The Jackson Gamers 1864 game
Tecumsah Creek

Photo by Jim Pitts

The game table, looking from the southwest (?) corner, before any troops appear. General Hancock gazed dyspepticly across the field.

The battlefield is in Virginia in 1864. The Northern forces are attacking to cross the creek and drive the Confederates back from the woods to the west. The Union troops are mainly of the Second Corps under their redoubtable commander Winfield Scott Hancock. The Rebels are Breckenridge's division of Early's Corps.

This game took place on December 6, 2008 at THE DRAGON'S LAIR in Pearl MS.

The Union Players were:

• Jay Stribling - II Corps Commander - took the center.
• Bill Hamilton - 1st Division was Union left flank.
• Sean Pitts - 2nd Division was on the Union right-center.
• Jay Ainsworth with a single brigade formed the extreme Union right flank.

Photo by John Murdaugh

The Union commanders, left to right: Sean Pitts, Jay Stribling, Bill Hamilton. Caught in an impromptu prayer meeting! Jay Ainsworth had not yet arrived when this photo was taken.

This is while we were studying the order of battle and the victory conditions, before any troops were deployed. We set up the troops behind a screen, representing a morning fog. We were almost within musketry range when the screen was lifted.

Photo by John Murdaugh

Another view of the Federal commanders, showing general Hancock (Jay Stribling) perhaps needing his morning coffee. Not the best view of Hancock!

The Federal commanders had a numerican advantage ofer the Rebel troops on the field. Their orders were to advance, cross the stream, and drive the enemy troops out of the woods to their front. After that, they could expect new orders.

Photo by John Murdaugh

Yet another view of the Federal commanders, showing Jay Ainsworth on the left of the image, newly arrived, installed as the commander of the extreme Union right flank. Hancock looks a bit more hopeful and awake in this one!

The Confederate Players were:

• Ed Sansing - Division commander - with one brigade and a battery composed the Confederate center.
• Jim Pitts - Brigadier - with one infantry brigade and a battery was the Confederate left flank.
• John Murdaugh - one infantry brigade and one battery was the Confederate right flank.
• Jerry Lee Ainsworth commanded a few CSA infantry but as the game unfolded, he took command of powerful reinforcements from Early's corps and led them in a heavy attack against the "knuckle" of the Union line.

Note that this was a typical happening in the American Civil War, where the fathers (Jim Pitts and Jay Ainsworth) led forces on different sides from the sons (Sean Pitts & Jerry Lee Ainsworth).

Photo by Ed Sansing

The Confederate commanders. Left to right: John Murdaugh, Ed Sansing, Jerry Lee Ainsworth, Jim Pitts.

Photo by Jim Pitts

Jim Pitts' Confedrate Brigade lines a rail fence bordering the stream. In the distance are Jay Ainsworth's (left), Sean Pitts' (center), and part of Jay Stribling's (right) Union brigades.

Photo by Jim Pitts

Looking down the Union lines from Jay Ainsworth's brigade, through those of Sean Pitts, Jay Stribling, and Bill Hamilton. Behind the rail fence along the wood line are the Confederate brigades of Ed Sansing and John Murdaugh.

Photo by Ed Sansing

The Federal infantry of Jay Ainsworth and Sean Pitts, advancing towards the Confederate left, early in the game.

Photo by John Murdaugh

This shows the CSA regiment forming the extreme right of the Rebel line. The yellow marker behind it shows that it is disordered. It is being hammered by the Federal battery shown on the right of the image and the Federal infantryis advancing against it. The battery could not cross Tecumsah creek here, but it rendered very valuable fire support and the infantry did cross the creek only to be called back when the Federal orders changed.

After the second or third turn, the Federal commanders received new orders from General Meade. Instead of advancing and driving the Rebels out of the woods, they were to fall back and hold the line of the stone fence. Dutifully they complied. A turn later when powerful Southern reinforcements, including some cavalry, came onto the field, the Union players could understand why they had fallen back.

Photo by John Murdaugh

A turn or so later, still on the CSA right flank, showing gunners driven from their guns by Federal fire.

Photo by Jim Pitts

Another shot of Jim Pitts' Confederate brigade as Ainsworth's Union brigade begins to close. Sean Pitts' brigade seems to be holding back. For this game we used a slight variant of Larry Reeves Napoleonic rules IF ONLY WE COULD ALL BE NAPOLEON!

It seemed to play very well.

Go to the second part of this battle report

Return to the Master Index of Photos and Games

Return to the Jackson Gamers' Homepage

Angelfire - Free Home Pages
Free Web Building Help
Angelfire HTML Library
htmlGEAR - free polls, guestbooks, and more!

Thank you for visiting The Jackson Gamers' pages at Angelfire. Please come back and visit again!