Part 1

At the last HomerCon we resumed play of the Continuing Campaign of This Hallowed Ground. Previously, at Origins '99, we had played up to the 1:00 pm turn of the first day of the battle.

(left to right): Jay Hiserote, Dave Powell, John Reed, Zack Waltz.

When we restarted John Reed was the overall Union commander. He also commanded the Union 1st Corps and the cavalry. Dave Powell started as the Union 11th Corps commander. On the Confederate side, Zach Waltz served as overall commander and also commanded Heth's division. Milt Janosky continued with Pender's division, Vernon Robinson took a break from Austerlitz to command Rodes's division.

The Starting Position

We started at 1:00 pm with the Union 1st Corps defending McPherson's Ridge. The 2nd and 3rd divisions defended a North-South line from just north of the railroad cut to just north of Fairfield road. Opposing them were Pender's division, on the southern part of the line, and Heth's division in the northern section. Union 1st Corps, 1st Division was defending in an east-west line just south of the Mummasburg road. To the east of Oak Hill the Union cavalry was stationed, extending to Carlisle road. Opposing them was Rodes's division. Fighting in the morning had been relatively light except for a clash between Union 1/1 and Confederate Rodes's division. This had left both units bloodied, with Rodes getting the worst of it.

Afternoon of the First Day

The first several turns were taken up with the Confederates tending to command. Robert E. Lee arrived at 1:30 pm and was not happy with what he saw. Dissatisfied with A.P. Hill's performance, Lee gave Pender divisional orders to attack through the Fairfield road and turn north to turn Union 1st Corps flank. Lee then requested Pender to continue the attack to the Chambersburg Pike. Preferring to ignore Hill, Lee then ordered Heth to attack along the Chambersburg Pike, through McPherson's Ridge to Seminary ridge. When Seminary ridge is taken Heth is to defend the ridge. Heth is told to expect Rodes's division as support on his left as Rodes joins in the attack with Early to take Gettysburg from the north. Notice that, in the orders to Rodes, Lee also ignored Dick Ewell, Rodes Corps commander.

A bit of commentary here. The manner of orders execution chosen by the Confederate command is brought on by Lee's anti-initiative with both A.P. Hill and Ewell. The Southern players found it easier to get individual divisions moving than whole corps.

By 3:00 pm Lee and Hill were content with the conduct of the battle. All four Confederate divisions had orders and were moving on them.

The Confederate attacks moved along well. The Union 2nd and 3rd Divisions were not up to defending against two Confederate divisions and were having a bad time. Despite putting up a stiff resistance they obviously could not hold. Reynolds had issued orders to Doubleday (the Union 1st Corps commander) to retreat back to the sunken road but Doubleday just could not figure out his orders. I just could not roll a 5 or 6 on the delay reduction roll and, as we were using the optional defensive orders rule, I could not indiscriminately move my men back. Finally, at 3:00 pm a Heth assault came close to taking the 1st Corps HQ and an Emergency Corps Retreat was ordered. This retreat cost the Union 13 straggler losses.

On the northern part of the field the Rodes assault was going slower and Jubal Early, in an exceptionally broad interpretation of his orders, moved his division southeast to attack Gettysburg from the east. By 3:00 pm Rodes had pushed the Union 1/1 Division back and was moving on 11th Corps' left flank. Early was pressing 11th Corps' right flank hard and this flank was about to crumble. The overall pressure was overwhelming, and by 4:00 pm the Union line looked like it would either be smashed or enveloped. 11th Corps' position was particularly precarious. With Rodes attacking from the NW and Early attacking from the east the chances of them escaping looked bleak. Worse, 11th Corps was counting on 1/1 to hold their left flank and the 1st Corps was executing Emergency Corps Retreats!

At 3:30 pm Tom DeFranco joined the fray, taking over Rodes's division.

Just when things looked the worst for the Union, the RSS command system intervened. During the command phase of the 4:30 pm turn the Confederates rolled two pairs of snake-eyes. These two rolls brought Heth's and Rodes's divisions to a halt. Heth retreated back to Seminary ridge and Rodes backs up to the Engelhart house (B18.15) area. 11th Corps was still getting the stuffing kicked out of it and at 5:00 pm had to execute its own Emergency Corps Retreat. This was probably the most unusual occurrence of the game. With Early to his east, Rodes withdrawn to the NW, and 1st Corps crumbling to his left, Howard executed his ECR due north! This put 11th Corps completely out of touch with the rest of the army (minus 15 straggler losses incurred in the retreat). 11th Corps ended up between A. Doerson's house (B22.18) and the Adams County Almshouse.

Race for Cemetery Hill

At 5:00 pm Tony Zbaraschak joined the game and took over Anderson's arriving division. Robert E. Lee, frustrated at seeing Heth and Rodes stop and 11th Corps narrow escape ordered Pender's division to attack what is left of Union 1st Corps from the south and then, after dispatching of the remnants of the 1st Corps, to take and defend Cemetery Hill.

(l to r): John Reed, Rebel Leaders Zack waltz and Milt Janosky, and Vernon Robinson.

Lee then moved back to Anderson's fresh division to hasten it into the combat. Pender's attack went well but Pender just could not seem to get rid of 1st Corps. More and more 1st Corps units keep moving from the area to the west of Gettysburg, where they had been protecting 11th Corps' flank (pointless now). Despite outrageous casualties, including the killing of Reynolds at 5:00 pm and the killing of Doubleday at 5:15 pm, Pender could not quite finish off this threat to his left before attacking Cemetery Hill.

Cemetery Hill was now only defended by what was left of the Union cavalry, which had been manhandled earlier by Rodes. Worse, for the Confederates, Union 12th Corps was arriving and, in a rare show of coherence for this battle, Reynolds's last order to Williams to rejoin Union 12th Corps was accepted quickly. This meant that Pender had very little time to get to the top of Cemetery Hill before both divisions of Union 12th Corps arrived.

Pender does not make it! Lee had given Anderson orders to move down through Spangler's Woods to occupy the angle on Cemetery Hill. What the Confederates did not foresee was the arrival of Union 3rd Corps. When Anderson tries to move east of Spangler's Woods he sees Sickles's men on the Emmitsburg Road. Since he has no orders to attack anyone he stops and awaits further orders.

Furthermore, Sickles's men are moving to take position on Cemetery Hill. This arrival of a fresh division on Pender's right flank just as he finished off 1st Corps unnerved Pender, and he made an Emergency Corps Retreat! This cost him 13 stragglers and Cemetery Hill. This retreat was ordered at 5:30 pm, just as 12th Corps was beginning to occupy Cemetery Hill. In the meantime, Lee, in a hurry to get help to Pender, has given Heth orders to take Cemetery Hill. These orders took effect at 5:00 pm but were made meaningless by the 5:30 pm activities. Lee tried to get A.P. Hill to move artillery to support the Cemetery Hill attacks but the unfortunate Confederates rolled a distorted order. This caused Hill to be unusable as a commander until a 6 was rolled for him in an ensuing command phase. Back on the northern part of the field, 11th Corps received and accepted orders, now from Slocum, to move to and defend Benner's Hill.

Lee, deciding it will not be possible to take the high ground until the following day, stopped Heth's attack and ordered Anderson to defend in the Spangler's Wood area overnight. This ended a rather eventful first day.

We now used a house rule suggested by Dave Powell. If neither army moved any men overnight then both armies could retrieve all their stragglers. This speeded play immensely.

Also overnight two of Longstreet's divisions, McLaws and Hood arrived.

The Second Day Begins

At the start of the second day the Union had taken 137 casualties. Confederates losses were at 100. The Union had 572 rounds of artillery ammo left while the Confederates had 395.

The second day action started out more confusing than the first, if that is possible. Lee decided that if he could spread out the Union defense then he should be able to attack strongly in one area and overwhelm the Union defenses. The Confederates had a command meeting at 4:00 am and the following orders were issued.

Johnson's division of Ewell's Corps is to use the Hanover road to move between Brinkerhof Ridge and Wolf Hill, then move way south to seize the Deiner's Bend are (E30.25). Johnson has the option to split off a brigade to seize the Baltimore Pike crossing of Rock Creek. Early's division will advance down the valley between Lower Culp's Hill and Wolf Hill and seize the McAllister's Woods, to the SE of Culp's Hill. Rodes's division will defend Benner's Hill, and if necessary move to prevent the Union 11th Corps (which is now in the vicinity of C19.05) from moving onto the rear of Ewell's Corps. Jenkins's Cavalry will screen the Union 11th Corp.

A. P. Hill's Corps orders are:

Heth's division (Divisional Goal): move into the Sunken Road, relieving Pender's Division, and defend the general area.

Pender's division: demonstrate south of the Sunken Road.

Anderson's division: seize Little Round Top if held in brigade strength, otherwise seize and hold Houck's Ridge. Corps Artillery will move to support.

Finally Longstreet's two divisions are to attack north of Little Round Top to take Gobbler Knob.

The Union had 12th Corps sitting on Culp's Hill extending to Cemetery Hill, what was left of 1st and Corps and the cavalry on Cemetery Hill and 3rd Corps extending south from Cemetery Hill to about the George Weikert house (E6.05). What caused all the confusion was that Union 11th Corps was in the vicinity of C19.05 and had been given orders to move via the Rocky Grove School road to the Wolf Hill road to McAllister Mill to Culp's Hill to rejoin the army. This was going to put it on a collision course with the Rebel Johnson's division. Also, rather than have the Union 2nd Corps form a line south of the 3rd Corps we decided to have it form a diagonal line from the end of 3rd Corps out to the Peach Orchard and then refuse the left flank down the ridge towards Biesecker's Woods. Gerry Palmer joined the game and takes over Union 2nd Corps.

All of these prescribed movements started, with the exception of the Longstreet orders. It seemed he was having some second thoughts. Johnson's men beat the Union 11th Corps and moved south past Wolf Hill. Doyle's and Iverson's brigades of Rodes's division moved to defend the Hanover road pass between Brinkerhof Ridge and Wolf Hill. Early's men moved south to attack between Wolf Hill and Culp's Hill.

Early's men got to the area of C51.01 and found out it was going to be no picnic attacking in the area.

The 12th Corps had set up here in strength with 6 batteries of artillery and 1st Corps units moving to support. Early's men attempted an attack but found out that this part of the battlefield is a killing zone easily dominated by the Union artillery. Early's men withdrew back northeast of Culp's Hill to regroup. At 6:00 am Johnson's division realized that Early's attack was not working. The Confederates successfully rolled initiative for Johnson and he deployed on the Baltimore Pike in the Power's Hill-McAllister Hill area to attack northwest and help out Early. North of this the Union 11th Corps had received and accepted orders to attack the two Confederate brigades (Doyle and Iverson). At this time Dan Cicero joined the Union effort taking over 11th Corps. The 11th Corps attack (imagine 11th Corps attacking!) unnerved Ewell and he failed his Corps Attack Stoppage. This infuriated Confederate command and they tried for initiative with Ewell. Ewell really went to pieces and rolled a loose cannon. Since the Confederates had spent so much happy time on Herr Ridge the previous day Ewell decided his Corps (minus Johnson on divisional goals) would retreat to Herr Ridge.

On the southern front Anderson's division ran headlong into Union 2nd Corps and a nasty firefight broke out. Longstreet realized that Anderson was not going to be able to easily take his objective and, rolling his own initiative, went back to the old time-honored plan of attacking the Union flank at Little Round Top.

It was now 6:30 am (see at right) and we stopped the game. Two of Ewell's divisions are in flight back to Herr Ridge while the third, Johnson, is preparing an attack of Culp's Hill from the SE.

Pender and Heth are in front of Cemetery Hill demonstrating for Anderson's attack. Anderson is attacking Union 2nd Corps at the northern end of Biesecker's Woods and Longstreet's two divisions are starting a long march around the Union left.