These two quotes are from the commanding officers at Wilson's Creek which took place in August 1861. My campaign uses a historical starting position for units across the main theatres of the American Civil War and the logic of strategy has again thrown these two combatants together on the tabletop. At stake the confederates forward position in the Trans-Mississippi and Missouri. For Both Sterling Price and Nathaniel Lyons this is deeply personal. Lyon the hothead abolitionist and former commander of the 2nd US infantry who thwarted Price's plans to seize the arsenal in St. Louis. Price the former Missouri State Governor and a slave owner and planter. After a decade of bloodshed next door in "bleeding Kansas" over the issue of slavery Missouri rapidly erupted at the very outset of the Civil war.
As a quick recap this battle is taking place in week 1 of the July (7)1861 turn at Rolla. The on-map counters represent two small mixed forces of infantry and cavalry totalling 6 and 4,000 men respectively.
My Order of battle for the Volley and Bayonet tabletop battle picks up known units from the forces in the State at the time. You can find a fuller description of the characters and units I have imported into my battle of Rolla here in a prior post.
I can show the Order of Battle with my new labels which I have printed up in smart Union Blue and Confederate Grey.
The I3 counter breaks down into two 3-5 brigades. The counter is stiffened by the presence of regular US army troops hence its higher starting morale at the onset of the war. Switching between strength points in counters and strength points on the tabletop is relatively easy as they translate as 1:2 (1,000 to two lots of 500 men). The whole Union force will operate as a single command under Lyon who has a combat strength of "2" on his WBTS counter . I have decided that this should receive a +2 for morale if he attaches to a unit (similary Price will provide +1 for his combat rating from WBTS - this is the normal modifier for an attached divisional commander in Volley and Bayonet in any event). The translation from map to tabletop won't always work for leaders present etc. but I will do what is sensible to get it on the table and then translate the result back to the counters. It is as much story as science - we must never forget that we are grown men (usually) who paint model (read toy) soldiers and wargame (read play) with them.
The C1 counter for Sturgis' small cavalry contingent is represented here with my mounted and dismounted (linear) bases - 2-5 [s][s] At Wilson's creek Sturgis took over command from Lyon who was killed leading an infantry regiment. Sturgis' base can break down into 2 dismounted square skirmisher bases as per the V&B RtG post Napoleonic rules for "light cavalry" noted in the V&B House Divided campaign rules (which I can find as version 4 online). This is a linear infantry base when working both bases work together. I am nothing if not proud of my new dismounted cavalry bases complete with horse holders.
Finally not represented as a counter but modelled within the division are Totten's artillery. I have not yet modelled the limbered units.
The M4 map counter breaks down into two 4-4 PT NE brigades. The infantry regiments of the Missouri State Guard are poorly trained and have No Elites so will suffer a disadvantage in melee on a drawn roll. I have not made up a command base for Price but have stolen the command base from a spare Missouri cavalry unit.
The C2 counter breaks down into two linear infantry dismounted bases for Rives and Cawthorn - 2-5 [s][s]. The first base has broken down into its dismounted skirmishing constituents. The "village" over to the left of the picture above can take a single skirmisher base under the Volley and Bayonet rules. In terms of scenery generally I am playing it very light in terms of features for this first game. Most of the linear features will be treated simply as scatter scenery. Woods, streams, built up areas, roads and hills will have an effect but I have not littered the battlefield with snake rail fence or stone walls which were not in abundance in the "young" lands of the Western theatre. The advice I have picked up generally is "if in doubt" then put on more trees ! I do need to settle on a random generation method.
I have created this battlefield from the modern day map of Rolla online and google arial photographs stripping back to 1861.
Here we go !
For such a small battle I am just going to have Lyon arrive, deploy and go at it without drawing for wing placement and so on. The Union begins as the attacker. I have placed the lead elements of Lyon's small column alongside the road and railway coming from St. Louis.
Turn 1 - 7 am
The Union is the attacker and moves first.
Using the road the two Union infantry brigades form line from march column once across the shallow ford of the Franz Brook. This takes half of their move allowing them each a couple of inches to fan out. The artillery remains limbered. Sturgis' cavalry brings up the rear in march column and forms up when it reaches the ford for half a move.
There are no morale checks or combat. Lyons must decide whether to advance to meet the union troops. The Confederate artillery is manhandled forward into range and a cautious advance begins. The Union troops come under ineffectual long range artillery fire from Guibor's artillery battalion.
Turn 2 - 8 am
The union side advances and both infantry brigades will need to take morale tests for being in close range of the confederate artillery. Both Union brigades pass their morale test. The confederates do not need to test as the Union artillery is not in close range.
An exchange of fire results in a casualty for Sigel's Brigade and Sturgis cavalry on the union side and on the confederate side for Slack's Missouri Militia. The confederates need to decide whether to charge however given that they are "green" and will fight at a disadvantage in a melee Price decides to slug it out at range. There are no casualties from the resulting firefight despite the Union return fire being from some stands declared as stationary after their move.
Turn 3 - 9 am
Totten's artillery is manhandled forward seeking close range. No other units move. The Confederate infantry is now in close range of artillery and must also test for morale. Sigel's union brigade fails its morale test on a 6 and becomes disordered as does Guibor's confederate artillery battalion.
The firefight now becomes bloody. Sigel receives another casualty as well as Andrews. Lyons attached to Andrews brigade which made them immune to morale tests however it is a disaster - a second 6 means that Lyons is a casualty. Weightman's Missouri State Guard and Rives cavalry suffer a further casualty. As the skirmish stand is on its own (the second is in the farm/village) it is removed entirely.
Lyons is removed from the battle - the roll for his fate is a simple one. As it is not a melee I do not think a capture option is realistic and as such I perform a straight die roll - 1-2 he is killed outright 1-4 he is wounded for 1-6 strategic turns. A One! Lyons slides from his horse taking a mini-ball through the neck as he turns to urge his men to pour it into the confederate lines. I swore I would not re-roll, skew or backfill any result unless I have got the rules glaringly wrong. I added Lyons to the combat as I intended to charge at some point and try to rout one of the Confederate brigades. Once the Union brigade had suffered casualties from ranged fire there was a 1 in 6 chance of his being casualty with the most likely result being an injury for a couple of months. I thought the Union could live with that as Heitzleman is waiting in the wings in Southern Ohio. The small union force rode its luck and lost. I have learnt the lesson the hard way for the Union. Do not attach a commander to a combat unless it is critical and possibly only for a melee. Commanders on horses were obvious targets. Overall there was a fair chance of not surviving the war.
The Union units will now be permanently out of command for the remainder of the battle which means that :-
(a) They cannot move close to the enemy and only move at half movement allowance becoming disordered if they do so;
(b) They cannot recover from disorder;
(c) They cannot become stationary (not good for Totten's artillery which will now be pinned to rolling a single dice); and
(d) artillery cannot limber and unlimber;
Already by 9.30 am the union battle plan is in tatters and there is nothing for it but to slug it out toe to toe with the confederates. I am not sure that I actually had any other plan for them ! Without a commander they cannot now press the charge home. The Union should not have been so cautious and delayed the charge. Another lesson learned.
Below : the confederate line holding either side of the Jamestown road with the newly built (red) Rolla courthouse in the background. I am so glad I looked this up and painted this. I am going to try and model something every game if I can and grow "the look" as I go on. I didn't manage to get the crops done for this battle but presumably we can still have wheat fields in later in July and August.
It will be a close run thing. Slack's brigade fails its morale test giving Sigel the opportunity to successfully save against a hit. The return fire from Sigel's brigade is withering causing two more casualties. Andrew's 2nd US Infantry suffers another casualty which totals 5 in all so the Union will need to make an exhaustion throw at the end of the player turn. Cawthorn's cavalry suffer a casualty at the hands of Sturgis' combined 1st US cavalry and 2nd US dragoons. A final defensive salvo causes a final casualty to Slack's Missouri militia who evaporate on the battlefield (the stand is removed with four casualties). The Confederates now total 7 exhaustion with 4 casualties occurring in the current turn.
The Union must roll 2 or more on D6 to avoid exhaustion. The Confederates need to roll a 5 or a 6. As Slack's brigade stream off the battlefield the confederates suffer a catastrophic failure of morale. The entire remaining confederate line is permanently disordered where it stands. Any stands that were already disordered would have routed. The confederate line is now at jeopardy on all future morale throws.
The ability of any forces to stand and fight on through exhaustion could confer a benefit after the battle in any event for the veteran divisions of the union.
Turn 4 10 am
Price attaches himself to Weightman's militia regiments to stiffen their morale. All of the Confederate's remaining units pass their morale tests. Sturgis' cavalry fails its morale test. Already suffering a disorder they rout to the rear - they are a linear infantry stand collected together and not skirmishers so do not get removed on the spot). While routing they suffer a further casualty however and are removed from the battle on their "tally". Both lines are now thinning. All stationary markers have now been removed due to exhaustion which will reduce the fire of both sides.
Sigel's brigade and Totten's artillery direct their fire at Guibor's artillery which suffers an unsaved hit (the saving throw is because Sigel and Totten are disordered). Sigel saves a returned hit. There are no further casualties along either line. The Confederates and Union pass the exhaustion test.
As the confederate skirmishes in the village are out of command they are unable to move out to both get into range and to attack Andrew's brigade in the flank. They can however retreat and suffer a disorder in order to approach once in command (I realise subsequently that this would have caused a rout) All of the Union brigades pass their morale tests. Weightman's brigade fails its test and routs. As it must move 16 inches it will rout off off the table. The confederates survive their exhaustion throw.
The confederate infantry stream from the battlefield.
Turn 5 11 am
Sigel's division is able to advance toward the town of Rolla to take up defensive positions without moving closer to the remaining confederate cavalry on the field of battle securing the town of Rolla and threatening the Confederate supply lines. Once the Union infantry are secure in Rolla it will be next to impossible to remove them with dismounted cavalry. Totters artillery is unable to move and bring its fire to bear on the remaining confederate close order formation on the field as it is out of command and cannot close with Cawthorn's Missouri State Guard Cavalry brigade. It is however disordered and as such would rout if moved while out of command.
Rives cavalry brigade then fails its morale test and routs. Firing is ineffectual but at the end of the Union turn the Confederates fail their exhaustion test by rolling a 1. As Cawthorn's State guard are already disordered they rout leaving the field. The Union holds the field and the town of Rolla. Lyon's sacrifice has not been in vain.
Immediate Aftermath of the Battle
Price's forces withdraw from Rolla for 1 hex taking the road toward Springfield. Thankfully without a leader the Union forces will be unable to pursue and give battle but for now the confederate forces in Northern Missouri that were gathering to threaten St Louis have been checked.
The fight was bloody on both sides. Lyon's leader counter is removed from the Map. The Union side will need to look to bring a further leader across to the Trans-Mississippi if there are to retain any initiative.
I am not sure if I have played the morale and exhaustion rules correctly but I applied them the same for Bothe sides and in any event the confederates failed dice rolls whereas the Union weathered them. The battle could have gone either way. The higher morale of the smaller Union force helped to defeat a slightly larger force. I will check the rules again before I play next time however interestingly I thought I would have a slight Confederate bias in my dealings given my lifetimes gentle immersion in confederate mythology- the truth is I didn't want either side to lose having spent all the hours required to paint them. Too much was at stake in this opening battle in terms of the momentum of events. It was a small interesting battle and got me used to the ebb and flow of the rules and some of the key concepts.
If I take anything away it is that being stationary is a very good thing in terms of fire power. Again - don't attach leaders who are needed as counters for movement on the campaign Map to firefights !
Recovery
The recovery rules are quite harsh where one side is forced to leave the field of battle without a rearguard under the V&B ACW campaign rules. There is a lot to be said for withdrawing in good order. A "Rearguard" needs to be an intact battlefield command and neither routed or exhausted. The confederate side cannot recover artillery losses and will then lose all of its artillery pieces abandoned in the field. This feels right. Guibor's Missouri State Guard Artillery is lost as an inherent component of the Militia counter for now. I will need a mechanism for refitting artillery units. The cavalry and infantry will recover 1/3 of their losses only as the wounded are left behind to be captured. I can cross that artillery bridge when I come to re-fight with Price. There is perhaps something about a division being in a department or receiving reinforcements from a department to refresh its artillery. Guns were captured and lost on the battlefield and re-purposed all of the time. For now Price is without his guns as he retreats toward Springfield.
6 of 8 infantry strength points were lost so the confederate infantry will recover 2 strength points to make 4 in V&B terms. The M4 Militia counter on the WBTS map should be replaced with an M2 which will consolidate as Weightman's Missouri State Guard (1st-4th) M4 PT NE.
1 of the 3 lost cavalry strength points will be recovered so 2 from 4 will remain and the C2 counter on the map will be flipped for a C1 counter. Rives base will be lost altogether or its remnants "consolidated" and Cawthorn's State Guard Cavalry brigade (and Missouri Cavalry regiments) will become a single 2-5 PT base. When it is reinforced it can be split out in terms of its components. Where possible multiple single point cavalry stands or 2 point infantry stands within counters should not exist and should always be consolidated. This feels historical with the remnants of battalions or squadrons being thrown in together locally. The counters at their higher points values are divisions but at the lower points (1 or 2 especially) they would represent normal size infantry battalions let alone small brigades.
On the Union side fully 75 % of casualties will be recovered as they both won and retained the battlefield. 3 of 4 lost infantry strength points will recover. On that basis the counter can remain the same but there will be a single 5-5 consolidated base under Sigel for now representing the 1st US infantry, some companies of the US 2nd infantry and the 1 st, 3d and 5th Missouri infantry. I modelled the I3 division counter as a two on tabletop 3-5 brigades initially rather than a single full strength 6-5 "Death Star" stand. With 5 tabletop strength points remaining but only 2.5 map points it does not feel right to model as a division with two stands with 2 (a linear stand ?) and 3 points respectively. A 5 strength stand now seems correct which is a brigade of 2,500 men.
Totten's artillery counter is retained and had no losses. As a makeweight to the infantry situation I will recover 1 of 2 lost union cavalry strength points only rather than "rounding up" and retain a C1 counter but on the tabletop it will be a much reduced brigade which can operate as a skirmish cavalry stand only. and dismounted as a skirmish sized infantry base. So Sturgis' brigade is now 1-5 (s) as a tabletop stand representing somewhere around 500 troopers.
Promotions
The general rule for the battlefield is that 3 victorious divisions for the victor should receive a promotion and 1 for the loser. I think I will model something a little more granular going foward for smaller battles.
Price' Green division could be promoted to Veteran under normal rules to promote a single losing division but as the infantry are militia they cannot progress beyond "green" under my current home brew of the promotion rules. They will not receive a morale upgrade to 5. The is one of my key concepts for the Boardgame and Volley and Bayonet arena of the campaign. I have to retain an incentive to develop militia counters into properly trained infantry going forward. Under my system Militia counters always retain their PT status even after 6 months. I do not consider that without a charge or being charged with a melee during the battle that they should lose the "No Elite" status either (I could remove that as a discretion for some militia if they perform stunningly well but it is better not to). As a compromise I will however "drag" experience with any Militia unit into any augmentation as an infantry counter to represent the experienced core of the unit.
As Lyon's command was already veteran it can choose a stand to promote to "Crack". Its morale will increase to 6 and the exhaustion level for the whole counter will be set at 60 %. So Sigel's Missouri brigade will be 5-6. This seems a little strange but the rating of the majority unit would be used (Sigel) when the two infantry stands consolidate. A 2 strength point linear stand is not really allowed if avoidable so Andrews brigade must consolidate. We are not switching units between counters so the integrity of the "division" is not being upset. This seems fair - the Union persisted with a victory after a couple of rounds whilst losing their overall commander and becoming exhausted. To get from Veteran to Elite for a stand in a division this is the test. They persevered to victory. Essentially the counter on the map is a 2.5 strong brigade which models as a 6-5 crack unit on the battlefield. Any augmentation of the counter can add new brigades so that the division will operate as a "mixed" experience/morale unit but with a 6 "crack" or "shock" brigade. The overall exhaustion level for the division should however be 60 % unless that becomes a nonsense in which case I can model the division's exhaustion on a more granular level if it gets too big.
I don't think the battle is large enough to contribute to victory points.
All that remains is for me to update the tracker for the two commands position and any known components. I will then move to phase 2 of Turn 7 1861 with the initiative chit draw.
Conclusions
I am sure that I made some mistakes around the effect of Lyon being killed and the effect on the Division of permanently being out of command. I love the rules and the way that the attrition of casualties feeds through to the concept of exhaustion. Rather than simply removing a whole division at once from the battlefield an even fight between divisions then becomes balanced on knife edge. I am also really happy that the post battlefield promotion process will reward a unit in a division which has suffered that baptism of fire.
The elite "Black Hats" who fought in the Eastern theatre for much of the war were made up I believe of regiments from Iowa and Wisconsin. Now that the Union has a "crack" brigade which includes elements of regular army battalions and various Missouri regiments I will order and paint up a brigade with regular "Black Hats" from Pendraken to celebrate their battlefield promotion on the field of Rolla. This is the stuff of notoriety and battlefield legend that I was hoping for when I opted to go in at the deep end with a campaign.
The decision or limitation on the part of the the union to send in a smaller force comprising of just a regular infantry division and an attached regular cavalry brigade gave the union a stiffer line. While the confederates outnumbered the Union 3:2 on the battlefield rolling against a base morale point of 4 rather than 5 made their elements twice as likely to disorder. This led to less effective fire. Both sides reached their exhaustion threshold in the same turn but luckily the Union had become stationary prior to this and inflicted a large number of casualties in a single turn leading to a collapse in morale throughout the small confederate force. For a simple system it delivered a lot of nuance - I found myself wishing for fresh confederate troops to throw into the fight.
The newly built and painted red Rolla courthouse will as in real life now be used as a Union hospital and supply station to support this new staging post for the union forces in Missouri. Do the confederates regroup and hit them back ? Or will the Union consolidate its forces in Missouri and press on to seek a final and early large battle in the Trans-Mississippi such as a "Pea Ridge". I love the way that a campaign begins in effect to tell a story.
