Black Scorpion 7th Cavalry

One of the seven factions offered in Black Scorpion's Tombstone Kickstarter last year was the 7th Cavalry faction and I'm showing them here in their entirety. The regiment was constituted on 28th of July 1866 in the regular army as the 7th United States Cavalry. It was organized on 21st of September 1866 at Fort Riley, Kansas, as part of an expansion of the regular army following the demobilization of the wartime volunteer and draft forces. From 1866 through 1871, the regiment was posted to Fort Riley and fought in the American Indian Wars. In the Battle of Washita in1868, the regiment sustained 22 losses, while inflicting more that 150 deaths on a Cheyenne encampment, mostly women and children. This attack was led by George Armstrong Custer, who later led the 7th Cavalry to the most calamitous defeat of U.S. forces in the Indian Wars.
Typical of post-Civil-War cavalry regiments, the 7th Cavalry was organized as a twelve-company regiment without a formal battalion organization. Battalions at this time were flexible tactical organizations, with companies being assigned and removed as the field commander desired or felt necessary. Throughout this period, the cavalryman was armed with the .45 calibre Colt Cavalry Single Action revolvers and Trapdoor Springfield Carbines, calibre .45–70, until 1892. The regiment used the McClellan saddle. Sabres were also issued but not often carried on campaign.
From 1871 through 1873, 7th Cavalry companies participated in constabulary duties in the deep South in support of the Reconstruction Act and, for half the regiment, again in 1874–1876. In 1873, the 7th Cavalry moved its garrison post to Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory. From here, the regiment carried out Custer's 1874 Black Hills Expedition. This led to the discovery of gold in the Black Hills, starting a gold rush in 1874 that precipitated the Great Sioux war of 1876-77. In June, 1876, Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer was killed in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Montana, along with 267 soldiers of the 7th Cavalry. Although the regiment is well known for the Battle of the Little Bighorn, it also participated in other battles of the American Indian Wars, including the Battle of Bear Paw in Montana (30th of September 1877 – 5th of October 1877) and the Battle of Crow Agency in Montana (5th of November 1887). On 29th of December 1890, the regiment instigated the Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota, an event that signalled the end of the American Indian Wars.

In these two photos we have Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer on foot and mounted on a white horse. Although Black Scorpion sell him as Custer, I have no desire to use him as such. I don't plan on running any of Custer's battles in my Six Gun Sound campaign, so I will rename him when I find the right time to introduce the 7th Cavalry. That said, they are really superbly sculpted figures. Note that the horse came with separate front and back right legs, but you wouldn't be able to tell from my photos as I hid the joins so well with Milliput. Custer on foot costs £4.50 and the mounted version costs £9.60.

At the far right is an unnamed officer. Actually, I haven't got round to naming any of the figures from this faction yet. He is armed with a pair of .45 Colt Cavalry Revolvers. He costs £4.50 from the Black Scorpion webstore.

These four figures are from the 7th Cavalry Set 1 priced at £9.60 for all four of them. At the far left is a trooper with a single .45 Colt Cavalry Revolver. Next to him is a trooper with a .45 Colt Cavalry Revolver and a Sabre.

Second from the right is a trooper armed with a 12 Gauge Double-Barrelled Shotgun and .45 Colt Cavalry Revolver. The trooper at the right of the group is armed with a .45 Trapdoor Springfield Carbine and a .45 Colt Cavalry Revolver.

Next up is 7th Cavalry Set 2, consisting of four more troopers and again, they are priced at £9.60 for all four. At the far left is either an officer or an NCO armed with a .45 Colt Cavalry Revolver and a Sabre.

Next in line, from left to right, are a trooper armed with two .45 Colt Cavalry Revolvers and two troopers armed with .45 Springfield Carbines.

7th Cavalry Set 3, is also priced at £9,60 for the four figures shown directly above and below consists of three troopers armed with twin .45 Colt Cavalry Revolvers.

Last in line at the far right is a trooper armed with a 12 Gauge Double-Barrelled Shotgun and a .45 Colt Cavalry Revolver. I have no idea why two of the troopers are toting Shotguns instead of Carbines, but it does offer more variety, so I'm not complaining.
All of these figures are available from the Black Scorpion webstore and all are cast in resin. Note that I have glued all of mine to MDF bases, which I bought separately from Warbases. The 25mm diameter bases are MDF slottabases. There is no denying, the level of sculpting on these figures is extremely high. You may think that they are expensive, and I wouldn't argue with you, but bear in mind, you're paying for very high quality figures and quality comes at a price.