Our first game (played on 28 April) represented the second battle of Corinth, in October '62. The Union, having captured the town and its vital rail junction from the rebels some months earlier, are now expecting an attempt to re-take it on the part of Earl van Dorn's Army of the Mississippi.
I play the Union, Angus the Confederates. The Confederate victory condition is to occupy, at any time, the rail junction in the middle of town. I have to stop him. The Confederates are in no hurry - they have two days, if necessary, to achieve the objective, but they have a difficult task. Numbers are approximately even, and the defenders enjoy the advantages of interior lines and prepared fortifications (thoughtfully built by the Confederates to keep the Union out in the previous battle back in May). In addition the country north of town, where the attack is coming from, is hilly and wooded - difficult to get through if you do not control the few roads.
Initial Assaults
The battle opened historically, with an attack at 11:00 by Lovell's division of Van Dorn's army on the north-west corner of the defences, where the trenches were held by McKean's Federal division. Hardly pausing to discharge a few hasty and ineffective shots, the attackers swarmed with a yell over the abbatis and into the trench line, led by the veterans of Bowen's brigade. McArthur's Union brigade was driven by the fierceness of the assault back to the tree line, where Oliver's waited in reserve. So impetuous were the rebels that Oliver's line, in turn, was charged and swept away before they had time to prepare their defence. As Bowen's jubilant men paused to catch their breath, though, they failed to see their danger. A Union battery was dug in by the road and, unmasked by the undignified flight of their infantry comrades, hit the rebels with discharges of cannister. Having already lost their momentum, they in turn fell back to lick their numerous wounds.
All the same, the first round had gone to the Confederates. The outer fortification line was taken. It was at the cost of a bad mauling for Bowen's men, but on the Union side two brigades had melted away into the forest, from which they would prove very reluctant to emerge and do any useful work. The way to Corinth was now covered by just one battery, abandoned and dangerously exposed, and one brigade - Crocker's - taking up careful position on the brow of the hill to cover both sides of the road. Oliver's brigade returned to shakily cover the flank of the artillery, but it was clear that they would be blown away by a stiff breeze.
The breeze came in the form of a renewed assault by Lovell's men. Giving Bowen a rest, the other two brigades now took up the attack, and sure enough rolled over both the battery and Oliver's now-shattered brigade. McKean himself, leading from the front, was captured, and Brigadier Crocker was left as the senior officer in that most threatened part of the line.
The Battle Spreads
Meanwhile the remainder of the northern sector appeared quiet for now, so Davies' division, watching from the forest edge for rebel activity in that direction, moved to support the hard-pressed left. His infantry, with one gun in support, moved forward to thinly hold the trench line on Crocker's right, while the remaining artillery limbered up to take the forest roads toward the sound of the guns. It seemed like a good idea at the time... until a notch in the hills, cut through by the road to Tennessee, was suddenly filled with rebel infantry and artillery. Before long the near slope of the northern hills all along their length was alive with grey uniforms - two whole divisions cresting the ridge and pouring down into the valley against three lonely brigades and not enough guns.
If McKean could not stop one division of rebs by relying on abbatis and trench, it seemed unlikely that Davies could stop two. Moreover, McArthur's failure had left a nasty gap for Lovell's men to go through, so that Davies' left flank was turned even before he could establish his defensive line. A hasty withdrawal to the tree line began. There was no time to lose, for if the Southern marksmen could get withing skirmishing range before the Union boys were in the shadow of the woods things would go badly. Suffice it to say that they made it, the infantry lining up to cover the open ground between forest and the trench line, and the guns falling back further yet to establish yet a third line of defence. More of them later...
The Fight for Crocker's Hill
It was now well into the afternoon, and the rebs were determined to build on their earlier success to smash through the Union left. Union flanking divisions - Stanley on the right and Hamilton on the left - were on the move to reinforce the threatened points, but they would not be in place for a while yet. In an effort to carry the position before the defence could be thickened up, the remaining men of Lovell's division formed a single great column and hurled themselves up the hill at Crocker's brigade lining the crest. The impetuous assault flung the blue line back off the ridge, leaving the ground scattered with bodies, and across the gully formed by the headwaters of Elam Creek. Once again, the guns saved the day. Even as the blue uniforms fell back, and the grey surged forward, a blast of cannister sent them tumbling back down the hill. The crest was taken by the South, but the Union had a breathing space in which to organise a defence on the creek line.
The assault on Crocker's hill was just one part of a general advance by the South, for Maury's and Herbert's reinforcing divisions to the north had formed themselves up at the foot of the hills, rolled over the now-abandoned defensive works, and advanced on the woods.
By force of numbers they pushed relentlessly forward. Davies' outnumbered men fell back slowly through the trees, shooting as they went, but leaving many of their comrades behind. The lines were getting thinner and shorter. Barrels were getting hot and ammunition scarce, but the rebel advance was kept down to a crawl. Good enough, for behind and between the trees was a large clearing through which ran the main northern road into town. Two brigades of Davies' division - Hackleman's and Ogleby's - fell back to the west of the field, keeping to the cover of the concealing forest and hoping to link up with Crocker before the confederates could drive a wedge in between. Finding themselves with their backs to the field Baldwin's brigade, who had borne the brunt of the fighting to cover the divisions' withdrawal, made a run for it to the far side of the field, trusting that the rebs would not dare follow.
The Reserves Arrive
Their trust was well placed, for at each of the far corners of the field was lined up two full batteries. If the southerners tried that road they would find themselves marching in the open under the muzzles of dozens of Northern guns. Davies' own guns had been reinforced by those of Stanley, whose Zouaves were lined up between just in case they should need any help. Mower's brigade lined the eastern flank of the field, under cover of the woods, and with a stream guarding their flank against any surprise attack.
Meanwhile, both Hamilton's and the reserve artillery had managed to join Crocker in guarding the line of Elam creek. Rosencrans himself had ordered the reserve forward and personally supervised its placement. Crocker's men still stood in the front line, now flanked by artillery, to see off any further attempts along that road, while Sullivan's brigade, with General Hamilton at their head, stood not far behind.
Let's Try Something Else...
With both centre and right now facing formidable defences, General van Dorn realised that unless he were to abandon his attempt on the town altogether he would need to take another route - battering through would be too expensive. Leaving the deadly clearing after no more than a glance, Maury and Herbert limbered up their guns, formed march columns and headed with all speed for the left, where there was a crossroads entirely unguarded. Beyond it a single road ran into Corinth from the north-east, and no Union troops in sight.
Seeing the threat, Mower counter-marched from the edge of the central field, out of the protecting woods, back across the bridge over the stream, and made it to the southern side of the cross-roads... just as the leading Confederate batteries were unlimbering on its northern side, barely sixty yards away. Sergeants drove the men with shouts and blows from march order into line, knowing that if the artillery managed to fire first, they were doomed.
The guns were still ramming their charges home when the first volley rang out. Some artillerymen fell, but not enough. The loading was completed and the rammers put away. Grey-coated infantry was wheeling off the road to form a line behind the guns, ready to follow up on the result of the discharge and sweep clear the road to Corinth.
Mower's men waited no longer, but turned tail and ran. about and withdrew into the trees. They did not run! But they did walk quite briskly. Their task while the light lasted would be to carry on what Davies' men had been doing all afternoon - slowing down the rebel advance by a skirmishing retreat through the trees, buying time at the cost of their lives.
And So To Bed
At this point the afternoon was wearing on, both in game time and IRL (the two having proceeded together at about one hour per hour). We agreed on an adjudicated finish. The Union's casualties were much higher than the Confederates', despite their advantages, but with all that the rebels had not been able to make much headway.
The scenario rules require that if the action is continued to a second day the Union forces must withdraw into town, and the Confederates are permitted to advance two feet from their finishing position on day 1. This would leave room, in our case, for the Union to re-occupy the woods and play the same cat-and-mouse game as on the previous afternoon, or alternatively just to hold the town - infantry in every building and guns (lots of them) in the streets, and hit the attackers with firepower as they crossed the open ground from the woods. Either way, it looked like a losing proposition for the South. It was agreed that var Dorn, as happened historically, would withdraw, having given it a dam' good try.
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