When a friend interested in gaming came over, I decided to stage the Battle of Maryland Heights for him. This scenario is from one of Scott Mingus' upcoming books. I took the Union and my friend Josh the Confederates. We used Johnny Reb 3 in 15mm. What happened in the game reminded me a bit of First Bull Run. The Confederates attacked, with the high point of the game being when my 1st Maryland in extended line valiantly threw back two rebel regiments. On the Union left flank, the 2nd and 3rd South Carolina took heavy casualties and soon routed off the board. The Confederates took only moderate casualties (the eliminated 2nd and 3rd being the only regiments that suffered heavy losses) and began to fall back.

I felt that I could take advantage of the situation with an all out charge on the rebels. This proved to be the turning point of the battle. After losing one stand to a defensive volley, the 1st Maryland rolled snake eyes on a morale check. Within an hour, the 1st went from being completely victorious over two rebel regiments to being nothing but a memory. I was shocked.

After that, it seemed I never got a break. Ford was killed in the middle of the battle, the 32nd Ohio took 60% casualties and withdrew. The 126th New York fell back, as I intended to pull them out of the slaughter. I changed my mind, though, and felt that they might be able to hold. They were down to 60% strength and were unable move forward to occupy some hasty works. The Garibaldi Guard attempted to move forward and stop Barksdale's brigade, which had recently routed the 1st Maryland, but took 40% casualties, so disengaged. They reformed 6" behind the hasty works and attempted to hold out here.

When Dixon Miles arrived on the field, he was facing a disaster. The Union force was about 200 yards behind their starting position and outnumbered at least 2-to-1. We had to quit the game right about when Kershaw's Brigade charged the 126th New York and Barksdale's Mississippians were charging the Garibaldi Guard. It was considered a tactical Union victory since the Rebs had not completely taken over the objective. However, they definitely would have won the game if it lasted one or two more turns.

Looking back, I feel that my charges were a mistake. Had I stayed in the earthworks and let the Rebs try to attack me again, I possibly could have held them. Still, if 1st Maryland hadn't faltered (they only lost about one or two figures -- it was their first casualty morale check), the charges COULD have been successful. As it was, Josh seemed to always roll just enough to pass. Dixon Miles's appearance seemed to cause the Union troops to fight a little bit harder, but the battle was pretty much lost by then.

Josh was extremely excited about the game and wants to play again. Another player from a demo I hosted at my church's Superbowl asked if I would put on another at the next Superbowl. I told him I most likely would.