Longstreet Campaign - The Battle in the Wilderness 27th of August 1863

After a couple of missed weeks Drew and I resumed our Longstreet campaign on Thursday evening with the last campaign game of 1863.

Rolling for the scenario we would again be playing the The Hilltop, despite the Union forces having Broken Codes for this game the Confederate Scout came good for a rare occasion and Whippa would be defending.

The terrain rolls came up woodland after woodland and soon the bare heights were edge to edge in trees.

Confederate forces

Major General Gerald P. Whippam (EP:25) is a 31 year old Floridian and is already a Veteran of the Indian Wars and is accompanied by his personal Scout who's reliably provided the best ground to make a stand in earlier engagements. At the Battle of Battle of Keller's Heights Doctor Thaddeus Marle joined the force as Whippam's Personal Physician. His cool handling of the artillery at the Battle of New Glarus Turnpike in 1863 gavee Gerald useful insight as an Artillery Officer

Unit	Type	Elan	Experience	Strength	Notes
21st Virginia	CAV	Seasoned	Veterans	6
8th Tennessee	CAV	Eager	Veterans	8
4th South Carolina	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	6	Hero: Sgt. Jones
2nd/8th South Carolina	INF	Cautious	Veterans	5	Sharpshooters, Hero: Lt. Smith Amalgamated with 2nd FL
18th North Carolina	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	6
5th Georgia	INF	Seasoned	Recruits	7
Battery D Georgia Light Artillery	ART	-	-	2	Two 12lb smoothbore
Battery A 3rd Virginia Artillery	ART	-	-	2	One 12lb smoothbore, one howitzer

Union forces

Brigadier General Elias Rogers (EP:13) is a 31 year old graduate of West Point and had made a career as an Artillery Officer in the United States army. He is a Leading Abolitionist and is steadfast in the cause. The Irish Catholic Fire and Brimstone Preacher Father Seamus O'Riordan has seen fit to attach himself to Colonel Rogers staff.

Unit	Type	Elan	Experience	Strength	Notes
20th Maine	INF	Cautious	Veterans	2	Hero: Lt. Chamberlain
39th Ohio	INF	Cautious	Veterans	2
10th Iowa	INF	Cautious	Veterans	4
2nd Wisconsin	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	5	Amalgamated with 15th VT
27th New Jersey	INF	Eager	Veterans	8	Old Reliables
55th Massachusetts	INF	Seasoned	Recruits	6	Colored troops, Old Reliables
103rd Pennsylvania	INF	Seasoned	Recruits	10	Zouaves
Battery B 6th US Artillery	ART	-	-	3	One Napoleon, Two light rifles
Battery E 10th Pennsylvania Artillery	ART	-	-	3	One 12lb Napoleon, two heavy rifles
Battery F Michigan Artillery	ART	-	-	3	One 12lb Napoleon, two heavy rifles

The Union forces start this battle with a Broken Code

I was particularly happy to be the defender and to have the objectives so masked by woodland, I could at least try to shield myself from the massive Union artillery park that was arrayed against me.

The forces were deployed and we poured beers, grabbed some gaming snacks and had at it.

The Union had gone strong on my right where I only had one infantry regiment supported by the horse defending, so I started to push more troops towards that flank. On my left I advanced through the woodland, but, staying clear of the edge.

I did rather get to close though and a "Confusion" card pulled the 5GA to the edge of the wood where they were pounded with a "Point Blank" fortunately Drew threw some terrible dice and they only lost a couple of bases.

On my left things were going better for the 2/8SC whose Sharpshooters were tearing ragged holes in the recruits of the 103PA, they marched on the field with 600 men and at the end of the day only 120 were left holding the line.

The hammer blow was about to fall on my right, beyond the judicious playing of "Trackless", "Confusion" and "Poor Surveying" there was little I could do to hold up the mass of Union troops heading towards my line.

The first charge, led by the 55MA struck home, but some most excellent dice rolling saw that beaten off and followed up with a Confederate counter-charge that in most places caused the Union line to fall back in some disarray.

Both sides were perilously close to breaking and the first test by the Confederates saw the Union stay in the game and launch another charge of their own, throwing well over half their troops into a vicious hand to hand melee.

This time the outcomes were about even, with both sides having units retire from the scrap, by this stage the Union force had lost 18 bases and the Confederates 17. But as it was the Union turn it was their time to test for victory and with a break point of 21 it was an even roll.

Drew threw a four and there it was a close fought bloody victory to the Union again!

This battle saw the end of some units that had been with us since 1861 with the remnants of both the 20th Maine and 39th Ohio being sent to form cadres of new units. The 55th Massachusetts performed well in the field only to be decimated by a typhoid outbreak in camp!

Onwards to 1864!

Longstreet Campaign: The Battle of The New Glarus Turnpike 12th June 1863

 

Wednesday evening saw another game in our Longstreet campaign where drew and I played out an action at the New Glarus Turnpike.

Confederate forces
Major General Gerald P. Whippam (EP:23) is a 31 year old Floridian and is already a Veteran of the Indian Wars and is accompanied by his personal Scout who's reliably provided the best ground to make a stand in earlier engagements. At the Battle of Battle of Keller's Heights Doctor Thaddeus Marle joined the force as Whippam's Personal Physician

Unit	Type	Elan	Experience	Strength	Notes
21st Virginia	CAV	Seasoned	Veterans	6
19th Texas	INF	Eager	Recruits	2
4th South Carolina	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	5	Hero: Sgt. Jones
2nd Florida	INF	Cautious	Veterans	3	Sharpshooters
8th South Carolina	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	6	Sharpshooters
27th Georgia	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	3
10th Maryland	INF	Seasoned	Recruits	3
18th NC	INF	Seasoned	Recruits	6
Battery D Georgia Light Artillery	ART	-	-	3	Two 12lb smoothbore, one 6lb smoothbore
Battery A 3rd Virginia Artillery	ART	-	-	2	One 12lb smoothbore, one howitzer

Union forces

Elias Rogers (EP:9) is a 29 year old graduate of West Point and had made a career as an Artillery Officer in the United States army. He is a Leading Abolitionist and is steadfast in the cause. The Irish Catholic Fire and Brimstone Preacher Father Seamus O'Riordan has seen fit to attach himself to Colonel Rogers staff.

Unit	Type	Elan	Experience	Strength	Notes
26th New York	CAV	Cautious	Veterans	3	Hero: Sgt. Benson
20th Maine	INF	Cautious	Veterans	2	Hero: Lt. Chamberlain
39th Ohio	INF	Cautious	Veterans	2
10th Iowa	INF	Cautious	Veterans	6
2nd Wisconsin	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	6	Amalgamated with 15th VT
27th New Jersey	INF	Eager	Recruits	8	Old Reliables
55th Massachusetts	INF	Eager	Recruits	10	Colored troops
Battery B 6th US Artillery	ART	-	-	3	One 6lb smooth-bores, Two light rifles
Battery E 10th Pennsylvania Artillery	ART	-	-	3	One 12lb Napoleon, two heavy rifles

Randomising a scenario we would be playing the Crossroads game, which is quite handy as my gaming cloth already has one painted on it! Rolling for scouting my Scout failed yet again - he probably has in half the games we played in this campaign - so Drew chose to attack. Truth be known, with all those tiny units in my force I would have likely chosen to defend anyways.

The terrain was laid out as below, looking from the attackers side to the defenders.

With his superiority in artillery, more, guns, better guns and his Artillery Officer, I though I should try to deploy n a way that would preserve my troops from the devastating effects of the preparatory bombardment he would subject me to before launching his larger infantry regiments at me.

As was expected any troops that were initially deployed in sight of the Union guns immediately cam under fire so I had to withdraw them into cover and let the union troops march on while trying to inflict a few casualties of my own.

My broke box was filling up fast though as the tiny two and three stand units only had to lose a base or two to be broken. My plan though involved trying to cause as much damage as I could on my right flank with the 21st VA, 4th and 8th SC who were not in sight of the guns.

It was to nought though, the 27th NJ dislodged the 8th SC from their positions in the woods. On my left the 10th IA had swept aside the 19th TX then their charge drove the Batt. D GA Lt. Art. from the table and in the centre the badly battered 55th MA supported by the 20th ME held the crossroads.

For the first time in the campaign Whippam had been Whipped!

For his skilful handling of the troops Rogers was immediately promoted to Major General!

A few more shots from the game, thankfully Drew took rather a lot as I did not get too many myself.

 

 

Longstreet Campaign - The Battle of King George Forest - 24th May1863

Fresh from their Winter camps the Union forces crossed the Potomac and attempted to drive a wedge between the Confederate forces and their rail heads. A party of Confederate horse staged a lightning raid on the Union supply depot but Colonel Rogers pushed on nevertheless.

Confederate forces

Major General Gerald P. Whippam (EP:20) is a 31 year old Floridian and is already a Veteran of the Indian Wars and is accompanied by his personal Scout who's reliably provided the best ground to make a stand in earlier engagements. At the Battle of Battle of Keller's Heights Doctor Thaddeus Marle joined the force as Whippam's Personal Physician

Unit	Type	Elan	Experience	Strength	Notes
21st Virginia	CAV	Seasoned	Veterans	6
19th Texas	INF	Eager	Recruits	4
4th South Carolina	INF	Seasoned	Recruits	4	Hero: Sgt. Jones
2nd Florida	INF	Cautious	Veterans	5	Sharpshooters
8th South Carolina	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	4
27th Georgia	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	6
10th Maryland	INF	Eager	Recruits	6
Battery D Georgia Light Artillery	ART	-	-	2	One 12lb smoothbore, 1 6lb smoothbore

The Confederates start the next game with an act of Sabotage.

Union forces

Elias Rogers (EP:7) is a 29 year old graduate of West Point and had made a career as an Artillery Officer in the United States army. He is a Leading Abolitionist and is steadfast in the cause. The Irish Catholic Fire and Brimstone Preacher Father Seamus O'Riordan has seen fit to attach himself to Colonel Rogers staff.

Unit	Type	Elan	Experience	Strength	Notes
26th New York	CAV	Cautious	Veterans	3	Hero: Sgt. Benson
20th Maine	INF	Cautious	Veterans	3	Hero: Lt. Chamberlain
39th Ohio	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	3
44th Maryland (Zouaves)	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	2	Hero: Cpl. O'Connor
10th Iowa	INF	Cautious	Veterans	6
2nd Wisconsin	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	4
15th Vermont	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	4
27th New Jersey	INF	Eager	Recruits	10
Battery B 6th US Artillery	ART	-	-	3	One 6lb smooth-bores, Two light rifles
Battery E 10th Pennsylvania Artillery	ART	-	-	2	Two 12lb Napoleon

We would play the standard battle scenario, Whippams scouts were unable to determine the intentions of the Union and they took the initiative for the battle and attacked Whippams divided force.

As the Union was so much stronger in artillery with five guns to my two I split my deployment leaving a void in the centre of the battlefield to allow my troops to form up behind cover and react to the Union attacks.

The new units to join the brigade, the 27th GA, 10th MD and Battery D Georgia light made up my left while the establish troops formed on the right behind some woodland.

I placed an objective behind the woods to be guarded by the 19th Texas who were likely too fragile to be of any use in the game.

On the my left the Union troops came on and on with the 10th MD being particularly savaged by musketry from the 15th VT and the 2nd WI, I was making a steady fighting withdrawal there in the face of insurmountable odds.

On my right the Union force had faced the guns ready for me to break out of the woods, these though were supported by some of his weaker units, the sneaky play of a Confusion card pulled the 44th MD out of line and into the range of the 4th SC whose sharpshooters exacted a terrible toll with the survivors withdrawing from the field with the colours.

On my left the Union pushed on, and on my right I pushed on, whose weakened flank would collapse first.

The 10th MD were now down to about 150 troops on my left but held the line against the odds. On the right the Union guns crashed and my troops still pushed on and on with the 21st VA now clear of the woods and looking to turn the Union flank.

It came to a head on my left, the Union commander realising that they were about to be overwhelmed and outflanked decided that their troops should break contact and start an orderly withdrawal screened by the 26th NY, quite battered themselves the Confederates were unable to mount an effective pursuit.

The Confederates claimed a victory but neither side had really exposed their opponents. 1863 is going to be a long year so both sides can regroup and do battle again.

Longstreet Campaign - The Battle of Underwood Crossing - 23rd October 1862

The struggle for regional dominance continues late into the campaigning season. With Pinkerton intelligence that the Confederates are preparing winter quarters south of Underwood Crossing and bolstered by fresh reinforcements Colonel Rogers decides that with the unseasonable weather there is a chance to catch Whippams men off guard.

Confederate forces

Brigadier Gerald P. Whippam (EP:14) is a 30 year old Floridian and is already a Veteran of the Indian Wars and is accompanied by his personal Scout who's reliably provided the best ground to make a stand in earlier engagements. At the Battle of Battle of Keller's Heights Doctor Thaddeus Marle joined the force as Whippam's Personal Physician

Unit	Type	Elan	Experience	Strength	Notes
8th Georgia Volunteers	CAV	Eager	Recruits	3
21st Virginia	CAV	Eager	Veterans	8
19th Texas	INF	Eager	Recruits	5
4th South Carolina	INF	Eager	Recruits	6	Hero: Sgt. Jones
2nd Florida	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	6
8th South Carolina	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	6
Battery A 7th Texas Light Artillery	ART	-	-	1	One 6lb smoothbores

Union forces

Elias Rogers (EP:4) is a 28 year old graduate of West Point and had made a career as an Artillery Officer in the United States army. He is a Leading Abolitionist and is steadfast in the cause.

Unit	Type	Elan	Experience	Strength	Notes
26th New York	CAV	Cautious	Veterans	4	Hero: Sgt. Benson
20th Maine	INF	Cautious	Veterans	3	Hero: Lt. Chamberlain
39th Ohio	INF	Eager	Veterans	5
44th Maryland (Zouaves)	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	3	Hero: Cpl. O'Connor
10th Iowa	INF	Seasoned	Recruits	8
5th California (Zouaves)	INF	Eager	Recruits	3
2nd Wisconsin	INF	Seasoned	Veterans	6
15th Vermont	INF	Eager	Recruits	6
Battery B 6th US Artillery	ART	-	-	3	One 6lb smooth-bores, Two light rifles

Whippam has been joined by the 21st Virginia cavalry, who on their route march to join the force ripped up the rail head in an act of Sabotage however, despite his poor performance in the field Rogers superiors have great faith in the man and dispatched a riverboat with Priority supplies.

We would play the "Clear the Treeline" scenario with the Confederates as the defender.

Whippam's scouts were able to give some warning of the Union approach so all troops apart from the 19th Texas and 4th South Carolina were able to form an initial defensive line to the north and west of the woods at Underwood crossing, the remaining troops were rushing to the join the battle line.

Early success went to the Union, the new 10lb rifles added to Battery B easily destroyed the remaining guns of the Texas light artillery and the Confederates were left without fire support as the Union troops marched on. Both the 8th GA and 21st VA mounted feints on the Union flanks to attempt to draw away troops attempting to overwhelm the thin Confederate centre, but the Union marched on relentless until the 2nd WI became bogged down in some unexpectedly marshy ground.

On and on came the Union troops in a relentless advance that threatened to overwhelm the thin line of Confederates, but eventually the drums of the 19th TX and 4th SC were heard in the rear, if the rest could just hold on until the the reinforcements arrived.

The Confederate horse having drawn troops from the Union centre eventually fell back to positions on each flank of the line to add their weight of fire to the defence.

Along the line the Union troops poured fire into the 2nd FL and 8th SC and the Action cards were burnt through keeping the troops in line.

With a rousing rendition of "John Browns Body" the blue-bellies fell upon the 2nd Fl and 21st VA supporting them, in a desperate struggle along the line the Union troops were repulsed a short distance.

The Confederates followed up this success with a viscous counter charge.

 It was desperate volley fire along the lines, the Union troops with close artillery support were thinning out the Confederates, but with close losses on both it was the Union that cracked first, both armies retreated to their winter quarters to tend their wounded and regroup for the coming season.

Brigadier General Whippam was promoted to the rank of Major General for his continued successes in the cause of the Confederacy.

Had the Union won the charge against the 2nd FL they would have held their objective and likely won the game.

Drew hates this card, fortunately for him from the next battle it disappears from my deck!