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Sharpsburg-dtg -Historical Battle of Anita Rebels should meet the Union forces head-on in the middle. Consolidated forces can break the Federal lines, causing disorganization in the Union attack. Once the attack is broken, the mass of Rebel forces in the center should be able to fend off any counterattacks on the flanks. Union forces can be most effective by baiting the Rebels into a meeting engagement. If they can occupy the Rebel forces long enough, reinforcements along the flanks should be able to get behind the Rebels and encircle them, cutting off any withdrawal. Flush with victory, Lee decided it was time to invade the North. Success would galvanize anti-war sentiment, tempt Maryland to join the Rebel cause, tie Federal troops to defending Washington, move the fighting off Southern soil and possibly gain foreign recognition for the Confederacy. McClellan found Lee's invasion plans and declared that "If I cannot whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home." For a time it looked as if McClellan would prevail, but arrival of A.P. Hill from Harper's Ferry halted the Federal advance. In the end, the Union halted the invasion and celebrated its first major victory, however nominal it might have been.
Chancellorsville -The scenario clock is set at 15:00 to allow 4 hours of fighting on May 2d. Most of the AOP is dug in and at the ready. The ANV is deployed as it was after Stonewall's "Great March". The Union's defeat at Fredericksburg resulted in another new commander for the Army of the Potomac. "Fighting Joe" Hooker was the only man who seemed to want the job. After meticulously rebuilding the army, Hooker decided to avenge the Union's loss at Fredericksburg by leaving a detachment to pin Lee to his positions on the heights west of Fredericksburg, while marching his main force west to envelope the Army of Northern Virginia. It might have worked, had Lee cooperated. Instead, the Southern general left a garrison at Fredericksburg under Jubal Early, and assumed direct control of 1st Corps (with Longstreet on temporary duty in the Carolinas). Lee then moved his main army to meet Hooker where he had crossed the Rappahannock River. Because the ANV employed better the principles of surprise, mass, and maneuver, for the first and last time, the artillery of the AOP and the ANV fought on equal terms for much of the battle. Chancellorsville may have been Lee's masterpiece, and one of the greatest tactical achievements in military history. It was, however, a Pyrrhic triumph. As the battle raged after dark, a volley from the 18th NC Infantry wounded "Stonewall" Jackson (who died on May 10th) as he returned to his lines after scouting the Union positions.
Gettysburg2001-dtg -This important battle took place not on ground chosen by either army's commander, but accidentally, by contact between footloose Confederate infantry and Union cavalry. The skirmish escalated rapidly, until nearly 170,000 soldiers were involved. When the smoke cleared after three apocalyptic days, Lee had lost a third of his army and his reputation for invincibility, and Southern morale had suffered a setback. Although the fall of Vicksburg in the west was more decisive for the final defeat of the Confederate States of America, and many battles remained to be fought, Gettysburg marked a turning point of the war in the eastern theater. History records it as the greatest battle of the war and a defining event in northern consciousness. This battle also presents the greatest concentration of field artillery ever seen on the North American continent up to that time.
Important read-me file for Dtg's Getty This scenario follows the disposition and arrival times of the CWG2 package in most respects, although the time clock has been moved to 07:30 for the beginning of the scenario. Still, their are occasional deviations from the Sierra schedule. Some of the Union units at the edge of the map are exhausted on turn zero as a compensation for their being too far north for that hour; they are there because I changed their turn of arrival in the editing process [a consequence of changing map dimensions], placing the division commanders on turn zero is a remedy that allows subsequent reassignment of the division commanders (more on this matter below). The map features considerable modifications to achieve more historical accuracy, and many details have been added that are not in the CWG2 scenario map. This map does provide an orchard to the south of the Lutheran Seminary, and Gettysburg does not lose its town square, among other additions. Topography, landmarks, stone walls, and roads are in conformity with period maps [principally the 1863/76 J.B. Bachelder map of central Cumberland Township (Adams County) and the 1858 G.M. Hopkins map of Adams County] and the G.K. Warren map in the Atlas to the Official Records. The map has been extended to the east and shortened to the south. Union Order of Battle. The Union cavalry gets their guns, helpful in assisting in slowing up the advance of Heth's division [the Confederate cavalry also brings its guns to Gettysburg]. Capt. J.A. Hall's 3" Ordnance rifles in the Army of the Potomac's 1st Corps artillery are in Reynold's Bn in this scenario, so they are available to make their gallant stand by the railway cut. Some of the artillery brigades arriving as reinforcements are broken up into battalions to better represent the types of cannon employed by the batteries in question, and to simulate the abundance of Union artillery in position by the afternoon of July 2nd. Also, the commander of the AoP's 2nd Corps is properly identified as Capt. John G. Hazard [NOT G.W. Hazzard]. I have been asked why the AoP has no howitzers in this scenario... other than the horse artillery (which was NOT howitzers at Gettysburg) that I included, there are no howitzer units because the AoP had only 2 (two) howitzers at Gettysburg--that is, a single section of these cannon in J.W. Sterling's Battery, Taft's Arty Brigade, Arty Reserve (a battery of 4 James rifles and 2 howitzers). Most of the AoP cannon were 3" Ordnance rifles and Napoleons [in combination 80% of all cannon]. I would also note that the AoP had only 6 20# Parrott guns and 4 James rifles (described as 12# in the reports). I modified the data for the Iron Brigade; that is, I enhanced their Quality/Experience ratings along with the ratings for Meredith. Their weapons were downgraded because they carried 1861 Springfields to Gettysburg, so that is what they carry in this scenario. On July 01, Doubleday arrives marching past Black's Tavern, as he did, in time to arrive at McPherson's Ridge around 11:00, as he did--just in time to take over 1st Corps after Reynolds was killed. Rowley replaced him as division commander. One unit from each of the AoP's 3rd Corps appear on the map at the start because I moved their arrival turn and this is necessary to allow the Union commander to re-assign the division commanders. The organization and health data are set to reach acceptable levels at their supposed time of arrival [the same editing device had to be employed with Jubal Early in the ANV's 2nd Corps]. Weapons Assignments. The weapons of some of the brigades in the AOP are downgraded because there is very good evidence that they came to Gettysburg with "inferior Austrian smoothbores". Brigades with a preponderance of regiments so equipped are assigned the "Prussian Smoothbore". What made the "Austrian" muskets inferior was the poor quality of the metal in their fabrication; that is, the steel had such poor tensil strength that the hammers would break after as few as 3 firings, or the hammer would simply not detonate the primer cap. Another problem encountered by the "inferior Austrian smoothbores" was that the trigger springs also suffered from the poor tensil quality of the component steel. A similar complaint was made in the case of rebored Lorenz rifle- muskets. The Lorenz was produced as a .54 caliber rifle, and as such about half of them were "high quality" [obtained by the CSA as a result of beating the USA to the door, and the sympathetic orientation of many European arms dealers to the cause (and ready cash) of the CSA--there is also some indication that the CSA representatives were nicer guys]. The process of reboring the Lorenz to .58 to accept the Minie ball was not done with sufficient expertise to produce a quality weapon. Confederate Order of Battle. The Army of Northern Virginia is blessed by the appearance of R.E. Lee. Alas, there is no way to give him command of anything at army level; instead, he serves as the corps commander for the ANV's cavalry division. The scout, Henry Thomas "Harry" Harrison, is represented because his information was critical to the ANV at Gettysburg. Longstreet arrives where he should--not behind enemy lines and halfway to Emmitsburg! Such a feature in the CWG2 package is apparently designed to simulate the scouting of Harrison. 1st Corps arrives on the road from Cashtown in a more rational location. Also, Rodes approaches along the Bendersville Road, having passed through Middletown, which is not on the Carlisle Road. Some sharpshooter units are provided for the ANV by converting the smallest brigades within 2d and 3d Corps to sharpshooter regiments, and in the case of 1st Corps by drawing about 80 men each from the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas Regiments [Robertson] to reinforce the 2nd GA Regiment [Benning]. Additionally, Heth's Division acquired sharpshooters by re-assigning the 2nd MS Regiment [Davis' Bde] and two companies of the 26th NC [Pettigrew's Bde] to the sharpshooter unit. The ANV has also brought along its engineers. Two batteries of horse artillery from Stuart's Guns were reassigned to Imboden's Command (McClanahan's Bn) to provide a better replacement pool. Confederate Weapons Assignment. In the 3d Corps, Pettigrew does not employ musketoons (a naval carbine), which are mysteriously assigned to him in all the package Gettysburg scenarios I have seen. The references I have seen as to the weapons carried by his regiments indicate a preponderance of late model smoothbore muskets, so I gave him 1842 U.S. Smoothbores. His leader and unit ratings are adjusted to reflect the effect of "buck and ball" loads used by units with smoothbore muskets--that is, within 75 yards, it was devastating. So, his brigade would have additional resistence to charges, and their impact when charging would be enhanced. The ANV's 2d Corps (Ewell) is equipped throughout with .58 caliber rifles. After the battle of Chancellorsville, the 2d Corps ordnance officer was able to completely re-equip his units with "high quality .58 caliber rifle-muskets" captured from the AOP. A significant fraction of the ANV's units came to Gettysburg equipped with captured 1861 Springfields and "Springfields" made in Richmond with captured tools from Harper's Ferry. At this time I have not been able to determine which ANV units were predominantly armed with 1861 Springfields or the Richmond copy so that I might equip them accordingly. Of course, the Richmond Springfield would have to "stand in" for the Massachusetts Springfield because the original is not available in the editor for Confederate forces. It does appear, however, from the report of the AoP's ordnance officer concerning captured shoulder arms at Gettysburg, that either the 2nd MS [Davis] or the 13th AL [Archer] or 7th TN [Archer] had a good number of Springfields. It is noteworthy that the same report identifies 84% of the captured arms as being Enfields, with the remainder being about equally divided between Springfields and 1842 smoothbores. Most of the ANV's Whitworth Rifled Guns appearing in the Sierra Historical Gettysburg scenario have been replaced with what they did have: 10# Parrott [Tredegar] Rifles and 3" U.S. Ordnance (rifled guns). The ANV had 10 20# Parrott guns and 4 3" naval Parrott guns (20#), neither of which are available to the ANV in the Editor. To compensate for this, in an abstract sense, I gave the ANV's 2nd Corps Artillery Reserve Whitworths and added some guns to make up for the differential in firepower between 20# Parrott guns and the Whitworth. I also supplied the ANV with some 20# James rifled guns as a result of averaging the capabilities of a mix of Napoleons, 10# Parrott rifles, and 20# Parrott rifles. The ANV had no James rifles at Gettysburg. A note on Whitworth cannons--there was only a single section of these guns accompanying the ANV in the Gettysburg campaign [Hardaway's Alabama Artillery in McIntosh's Bn, 3rd Corps Artillery Reserve] [further note: a section is two guns]. Of course, the ANV had a number of Napoleons and 12# Howitzers, but significantly had a four gun battery of 24# howitzers (1st Corps Res Arty, Alexander's Bn, Moody's Battery). I should say that determining a good selection of artillery piece for a battalion of Confederate artillery is challenging, if not impossible. For Alexander's Bn, a 24 gun bn, there were 4 12# howitzers, 4 24# howitzers, 6 Napoleons, 7 3" Ordnance rifles, 1 10# Parrott rifle, and 2 20# Parrott rifles...so, what to give them? I calculated that since there were more howitzers than anything else [8, of which half were 24#'s- -which should count double or triple, + 6 Napoleons that could see limited use in indirect fire], I gave them howitzers. But, that sacrificed a lot of range afforded by the 3" Ordnance and Parrott rifles, so I added some guns to boost the impact at 5-6 hexes, which is the limit of the range for the howitzers. Reference Materials In addition to the maps mentioned above, the source materials for my input to this scenario was varied but mostly from the official records, E.B. Coddington, G.A. Coco, and David Shultz.
Early Washington-dtg -This version of Early Washington-dtg is for play against the computer or the AI (Artificial Intelligence). This version can, of course, also be played online or via modem connection with another computer. For a full description of the rationale and design elements that correspond to this scenario, consult the ReadMe file that relates to this scenario.
Early Washington Online-dtg -A "What-If" scenario developing as a result of a decisive victory by the Army of Northern Virginia at Sharpsburg. For a full description of the rationale and the design elements of this scenario, consult the ReadMe file for this scenario. NOTE: this scenario is TOO big for the AI (the computer as opponent) to handle. This scenario can ONLY be played online or via modem connection. To play my Early Washington against the AI, you must use "Washington, Early-dtg-2001-AIplayer", which is a somewhat smaller version of this scenario.
Murfreesboro-dtg - (Stone's River) The year 1863, the critical one of the war, began with a costly but inconclusive battle along the north bank of Stone's River, near Murfreesboro in Middle Tennessee. The forces involved were the Federal Army of the Cumberland under William S. Rosecrans and the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Braxton Bragg. The latter had just been thwarted in an attempted invasion of Kentucky, but he still controlled Tennessee. On Dec. 31, 1862 the battle began at dawn when Confederates struck Rosecrans' right wing. Heavy fighting surged back and forth for hours before the Union line was pushed back on the pivot of the left flank. From that point the Federals fought desperately to hold their line against successive Confederate attacks. New Year's Day saw only minor skirmishing. On Jan. 2 graycoats drove the Federals from the top of a hill to the north, but in attempting to pursue they were mowed down by blue artillery and forced to withdraw, ending the battle in a bloody draw. The two armies would rest and maneuver for months before meeting again in the autumn near Chattanooga.
Resaca-dtg -As part of Sherman's master plan to encircle and overtake the Confederate army, he ordered one of his armies to head south and then east. His intention was to have his army circle behind the enemy forces and cut the Western & Atlantic railroad, the Confederates' main supply line, at the small town of Resaca. Sherman then used his remaining two armies to keep the main Confederate forces busy. Defending Resaca was a resting reinforcement brigade who were waiting for orders; many had seen little or no combat. Fortunately for them, some experienced cavalry soldiers were in the area. When their patrols discovered the Union army they sent a message to Johnston that Resaca might fall unless substantial help from the main army were to come soon.
Shiloh-dtg -While Robert E. Lee dominated the war in the east, the Rebels lacked a counterpart for the western theater. Jefferson Davis hoped that Albert Johnston would be that man. The Union did have expert generalship in the west, in the person of U.S. Grant. Johnston's first objective was to neutralize his foe, for which purpose he assembled an army of 40,000 men at Corinth, Mississippi. His plan was to spring a surprise attack on the Union's encampment at Pittsburg Landing, envelop the left flank by the river (cutting off Buell's reinforcements), then drive the Federals back to Owl Creek for the kill. Grant knew of the Rebel force in Corinth and planned an eventual assault on it, but was confident that the enemy would not strike at him first. He was wrong. The Confederates attacked on April 6, catching the Federals sleeping. Union forces narrowly avoided a rout and organized a resistance. The South lost its impetus by mid-afternoon when Johnston bled to death after a stray bullet cut an artery in his leg. By day's end, the Union was in desperate shape, but Buell's reinforcements had arrived and the bluecoats were regrouping. Oblivious to this, the Rebels spend the night in the captured enemy camps, intending to cement their victory the next day. Instead, the Union recaptured its camps and forced the enemy to retreat to Corinth, after overcoming stiff resistance near Shiloh Church. The Battle of Shiloh was the bloodiest of the war to date, but the Union victory was incomplete in the sense that a viable Southern army had escaped. Yet, the Confederacy would never again be as strong in Tennessee, and the North was on its way to conquering the Mississippi.
