Sir John Hurry - Command Base

Sir John Hurry (or Urry) was born in Monymusk, Aberdeenshire, and gained his military experience, like most Scot's, fighting in the Thirty Years Wars.  In 1639 he returned to Scotland, to serve the Covenant in the Bishops Wars. In 1641, he was approached by royalist conspirators in a plot against the Earls of Lanark, Argyll and the Marquis of Hamilton.  However, he revealed the details of the plot (known as "the Incident") to Leslie.

When the war broke out in England he initially joined the Parliamentary side where he fought at the siege of Portsmouth and battles of Edgehill and Brentford under Essex. Promotion followed but not of a rank which Hurry felt sufficient, so he promptly deserted to the Royalist cause in Oxford. With the information he brought on Parliaments dispositions, Rupert acted at once, leading a raid which resulted in the Royalist victory at Chalgrove Field and the death of John Hampden. As a reward, the king knighted Hurry and gave him an independent cavalry command. Thereafter, he led these troops behind Essex's army into Buckinghamshire, causing widespread panic as far afield as London.

As Rupert moved north, he accompanied the army to Marston Moor.  Here he fought alongside Sir Charles Lucas on the victorious Royalist left wing, but with little avail to the overall result.  Again, Hurry defected and although initially the Committees of both Kingdoms ordered his arrest, he was again allowed to join the Parliamentary forces in October 1644.

In early January, 1645, Hurry was appointed Major General and Colonel of Dragoons with the Army of the Solemn League and Covenant.  Here he was appointed second in command to Lieutenant General William Baillie, and sent north to deal with Montrose.  Unfortunately, Baillie had little like for Hurry, remembering they had faced each other at Marston Moor, which ultimately reflected in some of the poor coordination between the two in the coming campaign.

Initially Hurry captured Aberdeen, only to march away the next day.  Furthermore his pursuit (or lack of) after the sack of Dundee brought little but disdain from Baillie.  However, it was Baillie who divided his forces resulting in Hurry fighting alone at Auldearn.  Here, he fought well and although defeated was one of the last to leave the field (albeit on a swift horse). He resigned his commission, perhaps through pressure from the Committee or Ballie, under the time honored guise of ill-health.

His recovery was quick, and he fought on the side of the king (and covenant) during the 2nd and 3rd Civil Wars. However, by siding with the Engagers and the Duke of Hamilton, his card was marked by the Covenanter Committee of Estates. Although captured at Preston in 1648, he escaped to the continent where he found favor with the royal court in exile.

He was appointed Major General to Montrose for the ill-fated Carbisdale campaign, where he was wounded and captured. This time he was unable to escape his fate and the long list of his erstwhile enemies/allies lined up to see him beheaded in Edinburgh on the 29th of May 1650.

Hurry was "a soldier of fortune of great bravery, experience and skill, his frequent changes of front were due rather to laxity of political principles than to any calculated idea of treason". In effect he changed his colors one two many times, pissing off everyone he knew, driven only by blind ambition and greed..

The figures are again Eureka Miniatures.  Hurry is the Lord Gordon figure but whose to say he doesn't look like the man (maybe his flowing locks are a bit to flamboyant for a protestant).  The standard bearers grey turned out really nice to paint but the detail was crisp and sharp on all the miniatures.  The actual guidion is Hurrys, described below.

Command Base - Covenanter Cavalry

Eureka Miniatures Cavalry - sold as Gordon Horse but like most figures in this period they work well with most of the armies.  I like these guys as the horses are pretty placid compared to the Perry ones.

Standard is conjectural but is taken to represent the one from Campbell of Lawers Troop.  Motto and heraldic boar both feature in various sigils and crests from this branch of the Campbells.  Worth noting that these guys weren't the usual Argylle Campbells, rather they were raised in Auchterarder, at the head of Loch Tay under the shadow of Ben Lawers.

The one draw back with the Eureka figures is getting the figures to sit well on the horses - was a real struggle getting them on and even then they seem to be sitting like the have a bad dose of the Duke's (again you'll need someone from Scotland to translate that :-)).

Command Base - Warlords Montrose

Sometimes it's easy to become a bit of a figure nazi.  Most of the stuff you see on this blog is either Perry or Eureka Miniatures - a lot of that is to do with size, what we've been looking for in poses or we just like the sculpts.  That being said there are many other great figures out there.

Warlord Miniatures fit well size-wise and if we hadn't bought all the lead before they released their ranges (yes we've been going that long) we would likely have used a lot more of their figures.  That being said, here's Warlords Montrose figure.

But who's to say it's the great man himself?  He could just be some other long haired fop and as such makes a nice addition to any command base.  I added him to some odd figures I had left around, making a nice wee "advancing" vignette.  So looks like some government troops are on the hunt for a dram.

Covenanter Command - For Kirk & Kingdom

Scotland is one of the best examples of how organized religion really f@#k's you up.  If I had a pound for every person who's been screwed over by the kirk or chapel in Scotland, I'd be a rich man.  John Knox unleashed the genie the century before, and the Civil War in Scotland was more about the "Good Book" (and misinterpretation thereof) than about anything else.

The covenanter's and their relationship to both King, the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Parliament is a long and complex story.  However, the Kirk's religious commissars have a large part in the blame of the deterioration of the Scottish Army's performance through the Civil Wars.  Kilsyth, Dunbar etc., all came crashing down mainly due to these guys holding the upper hand at key moments.

So to that end one of these small minded, religious zealots had to make an appearance in the force.  What better place than on a command base, hectoring the troops.  Here, the Paster Jack Glass, from Dalmarnock, shouting "The Beast is coming! Down with the Pope in Rome" and other less savoury epithets.

Command Base

Still trying to get the focal length down on the new camera, so some issues here.  

Really enjoy putting together these vignettes, can get a narrative going with only a wee bit of thought.

Lighting not to good indoors but hot as hell and rainey here in H-town at the moment! 

MacColla Command Base WIP

Quick update on my brigade command base featuring Maj. General Alasdair MacColla, near legendary commander of the Irish Brigade. The Litko 60mm round bases arrived last night so settled on final layout and finished up the new flags.

I was thinking of adding a Covenanter casualty model behind MacColla as well as some detritus of battle (helmet, musket etc) but it just looked too busy so will likely stick with just the big man and his personal standard bearers.

The flags are speculative, but the designs use symbols common in the contemporary 17th century heraldry of the MacDonalds and other west coast clans with links across the water to Ulster. The yellow flag depicts 'the black galley' common in ancient West highland heraldry, especially amongst the MacDonalds and MacDougalls, the descendants of Somerled. It is typically taken as a representation of power and is also linked to the Lordship of the Isles. 

The white sheet depicts the infamous "red hand of Ulster", a symbol linked to Ulster since at least the 16th century, and common amongst the heraldry of the O'Neill family. It is also found in west highland heraldry especially amongst the MacDonalds. 

There is no evidence that flags like these were carried by MacColla, or that they even existed, but both seem like fitting motifs for the Ulster-backed MacDonald. I can't claim this as an original idea, it is actually borrowed from a description of MacColla in Nigel Tranter's "Montrose: Captain General". Although Tranter puts a white galley on a black sheet. I changed this to a black galley on a yellow sheet to be consistent with references to MacColla's colours at Auldearn, and to be faithful to West highland heraldry.

Will post the finished command base soon, together as well as the flag sheets. 

Alasdair MacColla, "The Devastator"

MacColla was appointed commander of the Irish Brigade by the Earl of Antrim. He landed the brigade in Scotland in July 1644, and in August the force met Montrose in Atholl where the King's standard was raised marking the start of Montrose's campaign in Scotland.

This rather dandy MacColla is produced by Eureka. He is an exceptionally tall figure, reflecting the description of MacColla in Celtic poetry as being 7 feet tall.

James Graham, Marquis of Montrose

James Graham, the Marquis of Montrose and the King's appointed Lieutenant-General in Scotland from 1644 until 1646.

This excellent figure is from the Old Glory Scottish ECW Personalities pack.