I actually think dragging out my Napoleonic or even ACW will be a break after this These are the first FIW models I have painted. Ive been drawing and painting the tribes of the Great lakes for sometime now. I have always enjoyed looking at uniform books and the ones on the FIW just get so much wrong or left out. Mainly this is the tribes. I constantly find references to the Iroquois owning what is now Michigan. This totally discounts the Huron and Ottawa and does a disservice to the Algonquin Nation. Algonquin means fire people( most tribal names are__people or People). We were the three keepers of the fire being Pottawatomie(also Sauk/Fox), Abenaki(Anishinabe), and Ojibwa. Lots of other bands in there too, but all spoke Algonquin or some variation of the big three. Huron (or Ottawa/ Wyandott) were the buffer between the Algonquins and the Iroquois. The Illini, Miami, Delaware, Shawnee and others were scattered to the south and also caught in the Huron and Iroquois fight. The Mohawks ruled the Iroquois and included the Seneca and others. Tribes have a particular view on families and will incorporate other tribes most especially if they add to the tribe or help out in some fashion.
The French had the largest number of natives on their side as they understood the tribes better than England. They took their time in negotiations, accepted the bizarre, and generally helped out. The English just wanted things quiet and they wanted land.
Outside of Fort Michilimackinac, Ojibwa warriors were playing a game of Lacrosse or what is really the forebear of. It was known as Wars little brother. (my family still plays in the snow with hockey sticks, baseball bats, and a basketball...bloody noses and bumps and bruises happen real regular too!)
The Ojibwa played on chasing the ball in the fort while the British troops watched. In seconds 15 were dead and the rest of the garrison was captured.
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| Curtgeld...Pontiac Ottawa war chief.
After British victory in the FIW, things changed really fast for all the Natives. Most of the tribes were concerned about European encroachment on tribal lands, and food for the tribe. The British totally disregarded the promise to leave the French forts on the war's end and instead began to clear land around the forts and began growing towns and farmland.
They also stopped trading with the natives, loss of land, no ammo or muskets, wildlife disappearing. The tribes were well aware of the Powhatan and other East coast tribes that suffered and vanished dealing with the English.
Pontiac led the besiegers of fort Detroit and beat off a few attempts to relieve the garrison. Forts throughout the frontier were all under siege, But Detroit and Pontiac got the attention due to the size and importance. Forts like Fort St Joseph were entirely overrun and burned, but even though they were closer to "civilization" Pontiac and Detroit were the big news.
Pontiac was contacted by the British after the siege was lifted. Pontiac lost a lot of bored tribesman, and hunting and farming needed to get done. The British had yet to really try to understand their neighbours, so all the negotiations went through Pontiac. An Ottawa war chief who only spoke for his band not the entire Ottawa tribe, He did not speak for the Ojibwa, Abenaki, Pottawatomie, Sauk, Miami, Shawnee, Peoria...The Rebellion ended but not much changed with most forts getting rebuilt and even more British troops came to "keep order". Pontiac died shortly after reportedly slain by a Peoria "assassin. Pontiac and the tribes gambled big and were very successful coordination of a wide ranging attack. The British kind of ignored the big picture and Tribal pride wrecked the rest. A huge Gamble that didn't go well at all.
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Pontiac is a Conquest Miniatures model which is now carried by Warlord Games.
I made a war party of Huron/Ottawa/ Wyandott of Wargames Factory plastics. I painted the breech cloths blue to signify French. a longstanding partner of France some of the tribes names have come from French discriptors, Like tall haired tribe, trader tribe, an Algonquin band from the UP of Michigan is forever more known as the Pillagers due to the treatment they gave to a Dutch trader who wronged them! ;)
Above is Black Hawk who stands in front of a party of Iroquois warriors. Blackhawk is also a Conquest mini. He led the Sauk in an attempt to regain land taken from them in Michigan. His attempt went about as well as Pontiac, but he lived. The model is actually done on a surviving art print of BlackHawk after his capture.
A War band of Pottawatomie! The War chief has a headdress made of Buffalo. The Pottawatomie drove the Illini out of what is now Northern Illinois and drove the Sioux to the other side of the Mississippi.
The Pottawatomie allied with the Huron and French and only served the British in the War of 1812. The Shawnee, Miami, and Pottawatomie fought against Gen "Mad" Anthony Wayne after and lost hugely in the battle of Fallen Timbers. For months the 1st Nation skirmished and melted away before Gen Wayne. Wayne won by ignoring the warriors and going after the native settlements. Fallen Timbers was women and children fleeing to a British Fort. The British wouldn't let them in and they died. With no family left, the tribes surrendered to Wayne.
The Pottawatomie come from the Sauk and Fox miniatures of Conquest Miniatures
I was going to order from Bob Murch, but I didn't get a good communication with him and it seems his Huron and Iroquois are not in the main store yet. I do have Howard Whitehouse's rule set( beta version) for the pre-european conflict between the tribes. Above are the Conquest and plastic miniatures I will be using...Till i get some more tribesman from Mr Murch! ;)
Here a couple closeups of Wargames factory plastics. They have good detail and contrary to Internet trolls the bodies are pretty good for someone who eats pure protein, wild rice and veggies, and hunts bears!
They are fiddly to put together as some arms will only go with certain bodies. Mu only complaint is the rifles are accurate but teeny, the knifes are honking huge in the sheaths, and there are no arrow quivers. There is a lot of molded on leather straps and a plethora of bags, powder horns and neat kit.
Some is too structured and not "natural looking" but for the price they are a great little kit to bulk out the troops.
See they match up fine to Conquest! Did anyone notice that some Highlander lost his broadsword?
My real complaint is the gorgets that are all over the place here in the wargames factory kit. Apparently a gorget was grown from trees near the lodge! ;)
I had to have these guys, just because of the Retreat from Moscow figures...There is a game there somewhere...:)
I really like them all, but the kneeling figure lost an opportunity to show how to shoot with snowshoes kneeling.
The sculptor instead had him take them off, perhaps it is too great a stess for the lacings?
The other three from the pack, I like the fur coat on the right. Mittens and all sorts of gear on these fellows, I may just buy some trappers or put them in a Northern pulp game too.
So 49 true warriors including one Curtgeld, and this old boot is going to take a nap!
Hopefully the minion will notice this entry of 1st Nation troops as the poor dear let the last 5 sneak past him! ;)
A PS for Dux
Until I went through my notes, I forgot all about the "Copper Tribes" and the extensive trade network of Native America.Small bits of copper including some armbands and earrings did get passed on as well as turquoise and other precious stones. A lot was bead work and leather work and scrim saw/carving.
For everybody else, there is a fair amount of smack talking from my ancestral side, but I wouldn't change the history for anything. The history made me who I am and the rest would be trodding on butterflies, besides I am an American Soldier and I know the Oaths I have sworn. ;)
This is quite a remarkable entry David. It's great to share your passion for the period and the history of these warriors and area. Your energy and pride really shine through in the posting and in the paint work. And what a lot of work - holy cow! I'm sure Curt will chime in below, but I expect he will be thrilled with this wonderful Curtgeld! As someone with some roots in northern Ontario and the Sault Ste Marie area (just north of Michigan's lovely Upper Peninsula) for me this made for a fascinating read, and I'm sure all the Challengers will enjoy it.
Oh - and that's another whopping 265 points for you. You keep implying you will take a break from painting...but I wonder if that will ever happen? :)
