Confederates Take the Day at Jeanette's Crossroads Rules. Fire & Fury. Scale. 15mm ACW Forces: Federal: five brigades of infantry, four artillery batteries; Confederate: six brigades of infantry, four artillery batteries. 12 June 1861. Somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley. Roughly equal Federal and Confederate forces met on the fields near Jeanette's Crossroads, vying for control of the junction and the nearby bridge important to the upcoming campaigns of both sides. But when all was said and done, the Confederates took the day. The action began when the division on the Federal left (two infantry brigades and two artillery batteries), advancing with surprising boldness, misinterpreted their orders and struck out toward the wrong hill, leaving a potentially dangerous gap in the Federal lines. Outnumbering the Federals two to one, Jackon's forces blunted the unsupported Federal attack, forcing the Federals to withdraw in good order. In the center, one Federal brigade was driven from the field before Jackson turned all of his weight upon the Federal left. The Federal right, slow to move up, completed a series of piecemeal attacks on the Confedrate left that succeeded in flanking Jackson's position, but exhausted the Federal forces before they could exploit their success. With the Federal left in full retreat, the remaining Federal forces had no choice but to leave the field in the hands of the Confederates. Jackson, once again the lucky hero, was shot through his frock coat, but unwounded. His presence, more than anything else on the Federal left (plus those pesky dice gods), determined the outcome of the day. Analysis The terrain advantages lay with the Confederates who arrived at the bridge and crossroads first and were able to deploy to take advantage of the terrain. The Federal left misinterpreted its orders, leading to the Federal forces committing a series of piecemeal, uncoordinated attacks. Confederate counterattacks stove in the Federal center and drove back the Federal left. The only real Federal success occurred on the right after Confederate forces began concentrating on the Federal left in isolation; unfortunately, the Federals were not in a position to exploit their momentary success on the right. Federal employment of artillery was shaky at best, especially on the left where the Federal batteries got into position only to have to retreat immediately or be overwhelmed by rapidly advancing Confederate infantry. The Confederates clearly won the day although casualties were high on both sides. Great game! Back to Dispatch September 2003 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2003 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com