Monday, October 14, 2013

Brigadier General William Barksdale

This is Redoubt figure of Brigadier General William Barksdale who will serve as himself when appropriate and as a fill in brigade commander at other times. I always liked Don Troiani's depiction of him in battle waving his hat forward for his Mississippians to charge so when I saw the figure on Redoubt page I new I had to include him in my collection.

A veteran of the Mexican War and a member of the House of Representatives and a true hot head who beat another member of Congress with his cane over states rights issues entered the Civil War first in the Militia before taking command of the 13th Mississippi. He led the regiment through the  first Battle of Bull Run, Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days Battle before taking command of the whole brigade after Brigadier General Richard Griffith was mortally wounded at Savage Station and leading it on a doomed, but heroic charge up the Malvern Hill. Barkesdale now a Brigadier general commanding "Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade" joined Major General Lafayette McLaws Division where his brigade under his leadership became a well known tough fighting brigade in the battles of Battle of Antietam, (Sharpsburg), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and finally Gettysburg where his brigade smashed through the Union forces at the Peach Orchard before being stopped at Plum Run. Barkesdale was leading his men from horseback at the front which inspired his men(and the painting), but left him dangerously exposed and led to his death by bullet in his knee, a cannon ball to the foot and final bullet to the chest which brought him down for good.

Thanks for viewing!:-)
Miniature Company-Redoubt Miniatures



45 comments :

  1. Good work Christopher and good history!

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  2. Excellent painting Christopher, figure and pose really exude character!

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  3. Excellent painting and basing. The horse in particular is superb. Might I ask what colours you've used for it?

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    1. Thank you kindly Jonas. I think the flesh was Foundry Spearshaft Brown A,B,C and the mane and tail were Foundry Bay Brown A,B,C.

      Christopher

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    2. Thank you Christopher! I'll have to try that recipe out the next time I paint horses.

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  4. Awesome work Christopher! Fantastic painting and basing.

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  5. Very good paint work !!!

    Best regards Michael

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  6. That's a beautiful piece of work, Christopher!

    Best wishes

    Giles

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  7. Great work, nice pose and beautiful paintwork!

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  8. Another outstanding display of brushwork.

    Regards,
    Matt

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  9. Excellent command figure, quite the way I'd imagine a general from that period.
    And thanks for the historical bits, interesting character by the look of it.

    Cheers, SG
    mountainsoflead.com

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    1. Thank you very much SG and indeed he was a very colourful character of the period.

      Christopher

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  10. What an absolutely superb job Christopher, everything is spot on form the miniature to the basing - a triumph Sir.

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    1. Thank you very much Michael that's very nice of you to say that.

      Christopher

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  11. Chris, he's fantastic! Looking forward to seeing him in real.

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    1. Thank you very much Nick! Hopefully that won't be to much longer.

      Christopher

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  12. Excellent. The gold coloring is beautifully detailed.

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  13. Splendid painting and basing, Christopher. I like this one very much, and I remember Barksdale's Gettysburg charge being described as one of the finest of the ACW, based on the number of Union regiments shattered.

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  14. Thank you very much Monty. Yes indeed it was a spectacular charge and one that is a bit overshadowed by Picket's charge and Chamberlain's counter attack at Little Round Top.

    Christopher

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  15. Excellent job with him there!

    Do you know how recently you purchased him from Redoubt, and whether there were any serious QC issues with casting or flash?

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  16. Thank you very much Rob!

    I purchased him within the last two years, but exactly when I'm not sure. As often is the case with Redoubt figures extra clean up is involved, but it's worth it to me as I really enjoy the character of the figures. On this figure I think the back end of the horse requires some boring and filing.

    Christopher

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  17. Lovely work Christopher. I have a particular affinity to Barksdale as back when I was re-enacting our unit was the 17th Mississippi of his brigade. Nice to see an old Redoubt figure being done proud.

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    1. Thank you very much Curt. Oh that's quite interesting.Did you enjoy re-enacting? I think if I would have stayed in the states I probably would have done some ACW re-enacting.

      Christopher

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    2. Hmm, I really liked the social aspect of re-enacting (great people) but was not entirely convinced of its 'historical value'. I think reenactors often 'muddy the water' by projecting an incomplete interpretation of history to their audience, often pitching it as the gospel truth. I often say re-enacting is usually too clean, too few, too old and too fat. :) I think it heavily depends on the group and the individuals involved.

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    3. I can see your point in that it's too clean, too few, too old and fat. I'd probably fit right in as a very well fed confederate.:-)

      Christopher

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  18. Masterful brushwork as always, Christopher. You've really brought out so much character with this model. Best, Dean

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  19. Great looking Reb! Fantastic detail on the horse. Cheers!

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  20. Great bit of history and what a great looking figure, he's so full of character.

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  21. He sounds like he was a very brave man and you have done a wonderful paint job on the figure.
    Pat.

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