The Orphan Brigade's actions at the Battle of Chickamauga on September 20th allow for an assortment of scenarios that extend from division level to the equivalent of corps level engagements. In researching the various possibilities, I was most intrigued by the fact that Braxton Bragg had ordered a morning attack of Breckinridge's and Cleburne's troops — yet Cleburne, certainly one of the best divisional commanders of the western theatre, didn't arrive in time, and Breckinridge attacked alone. What might have happened if BOTH of these better divisions had charged together as ordered? That is the basis for this scenario. It can be used by OTR, JR, SNB3, and RRTF garners, or for that matter, by those who have written their own rules. Hopefully, through this multiple rules scenario, I can convince others to try to gear their submissions for more than just one set of rules. The actual morning attack by Breckinridge signaled the beginning of battle on September 20th. Forming the extreme right of the Confederate army, these troops, along with Cleburne's later attack, fought four Union Divisions under the command of George H. Thomas. The importance of this flank cannot be ignored historically because it was the fierceness of the Confederate assaults that made Thomas repeatedly request reinforcements from Rosecrans, weakening other areas of the Federal line. The concept of the scenario may at first be somewhat disheartening to the Confederate players. They are expected to take two divisions and attack four Union divisions entrenched behind works — unnerving to say the least. However, the scenario balances out in the morale rating of the Rebel forces and the fact that the concept of an outright victory is highly unlikely. Instead, the Confederates can win via a point system that is explained later in this article. The Southern cause is best served by getting the Union side to pull troops out of line to defend against attack. This is a battle that rewards the Rebels for death and glory charges! Now that we know that the Confederate players get the jolly of using elite troops in a death and glory attack, what's in it for the Union players? The Federals have more divisions available to them and are behind some fairly decent works. Their job is simply to hold onto their position any way they can until Thomas and reinforcements can arrive. The Yankees must shoot as rapidly as they can load, and be ready with the bayonet and clubbed musket to meet the enemy. While this may seem boring to read about, the actual playing of the Union role is as exciting as being the attacker. You must be prepared at all points to receive a charge, but must also judiciously pull units out of line to support threatened areas. Pull too many units out of line and you will lose based on the scenario s rules. By the way, you can always countercharge if you think this will be the best tactic! Winning or losing the scenario is based on a point system. Points can be obtained by the Confederate command in the following ways: (1) 2 points for each Union unit that is routed; (2) 1 point for each full turn that a Confederate unit is within the line of Union works; (3) 1 point for every Union unit that is pulled out of line to reinforce another area per turn. An example of this would be that, if 2 Union units are pulled out of line for 3 turns until returning, the Confederates would receive a total of 6 points. A "Major Victory" is achieved by the Confederates if they breach the line of works with at least 3 brigades, and remain within the works for the equivalent of 2 hours (enough time for reinforcements to arrive). A Rebel "Victory" is obtained by piling up 20 or more victory points. A draw would be the Confederates only receiving between 10 and 19 points, while a Union victory can be won by giving out less than 10 points. Finally, a Union "Major Victory" is achieved by allowing less than 5 points. To keep the scenario playable and within reasonable historical grounds, there are certain rules that must be followed. The Union players must have all but two brigades in line at the works. One of the remaining brigades may be placed on the extreme Union left flank where the works end, while the last brigade would be centered In reserve behind the middle of the area covered by the works. The Confederate players MUST make their initial charge with no less than one division as soon as possible, the charging troops not having taken any shots prior to the charge. Also, the Confederates must make at least 3 attempts at over—running the works if not successful on the first two attempts. However, after the first attack, the Confederates may spend some time firing to soften up the Union side. Going back to the historical importance of this flank, Breckinridge 's attacks caused the pulling from line of one Union division by mistake that left a gaping hole in the Federal line. Longstreet made his famous charge at that very point, swinging victory to the southern cause. Had Thomas' troops been severely tested and perhaps defeated in the morning as planned, he might never have been known as the "Rock of Chickamauga". In keeping with the generic nature of this scenario, brigade strengths and, where known, regimental strengths have been included in the orders of battle. The skill level of the generals will be put in a numerical rating of ''1'' to "5"; "1" being quite poor, and "5" being the very best. Use these numbers to decide how to rate your commanders based on your own rules set. All Confederate units will be considered the equivalent of "Elite" except for artillery, which will be "Average" other than Semple's Battery, and all Union units the equivalent of "Average" ("Regulars" if using SNB3). For convenience, assume all troops to be armed with rifled muskets. Artillery batteries are broken down into their known composition. For those who wish to use JOHNNY REB rules, you may find that the regiment sizes are rather small. If necessary, you might choose to double up regiments. The same problem might be true for SNB3 players. I advise using brigades for SNB3 as per my article in Volume II, #1 of THE ZOUAVE, called "One Club's House Rules Changes To SNB3". The Union works were made of two logs on the bottom, with a third log on top of them. The terrain would consist of light and medium wood' the Federal line, with a clearing of about 400 yards at the upper left h- the Union positions. CONFEDERATE ORDER OF BATTLE Breckinridge's Division: John C. Breckinridge Helm's Brigade (1408): B.H. Helm (4) 2nd Kentucky (282) 4th Kentucky (275) 6th Kentucky (220) 9th Kentucky (230) 41st Alabama (401) Stovall's Brigade (897): M.A. Stovall (3) 1st & 3rd Florida (298) 4th Florida (238) 47th Georgia (193) 60th N. Carolina (168) Adam's Brigade (1202): DW Adams (4) 13th and 20th LA (289) 16th and 25th LA (319) 19th LA (350) 32nd AL and Austin's sharpshooters (244) Division Artillery: RE Graves (4) Cobb's KY Btty: 4 Napoleons Mebane's TN btty: 4 Napoleons 5th Co. Washington Artillery: 4 Napoleons and 2 24 pdr rifled Cleburne's Division: Patrick Cleburne (5) Wood's Brigade (1682): S.A.M. Wood (3) 16th Alabama (414) 18th Ala. Battn. (410) 33rd Alabama (400) 45th Alabama (350) Hawkin's Sharpshters. (108) Deshler's Brigade (1660): J. Deshler (4) 19th & 24th Arkansas (226) 6th, 10th, & 15th Texas (667) 17th, 18th, 24th & 25th TX Cavalry - dismounted (767) Polk's Brigade (1450): L.E. Polk (4) 1st Arkansas (430) 3rd & 5th Confed. (386) 2nd Tennessee (264) 35th Tennessee (215) 48th Tennessee (155) Division Artillery: T.R. Hotchkiss Douglas' TX Battery: two Napoleons two 6 pdr. smoothbores Helena Ark. Battery: (same as above) Swett's Battery: (same as above) Semple's Battery: four Napoleons (Elite) UNION ORDER OF BATTLE Maj. Genl. George H. Thomas (5) XIV CORPS, 1st Division: Absalom Baird (3) 1st Brig. (1871): B.F. Scribner (3) 38th Indiana (410) 2nd Ohio (414) 33rd Ohio (415) 94th Ohio (309) 10th Wisconsin (323) 3rd Brigade (1370): J.H. King (3) 1st Bttn., 15th U.S. Inf. (276) 1st Bttn., 16th U.S. Inf. (308) 1st Bttn., 18th U.S. Inf. (300) 2nd Batt., 18th U.S. Inf. (287) 1st Bttn., 19th U.S. Inf, (199) 2nd Brig. (1567): J.C. Starkweather 24th Illinois (362) 79th Pennsylvania (445) 1st Wisconsin (391) 21st Wisconsin (369) Division Artillery 4th Indiana Battery: two Napoleons, two 12 pdr. Howitzers, two 6 pdr. Rifles A, 1st Mich.Art.: six 10 pdr. Parrots H, 5th U.S. Art.: four Napoleons two 10 pdr. Parrotts XX CORPS, 2nd Division: Richard W. Johnson (3) Regimental Strengths Unknown - divide the brigade strength realistically. 2nd Brigade (1030): J.B. Dodge (3) 79th Illinois 29th Indiana 30th Indiana 77th Pennsylvania 20th Ohio Battery: two Napoleons four 3" Rodmans 3rd Brig.: (1500): P.P. Baldwin (3) 6th Indiana 5th Kentucky 1st Ohio 93rd Ohio 5th Indiana Battery: two Napoleons four 6 pdr. Rifles XXI CORPS, 2nd Division: John M. Palmer (4) 1st Brigade (1280): C. Cruft (4) 31st Indiana (380) 1st Kentucky (118) 2nd Kentucky (367) 90th Ohio (415) 2nd Brigade (1443): W.B. Hazen (3) 9th Indiana (328) 6th Kentucky (302) 41st Ohio (360) 124th Ohio (453) Division Artillery Co. B, 1st Ohio Artillery: four 14 pdr. James Rifles, two 6 pdr. smoothbores Co. F., 1st Ohio Artillery: four 6 pdr. Rifles, two 12 pdr. Howitzers XIV CORPS, 4th Division 3rd Brigade (solo brigade from this division) Brig. Genl. J.B. Turchin (3) (1633 men - three of the four regimental strengths are unknown (the 11th Ohio being the exception), so I used common sense in splitting them up, i.e. about 400 per regt.) 18th Kentucky (410) 11th Ohio (413) 36th Ohio (410) 92nd Ohio (400) As the Confederate player can see by looking at the orders of battle, he has 8299 effectives at his command, versus 11,694 Union soldiers, most behind works. For the Southern side to win, they need to read their own particular rules set closely to find out which attack formations will work best (wave assaults, brigade columns, etc.). The Union player must use his reserves carefully in order to take home a victory. This battle can be an effective learning experience in what works In the attack AND in defense! Brigades start the game in their places shown on the accompanying map. After the first charge, both players can adjust their units as they please, the Union commander being able to order up reserves after the first game turn. Please remember to review your rules set's comments on visibility in the woods. BIBLIOGRAPHY Fitch, John. "Annals of the Army of the Cumberland", Philadelphia, PA 1864. Tucker, Glenn. "Chickamauga; Bloody Battle In the West", Dayton, OH 1984. Boatner, Mark M. "The Civil War Dictionary", New York 1959. Davis, William C. "The Orphan Brigade", Garden City, NY 1980. "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War", Vol. III, Castle Books. Bowden, Scotty "Stars n Bars", Empire Games 1979. "Official Records of the War of the Rebellion", (several volumes). Young, Lt. L.D., "Reminiscences of a Soldier of the Orphan Brigade", Paris, KY, (no date written or published) Back to The Zouave Vol III No. 1 Table of Contents Back to The Zouave List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1989 The American Civil War Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com