{"id":1433,"date":"2019-07-31T21:13:14","date_gmt":"2019-07-31T20:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brigademodels.co.uk\/mws\/blog\/?p=1433"},"modified":"2023-07-14T10:00:31","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T09:00:31","slug":"the-battle-of-antietam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brigademodels.co.uk\/mws\/blog\/2019\/07\/31\/the-battle-of-antietam\/","title":{"rendered":"The Battle Of Antietam"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Stephen takes on the Union in this historical refight.<\/em><\/p>\n

At a recent meeting we had an American Civil War game \u2013 the Battle of Antietam!<\/p>\n

Being such a large battle, and the bloodiest in American history, we didn\u2019t do the whole battle. Instead we focused on the action at the end of the day \u2013 the Union grab for Sharpsburg.<\/p>\n

Our game took place after the battle for Burnside bridge. We set up the brigades as they were after the Confederates had been pushed back and Burnside\u2019s corps advanced toward Sharpsburg.<\/p>\n

Taking the Union were Jon R (Corps command plus Wilcox and Sturgis\u2019 divisions) and Paul F (with Rodman and Scannon\u2019s divisions). In control of the Confederates were Jeremey (Jones\u2019 division) and Stephen (Hill\u2019s division). There was no overall Confederate commander, with the two Confederate divisions (which were much larger than the Union divisions) acting independently.<\/p>\n

The Union side also had a large artillery park with three batteries which were under Army command, so couldn\u2019t be moved but would shoot at targets that came in range.<\/p>\n

The Union objective was to get a brigade in Sharpsburg, the Confederate objective was to stop them!<\/p>\n

Initially, Hill\u2019s division was not deployed \u2013 his brigades were busily marching up the road from Harper\u2019s Ferry to bolster the Confederate line. So at the outset the Union outnumber the Confederates. As such, the Union made an advance on the Confederate line. Not so on the southern edge \u2013 Scannon\u2019s division was a bit tardy in its approach. Meanwhile, John deployed his artillery in a field, near to the Army artillery park, which would provide a powerful incentive for the Confederates not to counter-attack on that side.<\/p>\n

Hill\u2019s division came on, but was hampered in its deployment due to cramped conditions \u2013 it was proving hard to fit the brigades and artillery where they were needed.<\/p>\n

Eventually the two sides came to blows \u2013 Jones\u2019 division to the north around Cemetery Hill facing off against Wilcox and Sturgis, and Rodman (waiting Scannon\u2019s arrival) to the south coming over Centre Hill.<\/p>\n

The early part of the battle was going slightly in favour of the Confederates. The artillery to the north was making it hard to take the battle to the Union, so Jones\u2019 brigades and artillery dug-in and pushed back the Union attacks.<\/p>\n

On Centre Hill, Rodman came over the top, took a round of musketry, and then pulled back! Much to everyone\u2019s amazement (not, least Burnside\u2019s!). Paul did try to explain this (ahem) \u2018cautious\u2019 move.<\/p>\n

But maybe it wasn\u2019t such a bad idea after all. Because emboldened by this withdrawal, Hill advanced his brigades over Centre Hill and took the battle to the Union with a wild rebel yell. And paid the price for charging the guns.<\/p>\n

Equally emboldened, Jones advanced Drayton\u2019s brigade against the Union brigades and artillery to the north. After a round of pummeling from Union Corps and Army artillery they soon regretted it and hobbled back all but destroyed.<\/p>\n

In the end our game had a very historical outcome \u2013 the battle just fizzled out. The Union didn\u2019t have it in them to continue the push to Sharpsburg and the Confederates didn\u2019t have it in them to counter attack. Like the actual battle itself, it was a no-score draw \u2013 both sides had taken so many casualties neither could carry the day.<\/p>\n

My thanks to Jeremey and Andy for taking some pictures.<\/p>\n