At the same time that the great land battles of the Civil war were raging from east to west, a very different kind of struggle was taking place on the waterways of America. In the harbors and bays, along the mighty rivers and coastlines, and far out to sea, warships encountered each other in a deadly exchange of cannon fire and ram tactics. It wasn't apparent at the time to the officers and men of the Federal navy, but these small battles were responsible for the splitting of the Confederacy via the Mississippi River and the strangling of the Rebel supply line by the blockading and eventual closing down of the Atlantic seaports. After three years of combat, the bulk of the Confederate Navy had been crippled or destroyed. It had taken three years because Confederate forces had stubbornly resisted and fought back, although outnumbered and outgunned. In fact, both sides had shown an enormous amount of courage and determination; the naval conflicts were as violent and destructive as the land battles.
The nature of the naval war presented a mix of the old and the new. Fully-rigged wooden vessels fought alongside the more powerful ironclads. Ramming tactics were extensively used, boarding was still a common occurrence between deadlocked vessels, and block ships and chain booms were all methods of sea warfare dating back to ancient Greek times. However technology was quickly changing the face of naval war by the introduction of minefields, electrically detonated torpedoes, spar mounted torpedoes, submersible warships, thick iron armor, and armor-penetrating guns. All these innovations, and the widespread use of the steam engine, marked the beginning of modern naval warfare.
Translating the naval war to the historical game table is possible by using available models and rules. Although Civil War naval gaming has never gained the popularity of its land counterpart and although manufacturers have seemed to ignore naval gaming for the most part, what is available can be used quite effectively.
Thoroughbred Figures does a limited line of detailed pewter waterline models of both navies in 1/600 scale. However, at an average of $35.00 a model, they are far too expensive for gaming purposes.
Lindberg Plastic Models have a nifty set of The Virginia and The Monitor in 1/300 and 1/210 scales respectively, but the models are quite compatible. They glue together well, have a good amount of detail, and at $5.00 for the set, are quite economical. The models have only minor inaccuracies that are easy to correct, such as The Monitor's rudder and propeller placement. With a few added details, the pair of ironclads make nice gaming pieces. The ships are not waterline versions but the provided stands make them very attractive. However this is Lindberg's only modeling effort in Civil War ships.
Old Guard Wargamers, Inc., has a line of 15mm waterline ships of both navies that are made of pine, have rotating turrets, and have plenty of room to load the deck with guns and sailors. The ships are very basic and need additional detail but that is left up to individual tastes and requirements.
Stone Mountain's 15mm range of naval artillery is really a cut above the rest. Most naval heavy guns are represented with appropriate crews that have a superb amount of detail. These figures are perfect for the Old Guard line of ships. Together, they allow you to recreate most of the ship-to-ship actions of the war. The 24-piece naval landing party allows you to do boarding actions, landing actions, and everything in between.
Skytrex has a limited line of 1/1200 scale ironclads. They are on the small end of the
scale, seem rather flat, and generally lack detail. I added rigging, flags, and deck guns to make them acceptable.
Houston's Ships (available from Stone Mountain) have to be by far the best line of 1/1200 Civil War warships available. Almost every ship or ship class is represented along with troop transports, mortar boats, steam launch craft with spar torpedo, fortifications, and sunken hulks. The wooden vessels have up to twenty pieces each which require assembly, including fore and aft pivot guns, masts and stacks. The sidewheelers are mostly cast in one piece with only stacks, walking beams, engines, and guns cast separately.
Ironclads are even simpler, with only stacks and turrets to glue on to the hulls. Individual detail on the vessels ranges from good to excellent. The Confederate casemate ironclads display the railroad iron armor with gun ports visible. I added shutters to the ports in both open and closed positions. The cottonclads have the cotton bales stacked on deck and come with deck pivot guns, some with crewmen serving the guns! The turreted monitor's ironwork is visible and adds depth to an otherwise plain warship. The river monitor's detail of deckwork, turrets, side armor, deck guns and bow rams are the best.
The entire range will allow the gamer to recreate any situation or naval action of the war. The only negative aspect of the line (and it is a small one) is that waterline bases are provided with only some of the models and not with others. The baseless vessels will need mounting in order to make them to match up with the other models. Painting of the bases
really adds the finishing touch.
Painting
The painting of all models is covered quite well in Tony Gibbon's Warships and Naval Battles of the Civil War. Paging through this book, the amazing range of colors and schemes will prove that Civil War ships consist of more visual interest than gun metal and brown wood. With the addition of 1/1200 scale flag sets available from Houston's Ships, I guarantee that you will receive plenty of compliments on your model fleet.
One last note is that Houston's Ships also offer a selection of dirt fortifications and stone forts that are done quite well. They come in sections that fit together, have individual gun emplacements and guns, and paint up very nicely. These forts add yet another facet to Civil War naval gaming. As you can see, I prefer the Houston's Ships models and have built up my collection from that line.
Civil War naval rules are hard to come by, but there are a few sets available.
For anyone wanting to recreate a ship-to-ship encounter in detail, Yaquinto's Ironclad boardgame rules do convert to miniature use and provide an interesting one-on-one duel. The game provides cardboard counters for the warships, but I really prefer three-dimensional models over printed counters. The game has been out of print for some time and may be hard to get.
A more recent set of rules to hit the market is Conquest of Southern Waters, available from Old Guard. The set is to be used with the 15mm models of the Old Guard line, but like Ironclad, seem to be suited for skirmishes or 1:1 scale gaming. Of course, anyone willing to fight a fleet action using skirmish level rules cannot be faulted on the level of dedication that would be required. The visual aspect of the 15mm ships, guns and crews is impressive and is one of the reasons that I got started in Civil War naval gaming.
My vote of the best set of rules to use must go to Leo A. Walsh's Age of Iron. This nifty little set of naval rules covers everything in such an uncomplicated way as to make a fleet action with ten warships per side flow at an enjoyable pace. With enough detail added to to capture the flavor of Civil war naval combat, Age of Iron allows the player to concentrate on seamanship, movement and fire, and victory conditions.
Each ship begins the game with a simple chart listing armor, speed, draft, armament, morale, hull values, and turn ability. As combat affects the vessels, a simple mark in the appropriate column displays the new reduced combat value, allowing the player a quick overview of the ship's condition, thus avoiding too much record- keeping. Special damage is simply noted on the side of the column. Guns may fire individually as well as in broadsides, with arcs of fire dictating the guns' ability to bear on targets.
Special damage hits can be crippling: results range from fires being started and loss of power to immediate explosion. Ironclads have obvious advantages over wooden vessels. But with tin-clad or cotton-clad armor added to wooden ships, they cannot be ignored. Ramming tables are simple to use but must be used by an attacker under the right conditions. The collision table assigns damage points to rammed vessels, as well to to the rammer; in some cases, rams may be broken off or rendered unusable. In one of our games, the Union monitor Onandoga was struck by the Rebel ram Colonel Lovell, resulting in damage to both, but with enough damage to sink the ramming ship! Spar and ramming torpedoes are covered and are very destructive.
Morale is kept simple but can be crucial if a ship is in serious or sinking condition. The boarding rules are effective and can create some tense situations, but care must be taken to not allow too much boarding combat in a scenario. It can become an unhistorical action if every ship's crew is engaged in boarding. After some research, I couldn't find an instance of an ironclad's crew attempting to board another ironclad. It is best treated as the exception rather than the rule.
A one-page section on land combat that can be used in conjunction with naval operations is included, but many devoted land warfare gamers will shudder when reading them. It's best to remember, however, that the land combat rules are geared for simplicity in order to blend in with the main focus of the rules. 2mm scale figures should be used in a land-water action, but 6mm figures don't look bad either.
An almost complete roster of U.S.A. and C.S.A. ships (listing all statistics and capabilities translated into game terms) is included and is a real time saver. For those of you who would require further info on ships' capabilities, Tony Gibbons' book is again a gold mine of ship statistics and along with the rules, provides all the information a gamer needs to accurately portray any vessel in a scenario.
By far one of the best features of the rules has to be the nine scenarios, which include the famed Monitor and Virginia encounter. Detailed water maps are provided along with an order of battle for both navies and any special weapons or tactics that can be used. Examples of these include the lashing together of the Federal ships at Mobile Bay, the upgrading of ships with tinclad or cottonclad armor, any vessels carrying sharpshooters to help repel boarders or spar torpedo-armed steam cutters.
Terrain
A special point to mention here is that anyone thinking an American Civil War naval encounter takes place on a flat, featureless tabletop should check out the scenario maps.
The maps include shorelines, islands, floating batteries, shore fortifications, sand bars, shallow water, underwater obstacles, and torpedo fields. More on this will follow.
All things considered, Age of Iron has to be a primary choice for anyone wishing to recreate ACW naval warfare on an historical level.
Most naval actions occur in open waters, but the Civil War was unique in that land features were a dominant part of the fighting. A blue cloth, or a muddy brown cloth in the case of the Mississippi River, is only the beginning of the water setting for a Civil War naval action. For example, to recreate the action at Mobile Bay, each end of the table would contain a small peninsula with a fort guarding each tip; Fort Morgan (of 30 guns) is on one end and Fort Gaines (of 30 guns) is on the other. Between the two forts is an area of shallows, a row of blocking pikes, and three rows of floating torpedoes; these provide plenty of obstacles to make the game interesting.
The water terrain along the Mississippi is even more difficult. With very narrow channels, this adds a new facet to naval gaming. I once found myself in a position where my ship's turning radius was larger that the river in which I was operating, making it impossible for me to turn around!
Most special terrain items are provided by Houston's Ships, but the islands and other land features are pieces of 6mm terrain that are normally used for land battles. Simply placed on the playing cloth, these pieces produce a believable and attractive setting for the games. Differences in water depth are marked by gradually darkening shades of blue thread. Sand bars can be marked by sprinkling a small amount of sand or other material to outline the required position. The overall effect is quite pleasing.
The following scenarios are designed to be played with Age of Iron. The first is a basic encounter, for first-time players. The second scenario is a more involved game for experienced players.
The Civil War was a transitional war on land and at sea. It was the birth of the modern U.S. Navy. Many naval vessels carry the names of Civil War ships and battles, the U.S.S. Gettysburg being the most recent. After the Civil War, many of the ships were sold for scrap, although some of the Passaic class monitors served as coastal defense craft during the Spanish-American War. The lessons learned from the war carried on and built a rich tradition that the U.S. Navy established from past conflicts.
Maybe you can begin a tradition of your own by recreating (on the tabletop) the naval encounters of the Civil War, the true beginning of the Age of Iron.
Thoroughbred Figures Old Guard Wargamers Lindberg Hobbies, Inc. Stone Mountain - Houston's Ships Also, a line of 1/600 scale ships offered by Thoroughbred Figures of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Complimenting their line of pewter-antiqued and walnut-bases collectors' edition ships, they also offer a line of bare metal kits, the gaming versions of these miniature masterpieces. Without a doubt, the detail on these is unsurpassed. The scale is ideal to simulate naval combat on either one-to-in or fleet action levels.
Thirty items in the catalogue include ironclad monitors, casemate ironclads, cottonclads, wooden gunboats, and shore guns. Some of the Confederate ironclads even include the spar
torpedo, missing on all other manufacturers' models. A minimum of assembly is required and the end results are quite pleasing. They really have to be seen to be believed. Thoroughbred Miniatures is located at 3833 Buckhorn Place, Virginia Beach, Virginia, 23456
Warships and Naval Battles of the Civil War Tony Gibbons
Related:
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.Gaming the Naval Actions: The Models
Naval Rules
Setting Up the Game
Scenarios
In Conclusion
Manufacturers
3833 Buckhorn Place, Dept. A
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23456
1034 Rock Creek Drive, Dept. A
Wyncote, Pennsylvania 19095
Lake Bluff, Illinois 60044
P.O. Box 594
Broomfield, Colorado 80038
References
The Civil War Military Machine Ian Drury and Tony Gibbons
Iron Afloat William Still, Jr.
Naval History of the Civil War Admiral David C. Porter
Under Two Flags William Fowler
Scenarios:
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© Copyright 1994 The American Civil War Society
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