Some friends and I conducted a Civil War campaign recently that was quite realistic and a lot of fun. Joel Nicolas was the Confederate player, Monty Lumann was the Federal player, and I was the umpire. We used STARS AND BARS to resolve the miniatures battles, while the strategic moves were made using a system devised by Monty, where movement was made on a four-hex-sheet map that covered the area in which the campaign was to take place. Each player sent me his map each week and I transposed their moves to the master map that I used as umpire. As the umpire, I was able to resolve any problems fairly easily and keep things going at a good pace; there was certainly no lack of interest on the part of the two worthy opponents. Large Map (slow: 117K) Jumbo Map (slower: 183K) We used a scale of one figure equal to forty men, with each side having 250 figures plus artillery at the start of the campaign. There was no hope of reinforcements to replace losses. The average strength of the brigades was based on the 1863 levels listed at the back of STARS AND BARS. 1862 The year was to be 1862, the Confederates were well entrenched in Fredericksburg south of the Rappahanock River, and the Federals were well entrenched opposite Fredericksburg on the north side of the river. Both sides were so well entrenched that a successful assault against the opposing position was impossible. Making both players aware of this at the beginning, I gave each player his objectives for the campaign; of course neither knew the other's objectives. The Federal player was to cross the river and cut the three main roads leading into Fredricksburg as the preliminary to a full scale siege. He could expect resistance from a force equal in size to his own. The Confederate player was told that a large Federal force may attempt to cross the river; it was his task to prevent that from happening. He would be given a force equal to the expected threat. The following is a day by day account of the two players actions during the campaign. April 1 and 2, 1862: Federal forces departed from their camp east of Fredricksburg, and headed west. Federal cavalry forces discovered that both Scott's Ford and Banks' Ford were held by Confederate forces. The Fedeal cavalry was one regiment strong, but they decided not to try forceing the fords, not realizing that only a very small force of Confederate cavalry was guarding the two fords. An attack would probably have succeeded with only moderate casualties. When they arrived, the Federal infantry and artillery camped 1 1/2 miles north of Scott's Ford while the cavalry camped on the high ground overlooking the ford from the north side of the Rappahanock River. The Confederate infantry and artillery left Fredricksburg and set up camp along the Orange Turnpike, five miles east of where the turnpike crosses Plank Road. The cavalry divided into four independent groups stationed at the intersections of key roads to detect any Federal forces moving along these roads. The Federal forces had made their move at night to prevent detection by the enemy while the Confederate forces had started out early in the morning. As a consequence, the later stages of their departure were sighted by Federal balloon reconnaissance troops as they went west; this intelligence was reported to the Federal headquarters. April 3: On the third day of the campaign the situation became more intense. The Federal forces near Scott's and Banks' Fords moved north and threw a pontoon bridge across the Rappahanock River. The cavalry crossed first and proceded south on the road, overwhelming a small force of Confederate cavalry pickets at an intersection. A few of the Confederate pickets survived to alert the main body. April 4: The Federal cavalry encountered Confederate cavalry forces numbering half their strength, but were attacked from two directions and suffered 25% casualties. They then launched a counter-attack and drove back the Confederate cavalry, inflicting 50% casualties. Once the Federal's main body of troops crossed over the bridge, they were joined by their cavalry and headed east. They overran the Confederate pickets at both fords, and then proceeded south to cut River Road. During this time, the Confederate main force remained in position on the Orange Turnpike. April 5: After overunning the fords the Federal forces moved to a hill south of the fords overlooking River Road. Two brigades of infantry and all the artillery dug in on the north side of the hill, where they could control River Road with artillery. On the south slope of the same hill were positioned two more brigades to act as hidden units in the event of an attack on the units on the north slope. Another brigade force marched to Telegraph Road and took up position where it enters the forest south of Fredricksburg. Finally, the Federal cavalry moved to cut the Orange Turnpike where it goes through the forest to the west of Fredricksburg. It was here in the middle of the forest that they ran head on into the entire Confederate force with the exception of most of the cavalry, which was still picketing many of the crossroads. The Federal cavalry fell back to the south slope of the hill where the main body of the army was encamped, and joined the two infantry brigades stationed there. The contingent of Confederate cavalry followed them and took up position half a mile south of the Federals. What the Confederates did not know was that the main force of the Federal army was just on the other side of the hill. When the cavalry reported the position of the Federal troops, the Confederates had already begun to dig in along the Orange Turnpike. All this activity was observed by the Federals on the hill. April 6: In the morning, the Federal forces on Telegraph Road took up a new position on the road south of the forest to the immediate west of Fredricksburg. The Federal cavalry and three of the four artillery batteries on the hill advanced pushing back the Confederate cavalry that was posted to watch them, to a position just north of the Confederate position. The Federal infantry moved from the hill overlooking River Road into the forest perpendicular to the Confederate forces on Orange Turnpike. These settled for the night and prepared to attack the next morning. The Confederate forces made their moves that night. First, the Confederate commander sent half of his infantry and artillery to dislodge the Federal troops on Telegraph Road, but as the Federals had left that morning, they found only an abandoned camp. The remaining force broke camp and moved into the forest facing north. This put their left flank even closer to the Federals. A cavalry force was sent to screen the left encountering the Federal forces stationed in the woods and alerting the main body. At the same time the Federal forces became aware of the Confederates' much close position. The result was a battle the following morning; The Battle of River Road Forest. THE BATTLE OF RIVER ROAD FOREST April 7: The entire battle took place in dense woods. During the night of the 6th, the Confederate forces constructed field works facing against an attack by those Federal troops to the north of them. The Confederate force consisted of five brigades of infantry, one regiment of cavalry and two batteries of artillery. The cavalry was split into two equal units and placed on either flank of the infantry, operating dismounted due to the dense woods. The artillery was placed on the line just to the right of center (Map 2). Unknown to them, virtually the entire Federal force was poised for an attack on their left flank. The Federal force, composed of seven infantry brigades and one artillery battery, had moved into position during the morning of the 6th. They were deployed into a line running north to south, having prepared to launch an attack to the east against the Confederate position on the Orange Turnpike. The Federal forces also had three batteries of artillery and a cavalry regiment just outside the east end of the forest in clear terrain. It was between this hammer and anvil that the Confederates had unwittingly moved during the night. Yet it was this apparent mistake that may have saved the Confederate forces. The dense forest cut the range of small arms and artillery to virtually point blank range, preventing the federal troops from devastating the Confederate left with enfilade fire, as the Confederates were able to turn and run before the Federals were in range. The battle went as follows: When the Confederate cavalry reported the presence of the federal forces on their left flank, the two left flank brigades were pulled back and formed into line to stop the approaching Federal troops while the rest of the army fled (Map 2). The Federals formed into columns and moved as fast as possible to catch the Confederates. Coming into range of the Confederate delaying force, three brigades reformed into line and exchanged fire while the other four continued their advance in column. The Federal artillery attempted to circle south to cut off the fleeing Confederates. On the Confederate right, the Federal cavalry dismounted and entered the forest. The Confederate cavalrymen on the right advanced to meet them to cover the retreat of the main force. The Federal cavalrymen charged and were repulsed in a fierce hand-to-hand fight, with neither side sustaining heavy losses. The Confederate cavalrymen were joined by the other half of their regiment, and prepared to receive another Federal attack. The Federal cavalrymen launched the attack in conjuction with a brigade of infantry which attacked the Confederates from the rear. Seeing the hopelessness of the situation, the Confederates turned and fled. By the time the Confederate cavalrymen fled, three of their five infantry brigades and the artillery were safely away; thanks to the sacrifices of the two leftmost brigades. These brigades had shattered one of the attacking Federal brigades, but were attacked from the rear by a fourth Federal brigade. This resulted in the two brigades being surrounded, and they surrendered. The Federal artillery did virtually nothing during the entire battle. They attempted to position themselves in the path of the fleeing Confederates, but, thanks to the dense woods, the enemy managed to avoid them and slipped away unharmed. So ended The Battle of River Road Forest. April 8: After the battle, the Federal forces withdrew to the hills south of Scott's Ford and dug in to await supplies. When the supply train arrived on the 8th, the prisoners were sent back with the empty wagons. The Federal forces built a supply depot on a hill north of Scott's Ford with the supplies brought by the train, and also built a bridge across the ford. For their part, the Confederate forces fell back two miles and waited for the other half of their army to rejoin them on the 8th; at which time they also received new supplies. While this was being done, the Confederate cavalry went north in an attempt to recapture Scott's Ford before the Federals could be resupplied. This force was unable to reach the ford as the entire Federal army was positioned in front of it so it fell back to the forest to the east and kept the Confederate commander informed of the Federal troops positions. April 9: On the ninth day, the Federal forces finished the supply depot and the bridge, but otherwise held their fortified positions. The Confederates moved to within a mile of the Federal lines and began to entrench. Shortly thereafter the Battle of Bank's Ford began. It was a battle of mutual dustruction that achieved no decisive results. The Federal forces were positioned to the north of the Confederates. On their right flank, they had four medium sized brigades positioned in trenches. The center, consisting of one large infantry brigade with two artillery batteries on either flank and the cavalry, was deployed with half its troops in the trenches and half out. The left flank, composed of a large and a medium sized infantry brigade was deployed on clear terrain north of a hill. April 10: The morning following the battle, the Confederate cavalry, with a brigade of infantry, two additional infantry regiments and a battery of artillery, stormed Banks' Ford. The few pickets there were surprised and fled. The cavalry then pressed along Scott's Road in search of the federal supply train that they thought was on the road. It was the infantry that discovered the Federal's supply depot on top of the hill just north of Scott's Ford. The cavalry had rushed past the supply depot in their haste to reach the road. A captain among the slower moving infantry noticed something on top of the hill to his left. He took his company up the hill, overran the guards posted there and captured the hill which, he discovered, was piled high with supplies. While the supply depot was being captured, the rest of the Confederate infantry captured the north side of the bridge over Scott's Ford and turned back the Federal forces that tried to cross over. The Federals, surprised by the situation, fell back to their trenches. The Federals were in a desperate situation. The main body of the Confederate army was entrenched just south of their position; there was still a large number of Confederate troops in the forest to the east; their supplies had been captured before they had been able to replenish themselves; and their only two avenues across the river, Banks' Ford to the west and Scott's Ford to the north, were in the hands of the enemy. They were almost completely surrounded. Though he knew that he had the Federals surrounded, the Confederate commander also knew that storming the enemy position would be extrememly costly, so he decided to parley with them. A messenger was sent forward under a white flag to deliver the Confederate commander's terms, parole of the Federal forces if they laid down their arms and crossed back over the river to their own side. The Federal commander, elated by such generous terms, accepted the offer immediately. This ending the Compaign of the Wilderness, as we had come to call this very enjoyable campaign. The Confederates were deployed almost entirely in their trenches. On the right flank were two strong brigades of infantry and two batteries of artillery. Another infantry brigade was positioned out of the trench line with the cavalry stationed in a forest on the far right. In the center were two entrenched infantry brigades, and two batteries of artillery, while on the left was a brigade of entrenched infantry and one battery of artillery (Map 3). The battle opened when both sides attempted to seize the hill on the Confederate right flank. The Confederate artillery and two brigades of infantry in comumns, rushed to gain the top of the hill. They were opposed by a brigade of Federal infantry that was also attempting to take the hill, but without artillery support. The Confederates started closer and reached the hill first, but were slow in deploying their artillery. The Feds, realizeing the danger posed by the enemy artillery on their flank, charged the Confederate infantry in an attempt to throw them back and overrun the artillery (Map 3). The charge was repulsed and the Confederate artillery finished its deployment. Once deployed, the guns decimated the Federal left with cannister fire, then turned their attention to the advancing Federals in the center (Map 4). In the center, the Federal artillery had inflicted heavy losses on the Confederate infantry and destroyed half the artillery posted there, while the Confederate artillery had accomplished nothing. After weakening the enemy's center, the Federal forces charged into contact so that the Confederate artillery could not continue to fire upon them, In a huge melee invioving three Federal brigades and two Confederate brigades the Federals managed to push the Confederates back into their trenches (Map 4). On the Confederate left there was very little activity. The Confederates stayed in their trenches or close to them, while the Federals advanced to a postion just beyond the effective range of the Confederate's muskets. The small battery of Confederate artillery accomplished nothing of note. After eliminating the Federal infantry on the right flank, the Confederate forces regrouped for a massive flank attack on the Federal center. The Federal commander anticipated such an attack and so turned his artillery on the Confederate guns in an attempt to knock them out so that they could not support the infantry, however, only the two batteries on the left were in effective range. With extraordinary marksmanship, the Federal artillerymen knocked out the enemy artillery threatening their left flank and rescued what looked to be a hopeless situation. Without supporting artillery, and in a losing situation in the center, the Confederate commander called off the attack on the Federal flank as he did not wish to take the casualties that would occur in such an attempt. At the same time, the Federal commander decided to withdraw from the center rather than risk an attack against entrenched troops (Map 4). Initially victorious in their opening attacks, both sides gave up favorable positions due to the presence of unfavorable positions on another part of the battlefield. As a consequence, both sides withdrew without a decisive victory. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. III #1 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1981 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com