Battle Report: 10mm American Civil War using Field of Battle rules

I recently got a chance to play my first ever historical wargame. We used the Field of Battle rules from Piquet to play an American Civil War battle. It was a small game. Each side had one brigade of infantry composed of five regiments, one regiment of cavalry, and one battery of artillery. That's how much I had painted for the Union side. I haven't started painting Confederate miniatures yet, but I wanted to try out the rules. So we had to use empty bases to represent the confederate army.

I don't yet have any specifically 10mm scale terrain yet, so the battlefield set-up would be simple. We used a 4'x4' table, with a few hills and a couple of woods. In the center of the table we placed some log piles. The scenario we came up with on the fly was that both forces were sent off to capture a logging mill, represented by the log piles in the center of the table. I guess they needed to plunder some lumber for something. Neither side is really expecting trouble, but they both arrive in the vicinity at about the same time, and must drive off the enemy to capture the mill. If one side controlled the mill at the end of the game with no enemy within 6" (300 yards) they would win the battle. Otherwise it would be a draw.

We had a very limited amount of time to play the game, and neither of us knew the rules very well, so it went extremely slowly. As a result, we didn't really get to play out the game to a solid conclusion. Still, it was a fun game and it was good to get to try out the rules, which I really liked. So, with that out of the way, here's how the game, which would later become known as the Battle of Prescott's Mill, went.


The initial position of the Union Infantry as they march, in columns, toward the mill. To the far left is Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher, commander of the Irish Brigade. Behind him is the army commander, who we'll call General Welter. The Infantry regiments, from left to right, are the 63rd New York, 116th Pennsylvania, 28th Massachusetts, 69th New York, and 88th New York.


Here are the initial positions of the entire Union army. At the bottom of the picture is a heavy artillery battery, commanded by Colonel Henry Jackson Hunt. In the middle is the 1st Michigan Cavalry, commanded by Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer. To the far right of the picture are the log piles that represent Prescott's mill.


This shows the initial deployment of the Confederate forces as they marched into view heading toward Prescott's Mill. In the middle are four regiments of Hood's Texas Brigade, along with Brigadier General Hood himself. To the top of the picture are the commander of the Confederate force, Major General Seamus Meade, the 4th Tennessee Cavalry being led by Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest, and at the very top of the picture, a battery of 12 pdr. Napoleon guns with an unknown officer commanding them.


Both armies milled around a bit at first, uncertain of how to proceed since neither had expected to encounter any serious opposition. Neither side could be sure of how large the opposing force was. So General Welter had to go over and personally invite General Custer, if it wouldn't be too much trouble for him, to perhaps do his job and go scout out the enemy positions. Though he could normally be counted on to be fairly rash, General Custer was acting a bit lethargic today, and didn't seem in any hurry to do much of anything. Perhaps it was because he didn't have a miniature to represent him, and was just an empty base with a label on it.


However, his Confederate counterpart, General Forrest, had no problem showing some initiative. After the initial uncertain pause, he quickly advanced around a large hill and toward the enemy, in an attempt to outflank the Union infantry.


The Confederate infantry and artillery march cautiously forward, the artillery heading for the crest of a massive hill overlooking the mill. Meanwhile, the Confederate commander, General Meade, courageously moves ahead of his army to scout out the battlefield.


The Union infantry and cavalry advance tentatively toward Prescott's Mill. Because their commander hadn't come up with any kind of plan, there were many lulls in their activity as the Union regiments waited for their orders. Luckily for the Federals, the Rebel army was unable to take advantage of these delays to seize the initiative due to their commander's cautiousness.


The limbered Union heavy artillery battery approaches a hill. Their commanding officer, Colonel Hunt, ascends the hill to scout out a good firing position for his battery.


General Forrest's Confederate cavalry advance quickly around a small hill and toward the rear of the marching Union infantry.


Meanwhile, the rest of the Confederate force begin executing General Meade's plan. Their artillery battery moves up onto the large hill and deploys so their guns are covering the area around one side of the mill. An infantry regiment deploys in line at the base of the hill in front of them for protection. The remaining infantry take up positions around the mill buildings. One regiment deploys in front of the buildings, with one each to either side of the building. The remaining regiment of Hood's brigade is still marching up between buildings to get into position.


Seeing the Confederates quickly deploying around the mill, the Union army finally springs into action. Colonel Hunt moves his heavy artillery battery forward to deploy in the choice position he had scouted out for them on the crest of the hill. The battery immediately opens fire on the Confederate infantry regiment on the far Confederate left. The devastating and unexpected bombardment directed at them just as they are deploying causes the infantry regiment to rout.


Despite the encouragement of General Welter, and seeing Confederate infantry rout in front of him from artillery fire, General Custer is slow to advance in the face of the Confederate brigade deploying around the mill. He advances slightly and re-positions his cavalry more to the side of the mill.


Luckily for the Union army, someone spots General Forrest's cavalry as they attempt to flank the Union infantry. The 88th New York takes up a position on the small hill and deploys facing the rear. They let off a long ranged volley at the 4th Tennessee Cavalry as it rides past, but at this range the volley has little effect.


The rest of the Irish Brigade deploys into a battle line on the Union left and advances toward the mill. Farthest to the Union left (at the bottom of the picture) is the 69th New York. In the middle is the 116th Pennsylvania, and to the far right is the 63rd New York. The 28th Massachusetts is deployed behind them in reserve, as General Meagher and Father Corby watch the brigade advance.


Then central Confederate infantry regiment unleashes some devastatingly accurate volleys into the advancing 63rd New York. It proves too much for them, and the flee in disarray. Panicking a bit, Colonel St. Clair Augustine Mulholland of the 116th Pennsylvania orders his men to stop and open fire on the confederate regiment directly in front of them, but at such extreme long range the fire has no effect.


However, as the Confederate regiment comes under fire, innefective though it was, they decide to return fire at the 116th Pennsylvania. Again, the fire has little effect on the fresh troops at such long range. The Confederate Napoleon guns on the hill also fire on the 116th Pennsylvania, but their shots mostly miss their mark.

At this point, a freak thunderstorm (or something) causes the battle to come to a premature end. Both forces withdraw in good order, and both commanders prepare their plans for the inevitable rematch.