Stonewall Jackson at Gettysburg
July 1 - 3, 1863, 156 Turns
Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the north began on June 3, 1863, when his forces began to slip away from their camps around Fredericksburg. James Longstreet had returned from the Virginia peninsula with Pickett's and Hood's divisions and would once more command the army's reunited First Corps (divisions under McLaws, Pickett, Hood, and Anderson). Thomas J. Jackson, fresh from his greatest victory at Chancellorsville, would command the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia (divisions under Ewell, Johnson, Rodes, and AP Hill). Lee's army would spend the next month maneuvering and marching into Maryland and then into Pennsylvania.
As rumors abounded that the Union army was gaining rapidly on the Confederates from the south, Lee ordered his dispersed forces to begin closing up in anticipation of a possible battle. Jackson's corps was then spread out in central Pennsylvania in an attempt to capture the capital at Harrisburg. After word arrived from Lee that the Union army was much closer than they had believed, Jackson put his foot cavalry on the roads and moved to rejoin the rest of the army. On June 30, Jackson received word that a Union cavalry force was in Gettysburg. Unable to locate Stuart's Division, Jackson decided to drive on Gettysburg and attack any Federals he found there. He would then take the town and await the arrival of Longstreet’s men moving east from Chambersburg.
AP Hill’s Division would lead the advance along the Chambersburg Pike. Jackson’s other divisions were still a few hours away moving southward towards the town.
The Battle of Gettysburg was about to begin.
Confederate Forces
72,289
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57,691 Infantrymen
7,723 Cavalrymen
6,875 Artillerymen
275 Cannons
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Union Forces
94,515
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73,375 Infantrymen
12,240 Cavalrymen
8,900 Artillerymen
356 Cannons
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Stonewall Jackson at Gettysburg
The Thought Behind the Scenario
(in case you are interested)
This scenario possibility is one we have all talked about in this club for many years. As a result, it is an impossible one to create to the satisfaction of everyone for numerous reasons (chiefly everyone believes it would have played out in any number of possible ways). Would the armies even have ended up at Gettysburg if Jackson was still alive? Nobody knows for sure. Therefore, I decided to just assume that events played out in nearly the same order with Jackson's influence only really being felt on July 1.
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The Order of Battle for the Confederates was a challenge to create. Essentially, I took the Gettysburg OOB and pretended that there was no need for Lee to create a third corps after Chancellorsville. Whether or not Lee really would have done so can never fully be known. I am assuming he stuck with the two corps system rather than attempting to reorganize before a major campaign. Historically, after Chancellorsville, Lee created a new division by taking units from AP Hill's Light Division, and reinforcements from the Carolinas, to form Heth's Division. But that does not occur here. In this scenario Heth is still a brigade commander in AP Hill's Light Division. Pender and Early are brigadiers as well. Ewell has returned to command his old division in Jackson's Corps. All of the other division leaders (Anderson, McLaws, Hood, Pickett, Johnson, and Rodes) remain unchanged. Two brigades of reinforcements from North Carolina, Pettigrew's and Davis's, would be attached to Pickett's Division as a result of two of Pickett's regular brigades being left behind in Richmond.
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What does Jackson's presence at Gettysburg really mean? Obviously, I had to alter the scenario so Jackson's presence was felt in some tangible way. But I also didn't want to make it so extremely different that the battle just didn't feel right anymore. I decided to move forward the timetable of Confederate forces arriving on July 1 by just a few hours (the "Jackson" effect). This means that the Battle of Gettysburg will be harder on day one for the Army of the Potomac. But, how much harder? That remains to be seen. Jackson's divisions will all be on the field starting at 11 AM.
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On the other side of the battlefield - I did not want to keep everything exactly the same either. What if it wasn't the XI Corps that was following in Reynolds's wake that morning? What if it was Slocum's XII Corps that arrived behind the I Corps on July 1? This scenario swaps out the XI Corps for the XII Corps on the morning of July 1. That means that the two highest ranked Federal corps (in terms of infantry quality), will be the first two corps on the field of battle. Howard's XI Corps (the lowest rated Federal corps) will instead arrive at the same time and position as did the XII Corps historically. But Howard will not leave behind two brigades as Slocum had on July 1. Howard will bring his whole corps with him as he arrives on the afternoon of July 1. As an added "bonus", the Federal I Corps will have the immediate services of the 7th Indiana and Stannard's Vermont Brigade during the morning of July 1.
To summarize, the Rebels will be coming hard at the Federals on July 1. The Federals will be bringing their two highest quality corps to the field to meet them. Howard's XI Corps is arriving in greater numbers than did Slocum's XII Corps historically. All other arrival times are historical for both Longstreet's Corps and the other corps of the Federal army.
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Note: The Confederates almost always "win" day one. If you are a Federal player in this battle you need to think long-term and be prepared for a full 156-turn marathon game. Plan accordingly. This was not designed to be an "equal force scenario" or any such thing. It is merely a tweak on the Battle of Gettysburg for entertainment purposes. The Rebels will still be heavily outnumbered and the Federals will still have problems with lower quality infantry - that's life.
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I did take the liberty of providing the Confederates with four extra Supply Wagons and also three extra Supply Wagons for the Federals. Artillery ammunition is the same here as it is in the historical scenario.
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I also selectively raised the leadership and command ratings for some generals on BOTH sides. I have always felt the game designers lowered the ratings a tad too much for various officers at Gettysburg. Given that Stonewall Jackson is alive and well, I must assume the ANV to be in better spirits than they historically were just two months after his death. This just means that both sides will have a slightly easier time keeping their units organized and in good order with higher quality commander ratings.
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