Williamsburg, Virginia, 1862

A Fire and Fury Scenario

by Kenneth Meekins

Background

On the night of May 3, General Joseph E. Johnston began withdrawing the Confederate army from the defensive line of fortifications that stretched from Yorktown to Lee's Mills, to fall back to the defenses around Richmond, thereby eliminating the threat of being flanked by Union naval forces on the James and York rivers.

At Williamsburg, General Johnston left General James Longstreet's division as a rearguard to slow the Union advance, while the rest of the army made a slow withdrawal towards Richmond. Upon learning of Johnston's withdrawal on the morning of May 4, General McClellan sent General George Stoneman with what available cavalry there was, along with four batteries of horse artillery, to pursue Johnston. Stoneman was supported by divisions from the Third Corps and Fourth Corps.

Contact

Late in the afternoon of May 4, Stoneman's cavalry made contact with J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry. A sharp skirmish opened between the opposing troopers. As more Confederate troops began to appear, Stoneman withdrew to wait for infantry support.

The two Union infantry divisions ordered to advance with Stoneman's cavalry were Joseph Hooker's and Baldy Smith's. Both divisions made slow progress as they made their way over stretches of road that had been cut up by the wagons and artillery from Johnston's retreating army, and they only caught up with Stoneman after dark. Hooker's division advanced up the Lee's Mill Road and Smith on the Yorktown Road.

As events unfolded on the morning of May 5, Baldy Smith's division was not in supporting distance of Hooker. Rather than coming together at an angle, the roads made a sharp turn towards each other and made a ninety degree turn. By following the Yorktown Road, Smith's division ended up over a mile away from Hooker's right flank, separated by swampy, impenetrable woods. When the battle began, the two commands, for all intents and purposes, were on different battlefields.

The Scenario

The scenario begins with Hooker's division deployed on the field at the 7:30 a.m. turn on the morning of May 5. Hooker's division is deployed across the Lee's Mill Road, his left is behind an abandoned abatis flanked by woods. His right is deployed across an old cornfield. On the 3:00 p.m. turn, Kearny's division arrives to reinforce Hooker.

Scenario Rules

All woods are dense and affect movement, retard visibility to 2", are -1 for cover, and are +1 for defending favorable ground. The abatis gives +2 for defense. There is no road bonus for the Lee's Mill or the Yorktown roads, due to their poor condition. The rest of the field is considered rough terrain and movement is reduced by x H; this is due to increasing rain that began on the night of May 4 and continued off-and-on throughout May 5.

Note: Brigadier General Edwin Summer is in overall command of the Union pursuit. Summer is also second in command of the Army of the Potomac. He accompanies Heintzelmann's Corps. His corps was left behind as it was to be used in McClellan's plans for an amphibious attack up the James River.

Victory Conditions

Victory conditions are the same as for the Fire and Fury rule book on page 16 (casualty points chart.) The abatis on Hooker's left is worth 2 points, the cornfield is worth 1 point. The points go to whomever is in possession of these features at the end of the game.

Bibliography

Sears, Stephen W. To the Gates of Richmond.
Pheson, James. The Atlas of the Civil War.
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. Volume II.
Seymonds, Craig. A Battlefield Atlas of the Civil War.

Order of Battle

Union

Second Corps: Brig. General Edwin Summer

Third Corps: Brigadier General Samuel P. Heintzelmann

2nd Division, 3rd Corps:
Brigadier General Joseph Hooker

3rd Division, 3rd Corps:
Brigadier General Philip Kearny

Confederates

Major General James Longstreet

Turns and Arrival Schedule

7:30 a.m. Wilcox, Pickett
8:00 a.m.
8:30 a.m. Colston
9:00 a.m. Pryor
9:30 a.m.
10:00 a.m.
10:30 a.m. Kemper
11:00 a.m.
11:30 a.m.
12:00 p.m. R. H. Anderson
12:30 p.m.
1:00 p.m.
1:30 p.m.
2:00 p.m.
2:30 p.m.
3:00 p.m. Kearny enters with his division on Lee Mills Road.
3:30 p.m.
4:00 p.m.
4:30 p.m.
5:00 p.m.
5:30 p.m.
6:00 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
7:00 p.m.

Larger version of Map (77K)

This photo of a Confederate field hospital
(22mm miniatures by Musket Miniatures)
was submitted by ACW Society member John Oliver.

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