During the Memorial Day Holiday weekend Dave Cooper, my wife, Debbie, and I traveled to Nashville to attend HMGS Mid-South's Nashcon '99 convention. As you know, I am an enthusiastic booster of this convention, since I have really enjoyed each of the nine times I've gone to Nashcon. This time was no different. I have mentioned that there are an abundance of vendors at Nashcon. This continues to be the case. The vendor area filled somewhat over half of the ballroom secured for the event. The variety and diversity of vendors meant that if a historical gamer could not find what he was looking for, then it either didn't exist, or he wasn't really looking. Plus, Saturday's "Fig Fair" and Sunday's Flea Market gave gamers an opportunity to recycle old items for cash, or cash for other gamers' treasures. Dave and I participated in the "Trade Show" side of Nashcon with great gusto. Due to the space occupied by the vendors, a number of games wound up in the foyer outside the carpeted ballroom. Along with big ACW and WWII battles, the ancients tournament (Armati? DBA?). [ Yes, both] Was held in this foyer area, and was well attended. Inside the ballroom, about a dozen games were constantly underway. Friday evening Dave and I joined a rowdy group of adults and pre-adults in a wild Maori assault on a British settlement. I was commanding a particularly blood thirsty group of Maoris, complete with a native New Zealander who had a British soldier's head on a pike ("Looka-da-Hed!"). My Maoris and those of two pre-teens rushed the compound, overran the defenders in our path, burned the storehouse and rampaged out the other side of the settlement. Other Maori players swarmed the manor house or attacked Dave's and other British players' troops responding to the crisis. In the end, a few British officers and men withdrew through the brush to safety, while Maori tribesmen danced around the flaming settlement. An easily understood rules system allowed the players to quickly take charge of the game, and adults and youngsters had a great time On Saturday, I ran several sessions of my 25mm Napoleonic Spanish Campaign. A strong French and Allied force attacked British and Portuguese troops entrenched in defensive works in a ridge and mountain. The Anglo-Portuguese watched their enemy's advance stoically, while both sides' artillery opened a steady barrage. Everyone got a kick out of the notoriously inaccurate British Congreve Rockets. On the French left, the Piedmont Brigade swept up to some pasture walls in the south, and engaged the entrenched British in an extended long range firefight. The Italian Artillery hammered the British guns until the British infantry charged out of their fieldworks, supported by their cavalry in an attempt to dislodge the Italians. This turned into a wild series of melees leading to an eventual British withdrawal back into their works. Meanwhile on the right, the Swiss Brigade assaulted Portuguese positions on the Northern Ridge. A father and son team of Portuguese defenders fought valiantly until they were driven back by the timely addition of Dave's French Infantry Brigade. Beaten but not broken, the Anglo-Portuguese withdrew to new positions for the evening session. Saturday evening the Anglo-Portuguese had extensive stone walls (some of Dave's new acquisitions) surrounding the local fields, with a supporting ridgeline to defend. Unfortunately, there were more stone walls than the Anglo-Portuguese could adequately defend. But they fell into the error of trying to defend them all, and their strength was dispersed. Once again the Swiss Brigade carried the brunt of the Franco-Allied assault, and again they thrashed the Portuguese in their isolated forward positions. The British, for the most part, conducted a staged withdrawal from one walled pasture to the next, and were never firmly engaged by the French Brigade. In the end, the Anglo-Portuguese defense crumbled under the relentless Franco-Allied pressure, as Dave told his commanders to drive ever forward. The British and Portuguese position had become untenable, so they withdrew from the field in good order, much the worse for wear. The final thing that made the trip to Nashville memorable, was the attractions of the city itself. Although, as a veteran cosmic rocker, I did not appreciate it as much as a country type might, Opryland is a scene not to be missed. The Opryland Hotel, in particular is amazing. Many attractions are free, and the sternwheeler dinner/show boat, General Jackson is fantastic. I will return to Nashcon, and I urge you to try it too. Back to Dispatch Oct. 99 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com