CapnJim's ACW Stuff - Peters' Hill (Perryville) Full AAR - Pg. 5 - 24 Dec 24.

[CapnJim]

Thanks!

But, before we begin, an administrative announcement.  We use colored micro-dice to track hits - blue for the Union, and black for the Confederates.  Once a unit becomes Shaken, they change the die color to yellow (regardless of side). 

With that out of the way, Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you our Battle of the Wheatfield...

Part 1:  The Rebs Attack.  Again.

Gen. Semmes led his Confederate brigade forward, heading northeast toward that damned Wheatfield.  Over a wood fence they went, the left regiments gaining ground on the right regiments, and into the Rose Woods and toward Plum Run.  There, a Union brigade waited for them.  Union Col. Brook and his regimental officers and sergeants were getting their men back in order after clearing the Wheatfield of Rebs.  They could hear the Rebels coming on from the southwest...the regiments in Brook's 2nd line began to extend outward, to get his brigade into a line of regiments.



As Semmes' men advanced, Gen. Wofford brought his Rebel brigade eastward, astride the Wheatfield Road.  They began to deploy into a Brigade supported line formation.  Union Col. Sweitzer had already begun to wheel his brigade to their right, to meet this new threat.   Bigelow's guns poured canister fire into the advancing Rebs.





The Georgia Sharpshooters returned fire, felling Yankee gunners, and giving Col. Sweitzer a scare (as a sharpshooters minie ball grazed him, temporarily knocking him from his horse).



Semmes' Brigade advanced down the hill and through the woods.  As they crossed the Plum Run, they were met with Yankee volleys.





Over on the Wheatfield Road, Yankee gunners and Rebel sharpshooters traded fire.  The Reb's 16th Georgia went over a fence, and advanced straight on those Union guns, while the rest of Sweitzer's and Wofford's men maneuvered to face each other.

   

The 28th Georgia moved up to support the 16th Georgia, and they went in after those guns.



Meanwhile, Cobb's Georgia Legion had moved over to Wofford's extreme right, and charged the Union 145th Penn. (from Brook's Brigade, who had extended that brigade's line to the right, and refused it.



At Plum Run, after Brook's boys had fired into the advancing Rebs from Semmes' Brigade, the boys from Georgia returned fire.  After a brief firefight, the Union 2nd Del. routed off the field.  Semmes' boys crossed the Run, and charged up into 2 of Brook's remaining regiments.



At the Wheatfield Road, the 2 Georgia regiments saw off a section of Bigelow's Battery, after the gunners put up an unexpectedly stout fight.



This phase of the 02 July 1863 Battle of the Wheatfield, near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was just getting hot.  Stay tuned to Part 2:  First Comes Day, Then Comes Night., to see who wins this fight.  Coming soon to a device near you...!

[CapnJim]

And now, on with...

Part 2:  First Comes Day, Then Comes Night.

While Semmes' Georgia boys were going at it with Brook's boys from New York, Penn., and Conn. in the Rose Woods, Cobb's Legion chased off the 145th Penn. from the oatfield's fence line.  The 4th Mich. and 9th Mass. continued to wheel through the wheatfield to face Wofford's Rebs.

   

Speaking of Wofford's Rebs, they were taking more canister fore from the remaining section of Bigelow's battery.  The Georgia Sharpshooters retreated a bit to try to rally.



After a spirited fight, Semme's Georgians sent the rest of Brook's men packing, opening up Sweitzer's left flank to possibly be turned.



Over on the Wheatfield Road, the 28th Georgia passed through the 16th Georgia, and they all went in after the rest of Bigelow's Battery.



The 4th Mich. moved into the treeline between the oatfield and the wheatfield, while Cobb's Georgia Legion wheeled left a bit to face the 9th Mass.  Phillip's Georgia Legion moved up through the 24th Georgia to face the 4th Mich.  Both sides traded musketry as Semmes advanced his brigade up into the southwest corner of the wheatfield.  The 28th Georgia captured the rest of Bigelow's guns, but musket fire from the 32nd Mass. caused them to break and run, as well.



As Semmes moved his regiments further into the wheatfield and chased the 9th Mass. away from the fight, and Sweitzer's boys tried to hold off Wofford's Rebs, help arrived for the beleaguered Yankees.  Day brought his big, fresh brigade of Regulars into the wheatfield from the east to try to stabilize the situation.



Daylight was beginning to wane.  In the fading light, Worrord's and Sweitzer's boys traded musket volleys with each other.



In the wheatfield, the 3rd US formed line, with the 4th/6th US behind them, and slammed into the 50th Georgia, supported by the 53rd Georgia.  Yanks and Rebs both fell in droves, but neither regiment gave an inch.



Fighting raged up and down the lines.  The 4th Mich. ran Phillip's Legion off from the woodline between the fields while the Georgia Sharpshooters moved back up on the line.



Then, the 3rd US got the upper hand in their slugfest with the 50th Georgia, causing the Georgians to rout from then field.  They took their brothers in the 53rd Georgia with them.



The 64th New York had rallied and come back on the field behind Sweitzer's boys. but night was falling.  Wofford's Rebs and Sweitzer's yanks traded their final volleys as twilight faded into dark.



The Confederates had given just enough more than they had gotten, and the Yankees would pull back from the wheatfield, with Day's Regulars acting as their read guard.  As night fell, the Rebs owned the wheatfield, but they were in no position to exploit their costly triumph.  When darkness arrived on 02 July, after having been the scene of back-and-forth battle all afternoon and evening, over 4,000 men, in blue, butternut, and gray, lay dead or wounded in and around the wheatfield.

Our fight went well.  While the details may have differed in how we fought this battle compared to historical troop maneuvering, the tactical conclusion pretty much mirrored the historical outcome.  I'll tell ya, the more we play Valour & Fortitude (4 times now, twice in the AWI, and once each in the ECW and ACW), the more we like it.  And this scenario worked out very well, producing a thrilling game.

On other administrative note:  The 3 card on the Union Scenario sheet should read "...Then roll a d4 and multiply the roll by 6, to give a result from 4 to 24."  And victory was determined by comparing the number of "Defeats" suffered by each side.  It was 2 Union defeats to 1 Confederate Defeat, for the Confederate minor win.

[blacksoilbill]

This battle makes for great reading and looks fantastic too. I've just finished Guelzo's 'Gettysburg: The Last Invasion', so had your account echoing with his description.

I look forward to trying V&F somewhere down the track. They sound good.

[CapnJim]

Thanks!  And go ahead and give the V&F rules a spin.  As I mentioned, we are really liking them.

[CapnJim]

Ok.  This Friday (the 20th) my gaming group is going back to the American Civil War.  We are going to fight the Battle of Peters' Hill (part of the Perryville Campaign) in 15mm, using Gettysburg Soldiers rules.  The scenario is adapted from The Guns at Gettysburg scenario book Heartland: The Battles for Kentucky and The Tennessee.  According to the scenario book, some of the various reinforcements weren't actually committed to the fight, so this is a bit of a "What if?" kinda fight.

Here is the Union Scenario Sheet:



And here is the Confederate Scenario Sheet:



We gather at my wargames building at 1100 hrs. Friday.  Of course, I will post an illustrated AAR after we fight it out...

[CapnJim]

Okay.  We played this scenario out this Friday past.  As the scenario mentions, we used Gettysburg Soldiers rules.  And we used some of my 15mm figures.

David played the Yanks, and Ted played the Rebs.  I acted as GM/umpire.

As I previously mentioned, this is a bit of a "What if?" scenario.  The Yankee forces presented were part of the fight, but only Liddell's Confederate brigade and Wheeler's cavalry appeared at the time.  Polk ordered Buckner NOT to reinforce Liddell, and the Yanks fairly easily pushed Liddell off the hill and across Bull Run Creek.  Wheeler's cavalry made a brief appearance, and then promptly left the area.  This scenario supposes that Polk gave Buckner permission to reinforce Liddell, thus the appearance of Johnson's Brigade.  It made for quite the fight.

Here's Part 1 of the AAR..

Part 1:  Head for the Hill!

It was dark.  Damn dark.  Dawn was still almost an hour away.   Brig. Gen. Sheridan, having been tasked to take Peters' Hill (west of the town of Perryville), sent McCook with his brigade forward.   He also sent word to Laibolt and Fry to bring their brigades up, and to Gay to bring his cavalry and guns.  McCook advanced toward Peters' Hill, his regiments in line abreast.  There were reports of Rebs on Peters' Hill, but in unknown strength.





In fact, there was just one small veteran Arkansas regiment up there, from Liddell's Brigade.  The rest of Liddell's men, also veterans, were back behind Bull Run Creek.  With reports of an unknown number of Yanks advancing toward the hill, Liddell ordered his other two Arkansas regiments forward, and brought up his battery of guns, as well.  Buckner brought Johnson's Brigade and his battery of guns up behind Lidell.



It was slowly getting lighter out.  Buckner and his 2 brigades kept up their advance west toward Peters' Hill.  They could hear musket fire coming from the top of the hill.

 

That musket fire was Liddell's boys engaging 2 regiments of Yankee infantry in the light woods on top of the hill.  In the increasing light of the pre-dawn hour, men in blue and gray fell.  And Sheridan came in with Laibolt's brigade.  They advanced behind McCook's men.



The sun, by now, was nearly up.  It was just appearing at the horizon behind the Confederates.  Buckner and his 2 brigades kept advancing toward Peters' Hill.



The Yanks were doing the same thing.  As 2 of McCook's regiments were slowly driving those Arkansas boys back up on the hill, his other regiment advanced through the open area south of the light woods.  Laibolt's men advanced up the hill, still behind McCook's boys.



While that lone Reb regiment hung on for dear life on the hill (slowly being pushed back), the rest of the Rebs kept coming.  The sun had just risen, and they could hear the musketry in the woods up on the hill, and could see a Yank regiment on the crest of the hill, just south of the woods.



But the Rebs got there too late.  The remnants of the Reb regiment that had been up on Peters' Hill came running back east, down the hill.  And there weren't very many of them.  The Yanks now owned Peters' Hill, and Fry's Yanks were up there now, advancing up the Springfield Pike. 





It was time for Buckner to contest the issue.  The Reb batteries set up to support the advance.  And the Confederate attack on Peters' Hill commenced.  The Yanks, now in command of the high ground, readied themselves.  Many of the Bluebellies were green, but they had done well so far.  It would now be time for them to really see the elephant...     





Finally, Gay grought his cavalry and the gun batteries up.  They advanced, heading toward the Union left flank.



Contact!  The Rebs headed up the hill.  A more general muketry ensued, and Confederate cannons roared from the valley floor.  The real fight for Peters' Hill had begun.



See who wins the fight for Peter's Hill in Part 2: the Fight for the Hill, which I plan to post soon.  Thanks for reading. 

[AKULA]

Great report as always mate 

ACW is one of those periods I keep coming back to... currently in a lull but would love to give it one more go at some point.

[syrinx0]

Wonderful AAR.  What mat are you using for your table?

[CapnJim]

Great report as always mate 

ACW is one of those periods I keep coming back to... currently in a lull but would love to give it one more go at some point.

Thanks.  Our group goes back to the ACW every now and then, too.  Like this fight, for example...

Wonderful AAR.  What mat are you using for your table?

Thanks.  The mat is a 6'x4' Geek Villain "Grassy Hill" fleece mat.  I think they are still selling it...

And now, without any further ado, I present to y'all...

Part 2: The Fight for the Hill

As the two Rebel brigades advanced up Peters' Hill toward the Yankees who were waiting for them at the top, Gay and his cavalry and guns moved up the Union left.



Onward and upward the Confederates came.  On their right, Liddell's boys went in with cold steel against McCooks Yanks.  On the left, it was musketry between Liddell's other regiment and regiments from both McCook's and Laibolt's brigades.

 



The Confederate batteries supported the Rebel attack from the valley floor.



On the Rebel right, Liddell's regiment was thrown back from their charge.  Units from Johnson's brigade moved up.  More musket volleys rattled the wooded hill.



Then it was time for another Rebel push on the hill.   While Liddell's left regiment continued their musket duel with the Yanks over there, Johnson's brigade went all in, along with a regiment from Liddell's brigade, charging into the boys from McCook's and Laibolt's regiments.  Gay's Union cavalry turned toward the rebel's right flank.  One regiment went hard right, heading for the Reb infantry on the hill, while the other headed down into the valley below.  the Yankee guns set up to fire on the Confederates' flanks.





Most of the Rebs were sent back down the hill, save one of Johnson's regiments.  The green Yankees were mostly holding their own!  The Rebs did send one Union regiment back down their own side of the hill.



So, the Rebs went up the hill a third time, and would go back down a third time.  All the while the musket fight on the southern flank went on.   Gay's cavalry kept threatening the Confederate right flank.  And the Union guns were beginning to whittle away at the Reb batteries.





The sun was getting higher in the sky.  And the Confederates were starting to feel the pinch.  The Yankees had gotten the upper hand in the musket duel on the southern flank, and Laibolt's and McCook's boys were slowly pushing Liddell's fellas back.  Gray and butternut-clad men could be seen running east out of the woods.



One of Gay's cavalry regiments got their blood up, and charged Liddell's right regiment down in the valley.  They would pay a steep price for their charge, and would be sent packing by the formed Reb infantry.



Gay's other regiment would have better luck.  While the Union guns fired on any target they could see before them, Johnson's last regiment went back up the hill (a fourth time for the Rebs, if you're counting).  The green Yankee infantry held their ground as their brothers in the cavalry swept in on the Rebs' flank.  Johnson's last regiment didn't really stand a chance.  It was cut to pieces, the survivors sent streaming back down the hill in panic.

 



The game was up.  Buckner was running out of men.  He sounded the retreat, and the fight was over.

The Result

At the end of the 12th turn, The Confederates only had one regiment in good order on the hill (on the Reb side, below the crest) - Liddell's left regiment, on the southern flank. Liddell's other regiment was down in the valley floor.  Both regiments had taken casualties.  And Liddell's regiment that started up on the hill was pretty much destroyed.  In fact, Johnson's brigade was also mauled badly.  And the artillery had been beaten up some.  Buckner's Division would not be able to play much or a part in the rest of the Battle of Perryville.

Conversely, Sheridan's troops fared better.  They pretty much owned Peters' Hill.  While Sheridan's brigades had taken a fair amount of casualties, they were in a bit better shape overall then the Rebs.  They still had several formed infantry regiments on the hill, as well as cavalry and artillery.

The Rebs definitely got the short end of this stick.  Perhaps Polk was indeed wise not to have Buckner reinforce Liddell, and had him pull back behind Bull Run Creek.

[syrinx0]

Thanks for another great report.  An interesting 'what if' battle.

[CapnJim]

Thanks for another great report.  An interesting 'what if' battle.

Thanks!  And it was indeed interesting.