Today I hosted a RFF game for four former students of mine. All four are headed off to elite universities in the fall, and it was a pleasure to spend the afternoon with such terrific young people.
Our battle was a fictional one, though the units came from the order of battle of Antietam. In this case, French's and Richardson's divisions of Sumner's II Corp were tasked with breaking a line held by McLaws' and Walker's divisions of Longstreet's corp.
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| One of Walker's regiments concealed in a wood on the extreme right flank |
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| The rest of Walker's division in position behind fence lines |
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| McLaws' division. Cobb's brigade is in the foreground, his only reserves. Posted in front brigades from South Carolina and Mississippi |
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| McLaws' artillery on the high ground behind the line |
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| French's division on the Union left, primarily made up of large untested units. |
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| Another of French's brigades. |
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| Meagher's crack Irish brigade. |
The Union strategy was to use their superior numbers to tie down the rebels and then try to get around their left flank. Richardson's brigades moved swiftly. French's not so much so. Being "green" units and having to cross broken ground delayed their advance.
Richardson's two brigades that attempted to turn the flank met with stiff resistance. What little headway they achieved was quickly thwarted by the swift deployment of Cobb's brigade in reserve.
French's large regiments proved to be difficult to maneuver and very fragile. Walker's men were able to turn them back with very little loss to themselves.
The game became very interesting when Meagher's Irish brigade charged the center of the Confederate line held by Simms' Georgians and Braksdale's Mississippians. The crack regiments managed to pierce the rebel line and even move beyond it. However, they were unsupported and their position in the advance became untenable by the end of the game.
Union losses were extremely heavy, though their artillery managed to pound four of the five Confederate batteries into silence. The one battery that was not a viable target for the Union guns, however, proved to be a thorn in French's side, tearing apart two rookie regiments that went up against it.
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| French's division begins its assault. |
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| Richardson's division's attack off in the distance. |
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| Richardson's flank attack is stymied. |
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| French's attack is hampered by one of Walker's regiments that was able to fire on its flank. |
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| Cobb's counter attack was highly successful. |
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| Meagher's brigade charges home. |
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| The Union high water mark which was short lived. |
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| Walker's counter-attack pushes back French's inexperienced soldiers. |
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| The heavy casualties inflicted on French's men is evident in this picture. |
It was a very fun game, and it moved quickly toward a decisive outcome.
YouTube video
