Jackson Gamers' Civil War game of the Penisular campaign
Gaines Mill
A map of the field.
This battle was fought using the Fire and Fury rules set with Larry Reeves' 15 armies.
The Union Commanders.
Left to right, standing: Phil Young, Jim Pitts (General Porter), Ed Sansing. Seated: Bill Reiman.
The Southern Commanders.
Left to right, back row: Eric Betts, Fred Diamond, Robert Whitfield, Bill Estes, Mark Gilbert. Front row: Matthew Huffman and Mark (last name unknown) - two young men who have fought with us several times before.
Federal Troops on the hill
The Union troops on the level below the hill were in works. Union troops on the hill were considered to be in works. They had a free fire path over the heads of their comrades below them.
The Confederate players getting their men in motion
Robert Whitfield and one of the young gamers moving up on turn one.
Another view of the Federal defenses
What the Southerners did not know, but could only guess, was that there were more Union troops. There were two more divisions of Northern infantry and three more batteries behind the crest of the hills, and further back were two more (understrength) Union Corps!
The Southern Infantry brigades burst out of the woods.
The forces of the two young gamers headed straight for the Union defenses. The veteran players "knew" that this position was too strong to take frontally. They hedged, awaiting Jackson's tardy assault on the flank.
Nobody told those young men that the position was too strong!
The Southern Infantry overruns the infantry in the first row of the trenches.
Since they did not "Know" that the position was impregnable, the young gamers forces burst into the Federal trenches at the base of the hill, driving off the defenders in vicious hand to hand fightin
The Rebels capture the artillery on the top of the hill!
Then they went UP the hill, disorderd, and routed the artillerists. About this time, the other Southern commanders recovered their manhood and a general advance started. On this same turn, Jackson's men burst from the woods on the Federal Right. Mark Gilberts division outflanked the Federal position and gained the high ground on the Federal right rear. From hear he cleared half the hill mass, taking each unit in the rear.
Robert Whitfield fell on the union Left positions, driving the defenders from their trenches and stalemating the Union Reserves on the left.
Eric Betts became involved in pinning down the Union reserves on the extreme left of the Confederate line (Extreme Union right flank reserves, under Jim Pitts). Although Erid had to leave the game at that point, on the next turn, his successor, Ed Sansing cracked the Federal right rear, and had a clear path to the Union line of communications.
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Game Master's note to Confederate Players' at start: "There has been far too much delay. Take this position without delay! You must Sieze the high ground occupied by the Federals, and/or cut the Unionline of retreat. NOTES:
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The History of the real battle
This was the third of the Seven Days’ Battles. On June 27, 1862, Gen. Robert E. Lee renewed his attacks against Porter’s V Corps, which had established a strong defensive line behind Boatswain’s Swamp north of the Chickahominy River. Porter’s reinforced V Corps held fast for the afternoon against disjointed Confederate attacks, inflicting heavy casualties. At dusk, the Confederates finally mounted a coordinated assault that broke Porter’s line and drove his soldiers back toward the river. The Federals retreated across the river during the night. Defeat at Gaines’ Mill convinced McClellan to abandon his advance on Richmond and begin the retreat to James River. Gaines’ Mill saved Richmond for the Confederacy in 1862.
Beaver Dam Creek was the second battle, but was a smaller affair. We have not gamed that action.
Union Players' victory conditions:
Return to "Fair Oaks", the first battle in this campaign.
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