American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

<b>1863 Battle of Brandy Station


On this day, the largest cavalry battle of the war is fought at Brandy Station, Virginia.

After the Confederate victory at Chancellorville in early May, Lee began to prepare for another invasion of the North by placing General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry at Brandy Station, just east of Culpeper, to screen the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia as it started toward the Blue Ridge mountains. Stuart used this time at Brandy Station to stage a grand parade in order to boost morale and show off his dashing troopers to local residents.

Unbeknownst to Stuart, his pompous display was observed by uninvited Union cavalry and infantry under the command of General Alfred Pleasonton, who lurked across the Rappahannock. On June 9, Pleasonton struck the surprised Rebels in a two-pronged assault. After initially falling back, the Confederates eventually rallied, and the battle raged all day around St. James Church.

The battle's key moment came when Union troops headed to seize Fleetwood Hill, an elevation from which the Yankees could shell the entire battlefield. Confederate Lieutenant John Carter struggled to mount a cannon on the hill and fired a single shot that stopped the Union troopers in their tracks. The Yankee officer leading the charge suspected the Confederates had a line of guns sitting just over the top of the hill, when in fact it was a single gun with barely enough powder for a single shot. Carter's heroic act saved the day for Stuart. The move bought time for the Confederates, and they held the hill.

The battle continued until late afternoon, with many spectacular cavalry charges and saber fights in addition to hand-to-hand combat by dismounted cavalry. In the end, Stuart's forces held the field. Although it was technically a Rebel victory, the battle demonstrated how far the Union cavalry had come since the beginning of the war. Stuart's cavalry had been the master of their Union counterparts, but its invincibility was shattered on that muggy Virginia day.</b>

If only the real battle were fought in the HPS engine, the Yanks would have won easily... no way a single cannon stops anything in HPS.

Regards,
Lt. Col. Alan Lynn
3rd Battery "Jacksonville Greys"
4th Div, II Corps, AoA
God bless <><

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by ALynn</i>
<br />[b]1863 Battle of Brandy Station


If only the real battle were fought in the HPS engine, the Yanks would have won easily... no way a single cannon stops anything in HPS.


<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Colonel Lynn,

Ah, but was it the single cannon that really stopped the Union in the actual battle, or the loss of nerve on the part of the Yankee officer leading the charge, not knowing what might be waiting for him at the top of the hill?

Of course, one doesn't have to play a particular scenario very long to know what is available to the other side, which is why I enjoy blind scenarios. Can I get the other guy to lose his nerve? Will I lose mine? Can I bluff him with a single gun on top of a hill, or will I have a wall of artillery just out of sight, waiting for him to call my bluff? (A nice use of those short-range guns the Rebs seem blessed with in abundance, don't you think? [;)] )

Thanks for the post!


Your humble servant,
LGen 'Dee Dubya' Mallory

David W. Mallory
ACW - Lieutenant General, Chief of the Armies, Confederate States of America
CCC - Sergeant, Georgia Volunteers, Southern Regional Deaprtment, Colonial American Army

Obviously it was the loss of nerve, not the gun itself, but like you say, after a few replays we all know what to expect for the most part. Beyond that, the system doesn’t simulate the chance that a small force can hold of a larger one for extended periods very well at all. Take the stand of the 1st Minn. at Gettysburg on Day 2 – any chance a 280 man regiment could stand toe-to-toe vs. and entire Rebel brigade in HPS and stop them cold? I don’t think so… Any chance we could have a Wilderness-Spotsylvania HPS campaign and that you could dismount Wickhams cavalry in the path of the Union infantry columns moving south and stop them / delay them for hours (8-16 game turns?) with just that dismounted cavalry the way it happened in reality on May 7, 1864? I don’t think so… [8D]

Regards,
Lt. Col. Alan Lynn
3rd Battery "Jacksonville Greys"
4th Div, II Corps, AoA
God bless <><