Federal Artillery

As far as I know, my lone direct ancestral connection with the Civil War is a great great grandfather who was with the 16th New York heavy artillery. Edwin Joseph Buzzard. How's that for a name?

He apparently enlisted on Dec. 26, 1863 in Oswego, New York, at age 20. According to one source, he was a private with the 16th, then transferred to Co. D of the 6th Artillery on May 10, 1865, then to Co. A on June 27 and promoted to corporal on July 13 before being mustered out on Aug. 24 in Washington.

The combat reports, on small forms, don't specify Buzzard's deeds. They mention his large unit's participation in Virginia action at Petersburg, severe shelling by rebels, Confederate attacks, long marches, nights lying in woods, driving the enemy out of rebel works, death and wounding of officers and enlisted men, being close to the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va., and troops' attempt to build a canal at Dutch Gap in Virginia.

The whole thing has actually always been a bit perplexing. By the 1840s, that particular branch of the family tree had mostly moved from New York state to Michigan, not an uncommon occurrence and hence all of the Michigan place names like Rochester, Genesee, Troy, Flushing, etc. Edwin was born in Oakland County, Michigan (Pontiac area - near Detroit) in 1848. So why did he enlist in New York? I've always wondered if the date is a clue. Was he in New York visiting relatives for Christmas? Did he just not want to go home for some reason? 20 years old, nothing else to do?

After the war, he didn't return "home" either. He ended up in Auburn, Michigan, just west of Bay City (think of the bay formed when you hold your hand up as a mitten). We'll probably never know what motivated these moves.

He died in 1921.

So today, I bring you some Union artillerists I painted some time ago. I think they are Foundry minis. One of these days I would like to put on a big ACW game with these 25/28 figures. How cool would that look? I think I've mentioned before, though, I've never really settled on a set of rules. Ah, some day.

And yes, genealogy is something of yet another hobby, though I haven't really done much with it in years.

Whistling Dixie

The last couple of evenings while my wife and I prepare dinner, for some reason she has been humming the Battle Hymn of the Republic. She can't really explain why, it's just stuck in her head at the moment, she says. Of course, ever ready to play the role of her foil, I start in with a rousing rendition of Dixie. Yes, we're an odd couple sometimes.

So in that spirit, along with the suggestion that my posts have leaned toward the cause of the Union, here are some more Confederates painted up some time ago, fuzzy photos and all. These appear to be Foundry minis, which I know I haven't bought any ACW Foundry minis in years, so this must go back a ways. As best I can recall, it does not represent any specific unit, and was in all likelihood painted with the usual mix of Vallejo and Testors acrylics.

But doesn't the officer look dashing?

Turn the Dark On

The Dark Ages. Whew. I haven't pulled these out in quite a while. But after talking to my buddy a few weeks ago about Saga, and resisting him trying to talk me into buying some plastic Saxons, I thought I would take a peek to see what I have already. Just in case Saga comes to a gaming table near me, of course.

The verdict is, I think I could probably put something together based on what I have read about the game, at least in terms of Vikings and Picts. I have a start on Saxons, and have a more (Black Tree Design) that I could paint up.

The bulk of the Picts are from Gripping Beast, along with some from Foundry. The Vikings are a mix of Old Glory and Gripping Beast, while the Saxons are also a mix of those two manufacturers, along with the aforementioned BTD.

The full spread, Picts on the left, Saxons in the middle and Vikings on the right.

A Pict mounted leader. (Gripping Beast)

King Harold his ownself. (Gripping Beast)

A Viking leader type. (Gripping Beast_

I will try to put some specific numbers up on the Dark Ages page soon, but for now here are some photos to whet the appetite. This remains a lower priority project, but it is on the radar and these shall not be passed along to the Moving Out eBay pile.

Oh, and to explain the post title: One of my little girls doesn't quite get the lights go on and off, only that light comes on and then dark comes on. So at bedtime, she tells mom and dad to "turn the dark on." Gotta love it.