"Baratarian Pirates in the War of 1812" Topic

You never see the pirate crews that manned most of the artillery at New Orleans. At least not in 15mm.

I wonder why?

You could use Pirate Era figures, but they are mostly swashbuckling pirates of the Golden Age. Not that I know what Baratrarian pirates looked like, but I assume they did NOT look like Blackbeard?

So, I guess you have to search out figures from many manufacturers and periods, and build gun crews up the hard way? Thouroughbred's 1812 line has some, hidden in packs, that work. I guess you look for the most casual, civilian generic gun crew figs you can find?

Maybe someone here wise in the ways of 1812 can show us what a Baratration Pirate looked like? Florida Tory? That Ohio State Buckeye guy? OFM? (seems like he would know)

I'd probably settle for 19th century Filibusterer castings, particularly if you could find some in head scarfs which I've seen in period prints. There are some re-enactor photos here:

link

It might also be possible to back-date some Texian civilian castings from the Mexican-American War period.

Rick

There used a couple packs in Frontier Miniatures 15mm 1812 line if you can find them

Not in 15mm but in 28mm, Knuckleduster has six different pirate gunners for New Orleans; listed under War of 1812/United States of America/Misc Militia. They are very nice figures.

Those reenactor photos look like they let whimsy overtake them.

I would go with a mixture of Texas War of Ind as Florida Tory suggested, with Barbary Coast gun crew from Thoroughbred. The pirates has a mix of civilian clothing, some of which could be turbaned headdress and baggy pantaloons. Not ideal, but I think a good representation.

Ohio State Buckeye guy? Nah, just from the Buckeye State. :)

Thanks guys. Yep, a couple Thouroughbred figs will work great, and civilians can be picked out of many manufacturer's lines.

Easy to turn a figure into a gun crewman.

This just bothered me. Baratarian pirate gun crews to me are a necessary unit for any New Orleans game or playset.

(I use Hing Fat pirates for my 54mm plastic playset)

New Orleans is just such a cool battle to game, just a ton of diverse units, and a lot of fun searching for figures.

How would AB Spanish artillery crews look.

I once played in a scenario from one of the Age of Reason support books which had the Prussians as the British and Austrians as Americans in a New Orleans scenario.
Good game.

Here's what the 54mm W. Britain Pirate gun crew looks like. W. Britain is usually pretty reliable with their research.
link