So to commemorate the Cousin's independence we had a little game of Sharp Practice. The scenario was very loosely based on the events of 19th April 1775, you know, "the British Are Coming!" and all that.
In the wholly fictional town of Danvers Mass, news has reached Colonel Whateley that the Redcoats were marching down the Boston Pike. He quickly called out his Militia and takes up position on the Common and blocked the bridge. However he does not want to be the man who goes down in history as starting a war so his men are strictly under orders not to shoot unless shot at.
Sure enough, the Redcoats approach down the Pike. They too are concerned not to be seen as the instigators, but are firm in their mission, to search Danvers for contraband arms and powder.
We had a system to determine if the fragile peace would hold. Whenever a unit did something the other side could think of as provocative, both sides rolled a D6 - if they scored doubles, someone shoots and .....The Redcoats advanced. Major Bartlett (Rob) in charge moved up to the bridge and ordered the leading troops to clear the obstruction. This had been decided as a task with a target of 18 - each action spent trying to clear it would score 2d6 points, and would be completed when the total reached 18.
Before he reached the obstacle however he was waylaid by Miss Campion, a local Lady. Politeness (and perhaps a desire to get better acquainted with the young lady delayed him however while he paid his respects. She appeared unimpressed.
Meanwhile, his Light Company flanked left to secure the woods, "just in case" , and his second Company moved right.
And then a shot rang out! noone was sure where it came from - was it the house next to the bridge?
Suddenly the tense situation turned deadly. The British fired a volley at the Militia, men fell, and then some previously unseen Colonials hiding in the woods started shooting at the Redcoats trying to clear the barricade.
Major Bartlett ordered the obstacle cleared as a fight broke out with more Militia hiding in he woods on the other side of the road. A Redcoat fell. He would not be the last....
Colonel Whateley was horrified, but he knew his duty. He ordered his Minutemen to wheel and deliver a volley at the Redcoats on the bridge. Due to the targets being concentrated on the narrow bridge we agreed to treat them as a closed column, which at least helped the Militia hit something. No kills, but shock started to build.
The problem for the Colonials was the Minutemen were brave, but were otherwise almost totally undrilled. As soon as they fired their first ragged volley they simply blazed away as fast as they could fire into the cloud of smoke they created, whether Whateley wanted them to or not. On the British side the well drilled Redcoats were delivering controlled volleys (using their "Sharp Practice" trait) and it was starting to hit hard.
On the bridge the lead Redcoats finally cleared the obstacle. Then disaster struck the Colonials. A good volley killed some Redcoats on the bridge, then a random event was triggered by a third consecutive Command Flag card, and the Minutemen, drunk with their success, surged forward uncontrolled.
Major Bartlett seized the moment. He rallied some shock and then triggered his "Thin Red Line" trait using his command cards. The troops on the bridge fired a volley and then fixed bayonets and charged the Minutemen. The regulars ploughed into the shocked Militia, who broke and ran. Whately was wounded in the melee but fell back with his men. The victorious Redcoats called out to the fleeing Yankees. Just to make the situation worse, the British Light Company shot the riflemen in the woods, injuring their leader.
It was too much for the Colonials. Force morale plummeted. Whateley ordered a withdrawal to regroup and await reinforcements, and Bartlett advanced to Danvers.
It was a great game, which mirrored the historical events at Lexington \ Concord nicely. The Redcoats would complete their search. The problem was, they now needed to get back to Boston through a county buzzing with armed militia swarming towards them.
