Introduction Colonel Charles Boerstler, commander of the 14th Infantry, looked ahead of him. Winding along the trail heading east were his two best companies of infantry. These veteran troops had been with the regiment since it was formed a year earlier. The two company commanders, Captains Montgomery and Fleming, were experienced and skilled in tactical movements. Boerstler turned in the saddle to survey the long column behind him. Immediately to his rear trudged Captain Karney’s company of recruits still in the white linen uniforms issued when they mustered into service two months earlier. Captain Karney, a solid officer, his lieutenants and non-commissioned officers were in the regulation blue uniforms so that they stood out from the fresh fish. Behind these marched Captain Grindage’s company, another veteran unit although Grindage had just been promoted a month earlier and was still learning how to command. It was hot for a June day in Upper Canada. The troops were moving steadily if slowly. Just coming into Boerstler’s view was Captain Cummings’s company of new recruits. These white uniformed boys, Boerstler could not yet call them soldiers, were even newer to the service than Karney’s people. Boerstler couldn’t see beyond a slight bend in the road but he knew that behind Cummings there was a pair of four-pound guns pulled by good teams and served by excellent gunners. Four more companies trailed the guns. There were two veteran companies commanded by Captains McIlvain and McKenzie and bringing up the rear were two detached militia companies from New York. Boerstler believed that the captains, Hall and Stanley, were adequate but he was entirely unsure of the worth of the miltiamen. Colonel Boerstler wiped the sweat from his brow and spurred his mount to continue walking alongside Fleming’s men. The colonel himself had proposed this raid to General Dearborn and was pleased when it was approved. He had thought the old general to be too cautious, particularly after he had called back the pursuit following the successful attack on Fort George. In Boerstler’s mind, that was the best opportunity to eliminate the British from the region – a full pursuit all the way to Burlington Heights if necessary. When the Americans failed to drive back the British, the redcoats cautiously approached their old fort and threw up a belt of pickets around it. Boerstler was particularly proud of his novel idea. While the fleet was still with the army, Boerstler devised a way of using it to get behind the scattered British pickets and garrisons. Last evening, the navy dropped off Boerstler’s troops at the mouth of Twenty Mile Creek. This creek was named because it entered Lake Ontario roughly twenty miles west of the mouth of the Niagara River. Boerstler would then march eastward coming in behind any British troops or Canadian militia between him and Fort George. In two days, he would be back at the fort. In case he got in over his head, transport ships were out in the lake shadowing his movement. If necessary, Boerstler could return to the shore, signal the transports, and be taken off to safety. This was risky business, to be sure, but the opportunity to clear out all opposition west of Fort George would solidify the American hold over the Niagara River. As Boerstler’s column of Americans approached the bridges over Twelve-Mile Creek, they were observed by Captain McGregor of the Glengarry Light Infantry Fencibles (hereafter the GLIF). The GLIF soldiers, dressed like British Riflemen but armed with muskets, were skilled woodland fighters. McGregor was stunned. He had no idea that there were Americans west of him. But here was a company at least of blue-coated troops. Most likely regulars, he thought, because most militia wore gray or civilian garb. Quickly McGregor called in his subalterns and briefed them of the new situation. The young officers in turn called in their men and silently formed a thin line at the edge of the woods. Any Americans heading to the small village of St. Davids to seize the powder there would have to pass by the Glengarries on the way to the bridge. However, McGregor knew there was little he could do if the Americans used the bridge on the trail leading directly to Fort George. McGregor and his seventy anxious troops waited and watched. If the Americans got close enough without detecting the Glengarry company, they would receive a murderous volley. Then these Canadian fencibles could either continue the fight or withdraw safely through the woods they occupied. Unknown at this time to Captain McGregor, a company of the 41st Regiment of Foot was fast approaching the engagement area from the direction of Fort George. Captain Peterson, with about 60 officers and men, was in a hurry. A rider had arrived at his picket on Ten Mile Creek warning him that at least 600 Americans were en route to his position marching from the west. An industrious officer, Peterson didn’t wait on orders. He knew that the best place to stop or slow down the Americans was at the bridges over Twelve Mile Creek. That body of water was unfordable in most places due to the heavy spring rains. Peterson sent couriers to the other pickets set up by the 41st Regiment and he put his men into motion as quickly as possible. As Peterson caught a glimpse of the head of the American column, he ordered his company into the woods to his right. They would move to a position in the south edge of the woods where they could cover the bridge with their musket fire. It was now a race, to see if the British could secure a good defensive position before the Americans could start across the bridge. But Peterson’s maneuver did not go unnoticed. Captain Montgomery, at the head of the American column, caught sight of the British regulars as they entered the woods overlooking the bridge on the road to Fort George. He grabbed his runner, gave him a brief message, and sped him on to tell the colonel of the enemy’s approach. Marching all morning, the Americans were about to confront the first of many British and Canadian defenders. The Concept This scenario was played out solo using Darryl R. Smith’s incomparable rule set, Our Moccasins Trickled Blood. I wanted a short tactical level game that could reasonably have been set into a War of 1812 situation. While I played the game solo, it can easily be fought with two or more players. OMTB is a particularly appropriate set of rules because it is relatively simple yet distinguishes between types of troops in movement, firing, and morale. Also, sides can have between one and three operations per turn, with two being the most probable outcome of the die roll. The role of leadership can be critical, both that of the generals as well as the company officers. Because I played this game solo in the role of Colonel Boerstler, I had to identify variables to be automated for the British and Canadians. I rolled to see which British unit would be on the board when the battle opened and where it would be located. After that, at the beginning of each British turn, I rolled to see if a British unit would enter the battle. This occurred on a role of 5 or 6 on a D6. Then I rolled to identify the specific unit. A roll of 1-4 meant a company of the 41st Regiment of Foot. A roll of 5 meant a company of Canadian militia and a roll of 6 brought in a large contingent of John Norton’s Grand River Indians. Finally, I rolled to see which of the two roads entering the battlefield would be the starting point. Thus Boerstler (me in this case) would have no warning as British troops concentrated against him. The quicker he attained his objectives the better. And what would be the American objective? Well, frankly, there were reasons either to go to Fort George and safety or to move on St. Davids to destroy the military stores there. So, my battlefield objective was to fight my way across the battlefield and exit along either road with my column more or less intact. Remember, the Americans would have to take their wounded with them which would certainly slow them down making their success less and less likely. The Troops For troops I used 28mm figures. Each figure represented ten soldiers or natives and was mounted on magnetic tape so that it would stick to a metal base. I glued these metal bases to a thin piece of foam core so I could grasp them more easily. The metal bases accommodated up to 10 figures but companies were between 5 and 9 figures. Veteran companies were generally smaller than companies of recruits. The metal bases were designed to fit figures in two ranks. I also marked the bases with the names of the company commanders. The individual figures easily detached from the metal base when put into skirmish order. OMTB, as stated earlier, takes leadership into account. Therefore I designated a leader for each company unit. This would be an officer figure or that of an NCO, drummer, or war chief. Leaders could be hit and a leaderless unit suffered. I used small plastic rings to signify if a unit had weapons loaded or was disordered. My 28mm figures are my best painted and these companies were visually appealing with firing or advancing figures in the front rank and marching figures in the second. They were also quite colorful with green, blue, red, or white uniform coats or dark rifle frocks for my American militia. My battlefield was a 4 by 6 foot table. The area of woods were cut from green paper with thickets distinguished from open woods. OMTB makes this distinction in movement and in concealment and it added an interesting facet to the play. The entire area was generally flat. Orders of Battle American Order of Battle (Colonel Charles Boerstler commanding) Company Commander Figures Status Coat Color Grindage 5 Veteran blue Montgomery 6 Veteran blue Fleming 5 Veteran blue Karney 9 Recruit white Cummings 9 Recruit white McIlvain 7 Veteran blue McKenzie 6 Veteran blue Hall 5 Militia mixed civilian Stanley 6 Militia dark rifle frocks British/Canadian/Native Order of Battle Company Commander Figures Status McGregor (GLIF) 7 veteran Peterson (41st) 6 veteran Gregg (41st) 6 veteran Jones (41st) 9 veteran Barry (41st) 6 veteran Gagnon 6 militia Norton 13 nativee Twelve Mile Creek A Wargame Scenario Introduction and Set-up The Battle Replayed Conclusion Maps of the Wargame Back to Table of Contents -- War of 1812 #4 Back to War of 1812 List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2005 by Rich Barbuto. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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