Fire & Fury: Cedar Mountain 1862

The main event for our group on this year's Kinkkucon was the Battle of Cedar Mountain played with my 6mm ACW collection. We used the brigade Fire & Fury rules which are well suited for a game of this size. It seems our previous experience (we've gamed 1st Bull Run, a part of Chickamauga, Port Republic, Gettysburg day 1 and Antietam afternoon as bigger games using these rules) has paid off as the game progressed quickly without much need to consult the rules or anything.

I'll leave it to you to read up on the battle in Wikipedia should you be interested in the historical events. The scenario starts on the moment Crawford's union brigade gets the drop on Garnett and the surprise attack threatens to cave in the Confederate line.

Initial dispositions. Winder is about to receive a Union assault, A.P.Hill will arrive to assist and Ewell waits for a practicable moment to attack.

Union side, looking south.

Winder and Jackson are discussing the merits of lemon eating towards eliminating harmful humors when the Union forces commence the proceedings.

Garnett is taken by surprise.

Taliaferro is killed leading his brigade in a futile defence. So is Winder.. and Jackson.

A single brigade is isolated on the Confederate left.

Hill's troops start arriving on the scene, but the Confederate center is in chaos and they have to deploy into line far away from the fighting.

Brigades belonging to A.P.Hill's and Ewell's divisions attack the Union center in hopes of capturing the valuable guns on the other side.

A.P.Hill's advance through the woods is painfully slow. The Union forces give ground in the woods and flank the Confederate brigades in the field.

Despite the enfilade, the Louisiana brigade sends the Union defenders running. A shortage of ammunition plagues the boys in blue!

The entire Union artillery train fixes their guns on the Louisianans. A whopping total of 44 fire points is poured onto the Confederate ranks. a Roll of two results in only one stand being removed. Later, the artillery get another shot during the Louisianans' charge. 50 fire points and a roll of one. Two batteries are added to the tally of Forno's brigade. They truly earned their hardtack that day.

A.P.Hill bolsters the Confederate center. Things seem to settle down.

As darkness sets in, both sides attempt final charges without much effect. Brigades are pushed to and fro a couple of inches.

Final positions looking south. The line has stabilized. Ewell didn't make it into the fight with a majority of his division, as they were held in reserve for most of the game.

The game ended as an overwhelming victory for the Union with a VP difference of 30 points or something thereabouts. The initial Union success with their charge and breakthrough charge really made a difference, especially when they killed all the opposing generals involved! It meant that the historical Confederate counter was stalled because A.P.Hill had to deploy way back in the rear, and the Union forces could hold onto victory locations for quite a while. Still, it was a very entertaining game.