The Natives are Restless

Forging on with Henry Morgan's invasion of Panama in 1671! One of the things that drew my attention to this theater was the variety of troops required. The Spanish forces are small and always supplemented with mulattos and native indians.

First up, I have several units of black militia. The training of these troops was suspect, at best. I've chosen to represent them in two ways. The first are (poorly) drilled troops equipped with firearms and led by European officers. This unit carries the flag of Varagua City, a town which sent troops to help defend Panama against Morgan's assault. These will count as All Musket in my games.

The second type of black militia are poorly armed with bows, spears, and other close combat weapons. I'm using the rules for Highlanders from The War of Three Kings to represent these.

Next up are the Central American natives (painted more like South American tribesmen, but they will work well enough for me), again treated as Highlanders.

Finally, a unit I don't specifically need for my current scenario, but they fit in with the rest. These are Ruga Ruga from the Wargames Foundry 19th century range, but I intend to field them as African pirates, escaped (or freed) slaves, or simply brigands. I was careful to avoid models with Remington rifles, cartridge belts, and the like. They will probably join Morgan's crew in the final attack.

I'm getting close to having everything I need. I still to paint a second unit of Central American natives, a handful officers (for the BLB scenarios) and characters (for Donnybrook).

Just in case I haven't mentioned this, I'm planning on publishing this project as a 4Play pack with three linked games so you can replay this short campaign! I don't have a time frame, but I'm hoping it will be available this summer...

More soon!