First Battle of Taneytown - 2nd July 1863 (fictional)

 Back in October we played a massive American Civil War game on a 17x5' table with 15 players.  This was part of a campaign some club members had been playing for some time, however the manoeuvring had yet to result in the the armies actually meeting so Graham as the GM decided to have one of the generals act on his own initiative and to provoke an engagement.

This game uses 20mm miniatures and the rules are With Hot Lead and Cold Steel, from Osprey Games.

 

The Confederates had moved up the Shenendahoa valley and emerged north of the Union army. The Union players reacted by moving West to protect Washington but Graham had General Early  move to intercept them. This was a while ago and I wasn't in the campaign part so the details may be hazy here. I started writing my own account but soon realised that the account Graham distributed after the game was far more reliable, so I present it below: 

An Account of the First Battle of Taneytown

Thursday 2^nd July 1863

(Sunday 5^th October 2025 – the First Battle of the “Gettysburg Redress” Campaign)

 

At 6am, Union General John Reynolds commanding the I Corps of the Army of the Potomac sent his 1^st Division marching East from Taneytown to gain a better defensive position towards Union Mills. He then accompanied the 3^rd Division along with the Corps artillery on the same route leaving Taneytown around 11am. His 2^nd Division under John C Robinson he left to hold the town, feigning the presence of the complete Corps to deceive the enemy. 2^nd Division were then to move off later that afternoon to bring the whole Corps back together near Union Mills.

 

Around 12pm, the 1st Division of Confederate General Richard Ewell’s 2^nd Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia stealthily approached the town from the North with orders to take it and scout Southwards. General Jubal Early commanding the 1^st Division saw an opportunity to attack and isolate the Union 2^nd Division. He quickly deployed into battle formation and arranged his four brigades (from North Carolina, Louisianna, Georgia and Virginia to bear down on the town and the road to the East hoping to rapidly overwhelm the surprised Federals and cut off their escape route Eastwards. 

Reynolds seeing the threat to 2^nd Division sent word for his 3^rd and 1^st Divisions to head back to Taney town to fend off the attack but this would take time for the formations to turn around. He also asked for support from Farnsworth’s 1^st Cavalry brigade which was patrolling to the North East but 2^nd Division would have to whether the initial attack alone.

 

The Confederate North Carolina Brigade under Isaac Avery (Stephen) advanced boldly on the right towards the town and used its artillery to pound the defenders. The town was defended by six regiments of the 1^st Brigade, 2nd Division under Gabriel Paul split into two demi brigades (Owen and Brian). They formed a perimeter and prepared for an attack. 

 

The Louisianna brigade under Harry Hayes (Tony) also confidently marched forwards to the old Taneytown turnpike to try and engage the Union 2^nd Division 2^nd Brigade deployed along the fence line under Henry Baxter (Matt). 

 

The Georgian Regiments under JB Gordon (Carole) and Virginian regiments under Wm Smith (Craig) advanced on the left and tried to block the return of the Union 3^rd Division.

 

The Confederates were confident and looked set to cut off the town from the returning 3^rd Division. However, 3^rd Division quickly redeployed and occupied the high ground above Pipe Creek to the East and brought accurate artillery fire down from three batteries onto the Georgians on the rebel left forcing them to move back out of range. Meanwhile, 3^rd Division infantry occupied woods on the Taneytown road and started to pressure the Rebel left from across the creek.

 

Despite some early nerves caused by Rebel artillery fire the Union 2^nd Brigade of 2^nd Division lining the Taney town road resolutely defended their position and turned back the over confident Louisianians who became stacked up and disrupted as the Louisianna Tigers retired. The Rebel artillery was also targeted by accurate artillery fire and had some guns destroyed.

 

The North Carolinians of Avery’s brigade with the help of artillery started to pressurise the defenders of the town. They were heartened to see the arrival of Jenkins’s Confederate Cavalry Brigade coming down the Gettysburg road to their right. 

 

 This brigade flanked the town and rode to encircle the defenders and break through on the South side. Pressure was building on the towns defenders who struggled to face all fronts.

Fresh Confederate cavalry also appeared on the far-left flank from the East and forced 3^rd Division to pause while this threat was assessed. Farnsworth’s Union cavalry brigade then turned up just in time to face the rebels and a tense standoff occurred as the two cavalry brigades tried to manoeuvre an advantage. A battery of the 3^rd Division artillery turned and silenced the attached rebel horse battery before the rebel cavalry was forced to withdraw and 3^rd Division was able to continue its move West

As the assault by the Confederate 1^st Division, 2^nd Corps was faltering, the 3^rd Division of the Corps under General Rodes arrived after its hard march from the North. Rodes quickly assessed the situation and directed the new brigades to bolster the attacks, sending one brigade to help the attack on the town by advancing over the Gettysburg road bridge and the other brigades to increase the pressure in the centre.  

After seeing reinforcements arrive, Jenkins’ Confederate Cavalry charged the 16^th Maine infantry regiment holding a position at the rear of the town and a bitter, frenzied hand to hand fight ensued lasting over an hour. Finally, the mounted troops prevailed and they chased the infantry back only to be confronted by another union regiment acting as a rear guard. The town’s defences gradually began to crumble as pressure from the Carolinians from the North and the fresh 3^rd Division Brigade from the West caused two Union Regiments to break – many prisoners being taken as the town was “liberated”. 

The Union 3^rd Division now started to make its presence felt as it advanced Westwards from the woods next to Pike creek bridge. Employing concentrated rolling volley fire, the 3^rd Brigade forced Wm. Smith’s Virginians to retire and the Confederate attempt to cut the Taneytown turnpike had to be abandoned. The Union forces had survived the onslaught but had lost the town.

As night fell, Reynolds ordered his forces back to the safety of Pipe creek and rested his troops. The valiant 2^nd Brigade of the 2^nd Division were cheered back into camp whilst the 1^st Brigade was in a poor state having lost many casualties in the town including hundreds of prisoners taken. Reynolds was pleased with his Corps performance but cursed his Cavalry for not giving a warning of the attack. He now had to decide whether to stay in the relative safety of Pipe creek or to re-engage the Rebels tomorrow now that James Wadsworth’s 1^st Division had started to arrive by 8pm. 

The Confederates occupied their objective of Taneytown and reflected on a lost opportunity to trap the Union 2^nd Division. General Lee was unhappy with the conduct of some of his commanders who did not keep him informed of events and had allowed the Corps to drift into an engagement. He took the opportunity of promoting General Early to 2^nd Corps Commander for his incisive battlefield decision making whilst asking General Ewell to step down as Corps commander to take a role on his HQ staff. Confederate losses were slightly more than the Federals but the negative effects of not carrying the day had a sapping effect on Lee’s invincible 2^nd Corps spirits. Lee weighed what to do next knowing that the Federals would be even stronger tomorrow.

Thanks go to all the participants who helped make the day a success - Andrew, Peter, Matt, Owen, Brian and Nick fighting on the Union side with Nigel, Carole, Pete, Steven, Tony and Craig on the Confederate.