The Dark Daughter's Body Guard - The Nine Years War in Ireland

 

Above, the Crawfords under the O'Donnell flag. They constituted the body guard of Iníon Dubh (The Dark Daughter).  She was the mother of Red Hugh O'Donnell and was a Scots Lady of no mean political skills. These she surely inherited from her mother who also married an Irish dynast.

The body guard was part of her dowry. The lads were chosen individually for their size and strength. It turned out that the Crawfords specialised in biguns. The Flag is one of Ray's of Don't Throw a 1.

Annoyingly I think I have made a mistake with my figure selection. Consider this:

 "This was accordingly done for her (Iníon Dubh) for they rushed to the place where Hugh was, and proceeded to shoot at him with darts and bullets, until they left him lifeless; and there were also slain along with him the dearest to him of his faithful people."

The "they" in question are the Body Guards. Note the use the Irish Dart and some of them are using guns, probably Calivers. This is the first mention of Highlanders using darts that I have come across. The guns are less of a surprise. They were about and becoming more so. My choice was the typical West Highland bow and great sword/axe. Ah well, time to think again.

More properly the Dark Daughter was Fíonnghuala Ní Dhomhnaill. Her father MacDonald of Dunyveg and the Glens. Her mother Lady Agnes Campbell wife to Turlough of the Wine, The O'Neill. 

I thought you might be interested to read  her reviews:

The Annals of the Four Masters noted  she was "like the mother of Maccabees who joined a man's heart to a woman's thought."

The historian and biographer O'Cleirigh stated "for she was the head of the advice and counsel of the Cenel Conaill." 

Myler Magrath, the cleric and multiple turncoat, said she was "A cruel, bloody woman who has committed sundry murders".

Well yes, politics was always a deadly business. The point was, and still is, to win. Mother and daughter were adepts.

Above Scots Gaels. They could be a mercenary company or mobilised Clansmen.

The Irish branch of Clan Donald above. The McDonnells of the Route in Antrim. They had displaced the McQuillans some time past. The equally Gaelic McQuillans were the descendants of adventurers of Norman origin. Some of Clan McQuillan were still about. As indeed, they are still.

For the McDonnells things were looking up. They could field a force of 500 men without any real effort. If more were needed they arrived from the West Highlands in swift galleys.

My second unit of English Border Horse. The troopers are from Essex Miniatures and the officer and trumpeter from Khurasan.

Two Khurasan mail clad Irish cavalry and a QRF/Khurasan mix of targeteers. The estimable Clib' tells me Khurasan are to produce  a pack of Irish targeteers. Excellent news.

QRF Kern with a Khurasan Piper. Old fashioned Kern were on the way out but could on occasion be found in both English and Irish forces. They still had their moments. A brave English Captain was rallying his Company at the Ford of Biscuits. A Kern threw a dart through the Captain's neck, killing him. End of rally. 

Two common types of Irish attack tactics. Above caliver men supported by cavalry. Below, the same supported by Targeteers.

I mentioned previously that I was writing rules for the Nine Years War in Ireland. The job is now done. When I have further news I'll report it here.

Flodden Highlanders-Cruachan!

 

These are Flodden Highlanders from QRF.  They are representing Clan Campbell hence Cruachan!  The latter being a a favoured Clan Campbell geographic location.  When the Campbells shouted "Cruachan!" in battle they were asserting a key element of their collective identity.  It was all about people and places.

While we are on topic, let's talk about what a clan was.  A clan was an agnatic corporation with the head of the clan as chief executive.  The key lords (tigerni) were the board and the rest of the clansmen share holders.  The clan bard was responsible for public relations and marketing.

Should there be a vacancy at the top, the board elected a new Chief Executive.  They were legally obliged to do so.  Candidates began their campaign for the top job around the age of 6 but only one could succeed.  Shareholders ratified the final decision. 

There was a lot of management in clan life and, at every level, careers could prosper or wither. It was, barring truly atrocious behaviour, a job for life with a good pension scheme.  Loyalty, from top to bottom and back up again, was the rule.  Members were expected to follow corporate policy.

When a clan turned out for war it went as well equipped as collective resources allowed.  It was in no ones interest to willfully deplete the clan's human resources through lack of due diligence. 

Clans rarely went in for outsourcing functions preferring in house provision.

Clans were not entirely a closed shop.  Following the proscription of clan Mac Gregor Clan Campbell was willing to rebrand some Gregori as Campbells.

As you can see the unit contains the usual line up of middle management gentry in mail followed by shareholding clansmen in their shirts. Armament is standard, bows, swords and axes.

The toys are entirely from QRF.  I'd call them biggish 15mm.  By design the gentry are slightly bigger than the rest.  They were fed for it in real life-a nice touch.

Next time, we will look at Scotland's other clan people, those on the border with England. James, King of Scots, took the view that they too lived the agnatic corporate life. It was understanding such things that kept him in business. We do well to heed him.

This one is a Bill Hooks project.

 

A Highlander Host- League of Augsburg

These figures have seen more bases than some real military formations.  This, I believe, is their last basing iteration.  Beneath the Lily Banners style.  Those rules, I note in passing, capture the abilities and otherwise of Highland Caterans better than most.  

 

I had a look for unit size tips in Barry Hilton's three books War Of The Three King’s, A Taste of Victory and Every Bullet Has It’s Billet.  Barry mentions 2 stand Highland units in the first and second books and gives us a sample Highland Host in the third.  There, we see both 2 and 3 stand Highland units.  Good enough for me and as you can see, I’ve followed the example.

A word about figures.  I’ve used lots of different manufacturer’s offerings mixed in each unit.  That includes Minifigs, Khurasan, Essex, Lurkio, QRF and Matchlock and some others I forget.  The overall effect pleases me and I hope you like it too.

The Highland Gentry were likely to possess firearms and be very proficient in their use.  It was aimed fire with the Highlanders, De Saxe would have approved.  That was it though.  The average Cateran didn’t possess a gun although many knew well enough how to use one. 

Consequently, a Highland unit was armed with a mix of weapons and that is what I’ve tried to represent here.

This is my Highland Host so far. I need to add a couple of Clan Campbell flagged command bases. It was instructive to read recently that Argyle's support of William did not command universal approval within Clan Campbell.  

 Highlanders were at their best on the attack on good ground.  They could also nip about a bit regardless of terrain.  Soon, I’ll show you my re-based Scots Regulars.  Note the heather, a special purchase. All of my Scots units are getting heather, let's hope it's lucky for them.

Montrose and the Covenanters (5) A Field of Battle 3 Project

Here you see Montrose and Alasdair in front of another regiment of Irish regulars all from Khurasan.   

 

Most pleasingly, as you see, Alasdair towers above his fellows.

The project is coming along nicely with both sides three quarters done. The Highlanders below are awaiting their command stands.  I've an outstanding order with Caliver for pipers needed to complete their otherwise finished command stands. 

Here is the penultimate unit of Covenanter infantry with pike forward.

This is my first unit of Scots Dragoons.  I'll do two of them and they are suitable for either side.

These ones are from QRF and I like them enough for a second pic.

Another two regiments of Irish regulars below from Khurasan.  

Two to go and I'll have six.  

 One more here with a mix of manufacturers and conversions.

I took a chance on using these very old Naismith Lancers.  On reflection I'm glad I did, they have a certain character. They work well enough with the rest.  They will be in their own unit all the same.

Baring waiting for a few additional figures it's all been smooth sailing for the project so far.

Battle - A Highlander's Perspective

I recently spent a useful morning reading some of the poetry of Iain Lom MacDonald who died in 1710. 

Iain Lom was a very accomplished poet who witnessed the Battle of Inverlochy. He was an intimate of both Alasdair Mac Colla and Montrose.   

His artistic reputation among the Gael of his time cannot be over stated. Even his sworn enemy the Earl of Argyle, Chief of Clan Campbell, did not hesitate to extend his hospitality when Iain Lom unexpectedly dropped by.  This, we can note, was at a time when Argyle was actively offering a reward for the poet's head.  Iain Lom it seems had come to collect it.

Clan Donald fought and Iain Lom was there with them to observe, celebrate and preserve their prowess in battle. It was pretty much part of his job.   He has things to tell us about how the actual fighting was conducted that I want to share with you.

In writing this piece I am hugely indebted to Ann M McKenzie and her 1955 thesis Iain Lom: text, translation, variant readings and commentary and to the University of Aberdeen for kindly making it available. This, so far as I know, is the only complete edition of Iain Lom’s work.  It was published as a book in 1964.

We are going to look at the Battle of Inverlochy and specifically how Highlanders fought man to man that day. The following translated extracts are from Iain Lom’s Lá inbhir Lochaidh (The Day of Inverlochy). 

Keep in mind that Iain Lom actually watched the battle and walked the ground immediately afterwards.  He shows us the face of battle in his composition.  

Before the onset Alasdair offered Iain Lom an honourable place in the battle line beside him.  Iain Lom declined saying, here I transliterate, " It was for Alasdair to fight and Iain to write".  He added that should he fall in the fray their would be no victory song.  That tells us  the fight was expected to be fierce and that, like the rest of his class, Iain was trained to arms.  We should therefore take his descriptions of fighting very seriously.  He knew first hand about fighting.

The combatants were Clan Campbell, whose array included a regiment of pike and shot, and Montrose’s Royalist Army of Highlanders and Irish regulars.

Sword blows are a prominent feature of  Lá inbhir Lochaidh and we are told in verse 11

“Numerous were the blue fluted well balanced swords that were wielded in the hands of Clan Donald.”

Verse 8 notes the foe “had their heads battered with sword blows.”

Verse 10 notes “Whoever should climb Thom na h-Aire (would find there) many a freshly hacked limb.”

Verse 11 “You (Alasdair) engaged in a hot foray round Lochaidh, smiting them on the noses.”

Verse 12. “It was when knives were bared that the great work of blood-letting came to a height; the Campbells were hamstrung with sinews severed,”

We learn then, that Highland swordsmen routinely struck for the head and face and that hacking off a limb was considered an acceptable alternative stroke. At very close quarters the long knife carried in the left hand was used to hamstring opponents.

What of the pike and shot regulars?  The poet has two things to say:

Verse 7. “Many a warrior with helmet and pike and slender erect musket, lay stretched at Inverlochy”.

Verse 20 “you routed the sallow skinned Lowlanders” The latter, sallow skinned or otherwise, were Argyle’s pike and shot armed regulars.

We can note that, as usual, pike armed men do not seem to have caused the charging Highlanders any particular difficulty. 

I want to return to Iain Lom’s work in future posts on the theme of Montrose and the Covenanters.   

I hope you have enjoyed what we have had so far.  

Should you be curious about Iain Lom's work you can hear a modern rendition of the marching song he composed for Alasdair's Irish soldiers here.  Back then it echoed across Scotland.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZe9N1vNGh0