Nine players gathered around the gaming table at HMGS East's Fall-In 2000 in Gettysburg to refight "Afternoon Action on Cashtown Road," a composite of two scenarios from my planned Gettysburg Johnny Reb III scenario book (convertible to Piquet or other regimental rule sets). The 4'x6' table depicted the area just north of Fairfield Road (Rt. 36 today) in Gettysburg to just north of Cashtown Road / Chambersburg Pike (today's Rt. 30). The east-west dimensions were from Herr Ridge (today's Herrs Ridge Road) to the fields east of the Lutheran Theological Seminary (to the Grimes House). This is roughly a two mile stretch of Cashtown Road depicted in the standard JR III 1 inch = 50 yards ground scale. A good audience watched the action as well, kibitzing.

Union set-up positions were as follows: Iron Brigade in the Herbst Woods; Stone's Brigade around the McPherson farm; Biddle along the Fairfield Road; Cutler in Railroad Woods on Seminary Ridge north of the third railroad cut. Rebel attacking brigades were in two waves. Wave one consisted of Brockenbrough and Pettigrew from Heth's Division, and wave two was Scales and Perrin of Pender's Division, supported by two battalions of CSA artillery under Lindsay Walker on Herr Ridge.

At 2 pm (6:30 p.m. in actual 2000 clock time), the Rebs started their advance. Long range artillery fire blasted the Herbst Woods, but the Iron Brigade held steady, as did Stone. Advancing within charge distance, Heth's long line attacked. Marvelous defensive fire rolls pushed back the Rebs, and charges were won by the defenders in every case at this stage of the battle. In disorder and confused, Pettigrew and Brockenbrough continued to try to rally troops and form a fire perimeter as the second wave came on. Union leaders, smelling victory, rushed up reserves (Biddle) and several artillery batteries from Seminary Ridge limbered and rode to East McPherson's Ridge where they unlimbered and blazed away. Final assaults by Pettigrew and Brockenbrough failed to dent the Stone - Meredith line, and both CSA brigades retired.

Daniel's Brigade entered the fray from the north at 3 pm, marching in battle line from Forney's fields to the first and second railroad cuts, where they were met with artillery fire from East McPherson's Ridge and by musket fire from advancing troops under Biddle and Cutler. Simultaneously, Perrin's attack on the Iron Brigade in Herbst Woods lost momentum and withdrew. In the Union center, Stone (supported by the 6th Wisconsin) was shaken and disordered by a vicious charge by Scales' Brigade, driving them off of West McPherson's Ridge. The disordered attackers followed up their charge bonus and ran into the 2nd Union line (East McPherson's Ridge) where one of Biddle's regiments blunted the temporary CSA breakthrough, forcing back Scales. On game turn 7 (4:20 pm historical time), Heth and Pender realized that they could not drive the Yankees off of the field, and withdrew, leaving over 2,400 casualties behind.

All in all, it was a well-played game and I think folks had some fun. Charging uphill in the woods at the Iron Brigade using green troops (Pettigrew) led to disaster as great die-rolling by Paul, the Yankee commander ripped them apart. These scenarios and 18 others will be in the scenario book when Ivor Janci has time to publish it. Over the winter, I will keep playtesting these scenarios, and invite you to play the ones that I have posted to the jriii egroups community.