Action in the Southern States

On Sunday we played an American Civil War game. The scenario was that a Union force had pushed forward into the outskirts of a city (the edge of which is represented on the table), but was being pushed out by a significant Confederate counter attack. Another Union force was sent to extract the smaller force.

Unknown to the relieving force was that an injured Abe Lincoln was in the city (what he was doing there no one knows). So the Union has split objectives. The force in the city needs to prevent the Confederates from overwhelming them and capturing Abe. At the same time they need to make contact with the relieving force to let them know about Abe. The prime objective of the reliving force is to open a line of retreat for the force in the city, but that objective takes a twist when they learn about Abe, whose escape is crucial.

The Confederates know that an important person is in the city, but their prime objective is to drive the Union troops out of the city and cut off and capture as much of the relieving force before that can retreat across the three bridges, the only way across the river.

Now I didn't take many photos because I was heavily involved in the game. Another play did take a lot more pictures than me and offered them to me, but I told him hold on for a while because I was busy and uncertain when I would have time to write this up. Now, unexpectedly, I have time and have not asked him for the pictures. So this will go out short of images, but more may come and be tacked on the end later...

So how did the game run? The Confederates pressed hard on both flanks and the Union relieving force at first prepared to take the fight to them, but once the presence of Abe as discovered they focussed on holding the central bridge and evacuating him.

Many of the Union troops in the city were dispersed and both flanks of the relieving force retracted in the face of the Confederate attacks. The Confederates quickly dominated the two flanking bridges, but the Union position in the centre was a tough nut to crack. Two attacks from the Confederate left were held off, but only just.

Abe narrowly escaped capture when a Confederate cavalry unit smashed through a Union battery and then onto its supporting infantry, but couldn't push the remaining 200mm to get to Abe's carriage.

Abe made it to the central bridge and got away and here we had to end the game because we ran out of time. It would still have been a challenge for the Union to get much of their force back across the river with the Confederates nipping at their heels.

It was a game that kept the tension on until the very end. A good way to spend a Sunday.

My dismounted cavalry (on the extreme right) open fire on the Yankees, forcing them to deploy

Shortly after a Confederate infantry brigade appears on the Yankee flank

The Union artillery prepare for action

And their infantry marches forward.

The Confederates advance keenly

The Union battle lines form

And more pour across the river

The Confederates in action

The Union lines receive them

The main Union line is formed

The Confederates envelops the Union right...

...and the left

Custer leads a cavalry contingent forward

The Union line prepares to receive the assault

They buckle but hold...

As promised, here are a large number of additional photos from our friend and Union player John...I will not attempt to describe them all!