first naval wargame. 

The Game

HMS Bruiser, of 18 guns, is on passage to St John's to take up station in the Bay of Fundy.  She encounters the Elizabeth Jane, an armed Schooner out of the Vineyard.  War has not yet been declared, but both vessels are ready to fight.

The coast of Nova Scotia is off Bruiser's larboard beam, and a Yankee Pirate is on the opposite tack looking for a fight.

HM Brig of War Bruiser 

The Yankee

A turn as they close allows Bruiser to put it's first Broadside into the schooners bows.

Both vessels turn and circle each other.

But clearly Bruiser has too heavy a broadside for the schooner.  The Yankee fails her skills test and strikes.

A prize crew goes aboard.

Game 2

Further into the bay a Yankee sloop appears.

Bruiser does the same trick, turning in the path of the closing ship and putting the first Broadside into her bows.  Clearly it's s a Flash Harry Farthingdale trademark move.

The sloop tries to evade, and gets damn close to the rocks. 

She puts a Broadside into Bruiser, only one hit.  Should have stayed near those rocks.

The Brig cuts behind and uses "fire as she bears" to rake.  Not good dice though.

My tabletop, 3x3 and the endgame as the sloop strikes.

My experience of Black seas was really good.  Warlord have learned from the mistakes made in thr Cruel Seas MTB game, and these age of sails rules are fine.  They need the advanced rules in play to work properly but as a game it worked well.

Given the 3x3 table above this scale works well. It would fail at half a dozen ships per side but for the small encounter battles I want the detail of the models balances the restricted size of table.