Part Eleven: High Noon
Action on all Fronts
The Federals continued their straightforward attack along the western side of the Hickory Pike. Troops from Davies’s division, recently engaged against Lovell’s Division to the west, were now in the fight against Armstrong’s cavalrymen and driving them southward. Leading from the front, politician-turned-soldier Brigadier General Richard J. Oglesby, leading a brigade in Davies division, was killed in the fighting. The Confederate line continued to hold just enough units in place to maintain a continuous, if tenuous, front. Reforming Rebel units were quickly sent back to the line while uncommitted units were hurrying to Grand Junction from both LaGrange and Saulsbury. These units, though few in number, would be fresh when they arrived in a few hours.
Strong defensive fire from the Confederate units failed to slow down the Union attack. Buckner was forced to fall back a few hundred yards along the Hickory Pike and to abandon a clump of trees he had been defending since early morning. The Federals managed to rout six more Confederate regiments off of the front lines which now stretched from North Hill to West Hill. But the Confederates continued to hold just enough to prevent the Federals from breaking through at any single point. Units from Breckinridge’s Corps were now shifting in place on Armstrong’s left flank and beginning to push into the Union bulge driving south to the west of the Hickory Pike. Breckinridge’s artillery were also rumbling eastward for Grand Junction to add their firepower to the battle then raging north of the town. Following them were two regiments of the Orphan Brigade which were hurrying to get in place before the Federals could complete their destruction of Armstrong’s cavalrymen trying to hold the area between Buckner and Breckinridge.
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Federal attack west of the Hickory Pike
Along the top of West Hill the fighting became hand-to-hand as the Federals pushed up the slope. Union Brig. Gen. Pleasant Hackleman was captured by the Confederates during one such attack and the Federals temporarily driven back. But they kept on coming and were hitting the Confederate lines with all they had left. Near LaGrange a detachment of Union cavalry had worked their way behind the main Confederate lines and spotted two Confederate officers on a nearby ridge. Riding up from behind the Federals quickly captured brigadier generals Stephen D. Lee and Louis Hebert. Lee’s Division, of Breckinridge’s Corps, was taken over by the only remaining general officer in the division – Brig. Gen. Roger Hanson. The Federals routed a number of units on West Hill – but still the Confederate line held with just enough men to keep the Federals at bay.
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As the Federals advanced they did so directly into the faces of the Confederate artillery. The Confederate guns were cutting large swaths of Federals down as they advanced over the open fields to their front. For the Federals they were attacking and pushing the Confederates farther away from their own supporting guns. This, obviously, decreased their effectiveness in supporting the infantry as they failed to keep up with the attack.
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The Confederate Line Stiffens
After a full morning of attacking the Confederates and driving them back the Federals began to show signs of exhaustion. Confederate artillery, always just out of reach of the Union attackers, continued to whittle down the Union regiments as they advanced. Although the line of Confederate infantry and cavalry was constantly being reshuffled because of routing and heavy Union attacks, they held just enough men on the lines to keep slowing the Union attack. By 11 AM the Confederate lines had stiffened with the infusion of units Breckinridge’s Corps around West Hill in support of Armstrong’s hard-pressed cavalrymen. Along Hickory Pike a slight ridge afforded the Confederates a little high ground against the Union attack which finally checked their advance hardly a mile north of Grand Junction. Any further progress by the Federals would only occur with maximum effort attacks which their increasingly fatigued and weakened regiments were no longer able to sustain.
A surge forward by the 24th and 34th Indiana, led personally by Brig. Gen. George McGinnis, managed to punch a brief hole in the Confederate line by routing the 6th Arkansas of Liddell’s Brigade. But a quick counterattack by the 2nd and 5th Tennessee, of Cleburne’s Brigade, managed to overrun the Federal position and force the surrender of over 600 Federals caught in the trap they had just charged into. McGinnis had no choice but to lay down his sword with his men and was led to the rear as a prisoner of war. This Confederate counterattack had busted a hole in the Union center and forced the Federals to send men to contain the breakthrough before they caused more damage. Beauregard, viewing from a nearby hill, was thrilled with the maneuver and sent his congratulations to Buckner.
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Confederate counterattack against the Federal center.
No sooner had the message from Beauregard reached Buckner than another crisis emerged. The Federal attack would not be beaten back so easily. A renewed push by McPherson’s Wing pummeled Breckinridge’s and Armstrong’s men around West Hill and routed seven regiments rearwards. Sizing up the situation quickly, and realizing it was now or never, Breckinridge ordered forward his last two uncommitted regiments of crack Kentucky infantrymen. The Orphans swept forward and plugged the gaps in the line around West Hill. Buckner, a few hundred yards to the east, continued to counterattack wherever he could. He managed to, once again, surround and capture two Union regiments. Another 496 Federals became prisoners and the Union center continued to have problems pushing the Confederates back off of West Hill.
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The Fighting Goes On
By 11:20 AM the situation on the Federal front was going from bad to worse. Heavy losses and massive routs now hampered their momentum towards Grand Junction. The only remaining fresh troops were from the Iowa Brigade. These troops were still marching towards Hickory Pike after leaving their position on Stanley’s left flank an hour earlier. The Federals continued to try and press forward but could no longer push back the Confederate lines and were stopped just short of the crest of West Hill.
To the west the last of Breckinridge's Corps abandoned LaGrange as they moved to shorten the Confederate lines by reinforcing the West Hill area. McArthur quickly rode into LaGrange and captured the railroad depot in the town. But this was still a pyrrhic victory as Grand Junction and Saulsbury remained firmly in Confederate hands to the east. Grant would still need to capture one of them if he were to force Beauregard to fall back into Mississippi.
The Confederates were still stubbornly defended their line which stretched from West Hill to Hickory Pike and to the northeast of Grand Junction. Heavy defensive fire soon caused eleven Federal units to rout rearwards which sapped even more of their remaining offensive strength.
Beauregard met with his generals in Grand Junction at noon. Sensing that the Federal army was losing its momentum, Beauregard was cautiously optimistic that the Federals would soon have to forfeit the field and retreat due to their heavy losses. Still, Beauregard cautioned his commanders to stay focused and to not let the fatigue of the prolonged battle wear them down causing mental mistakes. Beauregard ordered Tilghman, once more, to launch an attack on the Federal left flank from North Hill. Beauregard hoped the attack would take some of the pressure off of Price’s Corps then in the center. The Rebel army would continue to fight it out along the lines north of Grand Junction while Van Dorn, to the east, pulled back his forces to Saulsbury to defend the depot there in force and up close – no Federal cavalry would be allowed to sneak through their lines to capture the depot.
While meeting with his generals the Federals came against the Rebel lines once again and managed to rout five regiments away from the front. The generals bid a quick farewell and once again saddled up to ride back to their commands. The fight was not over yet.
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The full Battlefield with both armies in view. (click to expand)
High Noon:
Commentary
The battle goes on! Both sides have really pounded the stuffing out of one another all morning. As of noon the casualties are:
16,579 Federals (20,300 men is their limit)
10,682 Rebes (17,500 men is their limit)
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Routing is increasingly common for both sides now as almost all of the units on the map are at the moderate fatigue level which increases their susceptibility to routing. The Federals are suffering from the lack of close-up artillery support west of the Hickory Pike. Numerous high-powered Federal guns are firing at a range of 10 - 15 hexes which has decreased their effectiveness. Meanwhile, the Yanks are attacking directly into the Rebel guns and suffering severely as a result.
The capture of Saulsbury is a victory for the Federals but they still need to capture either Grand Junction or Saulsbury to achieve the victory. The Confederates have stripped Saulsbury of men and only about 5 infantry regiments and a few small cavalry units defend the entire eastern part of the map. But the Federals have even fewer men on that side of the map. Both sides have pulled all their forces into the Grand Junction fighting.
The Confederates are looking to keep beating the Federals and to force them to retreat after taking heavy losses. For the Federals, they must realize that they are not going to win the battle by forcing Beauregard to retreat from taking too many losses. They must capture either Grand Junction or Saulsbury. There are just twenty turns remaining in the game.
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I don't see the Federals breaking through to Grand Junction. I do not believe they see that happening either. Therefore, they must pivot towards Saulsbury while pinning the Rebels down outside of Grand Junction. It will not be easy. The Union army is exhausted and their commands are jumbled, but they have no alternatives. With Veatch's small brigade crossing south of the Spring Creek (well north of Saulsbury) they have at least an outside chance of somehow, someway, finding a path to Saulsbury. But to reach the town they will need more men, a lot of luck, and for the Confederates to make a mistake.
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