The local gaming group played out a classic John Hill "Johnny Reb" scenario this past weekend. The scenario focuses on the extreme Federal left flank at Shiloh under the command of Gen. Stephen Hurlburt vs the assaulting Rebel troops under the command of Gen. Jones M. Withers and none other than Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston.
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The Gamers
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| Federal Camps |
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| Massed Rebs on the right table edge. Weak Union center. |
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| Rebs on the move. Yanks drinking beer. |
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| Union line anchored on the road. Wiard guns ready for action! |
I ran this scenario using ADF at Nashcon a few years ago with John Hill (which was a highlight for sure!), but I felt it might make an even better tactical scenario using JR2. The scenario essentially pits the already massed and ready to assault CSA brigades of Statham, Bowen, Jackson and Chalmers against the heavily outnumbered Union brigades of Stuart and Williams as McArthur's brigade rushes onto the tabletop.
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| Union camp. |
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| Union reinforcements arriving. |
The Rebels must push into the area around Sara Bell's cotton field in order to flank and destabilize the Federal line, especially the area near the Hornet's Nest. The game begins at the 10am turn and plays through the 1pm turn, with the rough terrain and ravines assisting the Union cause.
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| The Federals |
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| Ravines |
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| Banjo playing and rabbit roasting! The calm before the storm! |
The Federals opted for Stuart to hold out as long as possible while McArthur's men marched to the sound of the guns and formed a defensive line along the main Hamburg-Purdy road. Stuart was eventually routed by ferocious attacks by Chalmers and Jackson. In hind sight it might have been better to have pulled back and formed up closer to Larkin Bell's field. The Union launched several counterattacks, suffering casualties, but delaying and frustrating the Rebel victory conditions.
Many Rebels were equipped with flintlocks, mixed muskets and poor quality artillery (as well as some Union troops), which make early war western scenarios a lot of fun. We called the game about the 12pm turn and the Union was hanging on by a thread. Could they have lasted until 1pm? We will never know, but it definitely would have been close!
We played using 28mm ACW figures, mainly Old Glory, Perry, Dixon, Raven Banner and Frontier.
Cheers - Cory R.
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| Snipers! |