Special guest battle report from Jeremy DeBary during 2026 Summer of Plunder.
Introduction
I’ve been playing Blood & Plunder a year – my first game last year was the first week of Summer of Plunder 2025.
Because of my local loyalties to Florida and my Native American ancestry, I’m building and painting my forces in accordance with the Spanish and Native American cultures of Florida during the time period. For this Summer of Plunder I’ll be running Mission Spanish and Mvskoke (Creek) forces (other than the Guale and Timucuan cultures, much of the Native American culture of North Florida was Mvskoke – for example the Apalachee and Palachicola).
I’m working on some more correct vegetation for Florida – more palm trees! I utilized a couple of MDF buildings from Bolt Action as well as some bits from my Baron’s War set, and some 3D printed scatter terrain I bought from my local gaming store, Warpfire Minis. The game mat is a felt 6×4 from Geek Villains. One of the fields is the Blood and Plunder farmed field, the other two fields are from HRC Warrgaming Terrain.
Scenario Intro
I was unable to play at the local store due to family obligations so I played the week 1 scenario, Sortie from Castillo de san Marcos, Spanish vs. English at home, solo.
I used the suggested forces directly from the week 1 scenario. I used Sea Dogs models as proxy for Indian Fighters, and Freebooters as proxy for Provincials. Instead of the suggested generic English Commander, I used the stats for Jonathan Barnet in the Force Builder. This gave me a little better stats for the same points cost. Not historically accurate, but he operated out of the Caribbean and is known for capturing Calico Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read. For my Spanish forces, my minis didn’t need any proxies.
English Force
Spanish Force
Game Setup
I used some farm animals from Bolt Action including cows, chickens, donkeys, goats, and sheep. I moved them randomly an inch or two (I didn’t measure) at the start of each turn, until the shooting started. Then I moved them away from the shooting, however, one donkey still got caught in the crossfire.
My board set up wasn’t exactly with the scenario, as my playmat already had a road printed on it, so I wanted the houses to line up with the road as they would have at that time in Saint Augustine. I’ve visited many times, and have participated in multiple historical reenactments, so I believe I have the board arranged as some houses might be on the outskirts of the town. Once I have proper period buildings I’ll use one of the maps of the town that I have found during research. I did have to adjust the layout a bit before starting the game, so as to fit the scenario better.
The Spanish started in their Deployment Zone near one edge.
A single English unit on the Defender’s Deployment zone on the opposite edge. The scenario called for half the total force (rounding down) to be placed in Reserves. I chose to field the English Militia with the English Commander first, followed by the 6 Indian Fighters, then the 6 Provincials.
Battle Report – Sortie from Castillo San Marcos
The 7 Spanish Lanceros under the command of Zuniga y la Cerda and the 4 Milicianos Indios made it to the larger of the two houses early on in the first turn and immediately began attempting to set the house on fire.
Luck was against them, though, and even with torches they were unable to get anything going. The forces obeyed all Zuniga’s commands, but to no avail.
Barnet led his English Militia past the smaller of the two houses and took up a position behind a low stone wall and a chicken coop. They were slowed a bit at first by some sheep, but were able to move through them without any trouble.
The 8 Spanish Milicianos Reformados moved forward towards the stables, but had to navigate around a small field and a small herd of cows. This slowed them somewhat, giving the English militia a chance to take their position.
Once past the cows the Milicianos moved close to a high stone wall in hopes of crossing the road and burning the other house. Their plans were stopped when the English Militia opened fire, and the Indian Fighters moved to back them up, coming through a kitchen garden across from the stable. As soon as they got within range, they opened fire on the Milicianos.
The Milicianos returned fire, taking down two of the Indian Fighters. The Indian Fighters immediately moved across the road to use the corner of the stable as cover, and the Milicianos moved closer to the stable, losing a man in the process.
The Spanish forces behind the larger house continued to try to get a fire started, but were still having trouble with their torches. The wind dropped to a lull, so that even if they had succeeded, the fire would not have spread well. Fate would not look favorably on Zuniga’s plans this day.
Eventually, English Provincials entered the fray, following the Indian Fighters’ path through the kitchen garden, but the garden caused them some trouble, slowing their advance. Knowing they would not get to the other house, the Milicianos began trying to burn the stable between returning fire. A wayward donkey that had gotten caught in the crossfire and couldn’t figure out which way to go to escape provided some cover for them.
It reminded me of the scene in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie in the forge. The other animals didn’t cause any impediment to either force, though the cows near the stable did slow the Milicianos somewhat.
The English Militia managed to take down another Miliciano while the Provincials continued to move into range to open fire on the Milicianos. all the forces were beginning to feel the stress of battle. The Indian Fighters and the Milicianos were visibly showing their fatigue.
The Reformados were being picked off slowly, a man or two at a time. Towards the end of the action, they were able to rally and set the stable on fire, but at this point 6 English Provincials had joined the fight, and the Spanish Commander called the sortie off and ordered a strategic withdrawal back to the Castillo, leaving the English the victors with only 2 men down and 1 Strike Point. The Spanish had 8 casualties and 2 Strike Points.
Resolution & Thoughts on the Scenario
In this action, the English were able to repel the Spanish sortie. I may try this scenario again this week to see if it comes out differently.
I was very happy to see a Florida and Saint Augustine scenario. I hope to see more scenarios in Florida, perhaps for Fort Matanzas to the south of Saint Augustine or Pensacola (I’m in the planning stages of building a scale model of Fort Matanzas). In the future I hope to print some Spanish buildings to match some of the real buildings in Saint Augustine.
I was expecting the half the defender’s forces being in Reserve to be quite the impediment to them in battle, but the difficulty of getting the Fires started balanced it out in this instance. The first couple of attempts I forgot about the bonus Torches provided to starting a Fire, then in Turn 5 I started using Fortune Points to reroll the starting fire rolls, but no luck! The Milicianos surprised me. When I rolled for them, they were not only able to rally, but in Turn 6 they were able to get the Fire going in the stable. My rolls weren’t great for either side – it took until Turn 4 before the last English unit was able to come into the game. However, the English Militia managed to pick off at least a man a turn from the Milicianos.
Notes on Terrain
I actually used my Bolt Action MDF buildings and some bits from my Barons War set for scatter terrain. I tried to set it up from what I’ve seen on my visits to Saint Augustine and my research into the time period. (I’m a local high school history teacher and Seminole War reenactor.)
Battle Report by Jeremy De Bary.
Jose de Zuniga y la Cerda Mini
Spanish Commander Zuniga model painted by Dr. D. This mini will be given away at the end of the first week of the campaign.
Share a Battle Report During Summer of Plunder
Thanks to Jeremy for sharing his great looking game and writing up a report!
If you would like to share a report on one of your games during this year’s Summer of Plunder campaign, check the appropriate box next to the Comments/Battle Report portion of the Entry Form. Include plenty of pictures of different types styles and a fun write up.