Black Powder Epic ACW: Port Republic

 

On Thursday the Wollongong Wargamers played out the final game in our long running Shenandoah Valley 1862 campaign: The Battle of Port Republic. 

So far in the campaign the Confederates were leading the Union 6 Victory Points to 3. But there were 4 VPs to play for tonight, so the campaign still hung in the balance!

Whilst the Union's pair of Brigades- Tyler and Carroll's - started the game deployed, owing to their decision in the previous game not to send infantry reinforcements from Cross Keys to Port Republic, they only had one brigade on table - Winder's. The rest would have to be diced for...

Nevertheless, as I had been vague about the number of turns in this scenario, the Rebel team; Caesar, Richard and Stuart, had no choice but to push on for the objectives aggressively with just Winder's brigade!

What I, and they, didn't bargain for was that the Union defence from John, Darren and Alan was also going to be rather aggressive!

Very aggressive - Darren abandoned one of this objectives to charge the end of the Rebel brigade:

Fortunately for the Confederates, they diced pretty well for their reinforcements, both coming on at Turn 3.

But the Union team were nothing daunted!

Taliaferro's Brigade of Ewell's division can be seen below in the foreground advancing in march column along the trail. Taylor's brigade is over on the left coming up to support Winder.

Not content to hold their line with firefights, the Union continued with initiative charges whenever the opportunity arouse, keeping the Confederate advance somewhat disjointed...

Taliaferro's bold advance down the road had been conducted in march column, a justifiable decision in order to get the battle back on schedule...but also a rash one as the Union took advantage of their vulnerable formation to throw the brigade back in confusion!

Taylor's brigade was not rolling well for orders and so poor Caesar with Winder's brigade was bearing the brunt of the Union line's fire, which had advanced into the crop line to get to close range and also benefit from cover...

Once Stuart had successfully gotten his brigade moving forward, the Rebel team then asked him to veer off to the centre of the table where a potential gap had formed: order - counterorder = disorder!

However he soon sorted it out and closed the gap with a series of successful charges - but these were taking their toll on his brigade and was not getting either brigade closer to any objectives!

It was left to Richard with Taliaferro's brigade; also now more or less recovered; 

to make a final, despairing lunge for an objective in the final turns of this campaign. Just seizing one objective - in this case the Coaling - would result in a victory with 7 Rebel victory points to  a Union 6!

Richard had everything lined up nicely to concentrate firepower on the lone Union battery holding the Coaling: surely a judicious volley would force them to retire off it? 

Alas for the Southrons - No! The shooting was wild and the Union redlegs survived the volley. So the game ended with all four objectives held by the Bluebellies who were also victorious in the campaign!