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 2nd July 1863
(Sunday 5th 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 1st Division marching East from
Taneytown to gain a better defensive position towards Union Mills. He then accompanied
the 3rd Division along with the Corps artillery on the same route leaving
Taneytown around 11am. His 2nd Division under John C Robinson he
left to hold the town, feigning the presence of the complete Corps to deceive
the enemy. 2nd 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 2nd 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 1st Division saw an opportunity to attack
and isolate the Union 2nd 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 2nd Division sent
word for his 3rd and 1st 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 1st Cavalry
brigade which was patrolling to the North East but 2nd 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 1st
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 2nd Division 2nd
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 3rd
Division.
The Confederates were confident and looked set to cut off
the town from the returning 3rd Division. However, 3rd
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,
3rd 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 2nd Brigade of 2nd 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 3rd 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 3rd Division artillery turned
and silenced the attached rebel horse battery before the rebel cavalry was
forced to withdraw and 3rd Division was able to continue its move
West
As the assault by the Confederate 1st Division, 2nd
Corps was faltering, the 3rd 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 16th 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 3rd Division Brigade from the West caused
two Union Regiments to break – many prisoners being taken as the town was
“liberated”.
The Union 3rd 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 3rd 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 2nd Brigade of
the 2nd Division were cheered back into camp whilst the 1st
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 1st Division had started to
arrive by 8pm.
The Confederates occupied their objective of Taneytown and
reflected on a lost opportunity to trap the Union 2nd 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 2nd
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 2nd
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.
