Tag Archives: Gettysburg

July 3 1863 Gettysburg Day 3 Wargame Scenario

Day 3 of Gettysburg was marked by a massive artillery bombardment and Pickett’s famous charge. Two cavalry actions, Northeast and Southwest of Gettysburg, were less well-known but equally important.

Our game will focus on the Northeast action. The Southwest action was basically a slaughter for the Confederates with few Union casualties.

On the Northeast, three Confederate cavalry brigades and three infantry brigades attempted to assault the Union right flank. Five Union cavalry brigades met the onslaught of a very mobile battle covering 5 square miles.

Wargame
For use with Across a Deadly Field or Other Civil War wargame
2 Players
Equal amounts of forces for the Union and the Confederates
6×4 Table with woods, farms, roads, and small creeks

Set-Up
Set up a table, and each player picks a side. Place 3 objective markers around the battlefield. One should be at the center of the table, the other two on each side, wherever the table owner determines they should be placed.

Players should fight to control the objectives. At the end of 10 turns, whoever controls 2 objectives wins the game. Any forces that are destroyed should be replaced from the owning player’s table edge.

Extra Rule

The two objectives near the players should move each turn. Use a scatter dice with direction to move the objectives. The central objective should remain stagnant.

July 2nd 1863 Gettysburg Day 2 Wargame Scenario

On Day 2 of Gettysburg, dozens of theaters could be their own game. We will focus on The Wheatfield, a relatively back-and-forth part of the battle that should make for a good match.

Union 40 Brigades 5 Artillery Batteries (unless reinforcements were used the day before)
Confederates 36 Brigades 4 Artillery Batteries

Your initial setup should look like this: The Union has reserves about 6 turns away, and the Confederates have full forces bearing down. The Union line should look like a zig-zag, with various creeks, ridges, and orchards forming the defensive line. Of the 40 Union Brigades, only about 20 should be on the front line, ready to engage.

The game should proceed with the Confederates getting a free artillery barrage on the Union line, inflicting casualties. The Confederates should also have the initiative and be bearing down on the Union position.

The only unique rule for this scenario involves yesterday’s battle. If the union used reserves, then they will lose 4 brigades of reserves for today’s battle.

July 1st 1863 Gettysburg Day 1 Wargame

Our next three days will cover different points in the Battle of Gettysburg. I am not even going to attempt to write about the impact Gettysburg had on the Civil War or the momentous speech that was given afterward. Instead, I am going to focus on small actions that impacted the battle.

Gettysburg Order of Battle Day 1 (For Our Game)

Union
First Division of XI Corps
Brigadier General Francis C Barlow
1st Brigade Col Leopold Von Gilsa
41st New York
54th New York
68th New York
153rd Pennsylvania
2nd Brigade
Brigadier General Adelbert Ames
17th Connecticut
25h Ohio
75th Ohio
107th Ohio

Confederates
Major General Jubal A Early
Hays Brigade 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th Louisiana
Smiths Brigade 31st, 49th, and 52nd Virginia
Hokes Brigade 6th, 21st, and 57th North Carolina
Gordons Brigade 13th, 26th, 31st 38th, 60th, and 61st Georgia
Jones Artillery Battalion
35th Virginian Cavalry

The Confederates won the first day of Gettysburg at a key moment: Major General Jubal A. Early’s attack on the eastern flank against Brigadier General Francis C. Barlow and the pursuit action to surround the Union.

The above map shows the various deployments.

Rules
Across a Deadly Field or other American Civil War Game
2 Players
Models Needed: 8 Union Infantry Regiments, plus 1 Artillery Battery, plus 1 Cavalry Regiment
17 Confederate Infantry Regiments, plus 2 Artillery Batteries

Set-Up

The Union should be positioned behind a creek with strong defensive emplacements. The Creek should have a singular bridge. The union should also have a height advantage.

The Confederates should be across the creek with mild vegetation cover.

Objective
Confederates win the ground to surround the rest of the Union army. If you are the Union player, hold off as long as you can. For the Union, you should not want to fight to the death, as you have a fallback position near Krzyzanowski. You can also call on 4 or 5 regiments of reinforcements, however beware for the battle tomorrow as more union troops are arriving, and numbers are more important than territory.