Irvin McDowel & The Army of the Potomac and Union Forces in the East

 

Above : McDowell (see site footer) 

May 1861 sees the formation of the Army of North Eastern Virginia based in Washington and led by Irvin McDowel. This first large concentration of Federal forces in the East was defeated in the First Battle of Bull Run or First Mannassas on 21 July 1861. The army that assembled at Bull Run numbered around 35,000 and was organised into 5 divisions with 3 to 5 brigades. 

The Army organisation is represented initially by stacking the 1st Union Corps HQ with McDowel's command counter. Generally each Corps in War Between the States can contain 3 divisions. McDowel is a *** General and can command a Corps HQ as well as one additional division counter. Without a Corps HQ counter/organisation a *** General is limited to commanding two division counters directly. As the counter limit allows for only four ten point or nine point divisional counters only in each sides mix in the campaign game to prevent ahistorical "super armies"  a *** Corps level commander with an HQ counter would be limited to commanding roughly 36-40,000 troops. So just a little in excess of the numbers at First Bull Run which seems then realistic in the first set up for the Board Game and our campaign. McDowel is not a particularly gifted commander - he has an initiative of 2 and a combat rating of 0. 

It would be as well to swap in McClellan fairly rapidly. McClellan has a lower initiative (1) however he has a command span of 5 which would allow him to command a headquarters and its units and up to 4 other leaders with our without their command counters. New Corps HQs are created in some months on a roll of 1 (and then up D6 Corps HQ counters). From the outset then if the Union can move "Little Mac" to the East he could command the Corps HQ with 3 divisions as well as 4 other leaders. ** Generals could in turn command a division counter and a brigade (One or two counter points of infantry) and ** Generals can command 2 divisions. At a stroke the size of the Union Army of the Potomac as it was to become could be increased to I think 108,000. 

Initially though in July 2016 as the campaign begins the forces arrayed at Washington consist of three 6-3 divisional counters, a single 3-3 division, four Militia points and two garrison points. The Union forces are about to immediately receive a further leader reinforcement in the form of the Divisional commander  Heintzelman ** (2-1) and ten militia points. On that basis at least 3 single points will need to be distributed to 3 other Union departments but fully 7 militia points could be stacked with the new Army of the Potomac. 

The regulation newly "Corps" for tabletop V&B for the union consist of two divisions (not 3) of 3 brigades 6-4 PT NE. The Corps has an assigned  reserve artillery brigade (2-5 R-F  PT (rifled field piece like a Parrot gun I expect)) and each division assigned artillery (alternating 2-5 SB-F PT and 2B-H PT). On that basis each 6-3 divisional counter can be modelled as two 6-4 PT NE brigade bases (so four in total) and the 3-3 division one further fun strength 6-4 PT NE brigade. With a large body of troops I will assign Corps artillery and at least  two sets of divisional artillery brigades (possibly though 3 or 4 initially given the presence of 4 divisional counters and the addition of militia up to 11 points of militia). The total field strength of the army at the start of the campaign will likely be 32,000 men. I would need something like 11 brigade bases to model the army. I currently have no union brigade bases made but the figures have arrived from Pendraken. 

This is the main Union army. Banks force at Harpers Ferry is represented by two 6-3 Divisional counters which can be modelled in the usual way. I believe there are a couple of further US Army regular brigades which in the V&B campaign start at Pittsburg (4-5 so they do not start green/poorly trained). I think I will place one of these at Harpers Ferry and the other within the main forces.  Apart from various militia and the odd fortress garrison (Fort Monroe in particular at the end of the Yorktown (James/York Rivers) peninsula) there is a 5-3 infantry counter just across the river Potomac in Alexandria. 

Butler **** 0-4-0 (no initiative or combat rating but 4 command span) is situated at Fort Monroe with 9,000 Militia poised to strike at Richmond. The Fort itself was used to base Mclennon's  Peninsular campaign in the Spring of 1862. A giant flanking manoeuvre on Richmond the confederate capital itself. While Fort Monroe remains garrisoned and threatening the confederate flank in Virginia  it will always tie down confederate troops. It's quite perplexing as to why the Union did not persist with what was otherwise a good strategic idea.On the map below from 1862 you can see the position on Butlers troops where he commanded from April 1861 to July 1862. The fort represented an excellent anchorage for the union Navy which is represented by two naval flotilla counters. The Confederates will at some point need to develop a navy of its own and Iron clads to take on the union dominance of the rivers and tidal and coastal waters. But is the expense worth it. Once I have posted with the initial confederate deployments in the West I will set up the map and take some photographs and discuss initial strategy from the Union and Confederate perspective.