Union Victory From General West Over CSA General Shortstreet

 

As we had finished our fantasy campaign Mat and I played a small ACW game today. The rules owe something to Featherstone and also ACOTS.

  Of late I have been moving around a lot of stuff in the garage to allow for installation of new roller doors. A lot of things just got put on the wargame tables. There was much to sort through and yesterday and this morning I spent several hours clearing the table. (The other table, in the connected rumpus room is still covered in its own mountain of stuff). I really need to get rid of some things.

  The armies were of identical makeup of two cannons, each with four-man crews, four infantry regiments (each of 24 men) and two cavalry regiments (of 12 men each). I was the Confederate side and had a mountain dividing my forces for the first half of the game.

  Mat won both the set up first dice roll and the first move roll, so I had to set up first and move second. Mat surprised me by placing most of his infantry in skirmish formation. As the rules had a minus one for them shooting I was lulled into not taking them too seriously but when they moved in closer and managed to get two units shooting to my one unit shooting it became dangerous.

  Mat also placed his two guns in battery whilst I split mine up as I didn't know where Mat's forces would be deployed and wised to cover more ground.

 Below: Towards the end of the battle the Texas infantry came under flank attack from advancing Union Colored infantry. The Texans crossed the wall and charged the skirmishers in front of them. Although they had a bonus for attacking unformed enemy their numbers were, by then, too reduced and they were destroyed.

       The Union battery in the center of the field next to the Henderson house. They caused some damage before one cannon and crew was destroyed by counter cannon fire.

             The battery commander wears his old Mexican War cap.                                                                                                                                                                           Union skirmishers

                                               The Henderson duck keeps an eye on things.

Both CSA cannons were rendered useless, in this case when the Colored infantry shot up the crew.

                                Confederates remove a damaged third gun before battle began.

                                                             Texan and Missouri troops

General Shortstreet was separated from his army and shot down!

                               Union troops skylarking (after the barrel had cooled down)

The CSA left flank collapsed after troop numbers dipped under 50% and they fled. Initial Confederate success on the right flank broke down when a small Union cavalry force held off and repelled the Confederate cavalry. The Confederate infantry in the center began to come under fire from both the front and flank before a futile and costly charge failed.

At the end of battle the Union had lost one cannon, a cavalry unit and an infantry unit. All that remained of the Southerners was one cavalry regiment, which had charged and destroyed a unit of skirmishers and now decided to skedaddle. Even General Shortstreet had been killed. Union general, West expressed some regret as he had been in the same class at West Point.