Tuesday 5 March 2013

RP No 125 Battle of Killiecrankie - Cannon's Irish





After the Siege of Derry, Colonel Nicholas Purcell and his unit were sent by King James to join the Highland forces of the "Bonnie Dundee". The London Gazette reported 300 Irish troops and 60 horses were landed in Argyllshire, having been transported there by three French men-of-war and several other vessels from Carrickfergus. Colonel Purcell  had brought with him 35 barrels (5.6 m3) of powder, ball, match and flint, and was under the command of Major-General Alexander Cannon.
On the morning of 17 May 1689, 400 men of Colonel Purcell's regiment landed in small boats at Lochaber and escaped capture by Sir George Rooke by hiding in the mountains of Mull. On 12 July 1689 they landed at Duart in the Isle of Mull. During their short passage the French frigates had captured the Scottish privateer Pelican and her consort after a sharp encounter. Purcell's Dragoon's joined Dundee's Highlanders about 16 July, as the clans were gathering to meet the Williamite forces under Lieutenant-General Hugh Mackay. On 27 July the opposing forces met at Killiecrankie.
On his extreme right flank of the battle line, facing Balfour's Regiment, Dundee placed Clan Maclean, under Sir John Maclean of Duart, and Purcell's Dragoon Regiment, on foot.
Dundee held his fire until a half hour before sunset, at which time the Highlanders charged down from the heights of Killiecrankie, and finally at muzzle-point, drawing their claymores and stampeding the Williamite troops. Purcell's Dragoon Regiment participated in the charge with gallantry.
Unfortunately for the Jacobite cause the "Bonnie Dundee" was mortally wounded in the battle, Col Alexander Cannon took over the command of the Jacobite army. He was in command of the losing side at the Battle of Dunkeld. Purcell's Dragoon Regiment returned to Ireland and joined the squadron which had stayed behind and served with Major-General Buchan before Enniskillen on 30 July.

As they were previously a Dragoon regt, and I had figures left over I used dis-mounted Dragoons for the mainstay of this unit. I'm not usually keen on figures firing apart form in skirmish games,. but I think these look the part and are certainly distinctive to their Scots allies. There is no record as to what Purcell's Dragoons wore, so again to add a little colour I chose red for their coats, but it could well have been white or grey, who knows?? And the flag is pure conjecture also, I did consider using a Dragoon guidon for their banner, but chose this one which is a take on Lord Bellows brown and black stripped banner.








Lastly The Happy Whisk has posted a  Blog Giveaway over on her site 
Click Bugg's pic below

Wiggy Got a Puppy

The Whisk said

"This is post 444. Holy jelly beans, I love the number four. So to celebrate I'm giving away a bundle prize package of four e-books, highlighting four writers, to four winners.

The four writers are Alex J. Cavanaugh, Susan Gourley Kelley, Suzan Harden, and Tim Shorts (alphabetical order).

That's one good celebration bundle. "

So go check her out!!!



52 comments:

  1. great painting and history lesson.
    Peace James

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  2. Oh my gosh, you put Baby Bug on your blog. She's so cute. That was back on her very first day home.

    Thanks for the plug.

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  3. I like your troops, Ray. Great job.

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  4. Nice bunch of troops!
    So when are you going to take a picture of the grand army? ;)

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  5. Ray,
    Very cool!!! Definitely like the candy-stripe flags...a real eye catcher. Like others have said, enjoyed the background information.

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    1. I made this one ages ago, just didn't know which regt to give it to.

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  6. Great work, Ray. As I'm following your progress with all these great units of NYW troops, I can't help but imagine how cool they must look en masse all on the table at once.

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    1. There is a plan in effect for most of them to be out at once.

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  7. It looks like everyone is clamoring for a group shot on a table Ray. That would be impressive to see.

    It's nice to see you have to work on conjecture only. Good creative things come from that.

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    1. Lots of conjecture with this period Anne! Drives me mad!!!

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  8. Great looking Irish lads with a great flag. You can't go wrong with a harp!

    Highlanders charging with claymores...that would have been a sight to see.

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  9. magical and charismatic red troops!



    You going to make me melt like lead..

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  10. I'm growing a fondness for those flags. At least, they look pretty good with the troops here.

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  11. Yes, I learn something new here every time. (And Alexander Cannon? I was so close to a really cool name...)
    Whisk's contest is awesome! Three great books and mine.

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    1. We can call you Mr Cannon if you so wish? Perhaps he can be a new character in one of your books?

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  12. Hi Ray,

    an interesting history lesson and a good paintjob. I love it when people share information about their units in addition to such nice pictures.
    Thanks mate!

    Cheers
    Stefan

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  13. Ray, what can I say? You've done it again another Fab unit.

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  14. Nice work as always Ray, and love how you do up the backdrop for these units as well!

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  15. Excellent looking unit Ray!

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  16. Nice looking unit Ray, the bases are sweet and so are the flags.

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  17. Another excellent looking unit Ray. How many is that?

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  18. Another fine job, Ray! And, guess what? We finally found a battery set that will fit the camera so we can take pictures of painting project you did. Lawd, that took foreva! I'll let you know when it's going to post.

    Great job on using Bug for Whisk's giveaway - brilliant!

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    1. Excellent! I'll look forward to the photos!

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  19. I really love the history lessons and the great painting!

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  20. The 444th one is a great one, I do like the colors, the flags, the base...ans the story!
    Phil.

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  21. Nice paintjob and basing on those!

    Cheers and thanks for telling some of the history always keen on learning some more.

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  22. Great job indeed
    And history too at your feed
    Can't beat that
    Enjoyed by the cat

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  23. Great work, Ray. Another fantastic unit and a great piece of history. Somedya I will be able to retake this project, with help from your posts!

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  24. Great painted figures there Ray and those flags just set them off

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  25. Great job, don't know where you find the patience.

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  26. As I said before, lovely work Ray. I like it when you put a snap of wind in your excellent flags.

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  27. Nice figures again. Okay I give in. Keep looking at your Nine Years War figures and it has finally persuaded me to try and finish mine which I gave up on a year or so ago. What base size are you using? I’ve gone for half the 28mm, but mine look very small compared to yours. Thanks Grahame

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    1. Hi Grahame - The infantry are on a 35mm frontage x 30, horse are on 40x40 and artillery are on 30x40. Hope this helps???

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    2. Thanks Ray. I'll start re-basing. Your base sizes look much better.
      Grahame

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