HMGS PSW Convention

Our Peach Orchard game at the HMGS PSW Convention in Manhattan Beach was a great success.  Eight students showed up.  We got the entire game set up in an hour and were able to begin right on time, at 9:00 A.M.  Even more remarkable, we completed the game in three hours and fifteen minutes.  Many HMGS members came by to check out the action and there were a lot of encouraging comments about our game.  All in all, I was quite proud of our group.

Here are a few picture from the game:

This shows the wreckage of Barksdale's premature attack

Brewster and Graham were able to hold the ridge.

Looking west down the Wheatfield Road prior to the start of the game.

Five of my eight intrepid gamers.

To summarize the action, the Confederates decided to reverse the order of attacks from the historical.  Barksdale went in first today, prior to any artillery bombardment, and the results were predictable.  His brigade was shredded by converged battery fire.  His only success was on his right where a large regiment was able to secure the Peach Orchard.  Wofford's brigade attempted to pick up the pieces, but some really poor dice rolls doomed this attack as well.

On the Rebel right, Kershaw set out after Barksdale.  He made up time, however, with some good command rolls and by the end of the game he had slipped around the stoney hill having suffered some heavy casualties from McGilvary's batteries posted along the Wheatfield Road.  Semmes was trailing Kershaw and even brought up three of Alexander's batteries to punch back at McGilvary with.  Despite this, I determined that the Union had won the game since their line remained in tact.  Historically, several Yankee brigades came up and counter-attacked the wheat field.  In our game, the primary objective of the Confederates was to crush the salient and drive toward Cemetery Ridge.  This didn't happen.