15mm ACW Game Part 2

Thanks to Memorial Day weekend (and the wife being away) I was finally able to get my 15mm ACW game finished!

If you recall from part one, the game ended with battle about to be joined. The Federals were attempting to send reinforcements down a road that was held by entrenched Confederate troops. However the Federals outnumbered the southern troops greatly, and would have to rely on the greater numbers to push the CSA troops back. The Confederate defense was centered on a small hill, with an artillery piece to help, and men taking cover in the scrub at the base of the hill. The Federals plan was a three pronged attack, with cavalry and infantry attacking the Confederate left, infantry attacking the center, and infantry attacking the right.

The Irish Brigade lead the attack on the Confederate right, at the turn in the road. The Irish, rather than get dragged into a long firefight, charged headfirst into the southern troops gathered around the small white house. Following closely on the heels of another charging Federal regiment, the Irish were able to avoid taking too much fire and crashed right into the confederate troops. After a fierce and bloody fight, the southern troops fell back, leaving the bend in the road in Federal hands.

However, this was a dangerous position to be in, as there was another Southern regiment on the flank of the Irish, in the fields to their left, and a third regiment behind them on the hill. The Federal officers quickly made a decision, realizing the southern troops on the hill were otherwise occupied, and swung the 69th New York to face the confederates in the field. Quickly the two regiments turned and prepared to fire...

"FIRE!"

The officers screamed and the roar of the muskets was deafening. Through the smoke the Federal officers tried to see how much damage they caused...

Amazing! Thanks to seven 6s rolled out of only twelve dice, the Confederates fell like wheat, and many more turned and fled. The Irish cheered mightly... and in fact may have cheered for too long, as it took their officers almost two full turns to get the New Yorkers turned to face up the road and at a newly arrived regiment of Southern reinforcements...

Meanwhile, the Confederate commander was concerned with his left. Federal cavalry had appeared there, and so another unit of boys in grey was brought up to reinforce that side, which was at the time only held by a single piece of southern artillery...

Meanwhile the Federal attack in the center had swept away the southern regiment at the base of the hill (bushes can only do so much to stop minie balls!) and were now preparing their lines to attack up the hill. However, attacking an elevated position with no cover was a proposition that the Federal officers did not relish... they quickly brought up an artillery piece, which deployed on the road, and began to rain shells down on the Confederates on the hilltop.

Seeing the Federal attack at the road stalled as well (the Irish possibly enjoying a celebratory drink, after their annihilation of the southern troops in the field) and Confederate reinforcements coming up the road, the Federal commander also redeployed his skirmishers from the center to the Union left. The sharpshooters, who moved through cover quickly and easily, made their way to the far Union left and began to pick off troops in the last Confederate regiment on that flank, which had formed into line to meet the Irish and the other troops who were coming up behind them.

And in a sudden move to win the day, the Union General also quickly redeployed his entire center attack. Realizing it was too dangerous to go straight up the hill, he used his cavalry to hold some of the reb reinforcements in place on the hill and quickly got his regiments at the base of the hill into column, making for the road at double time... after all, his orders were not to take the hill, but to get reinforcements down that damned road! Despite the artillery shells crashing down about them, the Federal troops quickly made for the road...

The Federals and rebs exchanged a few volleys at the road before the Union General ordered the charge. With a great cheer the Irish and their supporting regiments plunged down the road at the beleagered rebs, some of whom began to turn and flee when they realized how outnumbered they were, and in the end only a single stand of Confederates was left to absorb the charge. The Federals crashed into the southern troops, whooping and screaming, bayonets flashing, and quickly slaughtered the boys in grey.

The Confederate general, realizing there was no point in holding the hill if he failed to keep the Federals from getting down the road, quickly began to redeploy his men from the hill in a desperate attempt to stop the other flank from collapsing. As his men began to move, the Federal cavalry advanced, keeping up a harassing fire the entire way...

However, it was for naught; the Federal troops swarmed up the road, going to reinforce another, larger attack which was key to the defeat of the Confederacy. Victory this day belongs to the North!