Battle of Salem Church - Black Powder ACW

On March 3rd my friends and I held the third and last game of our Chancellorsville Black Powder campaign.  Our first battle was almost 2 years ago.  We started with Jackson's flank attack against the Union XI Corps. About a year ago we played game two - Breakthrough at Chancellorsville Inn.  Both of these games were great fun and really huge.  For the final game we needed something to top them all.  This time it was Salem Church.  This game would be played as per the scenario in the Glory, Hallelujah! book, page 138.

As for rules we played mostly from the Black Powder rules with only a few of the Glory, Hallelujah! changes.  The woods were rated as Light Woods rather than Heavy Woods as the scenario calls for.  I just felt with the large table the heavy rating would just slow things to a crawl.  The Light Woods rules are from GH page 54.  We used the Passage of Lines from GH, page 59.  We used a variation of The Charge rules on page 61.  We do not apply the -2 penalty to the command roll for charging from the front.

Salem Church in the center of the battlefield.  The fields are counted as open ground with no cover.

The South woods.  All woods are counted as Light Woods per the GH rules, page 54.

The entire battlefield looking North to South.  The table is 12' x 8'.

The battle would be fought on a 12' x 8' table.  The layout is as close to the map on page 138 that our collections would allow.  The objective for both sides in the battle was very simple - destroy the other army.  The battlefield would not really allow for subtlety.  The size of the armies would also make maneuver very tough.  Basically, move forward and grind it out.

South end of the Confederate line.  Wilcox's Brigade, Anderson's Division is along the road, and completely separated from the other brigade of the division (which was deployed on the other side of the table for some reason).  This would cause some command issues for the Rebs.  This would be the location of some of the most important and dramatic fighting of the day.

The Confederate deployment in the center.  McLaw's Division would hold most of the ground in the center for the Rebs. These brigades were exhausted after a forced march to get to the battle and as such they were limited to one move per order.  This had a bigger impact on the player than on the forces as they basically decided to stand fast all game. 

The Confederate deployment in the North.  Mahone's Brigade, Anderson's Division is in the woods with McLaw's Division to their right.  Mahone would put up a stubborn defense of these woods all game (but it probably wasn't very fun to play).

The Union deployment looking South.  The 3rd Division, VI Corps is in the woods and the open ground next to it.  The 3rd Brigade would have a tough time getting moving in the woods.  The commander would blame the terrain but lack of competent command and control was the real cause.

Over 1500 28mm figures deployed for battle.  It was a truly stunning sight.

The Union center.  Mostly the troops of the 3rd Division.

The Union deployment looking South to North.  The 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, VI Corps is in the woods in the foreground (me).  The 3rd Brigade, 1st Division  is in the center ready to advance on the church.  1st Brigade is in support acting as division reserve.

A game like this takes a lot of work to put on.  The setup took more than an hour and when you throw in army assignments, terrain explanations, rules updates and deployment the first roll of the dice was almost 2 hours in.  Before all that the figures had to be collected and painted.  This battle used more than 1500 figures from the collections of 5 of the players.  Several of the players worked hard to paint new units specifically for this game, myself included.  I also re-acquired some figures from a local gamer that had not been on the bale for a long time.  Virtually all of the terrain was also supplied by the players with only a few trees from the local shop.

The 3rd Division advances in the open on the Union right.  A dazzling sight but the Rebs have already taken up defensive positions in the woods.

The Confederates are trying to get units in line along the edge of the woods to pour fire into the advancing Union troops.  It appears that one Reb regiment has left their flank hanging open but the Uniion troops were too slow to take advantage.

In the center the 3rd Divion is rapidly advancing on the right but the 1st Division is lagging behind, or so it seems.  The union plan was to try and draw the Confederates in the South towards the center and then outflank them through the woods.  The plan was sound.

The 2nd Brigade, 1st Division makes its move.  The 46th Pennsylvania is used as bait to draw the Confederates up the road towards the crossroads.  The remainder of the brigade, in march column, moves into the woods to wards the open Confederate flank.

The Confederates slowly move units towards the church but poor command rolls are hammering the effort (not to mention exhausted troops).

Back on the North end the 3rd Division is slowed by withering Confederate fire.  Casualties are mounting and disordered units are blocking the advance.  The difficulties in passing through are not helping.

In the South woods the Confederates have been caught with their pants down.  They desperately reposition units to stop the Union troops advancing through the woods.  The 114th Penn has routed a Reb regiment off the road and is now on the flank of the entire Confederate army.  The 46th Penn, that was holding the crossroads has been routed but units of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division have moved in to cover the crossroads.

The fight at the crossroads is reaching a fevered pitch.  The Confederates are desperately trying to stop the Union advance as well as contain the flank attack.  In the center the Union is in control of the church as farther North a bulge is forming in the Union lines.

The fighting in the South woods is getting brutal.  Wilcox's Brigade, Anderson's Division has broken and the remnants are retiring.  The Confederate flank looks to be in serious trouble.  The only help in the area is Wofford's Brigade, McLaws Division which is exhausted and having a very tough time repositioning.

The 3rd Brigade, 1st Division has been pressing the Confederates near the crossroads hard, maybe too hard.  They are near their break-point and the 1st Brigade has now been committed in the center near the church.  Both sides are showing signs of ware in the South end of the fight.

The Union 3rd Division has been pressing forward methodically and now a bulge has formed in the open ground.  The Confederates in the area look strong but they are taking lots of damage.

The 5th New York charges and Alabama regiment along the road.  A risky move but one that could pay off in a big way.  The 2nd Brigade is behind the main Confederate line with very little in front of them.

THe other two regiments of the 2nd Brigade are disordered and unable to move forward to keep the pressure on the Confederate flank.  This is the high-water mark for the Union.

In the North woods the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division is halted by Mahone's Brigade.  It is like a wave crashing over the rocks.  The Confederates will not be moved even against huge odds.

The bulge in 3rd Division's lines.  I am not sure what is happening here but the lack of concentration in the attack would not produce positive results.

The Alabamans have been routed but not before shaking the 5th New York.  This along with the loss of the 46th Penn would break the brigade.  The 2nd Brigade, 1st Division begins to retire back through the woods.  The Confederate flank is saved.

The 1st Brigade, 1st Division also has had enough and begins to retire.  The loss of the entire 1st Division marks the end of the battle.

Back in the North woods the Confederates are only one casualty away from loosing the battle.

This was a really fun game but perhaps not as fun as some of our previous battles.  I really think that Black Powder games really shine when there is an objective to the battle other than simply kill'em all sorts of games.  In many ways this game was a return to how we played when we first started this and in really it felt like a step back.  I had been tempted to make my own scenario for this game and in retrospect I probably should have.

This likely marks the end of big battle ACW for a while.  I don't have any plans for anything of this size again.  I will be playing smaller games of ACW using Black Powder as I continue to explore point match games using GH rules.  For big games I am still dreaming of a large Napoleonic Black Powder game.

ACW Union Camp

I have completed another ACW vignette project.  This time we have Perry Miniatures Union Camp set with Renedra bell tents.  This is just a fun little piece that will help spice up a large table.  I might find some game function for it in a scenario.

Union Field Hospital for Black Powder

One of the things I love about playing games in a large scale, such as 28mm, is the spectacle of it.  Our ACW Black Powder games have mostly been huge affairs that really draw in spectators.  For these large games there is a lot of opportunity to draw in gamers and viewers alike by the inclusion of details and vignettes.  Almost from the start I wanted to use actual casualty figures in my Black Powder games just as the authors suggested.  Naturally, the inclusion of these specialty pieces would bring a new dimension to our games but it seemed a shame to just leave them in a box off the table until needed.  After all, it takes almost as much time to paint a casualty as it does a normal figure.  I thought the perfect place for these markers would be a field hospital on the corner of the table so I set about building one.  Fortunately, Old Glory makes just about everything you need for this.  I bought all this stuff several years ago and the first phase was the casualties themselves.  They are the most important part after all.  Next I painted the surgeon vignette and I have already had this out for the last couple games.  The last part was the ambulance and the stretcher team.

If you are interested in building one for yourself this is the Old Glory Hospital Brigade set.  The casualty figures are also Old Glory from the Infantry Lying Dead with Command set.

Black Powder ACW Point-match Game

Yesterday Tim and I tried out a game of Black Powder using the points from the Glory Hallelujah! supplement.  We tried this with 700 points.  This gave us forces of about three brigades with a total bout about 11 regiments and two guns.  The cool thing about the points is the ability to customize units with special rules and modified stats.  After creating lists we threw them on the table for a quick game.

The battlefield had a central farm complex surrounded by fields.  Tim had an orchard on his side while I had a partial fenced field on my side.  The far end had some light woods

The center of the Confederate line was help by a poor quality brigade.  Low command value and unreliable troops would mean the Confederates would have a tough time getting them to move.

The Union left was help by Eastwood's brigade.  This small brigade was comprised of three 'uppity' regiments. They had a small 12lb battery in support.

The battle opened with a Union blunder.  Eastwood's brigade ended up moving to the right and slightly forward rather than forward to the left to attack the objective.  This movement would make the center a little crowded.

The Confederate right formed an 'L' that threatened to crush Eastwood's brigade like a walnut.

After failing to move in the center the weakest Union brigade, Melvin's brigade, succeeded in advancing and capturing the objective on the right.  This brigade is filled with unreliable and low stamina units and the commander is below average.  All they would need to do is stand and fight to hold their objective.

Back on the Union left the Confederate vice closes in on Eastwood's brigade. The 76th Penn made a brilliant maneuver in close proximity to the enemy to get to the flank of the Confederates.  Unfortunately, we were using the GH special rule that prevents a unit from firing after 2 or more moves. 

Their position was perfect for a brutal dose of enfilading fire but they could not get the volley off in time.

The rebs charge the shaken 114th Penn and do no damage!  The fight would continue for another round.

The 76th Penn charged the flank and the slaughter would be enormous.  The rebel unit would be completely destroyed.  The first losses of the battle.

Back on the Union left Brigadier Melvin attempted to have the 10th Indiana pass through the shaken regiment in front but the order was blundered and the 10th would advance all the way to the enemy.  Fortunately the Confederate units were already disordered and so were unable to take advantage of the mistake.

Gibson's brigade got bogged down for most of the battle trying to get to the farm compound.

The 10th Indiana was able to withdraw back to the brigade but this opened the flank to the Confederates who were quick to take advantage.  This left Melvin's brigade nearly surrounded.  The Confederates would pour on the fire and Melvin's Brigade would break under the strain.

Eastwood's Brigade broke after two volleys of enfilading fire drove the 5th New York back.

Gibson's Brigade finally captured the farm just as the flanks of the Union army collapsed.

The day would go to the Confederates.  This game was a lot of fun.  I think the points approach will work very well for fun games and maybe even a campaign.