Old Stone Fort

Earlier this month, as a friend of a friend, I was able to take part in a small invite-only event at the Old Stone Fort in Schoharie, New York. The event represented a gathering of New York militia, circa 1775, gathering to discuss some pre-war issues relating to the area, and to do a little training.

Old Stone Fort, Schoharie, New York

Since my usual Warner's Regiment gear is more tailored toward a 1777 frontier farmer who has been on campaign for a few years, I needed to borrow some more civilian tailored clothing. Fortunately, there was a lovely dark green coat and waistcoat that fit me perfectly.

Well, the coat fit. The waistcoat was like stuffing me into a sausage casing. Fortunately wool stretches.

Having some morning coffee.

This was a pretty low key event, but taking part in a reenactment in a different area from where I usually reenact was interesting. The history of upstate New York is much different than the history of Vermont, with it's own version of the immigrants who settled there, the native tribes they interacted with, and the politics of the area. Even the architecture was slightly different, which I was able to see in an original house that I was given a tour of.

Traveling blacksmith setup.

The site's beautiful bake oven.

For most of the event, my job was to look the part of an 18^th century civilian. I mainly did this by walking around and being introduced to people from other units who were taking part in the weekend. I also spent a decent amount of time ogling the site's bake oven, which was fired up Friday night, and the portable setup of a local blacksmith who was doing demonstrations.

Putting the oven to use.

 

 

Taking advantage of the forge.

For the militia portion of the event, there was a very small 10 minute or so drill, where we fired about three rounds as a display for the crowd. While my regular unit generally fights in open order at the knee as light infantry, we do train in how to fight in close order as regular infantry. As such, I didn't have much trouble with the drill. The main thing that threw me off was the count. While both Warner's and the amalgamated unit with which I was wit use the 1768 Manual of Arms, Warner's does it on a one count, making a move with every count of one. The amalgamated unit used a two count, where they would count out loud “One! Two!” then move. I found out later that this count was specified in an early New York militia manual. The small difference did throw me off though.

Militia formed for training.

Like most reenactments, I was very tired by the end of the weekend, but I'm glad that I attended. I was able to meet a number of people who had I heard of online, but never met in person, take part in something in a new area, and learn a bit of history that I didn't know before. Overall, a very pleasant trip.

Colonial Blockhouse

Stillwater Blockhouse Plan

 Last October, I decided to take part in the Little Wars TV Discord "Secret Soldier."  Basically, this was the group's version of a traditional Secret Santa swap, where wargamers picked names and traded gifts with each other.  I don't remember the exact parameters, but the idea was to keep the cost low, and buy/build something that your recipient would like.

28mm Colonial Blockhouse

For my gift, I decided to build a colonial blockhouse, such that may be found in New England during the French & Indian War or American Revolution.  I'd been wanting to build one anyway, being fascinated with the Battle of Shelburne Blockhouse, so I had much of the material on hand.

Early in November, I had a day to myself, so I traveled over to the Saratoga, NY area to visit the Stillwater Blockhouse, a replica that resembles what I've always pictured the Shelburne building to look like.

Stillwater Blockhouse on the Hudson River

Based on photos I took there, I started building, tier by tier, with 1/4" dowels, cut to length as I went, to give a log construction look.  I was on a time crunch, so I didn't square off the dowels to get a perfect fit, but I still achieved the look I was going for.  I used a 28mm figure from Perry Miniatures Civilians pack to size the doors, windows, and ceiling heights.

First floor before stain and paint.

With the first floor finished, I stained the wood with a dark brown, then drybrushed with grey, trying to recreate the color of the Stillwater blockhouse.  I then moved onto the second floor.  Somewhere along the line I also decided to add a fireplace, made from card stock and stone patterned styrene.

First floor fireplace.

Patterned styrene was also used to represent the shingled roof.  With my deadline looming, this was the portion of the project that I rushed the most.  When all else fails, add more glue.

Second floor in progress.

Unfortunately, I missed the Christmas deadline for my recipient.  I did, however, finish the project in January and send it out to him.  Though the build was a bit tedious, adding courses one by one, I really like the look, and may build a second one for myself at some point.

Second floor complete.

Testing Lake Champlain

 

The Waters of Valcour Bay

 

Yesterday was the 244th anniversary of the Battle of Valcour Island, where Benedict Arnold led a small fleet of hastily built gunboats and ships against an also hastily built fleet of British vessels located on Lake Champlain between Vermont and New York.  While the battle ended in an American defeat, it also ended the 1776 campaign season for the British attempting to come down out of Canada to take Fort Ticonderoga and Mount Independence.

The anniversary reminded me of the Battle of Valcour Island game that I had been putting together last year.  In September, I build the American ship Enterprise.  I had so much fun with that build, that a couple of weeks later I assembled the HMS Inflexible.

Over the winter, I dabbled a bit with putting together the game.  War Artisan's Workshop has a great set of papercraft ships, covering the vessels that took part in the battle, as well as a free set of naval rules called Away Boarders!  My original intention was to build both the American and British Fleets, a game board, and some custom player sheets then play out the battle this year on or near the anniversary date.

Unfortunately, I didn't make much progress on this project.  I ordered a couple more ship kits, and started to assemble them, and played a bit with creating a board.  Away Boarders! uses a sort of grid system, with dots in triangular formations representing ship locations.  I wanted to create a board that both looked good, and was functional with the rules.  The above photo was the result of my one test.  A 2'x2' piece of hardboard was sprayed with a rattle can of greenish-blue texture paint that I had used on the bases of the two ships that I build.  I then used a white paint pen to add very small dots in the grid system used for the game.  Overall, I liked the look, however, that's all the progress I have.

With this project in mind again, maybe I'll add it to my winter project list and see about hosting a Valcour Island game on the 245th anniversary.

Desiging A Model Kit

 

Ethan Allen House Model

Roughly ten years ago, long before I became a reenactor, I visited the Ethan Allen Homestead Museum in Burlington, Vermont. My goal was to tour the house and take some reference photos so that I could build a model of the building.

The Homestead was the last home of the American Revolutionary war hero (depending on who you talk to) and leader of the pre-war Green Mountain Boys who fought the rule of New York over what was then known as the New Hampshire Grants.

Allen had the house built after the War. Though he only lived there a few years, the house was passed on to his widow, and her new husband, after his death. Over the decades, the property was sold, changed, and somewhat lost to history. When the location of Allen's house was found again in modern times, it was restored to how it may have looked in its original condition. Today, the museum not only presents Allen's life on the Homestead, but also the history and culture of the Abenaki Indians who originally lived on the land.

My model project was an on again, off again affair. Mostly off. 10 years after my initial visit, I buckled down and set to work creating a model of the building. My final goal is to create a 28mm scale building that can be used for wargaming. Ideally, I'd like to create a kit that other gamers and modelers can build.

 

Carboard Test Parts

Assembling the First Floor

First Floor with Figures for Scale

When I had originally visited the building, a set of faded floorplans had been displayed on one of the walls of the Visitor's Center. I took photos of these plans, and used them, along with my reference photos, to create a rough model out of corrugated cardboard.

The cardboard model became a test of not only the size and shape of the building, but also how the various pieces of the model could be made to create a laser-cut wood kit for others.

 

Gable Ends and Roofs

Walls and Floors

Using my cardboard model, my photo references, and Inkscape, I created a layout plan of the various pieces and parts of the building. I decided to create the model using two pieces of thin stock for each wall. This allowed me to add laser-engraved detail to both the interior and exterior of the walls, and to create nice looking double-hung windows, as in the prototype building.

With the Inkscape drawings done, I sent the plan off to an online laser-cutting company. Then I waited.

Laser Cut Sheet

Several weeks later, a box finally appeared in my driveway. On opening it, I found my 10-year dream realized. I had a laser-cut kit of Ethan Allen's last home, designed by myself, and ready for assembly.

 

Second Floor Assembled

Interior and Exterior Walls

Kitchen Fireplace

Gable End

First Floor Assembled

Second Floor Assembled

Final Assembly Before Painting

While building the model, I found several areas that need improvement, mostly mistakes that I made in my Inkscape drawing. Whenever I encountered one of these issues, I'd make a note, correct the physical model, then move on. After a few days, I had a fully assembled and painted model.

Col. Allen Moves in Next to Capt. Smith

 The size matches the scale of the William Smith house that I built earlier. While the frames were a bit fiddly, the windows turned out just as I had hoped, adding a nice detail to a rather plain looking building. As reenctors, my daughter and I have since visited the Homestead several times over the years, and become friends with the folks who run the museum. My daughter was very happy to see that the layout matches the real house, including the upper floor, which we don't often see.

Kitchen Detail

First Floor Painted

Finished Model

 Overall, I think the project was a great success.  Having now done several reenacting events at the Homestead, it's neat to have a model of a house that we've "lived" in. While I need to make a lot of improvements if I ever want to put this into kit form for sale, I'm happy with my own personal model, and I look forward to designing more building kits.