Cavaliers and Roundheads Episode 3 Skirmish at the old Manor

 October 28th, 1642.   The Royalist army of King Charles I had just captured Banbury castle with a large stockpile of firearms as well as other provisions.  The problem was they didn't have enough pack animals to carry the goods or pull the carts.  A local loyalist farmer named Rafe Fowler had come to the camp with information useful to the Royalists.  Some Parliamentarians had rounded up several ponies that they were holding at the old ruined Bottomham Manor near Hanwell.  Captain Hewitt immediately dispatched Corporal Charles Osbury, Mable Banks and a small squad of musketeers to capture the ponies. 
 

 After scouting the camp from the North the party of Royalists decided to attack from the South.  Sargent Gryffon, Plunket, Towne, and three other musketeers took up a position on the hill overlooking the improvised corral.  Several Parliamentarians were engaged in target practice while only two guarded the ponies. 
 

Charles had been given a trained cavalry horse after the capture of Banbury and he charged over the hill, overwhelming one of the Roundhead guards. 

The musketeers finished off the other guard with a volley of musket fire.  Mable Banks crouched behind a tree near the musketeers. 

Charles Osbury turned the corner of the ruined manor and fired at the Roundhead musketeer in a green coat wounding him lightly.  The Royalist Musketeers finished the man off with another volley. 

The alarm went up among the Parliamentarians who moved to cover among the ruins.  A troop of Roundheads in red coats took up position near a supply depot while another group in green coats took cover behind a wall. 
   

 Corporal Osbury charged the redcoat position wounding one of them with his pistol.  Their Sargent scrambled over the ruins to engage him. 

Seeing the corporal's bold move the Royalist musketeers used his distraction to move off the hill shooting at the redcoats as they did.  

Mable Banks moved into the ruined foundation of the Manor and began an unusual exchange with the Roundheads in green coats.  Her crossbow shots were answered by volleys  of musket fire but the range and cover made for many missed shots. 

Charles slashed at the Roundhead Sargent with his sword then reared his horse up.  The creature's hooves caved the poor man's head in.
 

The King's musketeers moved up into some cover and brought down the man Corporal Osbury had wounded. 

Meanwhile Plunket and Towne moved over to help Mable with the other enemy unit.  For his trouble Towne was lightly wounded as he climbed over the wall. 

The red coated Roundheads, seeing their Sargent killed, fired on Charles at point blank range wounding him. 

The fight against the green coated Parliamentarians fired recklessly at the Royalists in the Manor ruins but continued to have little luck. 
 

Wounded, the good Corporal retreated to the cover of a crumbling wall under the covering fire of the Royalist musketeers. 

Still in the fight the two remaining red coated Roundheads brought down a Royalist musketeer while tenaciously defending their supply depot. 

Plunket and Towne took up a better position in the Manor ruin and the managed to wound one of the green coats. 

Charles Osbury charged the depot again and brought down another trooper with a pistol shot.  Only one Roundhead remained to guard the supplies but he fought on. 

Sargent Gryffon charged the final red coat with his two remaining musketeers.  The Royalist attacked with his partisan but only lightly injured his opponent. 

As the battle continued the ponies in the makeshift corral began to get spooked.  Mable, along with Plunket and Towne, continued to trade mostly ineffective fire with the green coats. 

 Hoping to end the stalemate the green coats ducked behind the wall they had been using for cover in an attempt to flank Mable's position.

Corporal Osbury noticed the maneuvering Roundheads and spurred his horse into pursuit.  He fired a pistol shot but missed.   

The final red coated soldier fought desperately against the King's men managing to wound Sargent Gryffon in the exchange and stubbornly refusing to surrender.  

 Miss Banks dashed across the open ground and through an opening in the green coats wall to dispatch the wounded soldier. 

The remaining green coats formed a line and fired a volley at Mable but she ducked into cover and all their shots missed again. 

At that point the spooked ponies broke through the weak reinforcement of the corral.  Towne shouted "Corporal the ponies are getting away!"

Charles charged on his horse and cut down and trampled the green coat Sargent.  The Royalists needed to end the fight soon in order to save their prize. 
 

After finally bringing down the last red coat Sargent Gryffon and his musketeers moved into the open and shot down another green coat.  

Mable moved to engage the Parliamentarians but both of the remaining men threw up their hands in surrender. 

Some of the ponies had already started to gallop away and the last four stumbled over the ruined wall in a bid for freedom.  

Corporal Osbury rushed to the aid of Plunket and Towne and the three managed to calm the animals.  Charles then headed off at full tilt after the five that had escaped.    

Fortunately for him they were in the next meadow over grazing.  Charles rounded them up and drove them back to the ruin. 

The supply depot consisted mostly of hard tack and salted pork.  The Royalist raiding party sacked up as much as they could then loaded up the ponies and returned to Banbury castle.  Captain Hewitt was extremely happy with their raid which resulted in only one Royalist casualty.  He promoted Charles to Sargent and increased Mable's pay.  The musketeers were given extra provisions and a better billet inside the castle. 

Notes:  This was much more of a straight up fight with little roleplaying.  I really wanted a more serious session than the last one with a more military campaign feel.  We have only been playing two hour sessions so I plan to alternate between sessions with more RP and sessions with more action.  Unfortunately I had to use cheap plastic horses as proxie ponies but you have to work with what you have.