My Appomatox

The war is over!  In just under three months time, I have completed my Civil War project.  I finished up with some nice command stands and supply wagons.  Note Honest Abe consulting with General Grant in the stand on the left.  I think this would make an excellent objective marker for a hypothetical Ewell's raid on Washington scenario.  The Lincoln vignette is manufactured by GHQ, so it looks wispier than the rest of my army, but, come on, who would pass up the chance to have the Great Emancipator at the head of their army?

All told, I finished:

33 regiments of Union infantry
4 regiments of Union cavalry (mounted and dismounted)
12 sections of Union artillery (3" ordinance rifles and 12 lb. smoothbores)

31 regiments of Confederate infantry
5 regiments of Confederate cavalry (mounted and dismounted)
10 sections of Confederate artillery (3" ordinance rifles and 12 lb. smoothbores)

In total, that's 1830+ figures in just under 90 days.  I also scratch-built a pile of terrain in that time.  That's 20 figures a day, for those keeping score.  Sorry if I sound like I'm boasting or gloating.  It really only took the discipline to sit down for one hour every day.  I don't think I'm anything special in terms of my production or the quality of my painting.  But the army is done!  And I'm pretty pleased with the results.

Now on to fix up my 15mm American War of Independence army...

Battle of Untietam: The Bloody Finish

What had been looking like a long, difficult slog ended rather abruptly.  Like the real Antietam, this was a close-run thing, a Confederate tactical victory but one from which they could not claim any strategic advantage.  The Union continued to press in the center, and they had begun to clear space across the bridge, but before they could maneuver their troops into columns for the crossing, the Union right collapsed.  With their second brigade defeated, the Union force was spent.  The two intact regiments would face fresh Rebel artillery and two fresh regiments.  At best these forces would bludgeon each other to a draw.

Here, the Confederates look out upon what remains of the Union right.  With this brigade freed up, the Union pretty much lost all hope of securing the victory that had eluded them the previous September.

The only hope for the Union was to make the crossing at the railroad bridge, where the now-shattered Colored Brigade had roughed up the defenders on the far side of the creek.  With the Iron Brigade marching forward, the Union had a chance to turn the tide and roll up the Confederate line from the south.  However, the timely arrival of the long-delayed Confederate cavalry surprised the advancing Black Hats.  This was the first-ever charge in one of my Black Powder games.  It was a cavalryman's dream, a full-on supported charge into an unguarded flank.  However, those midwesterners proved to be tough.  Note to self: Civil War cavalry should lay off the Napoleonic crap, no matter how tempted they may be.  The Black Hats held off the charge and routed one of the cavalry regiments.  However, when they tried to wheel to finish off the cavalry, bad communications caused the Iron Brigade to blunder their orders, marching away from the front line.  By the time this sad little combat was resolved, two Union brigades had broken, and the day was lost.

So, in the end, it was a bloody, inconclusive scrap.  The Union lost but inflicted severe casualties on the Confederates.  The rules provided everything that people who like Black Powder like, and everything that those who hate Black Powder loathe: lots of sudden reversals, units that stubbornly refuse to do what their commanders want, and the rumble of fistfuls of dice.

Battle of Untietam: Opening Moves

After three turns, the Union had the most success on their right.  The poor Mississippians, who had been posted to the creek as sentries, took appalling casualties from the fire of the rifled guns, but they held out long enough to be reinforced by the 11^th TN, who had been stationed upstream.   They silenced one of the Union guns (which had advanced too far forward of their supporting infantry) and began to return punishment to the Yankees across the creek, but their front is fragile, and if they collapse the entire Confederate force will be flanked.

Lots of bullets being traded across the creek!

The advance in the Union center stalled much as it had historically.  One regiment, the 57^th PA, infiltrated the woods that overlooked both bridges, but without the main thrust of their brigade, there was little they could do.  Meanwhile, the Confederate reserve committed two regiments to defending the bridge, and they began to inflict casualties on the limbered Union guns and infantry still plodding through the wheatfield. 

The 57th, hidden in trees on the right, is the only Union unit to show up to the party.

Finally, on the Union left, the brigade of Colored troops was equally slow to advance, though the artillery attached to their unit did some serious damage to the Texas regiment that had advanced forward to protect the bridge.  While the morale of the Texans grew shaky, the Confederates replied with their own artillery.  Crossing the creek at this point looks nearly impossible.  Both commanders on the Union left and right are screaming for reinforcements.  Sadly, General Trout has but one brigade to commit.  Meanwhile, the Confederate cavalry lurks ever nearer.  Will their arrival be enough to rout the disorganized Union forces?

Black soldiers prepare to Mess with Texas

___________________________________________________________________________

After Turn 6

The battle is becoming bloody.  The Union has still been unable to force their way across the creek, but they are inflicting appalling casualties on the Rebs.  They are taking just as good as they give, however, and if they do manage to force their way across the creek, they may not have the strength to establish a beachhead.

On their right, the Union finally forced the Mississippians to rout.  The timely arrival of some reinforcing Virginians from Albemarle’s Brigade prevented a total disaster, and the 7^th NH, which had been taking a pounding from the Confederate artillery on the hill, finally withered and broke.  Without a reserve, the best the Union can hope for now is to pin down enemy units, hoping  for a breakthrough in the center or on the left.

The Confederates look out at an increasingly thin Blue line on the North flank.

The Union center got off to a slow start.  Had they marched sooner, they might have seized the central bridge, putting a huge gap in the center of the Confederate line.  Instead, two regiments of Albermarle’s Brigade, backed by some artillery, held the crossing.  The bend in the creek left the Virginians vulnerable to flanking fire from the Pennsylvanians in the woods, and despite some fine shooting which trashed a Union battery, the rebels in the center are starting to fray.  With only one regiment in reserve, the Confederate center might be vulnerable to a well-coordinated push.

The Union pushes to the edge of the creek and brings its firepower to bear on the Confederate defenders.

Meanwhile, on the Union left, the brigade of Colored troops was unable to trade shots with the rebels on the hills.  They had driven off the Texans who held the banks, but with most of their infantry pinned down on the banks of the creek, there was no hope of a breakthrough.  Finally, devastating fire from the hilltop caused the entire brigade to break.  The Colored Troops began to think about a withdrawal, but just then the drums of the Iron Brigade could be heard to their rear.  The thin and damaged Confederate line now faced a fresh brigade of enemy troops.

For the end of the battle, click here.

All that remains of the USCI troops who were sent to capture the railway bridge. In the distance, Confederate infantry and guns hold the heights,  

Here come the Black Hats!  Will they be in time?  And where is that pesky Confederate cavalry?

The Battle of Untietam: Setup

The Union right, the north side of the battlefield.  Because of dense terrain, the rebs were a little scattered on this front.  The Union's goal was to mass firepower and take out their opponents piecemeal. 

This is the other end of the battlefield, the Union left.  A small brigade of colored troops tries to take a well-defended railroad bridge.  

This is the center of the battlefield, where a strong Union brigade tries to storm across the creek before the Confederates can bring up their reserve units.

You can see the Order of Battle here.

The Battle of Untietam: Setup Fotos

The sun rises on Untietam Creek.  The Rebels will be arriving soon, just minutes before their Union counterparts.

The Battle of Untietam

It's the end of the school year, and I thought I would put my freshly painted ACW troops through their paces in a legitimate battle.  Here is the setup.  It is a hypothetical engagement on the road to Gettysburg that bears a strong resemblance to another battle in the region fought several months earlier.

June 18th , 1863.  As Lee marches north, he depends in speed and surprise to push deep into the fertile Union heartland.  With his cavalry raiding deep into Pennsylvania, Lee is depending on a strong division led by General Andrew MacAndrews to protect his western flank.  Such a protection is necessary, for a Union force out of Washington led by Obiadiah Trout has orders to find Lee's force and delay it until the Army of the Potomac can move north.  MacAndrews finds a good defensive position in western Maryland, hoping that Trout will attack with the same vigor that MacLellan did across the same creek in the previous September.  For MacAndrews knows that he is not nearly as outnumbered as Lee was in that previous engagement.  Trout, on the other hand, knows thet if he can coordinate an assault along the entire Confederate line, he can avoid the piecemeal bloodbath that met the Union ten months before.  Both Union and Confederate commanders want this to be their...Un-tietam. 

Union Army: 

Trout’s Division 

Brigade 1: Applebaum’s Brigade (Command 8)

                37^th MA (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                7^th NH (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                114^th PA (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                2 Batteries 3” Rifles   (Range: 60”; HtH: 1; Shooting: 2-2-1; Morale 4+; Stamina: 2; Special: )

Brigade 2: Baker’s Brigade  (Command 7)

                8^th OH (Armament: SBM; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                26^th OH (Armament: SBM; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                105^th PA (Armament: SBM; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                57^th PA (Armament: SBM; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                1 Battery 12 lb Napoleons   (Range: 48”; HtH: 1; Shooting: 3-2-1; Morale 4+; Stamina: 2; Spec: )

Brigade 3: Caspersen’s Brigade (Command 7)

                18^th USCI (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                56^th USCI (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                54^th MA (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                2 Batteries 12 lb Napoleons   (Range: 48”; HtH: 1; Shooting: 3-2-1; Morale 4+; Stamina: 2; Spec: )

Brigade 4: Durkin’s Brigade (Command 9).  Enter on an 9+ after turn 4 on W side of creek)

                13^th IL(Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                19^th IN (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                2^nd WI (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                6^th WI (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                1 Battery 12 lb Napoleon   (Range: 48”; HtH: 1; Shooting: 3-2-1; Morale 4+; Stamina: 2; Spec: )

Confederate Army

McAndrew’s Division

Brigade 1: Albermarle’s Brigade  (Command 8)

                9^th VA (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                14^th VA (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                38^th VA (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                53^rd VA (Armament: R-M; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                1 Battery 3” Rifles  (Range: 60”; HtH: 1; Shooting: 2-2-1; Morale 4+; Stamina: 2; Special: )

Brigade 2: Butterfield’s Brigade (Command 8)

                24^th AL (Armament: SBM; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                19^th MS (Armament: SBM; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                11^th TN (Armament: SBM; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                2 batteries 12 lb Napoleons   (Range: 48”; HtH: 1; Shooting: 3-2-1; Morale 4+; Stamina: 2; Spec: )

Brigade 3: Cooper’s brigade (Command 9)

                1^st TX (Armament: SBM; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                8^th TN (Armament: SBM; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                4^th AR (Armament: SBM; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

                2 Batteries 12 lb Napoleons   (Range: 48”; HtH: 1; Shooting: 3-2-1; Morale 4+; Stamina: 2; Spec: )

Brigade 4: Delabord’s Brigade (Command 8) Enter after turn 3 on 8+ in Confederate rear, or after turn 6 on flanks

14^th VA Cav (Armament: R-C; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

17^th VA Cav (Armament: R-C; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )

2^nd NC Cav (Armament: R-C; HtH: 6; Shooting: 3; Morale 4+; Stamina: 3; Special: )