On December 2, 1995 the Tombigbee Rangers met at Caldwell Lodge to commence RangerThon I, our first effort at an all day and night gaming event. With plenty of chili, beverages, and cigar on hand, the Battle of Cotton Gin Hill began at 2:00 p.m. The ACW game was based on the Battle of Champion Hill "What If" scenario found in Fire & Fury's Great Western Battles book. The game featured the Army of Tennessee versus the Army of the Cumberland, Chickamauga order of battle. The Battle plans were simple, the Union would try to turn the Confederate left with Thomas's Corps while Crittendon and McCook would assault the center to prevent reinforcement of the left. The Confederate plan was to use their good interior lines and road network to reinforce where needed to hold their terrain. Thomas struck Polk quickly and siezed the high ground m the extreme left and also pushed the Rebels off the big hill near the crossroads. D.H. Hill quickly pulled part of Cleburnes' divIsion out of line and moved to Polk's support. Polk,.at the same time managed to rally part of his corps and began a vicious counterattack, regained the high ground for the moment and capturing a battery In the process. Unfortunately, Polk and Hindman were knocked out of action during the attacks. The Bishop was seriously wounded and his subordinate was captured during the heavy fighting. The big hill changed hands four times during the engagement and twice the Federals pushed down to the crossroads only to be turned back by Polk and Hill's troops. Meanwhile, Crittendon and McCook's assault on the center was having problems. Bad terrain and poor dice resulted in an uncoordinated attack. Scheduled to be a concerted effort between five brigades, instead Crittendon struck first with two brigades. He crested the ridge only to be knocked off by Cleburne's counterattack. The Confederate center, however, was further weakened as Hill was forced to move more troops to the left to meet the Union attacks. McCook then hit the position with three brigades, finding initial success although short lived success. Short lived because at that time, Longstreet's Corps swung into action on the Yankee left. Yielding to the pressure, McCook was forced to retreat. The arrival of Brannan and Wood's divisions began to take a toll on Polk's tired corps. Thomas began a flanking move which further thinned the bishop's line, forcing Hill to dispatch more troops to his aid, McCook, meanwhile, had patched together a defensive line that slowed Longstreet's progress and the situation In Crittendon's sector had been stabilized. Time, however, had run out for the Federals. The game was called at this time due to the lateness of the hour and the emptiness of the coolers. Points were added up and Confederate victory was declared, 78-41. Casualities were close with Confederate losses-around 8200 (33%), one battery lost in addition to the loss of the Bishop and Hindman. Union losses were 10400 (35%), four batteries lost and the capture of General Joseph Reynolds. The Rebels succeeded in holding the crossroads the entire game as well as one bridge while the Federals only managed to capture one bridge. Commendations to the Confederate High Command of Scott "Bishop Polk," Noe, David "Pete Longstreet" Millender, and Lee "Are You Sure That Battery Wasn't Limbered Up/D.H. Hill" Drake for their Stubborn defense-and timely counterattacks. The efforts of Tom "Fighting McCook" Carroll, Joey "Joe Reynolds/John Brannan" Knight, and Thomas "I Swear That Battery Was Not Limbered/Crittendon" Douglas are to be commended for their efforts as well despite yours truly posing as George Henry Thomas. The Union commander failed to bring his artillery superiority to bear and failed to take into account the terrain when ordering Crittendon and McCook's attack. Looks as though a change in command may be necessary and maybe even a court martial. Plans are being made, however, are being made to either pick up where we left off or begin a day two of the battle, so the "Rock of Chickamauga" may have an opportunity for redemption! Back to Dispatch July 2001 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2001 by HMGS Mid-South 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