First test of battle for the new fort

We decided to take the new fort out for  spin, and the new sloop got involved as well.

Scenario;

SPANISH    In a small coastal town the local governor has been building a sloop that he hopes will help deter the troublesome pirates that have plagued his shores. He has not been able to afford guns for his little project just yet so the ship sit unarmed at this time.

To his surprise during a recent storm one of the Treasure Floita grounded on a nearby shoal and broke its keel. This represented a huge opportunity for the Governor who rescued the crew and has been running daily salvage operations to gather the treasure. He has had his divers carefully noting the location of the cannons in the shallow wreck and plans to arm his new sloop as soon as the authorities gather the silver (well, most of it, some got "lost" and now resides in the Governor's personal vault).

The recovered silver has been stored in the Customs House in the care of the King's Agent and guarded by a company of the garrison's soldiers. Pirates were shadowing the Flota and the Governor is worried about an attack on his little town.

PIRATES: A recent storm has wrecked your one good ship and cast you and your crew ashore near a small Spanish outpost. The Treasure Flota that you were shadowing has disappeared over the horizon. You and your men are in a desperate situation, the two remaining boats only stay afloat by way of prodigious bailing and can only carry twenty-four men between them.

Your are about six miles south of the Spanish town, just far enough away to have gone unnoticed thus far. The one bright spot on your horizon is that it appears that there is a shiny new sloop in the port, it sails out each day at dawn and returns heavily laden, you assume it is a fishing boat but it will do nicely as a Pirate vessel as well.

You have drawn up a plan to send some hardy souls into the harbor just before dawn in the two leaky boats to distract the garrison while the rest of the force attacks from landward. Your objective is the capture of the sloop which you can then sail down the coast and arm by recovering the guns from your wrecked ship.

despite repeated opportunities to spot the incoming Pirates the sentry in the fort failed to notice them until they were disembarking (lousy dice rolling or a very thick fog, hard to tell)

the sentry finally fired the signal cannon and the troops guarding the Governor's house filed out into the street to encounter the Pirates rushing toward them, an exchange of fire broke out

meanwhile the landward party of Pirates crept through the underbrush unnoticed

notice the Militia facing the scrum between the Guards and the Landing Party

the Guards had dropped a good many with fire

 but the Pirates held an advantage in melee and it took  a good bit of work to send them off

the Militia watched impassively

 

until one of the landward party fired a shot at them and they turned about 

to find the woods crawling with desperadoes intent on mayhem

another party of Pirates remained hidden in the woods trying to decide which house to sack,

the brown roof was the doctor's (with a treatment for the scurvy that troubles the crew), the blue roof a bordello (with a serious risk of distractions) and the red roof is the Custom's House (with the treasure), the Pirates knew nothing of this and chose the Custom's House as it was on the most direct route to the sloop.

an ineffective exchange of fire between the Pirates and the Militia took place

 as the Guards finished off the Landing Party

then the Pirates charged in, the Militia fought like tigers defending hearth and home

 but were no match for the ferocious killers from the sea, 

it was the Guards turn to watch dispassionately as the fight went ton

the Pirates attacking the Customs House were surprised to find it so heavily defended and sensed that there was something valuable inside, a vicious struggle to capture the build took place that went on for many turns slaying most of the Pirates and the company of soldiers protecting the treasure

as the last of the militia fell before the swords of the sea-dogs the gunners in the fort watched pensively and the few remaining soldiers of the Guard readied themselves for the coming onslaught, the Governor defended his house alone 

in one last, feeble round of fighting the militia fell

and the angry tide of Pirates swept on

the Guards, like Spartans, refused to run and died to a man, still in line of battle

the Governor, singlehandedly, repulsed three attacks on his home

 (it must have been the fact that he was riding a horse on the balcony!!!)

as his lonely battle continued in the streets below the Pirates swept toward their prize 
only to be lashed with grapeshot by the gunners who could finally participate in the battle

heedless of casualties they swept forward, braving a hailstorm of musketry they carried on,

 storming across the dock and up onto the sloop which was defended by a company of soldiers

other parties of Pirates moved to re-enforce the attack on the ship,

 the forts gunners firing as fast as possible to stem the tide

 

seeing that the ship was almost in their grasp the Pirates assaulting the Customs House moved on leaving a scene of carnage in the yard but unaware of the treasure nearly in theri grasp

in one last tragic fight the Governor finally fell to the swords of the Pirates

 

more Pirates streamed toward the sloop, now their only means of escape and freedom

the valiant soldiers defending the boat were no match for the frenzied Pirates and fell beck surrendering the gunwale and allowing even more Pirates into the fight

they were finally forced back onto the forecastle

 as the Pirates started detailing men to get the ship under way

the small guns on the landward side of the fort could make no impression on the ship

the Pirates rejoiced as the last of the soldiers fell and the ship was theirs

casualties littered the  streets, the quiet town would never likely be the same 

poor shooting by the fort guns failed to sink the sloop and the Pirates escaped with their prize

 not knowing that a fortune in sliver was almost in their grasp