Turn One
5:40 AM, October 17, 1864, Clear Skies (Visibility: 70 Hexes)
This turn was skipped by the admin of the game (myself) as I rotated the turn and chose passwords for both sides. This guarantees that neither side can see the entire battlefield setup before the beginning of the battle. Turn two is the first real turn of the game.
Turn Two
6:00 AM, October 17, 1864, Clear Skies (Visibility: 70 Hexes)
Union:
Ashdoll and Will began with a quick discussion of the merits of their opposing commanders. Will has played Paul and Chris often and knows that Paul is a very aggressive player who favors gaining and taking the initiative when possible. “They are aggressive… very aggressive,” he wrote to Ashdoll. It was determined that Ashdoll would take the leader on the Union side and lay out the plan of action for their side.
Ashdoll began by determining that Will would command the XIX Corps and the Army of West Virginia. Ashdoll would command the VI Corps and the Cavalry Corps on the field. The plan is for the Federals to assume a defensive posture after moving forward to gain some better ground and control the roads in the center of the map. The XIX Corps would advance south towards Berryville to feign an attack and then move into a defensive posture. The VI Corps would do the same on their right flank while the army awaited the arrival of the Army of West Virginia and the Cavalry Corps. The plan is to send two cavalry divisions to the eastern flank of the army where Will’s men will be defending the Union’s objective hex at Whittington’s Shop. The other division of cavalry would cover the army’s western flank on the right of the VI Corps.
It is hoped that the Confederates will attack and be repulsed allowing for a follow-up attack to drive them away from Berryville and gain the victory.
The Federal VI Corps moved along Whittington’s Road leaving only a single regiment blocking the north-south Old Tavern Road on their right flank. To the east the XIX Corps moved up some is concentrating for the defense of Whittington’s Shop.
Above: The Union plan of battle to defend first and counterattack after the expected Confederate offensive had been repulsed.
Confederate:
The Confederates had their own strategy session before moving their men for the first time. It was decided Paul would take the lead for his team and he would command Breckinridge’s Corps and DH Hill’s Corps. Chris would command Cheatham’s Corps and the Cavalry Corps. Swanson proposed a “hammer and anvil” approach to the contest. Swanson would act as the anvil which would take up a defensive position north of Berryville while Colwell moved to outflank the Federals on their right flank and hit Whittington’s via the Whittington Road. “The general idea is that you can come upon the enemy flank/rear while I hold him in battle with me. If he turns the bulk of his force to face you we will switch roles - you hold your ground and I will advance.” The idea that Federals might be moving south along the Old Tavern Road concerned both Rebels but it was felt that it would be a “wait and see” situation and adjust on the fly. After some further discussion the plan was adopted and the battle begun.
The Confederates moved forward with of their main columns. Wharton’s Division has moved through Berryville while Cleburne’s men have moved north of the Berryville Pike.
Above: The Confederate plan of battle is to advance on the left flank and attempt to turn the Federal position to take Whittington's Shop.
End of Turn two:
Total Strength:
USA: 24,897
CSA: 17,962
​
Total Casualties (infantry + cavalry):
USA: 0
CSA: 0
​
Artillery Losses:
USA: 0
CSA: 0
Right: The overhead map of the battlefield. Both sides are on the move. The collision between the VI Corps and Cheatham's men will happen before either side can see the other due to the wooded terrain.
editor's note:
Obviously, their battleplans are not going to be feasible in another hour. Both sides are planning on defending their objectives in the east while trying to outmaneuver one another in the west. The Federal plan is to bring in the VI Corps closer to the XIX Corps to form a more compact line using interior roads. This could be key if the Confederates move aggressively against the Federals. As Ashdoll and Will move their forces closer together Swanson and Colwell will be moving theirs farther apart because of the layout of the roads. Also, because this is a double-blind game, neither side has any clue that the two flanking columns on the western side of the map are so near one another. Will the Confederate advance by Colwell (Cheatham’s Corps) smash into the VI Corps flank as they move along the Whittington Road and cause mass panic and disruption? Once contact is made will Ashdoll turn the VI Corps around and engage in the heavy woods along the Old Tavern Road? We will have to wait and see.
Turn Three
6:20 AM, October 17, 1864, Clear Skies (Visibility: 70 Hexes)
Union:
The VI Corps turned south down the Jones Road towards Berryville Pike. On Old Tavern Road the 15th New Jersey, 178 men, continued to reconnoiter southward on the army’s right flank. McMillan’s XIX Corps division has moved mostly into battleline facing southward just south of the crossroads at Whittington’s Shop.
Will reported to Ashdoll that McMillan’s division would be “in line formation in preparation to receive the enemy attack.” The 2nd Division of the XIX Corps would move up in support within an hour.
Confederate:
The enemy’s 15th New Jersey is currently a “?” on the map when the Confederates opened their turn. The 20 men of the 43rd Virginia Partisans are located in the woods two hexes away with mounted skirmishers uncovering the enemy unit. Swanson quickly wrote to Colwell that, “It's possible our plan may have already outseen its usefulness. It may just be a cavalry scout in front of you but there could be a mass of infantry coming down that same road. Time will tell but you may need to set up some defense around where the 'Unknown' enemy unit is at the moment.”
The Confederates have turned the 43rd Virginia Partisans around and marched them back south and towards Jones Road to the east. Along the Old Tavern Road the infantry of Cheatham’s Corps has continued north to move directly against the uncovered New Jersey unit blocking the road. Wharton’s Division has gone into line at Berryville and is beginning to take up positions along ridges and fence lines in anticipation of a Union attack. After a brief discussion of whether or not to melee against the New Jersey unit it was decided to gamble and attack. The 16th Alabama of Lowrey’s Brigade charged ahead but were repulsed in their attempt.
End of Turn three:
Total Strength:
USA: 24,874
CSA: 18,761
​
Total Casualties (infantry + cavalry):
USA: 23
CSA: 28
​
Artillery Losses:
USA: 0
CSA: 0
Right: The overhead map of the battlefield. The action between the two sides has broken out in front of Cleburne's advance on the Old Tavern Road.
editor's note:
Here we go! The action on the Old Tavern Road has come as a bit of a surprise to both sides I feel. Both should have expected it though as it is a main north-south road just west of Berryville. The Confederates have all of Cleburne’s Division already north of the Berryville Pike along the road while Brown’s Division is trailing Cleburne and still has time to turn eastwards next turn along the pike to reach either the Jones Road or Berryville. Ironically, the leading VI Corps division is already halfway down the Jones Road coming in-between the two Federal wings. I don’t know who is in more danger right now – the Federals being caught between two forces or the Confederates being divided in half by Federal forces.
Let’s see how the two sides react to this move!
Turn Four
6:40 AM, October 17, 1864, Clear Skies (Visibility: 70 Hexes)
Union:
The VI Corps has responded to the appearance of Confederate infantry on the Old Tavern Road by sending two of Getty’s brigades south along the road and one of Russell’s. The remaining two brigades of Russell’s division have continued moving south on Jones Road while the remaining brigades of the corps are still moving for the crossroads near Crumb’s Church along with most of the artillery. The New Jersey unit, after repulsing the attack of 16th Alabama, fell back a hex into some woods but remained in column to block the road and learn more about Confederate intentions on that road.
Will wrote to Ashdoll that the “Rebels seem to be mirroring my own intentions on setting up a defense on the hills by our respective objectives… they don’t seem to be in a rush to advance on my corps. I was hoping they would… the closer to our reinforcements and the further from theirs the better.” Will planned to keep holding near Whittington’s Shop nonetheless and await developments. Ashdoll wrote back of his own situation with the VI Corps. “Sir, there is a skirmish in woods against Lowrey's Brigade. The situation is not clear for the moment. The 2nd Division (Getty) has turned to the sounds of the firing and moved along Old Tavern Road. The 1st Division (Russell) and 2nd Division (Getty) are advancing parallel southward. The 3rd Division (Ricketts) is escorting the Artillery Brigade and will serve as Reserve when they arrive. So our weak center, the big hole between VI and XIX, will have to remain a few more hours while we sort this out. I may launch a little counter-attack to probe. But I won't initiate a decisive attack. Given that I just have 13.5k Infantry and Rebels may be concentrating their forces using the numerous roads on their side. My primary goal is still occupying good positions and keeping our right flank safe all day.”
Confederate:
The actions of the New Jersey unit to remain in column and block the Old Tavern Road have befuddled the Confederates. Swanson wrote to Colwell before their move began to mull it over. “That unit in front of you neither wants to retreat nor make a normal defense. It looks like it wants to be a sacrifice as it's formed up 'in column' nearby. I have no doubt you can oblige their desire and sacrifice them for the glory of the Confederacy. And then another lonesome and small Yankee unit emerges on the road to the east of you which seems to desire a similar fate. I'm thinking I may send a brigade from Gordon's Division [from Breckinridge’s Corps] to that road but we need to know what is in front of you first - at the moment it looks like you are facing small regiments being used as sacrificial scouts.”
Cleburne’s Division moved up the Old Tavern Road but stayed wholly in column formation as the brigade of Lowrey’s moved to assault the New Jersey regiment to their front. Smith’s and Govan’s brigades moved up in support while Granbury’s Brigade filed off the road to move eastward through open fields towards Jones Road. Cheatham’s other division under Maj. Gen. John C. Brown moved eastward along the Berryville Road with the intention of moving north on the Jones Road next. At Berryville the Confederates of Breckinridge’s Corps continue to move into battle positions in anticipation of a Union attack.
The talking between Swanson and Colwell continued after their turn as they discussed the situation on the battlefield. “Next turn we should have some idea of what is in front of you and decide if any changes are needed to the overall plan,” Swanson wrote. “Well, you have seen the direction I intend to take with my two divisions, the second will push will be north on the Jones Road to either set defenses or remerge with my Cleburne at a point further north.”
Above: The crossroads area west of Berryville. The two sides are quickly coming together along parallel roads.
End of Turn four:
Total Strength:
USA: 24,836
CSA: 20,068
​
Total Casualties (infantry + cavalry):
USA: 61 (+38)
CSA: 52 (+24)
​
Artillery Losses:
USA: 0
CSA: 0
Right: The overhead map of the battlefield. Action is about to erupt to the west while Wharton's Confederate Division is now set defensively in the east. Gordon's arriving division is moving up in support.
editor's note:
Obviously, by looking at the overhead maps you can see neither side has any idea what they are about to get themselves into. The Confederates seem largely convinced the Union actions are mere weak probes. The Federals are a bit more prepared after running into Lowrey’s men and at the moment they are slightly more prepared for the coming storm. Does either side have an advantage here? I am not sure. The Federals have more men to funnel into the combat along with many more artillery sections and overall guns. Both sides have available forces arriving on the map soon and both also have a whole division at Berryville and Whittington’s Shop which could be sent west to reinforce the units there.
I have no idea what to expect next.
Turn Five
7:00 AM, October 17, 1864, Clear Skies (Visibility: 70 Hexes)
Union:
“Attack!” was the order of the moment for the VI Corps. Cleburne’s advance up the Old Tavern Road was met by a counterattack by Getty’s division. Moving into line formation the brigades of Col. James Warner and Col. Lewis Grant advanced along either side of the Old Tavern Road and poured a heavy fire directly into the men of Govan’s and Lowrey’s brigades. Col William Penrose’s small brigade of Russell’s division struck Lowrey on his right flank from the direction of Jones Road to add their numbers to the battle. The rest of Russell’s division moved into line with Upton’s brigade west of the Jones Road and Wheaton’s east of it. The trailing division of Ricketts is still in reserve but it poised to follow Russell’s men south along the Jones Road. The 4th and 10th New Jersey of Penrose’s brigade counterattacked the 16th Alabama of Lowrey’s Brigade which was still in column formation along the Old Tavern Road. The 16th Alabama was driven back with heavy losses and is already at Max Fatigue after only a couple of turns of combat and having lost 100 men. The Arkansans of Govan’s Brigade also suffered over 40 casualties as they were still in column formation when struck by Getty’s men along the road.
At Whittington’s Shop the men of McMillan’s division built breastworks and exchanged a few long-range artillery shells with the Confederates north of Berryville. Brig. Gen. Cuvier Grover’s division has just reached the crossroads uniting both divisions of the XIX Corps.
Will sent some advice to Ashdoll who commanded the Federals of the VI Corps. “As for what I see in your area of operations… that has Chris Colwell written all over it. He gives the word aggressive a new meaning. However, it can be very useful. He is disrupted and fatigued while still keeping his units in column formation! Your New Jersey boys didn’t rout, and gave as good as they got in terms of casualties. Well done! I believe his recklessness could cost him a lot here in a turn or two. Maybe even that whole brigade. Colwell will not quit charging… he may pull back for a turn or two, but trust me, the battle is going to be resolved on your side of the map, at least until the cavalry comes on board. I’m fairly positive, that Colwell will want to command the cavalry. He is good at it and will try to surround you and isolate any and all he can. Ashdoll replied with some new directives as he advised Will to advance into the wooded terrain near Whittington’s Shop with McMillan’s division and establish a defensive position further away from the Union objective. For the VI Corps he plans to continue the battle as it is being fought while waiting to see if the Rebs counterattack aggressively or fall back during the next turn.
Confederate:
Cleburne’s Division has changed facing into line and engaged the men of Getty’s division. Coming up in support are two brigades of Brown’s Division to give Cleburne a total of five brigades to command along the Old Tavern Road. Granbury’s Brigade of Cleburne’s Division is on the right of the division engaged in the fields between Old Tavern Road and Jones Road. Coming up Jones Road are the other two brigades of Brown’s Division.
To the east Wharton’s Division has spread out north of Berryville to cover the town while Gordon’s Division has turned northwest on the Berryville Pike heading towards the center of the battlefield and the Jones Road area.
Swanson and Colwell began to discuss the situation on the left with Cheatham’s Corps. Colwell favored a strong attack to regain the initiative, but Swanson recommended patience as neither side seemed to have any clear advantage. “There is no hurry and we must be concerned about casualties. Their units on the Jones Road will have to be dealt with but you need more firepower there to do it so you will probably be exchanging fire there for several turns before things become clearer.” Swanson continued that, “I should have Gordon's Division securing your right flank in a couple of moves so you should have no concerns there although it may give them some concerns if they think they're going to be flanked.”
End of Turn five:
Total Strength:
USA: 24,692
CSA: 19,773
​
Total Casualties (infantry + cavalry):
USA: 205 (+144)
CSA: 347 (+295)
​
Artillery Losses:
USA: 0
CSA: 0
Right: The overhead map of the battlefield. Battle is breaking out all over the place west of Whittington's Shop and Berryville.
editor's note:
Staying in column formation really hurt the Confederates along the Old Tavern Road. I believe they were anxious to steamroll past the lone Federal unit in their way but for some reason didn’t stop and really ask whether or not it was actually a lone unit or simply the advanced unit of a larger body. Moving into line would have saved quite a few men and would have allowed them to return fire on the advancing Federals during their turn. Instead, the Federals moved into line, advanced, and opened fire without a shot fired against them. The good news for the Confederates is that Cleburne’s Division is a crack unit and suffered no routs. They have plenty of men to now move into line and engage the Federals on numerically equal terms. Neither side knows they are equal in number of course. It was a good move by the Federals and they won round one of the battle on Old Tavern Road. But the fight has only just started.
The action on Jones Road is just as interesting. Neither side seems to realize, but both are quickly coming to the same conclusion, that the battle is going to be determined to the west of the objectives. The Confederates have acted first by already dispatching a division from the right to reinforce the left. Will the Federals follow suit quickly enough to match their numbers? Or, will the Federals realize that the enemy objective area has been weakened and use their larger numbers on the eastern side of the board to attack Berryville?
Turn Six
7:20 AM, October 17, 1864, Clear Skies (Visibility: 70 Hexes)
Union:
The Federals along the Old Tavern Road played it smart and did not advance against Cleburne’s prepared men. Instead they occupied good hexes and continued to bring up guns and reinforcements. Ricketts division has been divided with most of one brigade heading down the Old Tavern Road and the other brigade down the Jones Road. The VI Corps is now fully deployed with only the trailing artillery yet to unlimber in many areas. To the east the XIX Corps has advanced a quarter-mile forward into trees for cover and to put a little pressure on the Confederates at Berryville. The trailing division of the XIX Corps is moving up in support of the first.
Confederate:
The fighting continued along both the Old Tavern Road and Jones Road as more of Brown’s men now entered the fighting. The two brigades from Brown that were sent to reinforce Cleburne were both diverted to the east to plug the hole between Cleburne and the other part of Brown’s division. Cleburne’s men have stopped advancing along the Old Tavern Road and have engaged in a firefight at a range of 2 or more hexes from the Federal lines. To the east a counterattack by Granbury’s Brigade managed to throw back a smaller Federal unit. Gordon’s Division, which had been dispatched to the west by Breckinridge, was now turning its lead brigade northward to come up on Brown’s right flank and Wharton’s left.
Colwell wrote to Swanson that he was going to slow down his attack along the Old Tavern Road and “set defenses for now while I focus on getting the chaos in the middle of the board under control. It seems as if Ash decided to come at me from all angles in piecemeal formation.” Swanson encouraged him to keep his lines intact and hinted that Gordon’s Division might attack the VI Corps if an opportunity presented itself.
Above: The heart of the battlefield. Cheatham's Corps is now fully engaged on the left while Gordon's Division moves to the left of Wharton to fill the gap between the forces.
End of Turn six:
Total Strength:
USA: 24,402
CSA: 19,604
​
Total Casualties (infantry + cavalry):
USA: 495 (+290)
CSA: 516 (+169)
​
Artillery Losses:
USA: 0
CSA: 0
Right: The overhead map of the battlefield. Confederate attacks on the Jones Road are trying to push back the VI Corps. Gordon's Division is moving west.
editor's note:
This was a big turn in the game in my opinion. Maybe I will be wrong. But I think that the Confederates now have the advantage as they are holding a full Union Corps (the XIX) in place at Whittington’s Store with a single division. This now means that they will have ample force to attack and drive back the VI Corps if they are aggressive. If the Federal flank collapses it will not “be the end” of the battle but it will make an offensive to capture Berryville most unlikely. The Federals have spotted the leading brigade of Gordon’s Division moving northwest on the Berryville Pike but have not reacted to it.
On the flip side of that is that an offensive launched now against Berryville might succeed. The Federals have a large manpower advantage and more artillery pieces with which to attack the Confederate division north of the town. But the Confederates defending the town are well-trained and contain some of the only ‘large’ regiments in the Confederate army. They will be a daunting force to attack and very hard to drive back without overwhelming numbers or a flank attack to compliment the maneuver.
For the Confederates their decision to stop sending Gordon’s Division to the Jones Road is a conservative one. The Yankees have not been aggressive on the Berryville front and the fighting is heavy in the west. I figured Gordon would move to reinforce Brown and add an offensive punch to the Confederates on that flank. The coming arrival of DH Hill’s Corps south of Berryville would replace their numbers at the objective hex before any Federal attack could hope to make any progress taking the objective. I don't think Cheatham has enough force to drive the VI Corps and Gordon's Division will be wasted attacking northward alone without support. Risky decisions here.