Battle of Glen Shiel, 10 June 1719

Historicon 2019 PEL entry for Thursday 11th July 2019

Rules: Field of Battle 2

My common theme is "the final battles in the Jacobite uprisings". Glen Shiel was the only pitched battle of "the '19", a brief and ill-fated uprising, fought between (mostly Scots) Government troops and an alliance of Jacobites and Spanish. These 'rebels' advanced from their base at Eilean Donan castle, taking up a strong defensive position, preparing fortifications to meet General Wightman's Government troops advancing from Inverness ... Is the Hanoverian leader the Wight-man for the job in hand?

The Battle

Jacobite troops waiting behind hasty works, at a point where the glen narrows

... facing the oncoming Hanoverian force

(note the use of the excellent marker stands from Lancashire Games, with a place for a 1cm die to indicate the state of Unit Integrity loss)

Here, on the Hanoverian left, artillery support is unusually, if not uniquely, provided by a battery of coehorn mortars

The commanders awaiting the onslaught:

while belated strategy discussions take place, with tentative movement and unsettling bombardment of Murray's Jacobite unit

With the coehorns causing some discomfort on their left, Hanoverian troops make a general assault in the centre, and in the more difficult terrain on their right - where the Jacobites move to reinforce that flank, and charge over the works to assault the oncoming troops ..

... with mixed success

The Hanoverian attack stalls .. in the centre the Spanish troops and a couple of Jacobite units hold the works, while other units assault the reeling Hanoverians ..

.. the view from the Hanoverian right ..  the Jacobites have punched a hole in the Hanoverian centre

the Jacobites, breaking through centrally, fan out to assault enemy units on their flank

 the Hanoverians penetrate the Jacobite right, as Murray's unit is destroyed ..

but the Spanish troops react to stabilise that flank

The Hanoverians are out of Army Morale Points and lose a morale roll, so the day belongs to the Jacobites!

All participants received a cool roundel, kindly donated by Warbases ..

Postscript

One of the challenges of putting on this battle 2,000 miles from home is how to construct a meaningful glen! 

The answer was found in the hotel room ...

where the miscreants, Anderson and Couper, are caught on camera making off with the bed pillows ....

Needless to say, the use of this unusual terrain caused much amusement.. not to mention witticisms like:

"Ah so this is a pillow fight", 
"Is this the battle of Fort Pillow"

and my personal favourite, 
"the seven pillows of wisdom"

... with apologies to Laurence of Arabia: