Broadside 2024 - Posties Rejects - The Battle of Croix-du-Bouquets 1792

This past Sunday was the Rejects annual pilgrimage to the Broadside Wargaming Show in Gillingham. It was my turn to put on the game and as you may have already seen, the game was a reenactment of the Battle of Croix-du-Bouqets in 1792 during the Haitain Revolution or the St Domingue Revolt.

We had quite a turn out of Rejects for Broadside this year, there were 10 of us walking around in our red T-Shirts! We had a lot of interest in the game, with people asking lots of questions, which is always pleasing. One chap I spoke to, I think his name was John, thinks he might have found his new period to paint up and play. That of course is inbetween the rest of his lead pile.

I used a heavily modified version of Donnybrook, to hopefully move the game along quickly. 

OOB

Rebels/Haitians

General Andre Rigaurd

2nd Colonial Infantry

5th Colonial Infantry

General Louis-Jacques Beavis

9th Colonial Infantry

11th Colonial Infantry

Ernso Bein Aime

3rd Colonial Cavalry

Marcel Giroux

Mulatto/Townsfolk 1

Mulatto/Townsfolk 2 

Yacinth

2nC Felix Dubois

Rebels/Slaves 1

Rebel/Slaves 2

Rebel/Slaves 3

Moise Gabreil

Rebel/Slave Sharpshooter 

French

Joseph-Alexandre Tourette

2 companies of 48th Infantry (formally Artois)

Jean-Francois Louis Picault

2 companies of 9th Infantry (formally Normandie)

National Guard Port-au-Prince Infantry

National Guard Port-au-Prince Dragoons

1 Artillery

Re-inforcments

French 19th Dragoons

The battle was pretty simple. The 2 Haitian leaders met at the town of Croix-du-Bouquets to discus how to move forward in their rebellion. They were joined by the mulatto townsfolk and by quite a number of rampaging slaves. The French got wind of this meeting and planned to stop the rebellion before it gained any momentum. But they didn't know the army had doubled in numbers.

The starting positions. The French have set up for battle, and the Haitians are forming outside ready to attack.

Croix-du-Bouqets

The town would see many battles and skirmishes during the rebeliion

Don't drink the water from the fountain!

I had to get Postie to recue the fountain, after I ruined it using railway realistic water. For some reason it reacted to the paint and bubbled up all over the surface. I was a bit miffed to be fair and it nearly ended up a few gardens down, before Postie came to the recue.

All the buildings are from the excellent Empires at War. 

In our practise game, I started the Haitian Cavalry off table. I realised they were needed sooner, so they were on from the start.

The troops pour out of the town, full flight towards the French.

The rebel slaves led by a 21 years old lady named Yacinth, who's only weapon was a bulls tail and her mouth, which she used to work the slaves up to a frenzy. She can be seen in the centre bottom all in white.

The Haitian front line made up of the 4 Colonial infantry regiments

The 3 Rebel/slave units

Dan's 48th Infantry

Steve's 9th Infantry and the National Guard Infantry

The Top-hatted National Guard Dragoons

The Haitian flags were made from tearing the white colour from a French Tricolour

The Haitian move forward.

They might be able to make a charge move next turn?

But some great dice rolls smashed into the lines, the 9th Colonial Infantry were all but destroyed by artillery and musket fire.

But the mulattos would take their place.

The 1st Rebels lose and handful of figures under withering French musketry!

This wasn't going to my plan, Dave leaning over the table kept throwing really bloody awful dice, much to the French players delight!

The highlight so far fro the Haitians was killing 3 out of 4 French artillerymen, but the French certainly paid them back for this brief bit of cheer.

The French 48th lost a few casualties to musketry.

But the cards kept coming out in favour of the French.

The Haitians do manage to get in and charge.

But the French dice were on fire. Both units of Mulattoes are on the run back.

Sacre bleau! This isn't how the battle was supposed to go. The French should be the ones running??

The Haitians ended up getting decimated and the French players changed history!!!

Could this end the Haitian Revolution before its really begun?

Conclusion

Well I wasn't expecting that? In our two practice games, it was clear that the Haitian's were up against it, so I added figures to their numbers and abilities and knocked down the ability of the French and their commanders. But this was nowhere enough, added to the Haitians really bad dice roles and the french players great dice rolling, they were given a damned good thrashing!!

Looking back on the game now, there's loads I would change to give the Haitians a more historical chance of winning the game. I have enough figures to give the Haitians another 4 units, but didn't want to make it a was over, but I think giving them another 2 units would have helped. Maybe starting them a little closer and dropping the 24 inch fire range to say 18inch?

There's lots for me to ponder over here, me thinks??

A big thank you has got to go to all the members of the Milton Hundred Club for all their hard work getting the show up and running, and thanks for the extra two tables Dave!!

Also thanks to the Rejects for giving it there all on the day and thank you to all the members of the public who took the time to talk to one of us and ask questions about the game and history. Hopefully i might have converted one or two of the over to the Haitian Revolution?

You never know?

Cheers

Ray

The Rejects

Dan, Dave, Postie, Steve, Ray, Olly, Chris, Richard, Surj

& Lee taking the photo!

Haitian/St Domingue Revolution - Free Mulattoes

 

I should have sorted my game out for Broadside before the painting Challenge, but I never make things easy for myself. So after sorting out the terrain, (more on that later) I needed a few more figures painted up!

Here we have 2 units of 12 figures representing the Mulatto townsfolk of Croix-du-Bouquets

Nobody makes any Mulatto figures with muskets, so I had to de a bit of improvising.

The figures are a mixture of  Wargames Foundry Pirates Packs CU33 Kristos Raiders and CU34

Yellowboys Renegades

And some figures from several packs of Casting Room Miniatures Rebels & Rebels, Rioters or Civilians

My favorite figure is the chap waving the bicorne, who I'll be using as a standard bearer, he is actually from.Eureka Miniatures Paris Mob pack!

Broadside 2024 - The Rejects on Tour - The Battle of Croix-du-Bouquets 1792

 

Posties Rejects will once more be attending Broadside Games Show in Gillingham this coming Saturday. Its my turn to put on a game, so as you may have already seen, I'll be showing off some of my Rebellion in St Domingue/Haitian Revolution figures. We will be gaming "The Battle of Croix-du-Bouquets 1792."

Our game is just to the right of the main entrance at C17, so come and  say hello!!

The Battle of Croix-des-Bouquets 22nd March 1792

An army led by Beauvais and Rigaud were chased from Port-au-Prince and reformed at the town of La Croix-des-Bouquets. This army consisted of Maroon/Mulattoes/Creole’s and free coloured people. The arrival of these fighters caused an uprising of slaves of the Plain of the Cul-de-Sac. Who were only armed with knives, spears, hoes, and iron poles. Their chief was a young lady called, Yacinth, who was only 21 years old. The insurgent slaves joined the army of Beauvais and Rigaud.

The French decided to attack this rally on 22nd March, the infantrymen and dragoons of the National Guard of Port-au-Prince reinforced by detachments of the 9th Regiment of Normandy and the 48th Regiment of Artois and artillery went to meet the insurgents.

The French writer Victor Schœlcher of the nineteenth century, in his book Vie de Toussaint Louverture described this episode: "The black brought by Yacinthe, almost all Africans, were scarcely armed with knives, pikes, hoes, and iron poles; but fanaticized by their wizards, convinced that they would be resurrected in Africa if they were killed, they threw themselves on the bayonets without caring for the fires of platoons which decimated them. They clung to the horses of the dragoons they dismounted by being slashed. Yacinthe, with a bull's tail in her hand, roamed their ranks, shouting that she was chasing death. They rushed to their heads, fighting bullets and grape shots, which seemed to respect her talisman. Men were seen rushing on the guns, holding them hugged to prevent them from leaving and being killed without letting go. Others were found thrusting their arms into the mouths of the pieces to tear out the balls and call their comrades, shouting: Come, come; we hold them. The pieces were leaving, and their members were carried away".

Exceeded by numbers, the French had to retreat and routed in disorder to Port-au-Prince, according to Victor Schoelcher who relies on the writings of Thomas Madiou and François Joseph Pamphile de Lacroix, the French lost more than 100 soldiers and insurgents lost 1,200.

Here's a few more pics of a practice game.