Making the Connections

Writing is a time consuming and, at times, a tedious process. I often get asked how my next project is coming and my general response is “Slow.” I might never finish this Gettysburg project but then, that is OK. Over the past weeks, I have digressed into wargaming. I have taken time to go shooting with my 50 cal. Hawken percussion rifle and I have been conducting tours. The entire time have been thinking. Yesterday, June 5, I had the privilege of touring Antietam with a very well read and thoughtful couple from Baltimore, Maryland while taking two of our future guides training tour. What a tremendous learning experience!

That tour, in conjunction with adaptations to the Herbst Woods scenario I have published on this blog, produced this entry. At my age, I have to write down my fleeting thoughts because they are “fleeting,” very fleeting, kind of like mental purging. It started when my colleague and I were playing the Herbst Woods game. Several things occurred to us as he discussed the mechanics of the game.

1.      It was fast! Constantly changing from turn to turn.

2.      The rugged terrain mucked up everything.

3.      The smoke and woods obscured the troops’ vision and made target identification difficult.

4.      The Confederates exposed their intention to charge by delivering the “Rebel yell.”

5.      The Confederate artillery fired blindly into the chaos with occasional “drop shorts.”

6.      Neither side had any idea what was occurring on their flanks.

The more we discussed it, the more we thought about how confusing it would be if we could expand the game into several consecutive games played on separate tables, each representing the flanks and/or the front, and rear of the fields as the action shifted from one part of the field to the other. Each table would be a battle within a battle and have its own separate sets of players.

After he left, I proceeded to set up three tables using Heroscape to create the action along McPherson’s ridge south of the Chambersburg Pike. I used construction insulation panels to create the hills then built the Heroscape terrain on top of them. The results of which you see below.

Herbst Woods, 26th North Carolina v. Iron Brigade

South of Herbst Woods, Right of Pettigrew's Brigade

North of Herbst Woods, Brockenbrough's Brigade

So how does all of this relate to battlefield interpretation and writing my new book on Gettysburg? Everything! Absolutely everything!

1.      Battlefields are not flat. Ridges, gullies, swales, woodlots, orchards, unharvested crops break up the line of sight.

2.      Streams, hills, marshes, rock outcroppings, buildings and fences impede, stall, or slowdown the lines of advance.

3.      Poor visibility due to excessive haze, caused by high humidity, smoke, cloud cover, fog make it difficult to see who is where.

4.      The nature of combat itself and the soldier’s tendency to develop tunnel vision often makes it impossible to see what is occurring on the flanks, sometime within a matter of feet.

5.      All of those factors can lead to combat situations where it becomes up close and way too personal. That is what happened at Antietam and at Herbst Woods. The following references refer to Antietam but that are applicable to any Civil War Battlefield.

Some historians have estimated that the average Civil War small arms fire occurred at about 200 yards. That was not the case at Antietam. Ground fog, the Miller Cornfield, the fields of high mow grass and the rolling terrain, coupled with the high humidity kept the smoke low to the ground during the morning fight created a situation where the opposing forces literally opened fire upon each other at ranges varying from 30 yards to literally 10 feet. There being hardly any breeze on that part of the field that morning, the smoke did not dissipate. (The same thing happened to the 2^nd Wisconsin as it ascended the eastern side of McPherson’s Ridge near Herbst Woods, The Tennesseans lay along the ledge to the west in a tall wheat field. They could only see the Federal flag above the fence on the crest to their front and caught the Wisconsiners in a volley which took out about 30% of their line.)

At the Cornfield, when the 2^nd and 6^th Wisconsin regiments knocked the fence down on the top of the hill on the southern face of the field and started to fire prone, they fired blindly through the mow grass along their front at ground level. They could not see any of the action going on around them because of the ground cover, the abrupt drop of the ridge on their immediate left and the ground fog obscuring their vision to the left front (southeast).

Consequently, several actions occurred independently and simultaneously in their immediate vicinity. Officers could not see their flanks, they could only control; what occurred within their very limited line of sight. Strategy had very little to do with how the battle played out once the two sides made contact.

Miniature wargaming in 54mm an regimental level can reflect that chaos. Picture a game with three separate playing field, each being run independently of the other, yet part of the same battle. Confederate commanders can order their men not to cheer while advancing but that can be negated by a simple die roll. Using a d3 (3-sided die) or a renumbered d6 using a permanent marker a player in smoke can roll it to determine how many spaces a regiment can see, which limits the ability to respond to an assault.

Prone regiments can fire blindly through tall grass fields regardless of who is in front with a reduced effectiveness of fire while gaining some protection from incoming fire. Troops may also fire from one table to the next. All the while they may be getting hit by both hostile and “friendly” artillery fire.

The left of the 19th Indiana fires into the left flank of the 11th North Carolina

Battlefield interpretation, miniature wargaming, and wring about an action are all interrelated. Wargaming on a small unit tactical level puts the gamer on the field. Walking the field helps the gamer understand the importance of line of sight and command control. Walking the field and gaming help the historians visualize what occurred on the field and helps with describing as clearly as possible the event as it actually occurred. What strikes our visitors the most about Antietam is how the ground changes so quickly and therefore affects their understanding of the battle. Every time I go out on the field, I learn something new and though provoking.

Thank you again for your time and patience. As always, I appreciate any and all constructive observations and comments.

In response to Stew, this is the proposed game chart. Player A is the one who wins the initiative.

The turn involves action and reaction.