Meet Bloody Mary
The following is a Tory Figure for Sons of Liberty. They’re the patriots’ opposition, and they’re just as colorful as Franklin, Revere, Washington, and the gang.
Colonel Mary Stuart, Baroness Mont Stuart, Commander of the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers
Despite the grandiose titles, the colonists in America more commonly know this figure as Bloody Mary, and her regiment as the feared Morrigan Corbie. She is the only child of John Stuart, Earl of Bute, a disgraced former prime minister, and the grand daughter of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, a grand dame of London society still fondly remembered. Mary Stuart grew up immersed in the movements Britain’s ruling elite, yet she was always prevented from taking a place within it due to circumstances beyond her control – her sex.
Due to an oddity of British succession laws, however, she stands to inherit her father’s lands and titles – or at least, inherit them until she marries, at which point her husband would assume the Earldom and own the family lands. Her mother, embittered at her own sterility and blaming Mary for causing it, thrust an endless parade of suitors on her and pressed her to accept an early marriage. In order to avoid such a fate, Mary sold her silk dresses and purchased a commission in the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers, one of the few all-female regiments in the British army. She left for the colonies without even informing her parents.
The 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers was a different world entirely. In an army dominated by men, the women of the 23rd had to be perfectly poised, flawlessly competent, and savagely ruthless to earn the least measure of respect. It was the application of these three traits in Ireland that earned them the nickname of the Morrigan Corbie, after the terrible phantom queen of Irish legend. Mary found the strict organization and admiration of excellence to her liking, and made herself at home, quickly becoming a skilled officer. Despite their brutal effectiveness, however, the army’s institutionalized disdain for the Corbie’s sex meant that they were often put on the front lines, ordered far afield, and poorly provisioned. The posting to the colonies in America is no different.
In 1765, Mary is promoted from Major to Colonel by General Gauge and takes command of the Royal Welch. Gauge’s use of her regiment for the worst abuses quickly earns Stuart her own nickname, which she does not hesitate to use herself when it serves her purposes. The Royal Welch acquit themselves well at Bunker Hill, making them a notable exception in that pyrrhic victory, and participate in many of the battles and skirmishes throughout the escalating war. Throughout, Bloody Mary serves with a vicious pragmatism that quickly becomes her signature.
Abuses and Usurpations: Whenever Bloody Mary dashes patriot plans with simple, violent action, the Tory player may spend one Tyranny to steal a Queen from the end of any straight. The Tory player then discards any other card.
Addendum: Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a Georgian woman with a historical record who wasn’t a liberal-leaning writer?