CapnJim's ACW Stuff - Gettysburg Wheatfield Complete AAR - Pg. 5 - 22 Jul 24.

[CapnJim]

Tomorrow (Friday), my regular gaming groups is set to play the Battle of Grimball's Landing, during the James Island campaign in July 1863.  The battle will be in 15mm, using Gettysburg Soldiers rules.  It is based on a scenario included in a recent issue of Miniature Wargames magazine.

Here is the Union Scenario information:



And, here is the Confederate Scenario information:



Of course, I'll post an AAR after we fight it out....stay tuned...

[Redshank]

I was intrigued by the presence of a Union regt from South Carolina in the orbat - interesting stuff.

[CapnJim]

Yeah - both the 2nd SC and the 54th MA were (in the contemporary vernacular) Colored Troops.

The fight yesterday (Friday) was very interesting. I should have the AAR posted here within the next couple days...

[CapnJim]

Now, it's time for the Battle Report.  As I mentioned previously, this scenario was based on one included in a recent issue of Miniature Wargames.  It depicts the first fight of the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry and the 2nd South Caroline Colored Infantry (brigaded together under Col. Montgomery, in Terry's Division).  The actual battle was smaller, and this scenario assumes both the Confederates and Union commanders committed more troops into a Division-level engagement.  The 54th MA's part of the fight was depicted in the movie Glory. 

And a couple of notes for any purists out there.  As I do not yet have any Colored Troops painted up, The 54th MA and 2nd were portrayed by white regiments.  And the palm trees I used are nor really accurate for South Carolina.  They should have been palmetto trees.  Oh well...

Anyway, on to the report.  Ted played the Confederates, while gene played the Union.  I acted as GM.

Here is a shot of the battlefield, looking south.  The wooded swamps were impassable, and blocked line of sight.  The deep water ponds were also impassable, but provided light cover for units being shot at across them.  The shallow stream between the ponds was rough terrain, and did not affect line of sight.  The roads added the rules' usual movement bonus for units in march column.



The 54th MA and 104th PA started out on the board, as depicted here (54th MA on the left, with the 104th PA on the right).



The first action saw Col. Colquitt deliberately deploying his Rebel regiments into line to the north, while Brig. Gen. Stevenson came on with his Union regiments from the northwest.



Meanwhile, Confederate Col. Radcliffe brought his 61st NC on from the northeast, and headed for the 104th PA.



Things got interesting on the western side of the battlefield.  BG Stevenson deployed his 3 Union regiments into line, and headed for Col. Colquitt's right flank.  Col. Montgomery brought up his 2nd SC to support the 54th MA.  On the Confederate side, Col. Colquitt deployed his 2 Georgia regiments to face south, while he ordered the 25th SC to face west to guard against the Yankee regiments closing in from that direction.  Reb Col. Way brought his 2 Georgia regiments south to support Col. Colquitt's attack.





To the east, after the Yankee 104th PA and the Reb 61st NC traded musketry, the 61st NC charged home against the boys from Pennsylvania, driving them back.





The situation to the west continued to develop as Col. Colquitt's and Col. Way's Confederate brigades faced off against the Union brigades of BG Stevenson and Col. Montgomery.  The sounds of massed musketry rang out...





Union BG Stevenson's regiments drove the 25th SC and 54th Georgia Regiments before them, while the 54th MA and 2nd SC charged the 6th and 19th Georgia...Both Union and Confederate officers joined in those fights, and BG Stevenson would go down, bayonetted by a SC soldier.  The 100th NY came on from the south, and headed north to support Montgomery's brigade.



Meanwhile, Union Col. Davis and the rest of his brigade (along with BG Terry) came up from the south, and headed northwest to join in the fight.



Stevenson's Union Brigade (now commanded by someone else...) continued to drive the Rebs before them, coming in behind the Rebs of Col.'s Colquitt and Way.  But the Union 54th MA and 2nd SC had been pushed south, selling their lives dearly to hold up the Confederate advance.



Meanwhile, to the east, Col. Radcliffe and the remnants of the 61st NC has slipped around Union Col. Davis' regiments and gotten off to the south.  So, Col. Davis headed with all due speed to the northwest, to try to trap the rest of the Rebel regiments as they continued to slowly push the 54th MA, 2nd SC, and 100th NY south.  Rebel BG Hagood and Col. Colquitt would go down in that fighting, and the Yankees by now were slowly grinding the Confederates down.

 



Things were looking grim for the Rebs.  They were down to 2 battered regiments, and had 2 Union brigades closing in on them - one from the north, and another from the southwest.  The Rebs had slowly ground down the Yankee 3rd Brigade, but the gig was up.  What was left of the confederate 1st Sub-Division surrendered, and the battle was over.





As Confederate Col. Radcliffe had gotten his 61st NC off the board to the south, it was technically a Rebel minor victory.  However, they had spent their entire 1st Sub-Division in doing so, losing 5 big regiments in the process.  Those troops would play no further part in the campaign, while the Yankees still had a reasonably strong division still in the field.  So, while it was a minor tactical victory for the Rebs, it was an operational defeat for them in the bigger picture...

But, we all had fun playing it out.  The Gettysburg Soldiers rules worked well for this fight, and we fought the 15 turns, to a tactical conclusion, in right around 2 hours.

[MaleGriffin]

Great looking game! Excellent AAR!

[CapnJim]

Great looking game! Excellent AAR!

Thanks.  Appreciate it!

[CapnJim]

My gaming group has set its next 2 games, and this next one is going to be an ACW fight this coming Friday (08 March).  We're gonna do it in 15mm, and use Osprey's new With Hot Lead and Cold Steel.  I'll post the scenario info later this week after I do it up.  And, of course, i'll post an AAR afterwards.

[General Lee]

Thanks for sharing these bat reps CapnJim! Really appreciate it.

Cheers,
Arthur

[CapnJim]

Thanks for sharing these bat reps CapnJim! Really appreciate it.

Cheers,
Arthur

Thanks!  Please note that the preceding AARs were games fought using either Gettysburg Soldiers or Black Powder rules.  As I mentioned, this next fight will be with your With Hot Lead and Cold Steel rules.  We are quite intrigued by the rules, an are looking forward to giving them a go tomorrow (Friday).

After perusing my various scenario books, I decided to try the Battle of Iuka scenario in the Guns at Gettysburg Scenarios 1: Heartland - The Battles for Kentucky and the Tennessee scenario book, by Paul Stevenson.

I'm pretty much taking the scenario right out of the book, with a couple minor tweaks to the OOB (based on a couple other sources).  Here are the scenarios sheets for our fight:





We will play the game with 15mm figures.  As such (per the rules) distances and ranges are halved.  To use 28mm figures with this scenario, use standard ranges and distances in the rules, and use a bigger table (say, 8'x6' or so).

As you can see, we will be using a Division and an Army commander for both sides.  I'll post an AAR after we play, and will include our thoughts on the rules (if I think we have anything interesting to share...). 

[CapnJim]

Well, we played the battle of Iuka game this Friday past, using Osprey's new With Hot lead and Cold Steel rules.  Ted took the Yankees, while Gene took the Rebs.  I acted as GM.  If you haven't read the scenario sheet in the previous post, doing so would be helpful...

Very interesting battle.  Here's how it went:

Part 1:  Give Me One Brigade, and I Will Take That Hill...

Union General Hamilton led one of his brigades (Sanborn's Brigade) at the double quick northeast up the Jacinto road to the junction with the Iuka Road.  Once they got to the junction (by the old meeting house), Hamilton and Sanborn ordered the 5 regiments and the battery in the brigade to form a line with regiments abreast along the Jacinto Road, north of the Iuka Road.  Gen. Rosecrans, and Sullivan and his brigade followed up the Jacinto Road, while Mower and his brigade were some distance behind.  Col. Mizner led his 3rd Michigan Cavalry regiment north up the Mill Road, to harass the confederate left flank.







East of them, Confederate General Little led Hebert and his brigade west along the Iuka Road.  Gen. Price and Martin and his brigade were some distance behind, moving west along the same road.



Both sides had the intent to occupy the large hill that was immediately north of the Iuka Road.  Once Sanborn's Union brigade was on line, Hamilton and Sanborn gave the orders to advance toward that hill.  Unfortunately, some of the regimental commanders were confused.  While 2 regiments marched east toward the hill, the left regiment and the right two regiments backed up (which blocked the road for Sullivan's Brigade).





Price and Hebert ordered Hebert's regiments to form 2 lines along the Iuka Road, with 3 regiments up and 2 back.  They set about doing so.



Hamilton and Sanborn got their Union regiments sorted out, and a semblance of a line marched forward toward the big central hill.  Rosecrans and Sullivan marched Sullivan's regiments behind Sanborn's brigade.  Their intent was to form another brigade line behind Sanborn's brigade, to support the attack on the hill.



Mower's brigade came on the field, marching up the Jacinto road...



...while the Union cavalry troopers dismounted into a firing line, to threaten the Reb left flank.  Hebert ordered his leftmost regiment to turn to face the Union cavalry.



Price and Martin's Brigade moved on from the east, along the Iuka road.



While the main armies maneuvered, the Union cavalry fired sharp volleys into the lefternmost Reb regiment (the 40th Miss.), who retreated in the face of that fire.  Hebert ordered the 2 Texas regiments, in lieu of forming a 2nd line for the brigade, to move left to reinforce his left flank, and to try to drive off that Union cavalry.   



Meanwhile, the 40th Miss. reformed behind the rest of Hebert's Brigade, while Martin's Brigade formed a column of regiments.  Hebert's batteries began to deploy.



Sanborn's Yankee brigade moved up on the big hill, deploying the big Union battery at the peak.  Sullivan's Brigade prepared to form line of regiments abreast to march up the hill in support of Sanborn, while Mower brought his brigade further up the Jacinto Road.



Reb artillery on their right opened fire on the Yanks on the hill...



...while Hebert's Texans traded volleys with the Michigan cavalry.  And Sullivan's Yankees began their march up the hill.



The engagement became more general.  Sanborn's Union Brigade advanced further east on the hill, while Sullivan's Brigade marched behind them in support.   Hebert's Confederate Brigade was on the Rebel left, while on the Reb right, Martin's Brigade moved to the base of the hill in column of regiments.  The fight for the hill was about to begin...



Stay tuned for Part 2:  The Fight for the Hill..  This will be the thrilling conclusion to this battle.  I should have it posted either later today or tomorrow (Tuesday).

[CapnJim]

And now...Part 2 0f 2:  The Fight for the Hill.

In Part 1, Sanborn's Union Brigade had occupied the big hill, with Sullivan's brigade behind them in support.  Both Union batteries had set up at the crest of the hill.  Mower's Union Brigade was still marching (slowly) up to the fight, having stalled by the old Meeting House. near the junction of the Jacinto and Iuka Roads.  The Union cavalry was harassing the Confederate left flank.

Hebert's Confederate Brigade was at the base of that big hill, on the Rebel left, with the 14th/17th Ark. and the 2nd Louis. in line facing west, and the 2 Texas regiments facing off against the Union cavalry.  The 40th Miss. had reformed,  and was now the brigade reserve.  Martin's brigade was at the Rebel right, formed in column of regiments at the base of the big hill.  The Reb batteries were setting up on the Reb flanks.  The scene was set for the fight for that big hill.

The Union struck first.  4 regiments from Sanborn's Brigade attacked west, hitting 3 Reb regiments.  The attack mostly failed, destroying one union regiment, and sending 2 more streaming back up the hill.  But the left-most Union regiment was successful, driving the 14th/17th Ark. from the field.  The right-most regiment from Sanborn's Union brigade fired a volley into the lead regiment of Martin's Rebel Brigade, sending them running to the rear, right through the regiments lined up behind them..  They took 2 more Reb regiments with them. 



Meanwhile, Mower's Union brigade continued to (slowly) march up toward the fighting.



More cannon and musket fire went up and down the hill.  The 38th Miss. reformed behind the Reb lines, while 2 Union regiments from Sanborn's Brigade kept running.



On the Confederate left, the 2 Texas regiments finally sent the Union cavalry skedaddling back to the south, while a Reb artillery battery and the 40th Miss. deployed to face the Union regiment that was pressing there.

 

The Texas regiments pursued the Union cavalry, while the 40th Miss. charged and the Reb guns fired canister into the Union regiment.



Rebel regiments launched a wild charge up the hill, catching a Union regiment in the rear... 



...while the melee raged on the Rebel left...



...and the Texas regiments sent the Union cavalry packing.



The Rebel charges had mixed success.  On their left, the 40th Miss and the battery sent that Union regiment running back up the hill, while a Miss. regiment that had caught a Union regiment in the rear sent it packing right in front of the Union guns.  That Reb regiment was now facing 10 Union guns at point blank range, and a 3rd Confederate regiment was defeated, and ran away.



The 10 Union guns poured canister into that Reb regiment.  It withered in the face of such fire, and streamed back down hill in retreat, taking another Reb regiment with it.



The Mich. cavalry continued their retreat.  They would take no further part in the battle.  But they had done their job, siphoning 3 Confederate regiments off to deal with them. 



The Confederate battery tried their best to stem the Yankee tide...



...while the right Reb battery destroyed one of the Union batteries on the hill.  Yankee musket fire drove the 40th Miss. from the base of the hill, and the 2 Reb regiments from Martin's brigade quit the field. Things were now looking rather grim for the Confederates.

 

With the Union cavalry taken care of, the 2 Texas regiments turned around to deal with the disaster unfolding behind them.  The 40th Miss. streamed past them, in full retreat...and the battery on the Reb left flank had been damaged by Union counter-battery fire... 



...while Yankee regiments bore down on them.  Mower's Brigade, now commanded by one of the Regimental Commanders (as Gen. Mower had been killed) finally arrived at the scene of the battle.



And more Yank regiments bore down on the right Rebel battery, who by now had limbered up and were trying to escape.



Gen. Price clearly saw that his gig was up.  Little's Division in tatters, either lying dead or wounded on the field or streaming back toward Iuka.  Price sent orders for his remaining guns to get out of there, and for the 2 Texas regiments to fight a rear guard action back to Iuka.  The battle was over.

Gen. Rosecrans had done it.  At the expense of Sanborn's Brigade, he had all but destroyed Little's Division.  Union Gen. Ord (with Gen. Grant) was supposed to come down from the north to trap the Confederates, but due to an acoustical shadow, he never launched his attack.  But it didn't matter.  The job was done.  The Union now had the operational advantage in northeast Mississippi...

Our Thoughts on the With Hot Lead and Cold Steel Rules.

We enjoyed these rules.  We got just a couple things wrong (like we kept forgetting the post-melee fatigue points, for example).  We have identified our errors, and look forward to playing these rules again.

In WHLCS, each turn's sequence of whether the Yanks or Rebs go first is decided by an initiative roll.  Prior to doing that, army commanders roll a d5 (a d10/2) and add 1.  That gives them between 2 and 6 "Aide de Camp" points to use each turn.  These AdC points can be used to affect initiative, or to help elements pass order tests.  Units must be ordered by commanders to conduct move/maneuver actions (move, change formation, etc.).  In our game, the Yanks had 4 brigades (counting Col. Mizner and the 3rd Mich. Cavalry), along with a Division and an Army Commander.  The Rebs only had 2 brigades, along with a Division and an Army Commander.  That gave the Rebs a bit of an advantage, as they had fewer commanders to split the AdC points between.  As both sides saw Division and Army Commanders rolling orders tests for units within their command ranges, this was a very intriguing and interesting dynamic, particularly for the Union Commander.  He had to husband his AdC points very carefully.

Another feature we liked was the Unexpected Event Table,  If a commander rolls a natural "1" on an order test (which generally can't be re-rolled), he then has to roll on that chart.  That happened 5 times (at one point, 3 order tests in a row).  For example, we saw Sanborn's Brigade do it early on, with 2 regiments moving forward, while 3 backed up.  Another saw Gen. Mower die, even though he was nowhere near the fighting.  Apparently he fell of his horse and hit his head...and yet another saw some rebel regiments conduct a premature charge up the big hill, about a turn before the Confederate player was really ready to do that.  All very intriguing, and it all added to the narrative of the fight.

Yet another interesting feature is that units could fire back at the units that had fired at them, as long as they hadn't fired yet that turn.  There were a few times where the players had to give that some thought to determine of that was to their advantage or not. 

Even another feature is that artillery can fire in either of 2 points in a turn.  We liked that.  On the Rebel left, when the 40th Miss. charged that Union infantry regiment, the Reb battery hit the Yanks with canister fire first to soften them up.  Cool!  Well, unless you were that Union infantry...

All in all, we liked the rules, and will definitely be playing them again.  Given that units degrade in fighting capability and morale as they take casualties, I will be doing the unit sheets in a different format in order to reduce chart-flipping, but by the end of the game, we weren't doing a whole lot of that.

Well done, Arthur!  As I mentioned, we liked these rules...

[CapnJim]

Well, it's time.  I have loads of 15mm ACW stuff (as you can see from my AARs).  But, I have decided to get into 28mm ACW now.  And I'm going to build my initial forces for an obscure battle - Valverde, in the New Mexico territory in 1862.

I have amasses a fair amount of Perry Miniatures hard plastic stuff, so that will form the bulk of my units.  I'm starting with the 5th Texas Cavalry, with their 2 companies of lancers.  I have them all primed up, and painted a test figure yesterday (taking a break to go outside and watch the solar eclipse..).  My guess is I'll have the 5th Texas done in a couple weeks, and I'll post pics when they are indeed done.

I am almost finished developing a scenario for Valverde using With Hot lead and Cold Steel.  Once I have it done, I will post it here as well.

As I am also going to be painting some WW2 stuff during this time, it'll take quite some time to get the units foro Valverde done (based on the rate at which I paint...).  I'll post pics of the various units as I go...

[CapnJim]

A couple things.  First off, I've drafted the Scenario Sheets for the Battle of Valverde, using With Hot lead and Cold Steel rules.  Of course, these could be fairly easily adapted to fit whatever rules with which one might wish to play.  Here are the Scenario Sheets:

 





And here are the Unit Stats we'll be using:



Also, I've prepped the figures for the 5th Texas Cavalry.  It's a 7-stand unit, including 2 stands of lancers.  I've painted up a test stand to see how I do on 28mm ACW figures - I started with a stand of lancers.  They are Perry Miniatures plastics, with plastic lancer hands (maker unknown to me) from some Napoleonic sprues my wargaming bud Ted donated to the project.  Here they are, from various angles...









I think they turned out OK.  I'll be working on the other 12 figures (2 more lancer figures, and 10 bog-standard Rebs) in the unit over the next couple weeks, and I'll post pics of the unit when it's done.

Any comments, critiques, or suggestions, on both the scenario and the figures, are welcome...

[Pan Marek]

I've been thinking of doing Valverde myself.   Our group uses F&F.  The only thing I can't decifer in your OOB is the Confederate weapons marked "CC".
What does that represent?

Thanks.

[CapnJim]

Cavalry carbines.  In WHLCS, confederate cavalry carbines fire a bit less effectively than Union Cavalry with breech loading carbines (BLCs).  This represents the (usually) better armaments of Union troopers - Yank cavalrymen with BLCs get a bonus to their fire dice (in addition to those in the Unit Stats above).  And that definitely played a part at Valverde...