ACW 54mm Lawn Battle

The Confederate supply wagons with cavalry escort approach the bridge.

                                        The wagons are met by further Confederate cavalry.

                         Confederate cavalry and cannons move towards their right flank.

                                      Confederate infantry in blue uniforms move towards Lawnburg.

                                     Federal columns on their right flank.

                                         Federal cavalry, infantry and gun on the centre

                                         Federal cavalry move towards Lawnburg.

                                          Matt surveys his Federal right flank.

                                         Confederate reserves arrive on the far side of the Christina River.

 

                                       Federal wagon train guarded by two elite infantry regiments

                                          View from the Federal left flank and the town of Jamesville

 

                                         Federals advance behind Bald Hill.

                                          Confederate artillery. Many of the gunners have not been issued uniforms and the six pounders could not meet the challenges of range.

               Confederate cavalry, having finished escort duty for the wagons, advance towards Jamesville.

                                     Confederate reserve columns march on Jamesville.

                                        Some Texan reserves arrive late.

                                         Georgia infantry in their blue uniforms.

                                         The Confederate view of the centre

                                         Texans advance

                                         Federal 12 pounder deploys late.

        Federal infantry on Bald Hill, soon to be shot to pieces by Confederate cannons and muskets.

     Colorado cavalry and Custer's Seventh cavalry advance on CSA positions.

                                       Confederate Black Horse cavalry capture an 18 pounder.

                                              A view of the centre at a high point in the battle.

                                         Late arriving Federal reserves march towards Jamesville.

                                          Confederate forces occupy Jamesville.

 

        On the outskirts of Lawnville Confederate forces successfully engage numerically superior federal forces who can not get their complete numbers into the battle.

The game was vaguely set in the trans-Mississippi theatre of the ACW but included regiments from other campaigns in the war. it took me two to three hours to set up the game in the morning and a number of hours the night before sorting out the troops. The game began just after 11AM and concluded at 4PM with a half hour break. Matt, commanded the Federal forces with sixteen infantry and five cavalry regiments. I commanded fourteen infantry and five cavalry regiments. Most troops were classed as average but with two infantry and one cavalry veteran class per side. One of the federal units was composed of Indian troops of poor quality unless deployed in forest. The CSA had two six pounders and three twelve pounders while the Federals had four twelve pounders and an eighteen pounder.
Each side also had among its cavalry a unit of partisans, the feds having Jennison's Jayhawkers and the Southerners had Quantrill's Raiders. On the roll of reserve dice these could be deployed on any side of the battlefield and were a potential threat to wagons carrying re-supply to the guns. As it happened both sides five wagons were heavily guarded and so deterred partisan activity. Instead the partisans joined other forces in the actions. Each side also had, among the infantry three reserve regiments and one of the cannons was also in reserve.

The Confederates strengthened their flanks somewhat at the expense of the centre but were able to delay the Federal central advanced while the Federal right flank was threatened by elite Texan forces. The delay in Union reserves helped the Confederates as they had little opposition to the occupation of Jamesville. There were some short sharp and bloody cavalry on cavalry melees and a successful Union charge on CSA infantry. The Confederate cavalry also captured a Federal cannon but were then engaged by Union cavalry.

The Federals has isolated their best infantry by using them to guard the wagons. Each gun started the game with four rounds. As it happened the Federals were late deploying their cannons and never ran out of ammunition. However one of their guns lost all gunners to musketry and another over-heated and blew up.  Confederate wagons reached their own guns as they ran out of ammunition.

A Federal infantry regiment dressed in grey was not, at first, fired on by Confederate forces as they were mistaken for friends. Consequently a round of musketry was suffered before the Southerners could reply in kind. However the Union right flank was beginning to crumble under the co-ordinated Confederate advance. As dusk approached the Union was strong in the centre but their advance had stalled on their left flank. Lawnburg was still contested but Jamesville was in Confederate hands.