This is Scenario 1, one of the 8 that appear in the book.--RL
Moore's Creek Bridge
27 February 1776
SUMMARY
| Turns | Theatre | Period | Attackers | Figure Ratio | Total Figures (Inf/Cav/Cdrs/Guns) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Southern | Early War | Loyalists | 1:10 | 180 / - / 4 / 1 |
SITUATION
Provincial BG Donald MacDonald has recruited a force of up-country North Carolina Loyalists—mostly recent immigrants from Scotland and ex-"Regulator" vigilantes—to help reestablish Royal authority in the colony. Hastening to the Atlantic coast to rendezvous with a 900-strong British expeditionary force, they have found their way barred by a pack of rebels holding the bridge over Widow Moore's Creek. A Loyalist council of war has unanimously decided to attack at dawn.
TERRAIN NOTES
Moore's Creek is about 35' wide, shallow, chilly and sluggish. It can be crossed anywhere by foots troops and leader figures (only), given an appropriate penalty to movement. By way of defense, the Patriots have thrown up earthworks at the two positions shown: a rambling, discontinuous berm to the west of the bridge (at Reference Point A) and a shallow redan atop a low hill to the east (Point B). A gap in the berm which had until recently allowed the road to pass through has been filled in with a short stretch of abatis (felled trees with their branches interlocked and sharpened). This is fairly easily negotiated from the camp side, but presents a formidable obstacle to troops attempting to move through it from the west.
SETUP
Patriots: The units of Caswell's Brigade set up, in any formation, in their camp at Point A. The owning player rolls one six-sided die (1d6) before the start of play: on a roll of 1-2, Caswell's tents begin the game already struck; on a 3-6, they remain standing. In the latter case, Caswell's men have been roused from sleep just moments ago and all his units begin the game disordered. Tent models are one-story obstacles to lines of sight and fire (LOS/F), but provide no cover from fire. A standing tent disrupts Line formations and charges, however, and delays any figure attempting to move across it normally as does a rail fence. A tent may be voluntarily struck at no cost by any unit that moves across it, whereupon the model is removed. Once struck, tents cannot be re-erected.
Lillington's Detachment sets up (in any formation and in good order) at Point B.
Loyalists: No Loyalist units are present on the table at start.
REINFORCEMENTS
Patriots: None.
Loyalists: All Loyalist units enter the table on Turn 1, in any formation permitted by the terrain, within 12" of the road at Point C.
SPECIAL RULES
- Patriot Command. There is no Patriot C-in-C in this scenario. If there are two or more Patriot players, none can give orders that are binding on the others' commands. Further, for the sake of play-balance, it is strongly suggested that some sort of Limited Communication rules be used in this case.
- Limited Artillery Ammunition. The Patriot artillery battery can fire only four (4) times before running out of ammunition.
- No Hidden Movement. Due to the inexperience and indiscipline of the troops involved, no units of either side may use hidden movement during the game. If in Woods, however, they do enjoy its defensive advantages.
- Dismantling the Bridge. For the purposes of this scenario, it is not possible to completely destroy Moore's Creek Bridge—even with artillery fire. However, four or more Patriot (only) infantry figures which occupy the bridge for one full movement phase, do nothing else, and are not under fire can remove the bridge decking. In this state, the bridge can only be traversed by infantry units in Columns one figure wide. It otherwise acts as a simple ford, but imposes only half the movement penalty normally associated with a ford. Once partially dismantled in this way, the bridge cannot be restored during the scenario.
VICTORY DETERMINATION
The Loyalists desired to continue their march to the coast, while discouraging this particular group of rebels from harassing them any further. The Patriots aimed to turn back or destroy the Tory force.
Loyalist units may exit the table anywhere east of Moore's Creek, within 12" of Point D.
- If at least 50 percent (by figure count) of the Loyalist force has exited (or, in the umpire's judgment, is in a position to be able to exit imminently, and unopposed), by the end of Turn 8, AND the Patriot side has suffered at least 25 percent casualties, the Loyalists win a clear victory.
- If neither Loyalist victory condition is fulfilled, the bulk of the remaining Loyalist force turns for home and the Patriots win.
- If one victory condition is fulfilled but not the other, the two weakened forces are simply compelled to fight again elsewhere; the game is a draw.
HISTORICAL OUTCOME
In reality, Moore's Creek was unfordable locally and could only be crossed by using the bridge. Caswell's Brigade withdrew from the western earthworks to join Lillington on the night before the battle, pulling up the bridge decking as it went. The Loyalist attack the next morning was led by 75 handpicked, broadsword-wielding Highlanders, who went forward with bagpipes skirling. Crying, "King George and broad swords!" they swarmed through Caswell's abandoned camp, then tried to negotiate the rounded and slippery side rails of the bridge in the face of a galling rifle fire. Campbell's Provisional Highland Company is shown as Class 2 in this scenario to reflect the foolhardy courage of these men.
When they had pulled themselves together on the east side of the creek and closed to within 30 paces of the Patriots, one great volley of musketry and a dose of grapeshot shattered the Highland ranks. Witnessing this, the mass of Loyalists who had remained on the west side of the bridge promptly retreated; effective Patriot pursuit turned this movement into a rout. Some 850 exhausted Loyalists were easily captured the next day. In subsequent weeks almost the entire contingent of armed Loyalists in North Carolina was coerced into surrender, netting the Patriot cause some 1,850 muskets and rifles and 15,000 British pounds in cash.
This scenario changes history by altering the physical characteristics of Moore's Creek somewhat. It also posits that the independent-minded Caswell chose not withdraw from his camp on the western bank before the fight: Moore's Creek Bridge is thus left intact at the start of the action. Finally, the scenario assumes that charismatic BG MacDonald did not—as in history—fall ill before the battle, leaving the command to his lackluster subordinate, McLeod.
UNIT ROSTER: PATRIOT
| UNIT | COMMAND | #FIGS | SETUP | CLASS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Bern Militia Inf. Regt. [1] | Caswell's Brigade | 20 | A | 4 |
| Ashe's Volunteer Rangers | Caswell's Brigade | 12 r | A | 4 |
| Hillsborough Militia Inf. Regt. | Caswell's Brigade | 12 | A | 4 |
| Halifax District Militia Inf. Regt. | Caswell's Brigade | 20 | A | 4 |
| Edenton Militia Inf. Regt. | Caswell's Brigade | 16 | A | 4 |
| Wilmington Militia Inf. Regt. [2] | Lillington's Det. | 12 | B | 4 |
| Section, NC Militia Lt. Artillery [3] | Lillington's Det. | (3) | B | 3 |
| Commander Name | Command | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| COL Caswell | Caswell's Brigade | Fair |
| COL Lillington | Lillington's Det. | Fair |
| Total Patriot Figures | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inf | Cav | Cdrs | Guns | |
| 92 | - | 2 | 1 | |
| UNIT | COMMAND | #FIGS | SETUP | CLASS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell's Provisional Highland Co. | C-in-C | 8 * | Reinf. | 2 |
| 1 "Regulator" Bn. | C-in-C | 16 r | Reinf. | 3 |
| 2 "Regulator" Bn. | C-in-C | 12 r | Reinf. | 3 |
| 1 Loyal Highland Infantry Bn. [5] | C-in-C | 16 | Reinf. | 4 |
| 2 Loyal Highland Infantry Bn. | C-in-C | 12 | Reinf. | 4 |
| 3 Loyal Highland Infantry Bn. | C-in-C | 12 | Reinf. | 4 |
| NC Loyalist Infantry Bn. | C-in-C | 12 | Reinf. | 4 |
| * This unit is armed with melee weapons only. | ||||
| Commander Name | Command | Rating | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BG MacDonald | (C-in-C) | Good | ||
| COL McLeod | - | Fair | ||
| Total Loyalist Figures | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Inf | Cav | Cdrs | Guns |
| 88 | - | 2 | - |
[4] This Loyalist order-of-battle ignores 500-700 men who, while nominally serving with the various units under MacDonald's command, had no firearms (they expected to have muskets issued to them by the British when they reached the coast). The most stout-hearted among the broadswordmen had already been skimmed off to form Campbell's company; the remainder were held out of harm's way during the fight and, understandably, were among the first to flee when things began to go wrong. Should you wish to represent them in the scenario, be warned that this unreliable mass may prove almost as dangerous to MacDonald as to the rebels.
Their Unit Roster entries are as follows:
[5] None of the three Loyal Highland infantry battalions in this scenario have bayonets.
UNIT ROSTER: OTHER HIGHLAND/LOYALIST
UNIT COMMAND #FIGS SETUP CLASS Highland/Loyalist Reserve Infantry A C-in-C 20 * Reinf. 5 Highland/Loyalist Reserve Infantry B C-in-C 20 * Reinf. 5 Highland/Loyalist Reserve Infantry C C-in-C 20 * Reinf. 5 * These units are armed with melee weapons only. They contribute toward Loyalist (50%) victory conditions should they manage to get off the table, but are otherwise not included in the Loyalists' Total Figures count for purposes of victory determination.
TABLE LAYOUT
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