The Battle of Bakersville

The Battle of Bakersville

Ian, Mark and myself played a game of Black Powder American Civil War at the White Hart on Thursday evening.

Overview

A screening Union Brigade is holding off two Brigades of Confederates, the Confederates have a single battalion in reserve while the Union have two Brigades held off table. Both players would try to take hold strategically important built up areas, Bakersville on the Union left flank and Smiths Farm on their right.

Both forces are a re-hash of ones used in earlier games of Black Powder American Civil War games.

As usual, all the terrain is mine - although I did forget my box of trees - the buildings are from the Total Battle Miniatures 

'Americana' range. All the figures are mine, painted by myself, from the Adler Miniatures 6mm ACW range.

The battlefield and initial deployments from the Union side

I employ a few tweaks to the normal Black Powder rules when playing these ACW games:

1. Brigades are considered broken when over half of their units are shaken / destroyed
2. If at the start of it's orders phase a Brigade is broken, it has the course of that movement phase to attempt to 'Rally On Me' and remove the broken state. If still Broken at the end of it's Orders phase then the Brigade is treated as a Broken Brigade.
3. Artillery is factored slightly differently, Rifles are more effective at long range and less effective at close range, you'll see this in the Orders of Battle below.
4. I use 6 gun batteries to represent Union artillery and 4 gun batteries to represent the Confederates. The Union batteries count as larger units and get +1 dice for close range, +1 HtH and +1 Stamina this is represented in the Orders of Battle.

Union Order of Battle

Major-General Theodore P. Armitage – Staff Value 8  (High Independence)

First Brigade - Brigadier General Thaddeus L. Bragg – Staff Value 7 - (Low Aggression, High Decisiveness)

Unit	Type	Armament	HtH	Shooting	Morale	Stamina	Special
38rd New York	Large Infantry	Rifled Muskets	8	4	4+	4
14th New Jersey	Large Infantry	Rifled Muskets	8	4	4+	4
15th New  York	Large Infantry	Rifled Muskets	8	4	4+	4
Detachment 1st US Sharpshooters	Small Infantry	Breech Loading Rifles	4	2	4+	4	Marauders, Skirmish, Reliable, Sharpshooters
4th United States, Battery K	Artillery	Rifled Artillery	2	3-2-2	4+	3

Second Brigade - Brigadier General Stephen L. Carr – Staff Value 7 (Low Independence)

Unit	Type	Armament	HtH	Shooting	Morale	Stamina	Special
8th  New York	Large Infantry	Rifled Muskets	8	4	4+	4	Reliable
27th Pennsylvania	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Reliable
16th Massachusetts	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Reliable
26th Pennsylvania	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Reliable
Detachment 1st US Sharpshooters	Small Infantry	Breech Loading Rifles	4	2	4+	4	Marauders, Skirmish, Reliable, Sharpshooters

Third Brigade- Brigadier General Gordon G. Kempt – Staff Value 8 (Low Independence)

Unit	Type	Armament	HtH	Shooting	Morale	Stamina	Special
12th Pennsylvania	Large Infantry	Rifled Muskets	8	4	4+	4
8th New York	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3
14th Maine	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3
46th New Jersey	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3
New York Light, 3rd Battery	Artillery	Smoothbore Artillery	2	4-2-1	4+	3

Infantry may form in either:

• ·          Supported line – two bases deep counting as line
• ·          Mixed order Supported line – two bases deep counting as mixed order line
• ·          Extended line – one base deep counting as skirmishers
• ·          March column

Confederate Order of Battle

Major-General Aaron P. Thompson – Staff Value 8 (Low Aggression, High Independence)

First Brigade - Brigadier General Henry E. Nicholls – Staff Value 8

Unit	Type	Armament	HtH	Shooting	Morale	Stamina	Special
8th Virginia	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Tough Fighters
18th Virginia	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Tough Fighters
19th Virginia	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Tough Fighters
28th Virginia	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Tough Fighters
1st North Carolina Artillery	Artillery	Rifled Artillery	1	2-2-2	4+	2

Second Brigade - Brigadier General Thaddeus R. Peterson – Staff Value 8 (Low Independence)

Unit	Type	Armament	HtH	Shooting	Morale	Stamina	Special
8th Georgia	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Tough Fighters
9th Georgia	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Tough Fighters
11th Georgia	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Tough Fighters
59th Georgia	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Tough Fighters
Palmetto Light Artillery	Artillery	Smoothbore Artillery	1	3-2-1	4+	2

Third Brigade - Brigadier General Julian K. Watson – Staff Value 8 

Unit	Type	Armament	HtH	Shooting	Morale	Stamina	Special
3rd South Carolina	Large Infantry	Rifled Muskets	8	4	4+	4	Tough Fighters
7th South Carolina	Large Infantry	Rifled Muskets	8	4	4+	4	Tough Fighters
8th South Carolina	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Tough Fighters
15th South Carolina	Infantry	Rifled Muskets	6	3	4+	3	Tough Fighters

Infantry may form in either:

• ·          Supported line – two bases deep counting as line
• ·          Mixed order Supported line – two bases deep counting as mixed order
• ·          Extended line – one base deep counting as skirmishers
• ·          March column

How it Played

Unfortunately, I had flat batteries - again! - in my camera so had to take some dodgy shots on the iPhone.

Mark and Ian would play the Confederates, I would take the Union forces. We rolled for the personalities of the commanders and as you can see from the orders of battle the Union especially suffered from the low Independence of it's subordinate commanders, Major-General Armitage would have his work cut out.

Carr's Brigade was deployed in the center of the table, with the 8th  New York as a reserve and the 27th Pennsylvania, 16th Massachusetts, 26th Pennsylvania and a detachment of 1st US Sharpshooters forming a skirmish screen the remainder of the Union force was held off table. The Confederates started with Nicholl's, Brigade heading towards Smiths Farm and Watson's Brigade headed for Bakersville. Peterson's Brigade were just entering the table.

Deployments from the Confederate perspective. 

Nicholls Brigade on the Confederate left.

The Union side won the roll for first turn. Carr ordered the Sharp-shooters to take up position in Smiths farm and the 16th Massachusetts took up positions in Bakersville church yard. The remainder of the Union army spread onto the battlefield with great elan, Bragg's brigade moving rapidly to support the troops in Bakersville and Kempt's brigade rushing to support the center (both Brigades rolled 3 moves).

Kempt's brigade support the Union center

The Confederates  moved to counter the initial Union moves, Watson slowly advanced on Bakersville and Nicholls deployed against Smiths farm, the firings was not very effective though. In the Union phase Bragg sent the Sharpshooters to occupy Bakersville itself and supported the troops of 16th Massachusetts already in the churchyard.

16th Massachusetts take Bakersville Churchyard. while the US Sharpshooters hold Bakersville with the remainder of Brags Brigade in reserve. 

Watson immediately launched a counter attack, the 7th South Carolina evicted the 16th Massachusetts from Bakersville churchyard which changed hands no less than four times during the game.

On the right, the US Sharpshooters held onto Smiths farm while support came up to them, a great move by the New York Light, 3rd Battery providing timely support with cannister fire assisted greatly.

By the end of the game, both Carrs Brigade and Nicholls brigades had been broken and all the remaining brigades were also one or two casualties from being broken too. Both sides held a single are of buildings so a draw was declared. The Union and Confederate forces would retire to lick their wounds.

A great game played out in about two and a half hours on a club night.

Here are a few more images from the game.

Here comes Watson supported by Peterson aginst Bakersville

US Sharpshooters hold Smiths farm against great odds.

 

Union troops move up in support of Smiths farm, the New York Light, 3rd Battery wreak devastation with close range cannister fire

A long view of the battlefield from the Union left. Bakersville is in the foreground

Another long view of the battlefield.

Action in the center

Mark and Ian get into the swing of things.