Regular readers of this blog will by now be thoroughly bored with all things Blue and Grey! But fear naught, the end is nigh! Here at last then, is the after-action report for our refight of the 2nd Battle of Murfreesboro (aka Stones River).
The game was played at the Wargames Association of Reading’s ‘Warfare 2021’ show at Ascot Racecourse over the weekend of 27/28 November 2021 and won 2nd prize for Best Demo Game. 🙂
The rules used were (Brigade) Fire & Fury 2nd Edition and the scenario was written by Troy Turner and published in the Fire & Fury 2nd Edition ‘Great Western Battles‘ scenario book.
I did adapt the scenario slightly for 10mm figures; the larger ground-scale meant that I could fit more of the map onto a 6×8-foot table and could therefore include the small cavalry action that took place on the western flank, as well as have some of the formerly off-table Confederate reserves actually on-table. I also added three fords that are noted on other maps of the battle, but not in the scenario; two near the northern edge of the table and one just to the south of Wayne’s Hill that was actually used by Breckenridge’s division during the battle.
The stats for the additional cavalry brigades are:
Wharton’s Confederate Cavalry Brigade (independent): 10/7/4 Exp SH (activated on Turn 1).
Zahm’s Union Cavalry Brigade (independent): 5/4/3 Grn RC (activated on Turn 3).
Above: My expanded version of the scenario map.
Here come the photos… There are rather a lot of them… In fact I think this might even be the greatest cure for insomnia yet posted on this blog! 🙂
Above: We were able to get into the venue on the Friday night to set up the game, so this was the first time I’d seen the terrain all set up. 🙂 I must say that I was very, very pleased with how my ‘wintry palette’ of flock colours looked. However, the fact that we were in a badly-lit corner (tucked under the escalators) means that the contrast between the ‘Earth’ flock of the woodland areas doesn’t have high enough contrast with the ‘Burnt Grass’ and ‘Yellow Grass’ flock of the open fields to really stand out in photos. Another problem was that the tables were rather uneven and as a consequence, the joins between boards were often disappointingly visible.
Above: As we were in something of a rush on the Friday night, the fences were rather ‘plonked on’… I actually went around on the Saturday morning and placed them somewhat better, but then forgot to take another set of ‘overview’ photos.
Above: I’m really pleased with how the bare trees looked on the terrain, but I could have used at least another hundred! There are 100 of them on the board, plus around 60 trees with foliage, but it’s quite surprising how many you need and I’ll try to double the amount of trees for this game’s next outing. There were also areas of woodland near the table edges (e.g. the strip along the table edge either side of Asbury Church) where we decided not to stick any trees, as they’d just get broken or stuck to the jumpers of players leaning in to reach the middle of the table.
Above: The starting overview from the same orientation as the map above.
Above: The bulk of Hardee’s Confederate Corps (McCown’s Division in the first line and Cleburne’s Division in the second line), advances against the Union right flank.
Above: The left wing of Polk’s Confederate Corps, consisting of Cheatham’s Division, prepares to join the assault on McCook’s Corps.
Above: The extreme right flank of McCook’s Union Corps. Johnson’s division forms a fish-hook around the edge of woodland, while Baldwin’s Brigade is encamped well to the rear with a battery, covering the open ground on the flank. The seemingly lost artillery limber represents a horse-team belonging to one of Johnson’s batteries, whose horses were out to pasture when the Confederate assault struck and cannot therefore move or withdraw its guns during the first turn of the scenario.
Above: On McCook’s left, Negley’s Division of Thomas’ Corps holds the centre, with Stanley’s Brigade being dug into a very defensible limestone outcrop that would later become known as ‘The Slaughter Pen’. Stanley’s Brigade included the 19th Illinois Zouaves (Ellsworth’s), who in the earlier part of the war wore a very fancy Zouave uniform. By the time of this battle the uniform had been simplified though was still very colourful, consisting of a plain blue coat and red trousers of a conventional cut, topped off with a red kepi with blue trim. By a happy coincidence, this uniform looked very much like that of the famous 15th Brooklyn Militia and I’ve already got those in my collection! 🙂
Above: On the northern flank of the battle, Crittenden’s Union Corps had been ordered to mount its own flank attack on the Confederates and Van Cleve’s Division had already crossed over the Bull Run at McFadden’s Ford when the attack was cancelled due to the sudden crisis emerging on the opposite flank.
Above: The target for Crittenden’s cancelled attack was Wayne’s Hill, which is defended by the entrenched Hanson’s Brigade of Breckenridge’s Division. This division is detached from Hardee’s Corps.
Above: Breckenridge is separated from the rest of the Confederate army by the Stone River. South of the river, Withers’ Division of Polk’s Corps is dug in, defending the key arteries of the Nashville Turnpike, the Wilkinson Turnpike and the Nashville-Chattanooga Railroad.
Above: Withers’ Division faces the centre of the Union army at The Slaughter Pen.
Above: A view along the route of the Chattanooga Choo-Choo…
Above: At the northern end of the battlefield, the Union army commander, William Rosecrans, conflabs with Crittenden, the commander of the Left Wing Corps. Wood’s Division is formed up behind them, in column facing north, as until being halted they were originally heading for McFadden’s Ford to join Crittenden’s abortive attack. Deployed near McFadden’s Farm is the Chicago Board of Trade Battery, which is the only ‘pure’ battery of rifled artillery on the table. Most of the artillery on moth sides consists of obsolete smoothbore pieces, though some batteries (especially on the Union side) have a few rifles mixed in to provide some long-range hitting power.
Above: An overview of the northern end of the battlefield. At present it’s largely quiet in this sector as both sides wait to see what unfolds in the south, though the powerful Union artillery is quick to open fire on the few visible batteries in the Rebel entrenchments.
Above: As dawn breaks, the men of McCook’s Corps are still cooking their breakfast when the ‘Rebel Yell’ is heard! Willich’s Brigade, holding the ‘hook’ of the right flank, is quickly thrown out of its position and the Ohio battery, lacking horseflesh to move its guns, is captured by McCown’s jubilant men. Kirk’s Brigade meanwhile, is utterly smashed and is soon fleeing north in complete disorder, accompanied by General Johnson.
Above: Willich somehow manages to rally his men and forms up on the edge of woodland, on Baldwin’s left. Nothing however, can be done to halt Kirk’s flight and the Rebels start to roll up McCook’s Corps, quickly ejecting Post’s Brigade on the right of Davis’ Division.
Above: However, the Rebels don’t have everything their own way. In the north, the massive superiority of Union artillery immediately smashes Breckenridge’s artillery.
Above: Withers’ artillery is similarly destroyed in very short order and the Union guns turn their attention to the Rebel infantry. The shallow entrenchments provide scant cover and Hanson’s and Chalmers’ Brigades are soon suffering constant attritional losses.
Above: As Johnson’s men flee before them, Hardee’s Corps storms through the vacated Union positions.
Above: As more of Hardee’s brigades charge home, Davis’ Division, its flank now exposed by Johnson’s withdrawal, completely disintegrates!
Above: With Davis gone, the ridge is completely overrun by Hardee’s men and it’s now Sheridan’s turn to have his flank rolled up. The Confederates at last have sight of their initial objective; the hill between the Harding House and the Gresham House (McCook’s headquarters location – the hilltop command group with the red flag in the picture above). The Confederates plan to form a massed battery on the high ground and then use their local artillery superiority to batter the Slaughter Pen position into submission.
Above: Sheridan’s forward unit (Sill’s Brigade) still holds the end of the wooded ridge, but is outflanked and now has Cheatham’s Division of Polk’s Corps assaulting across the stream in front of him. Confident of victory, the Rebel artillery follows close behind Cheatham, who personally urges on his leading brigade (Loomis’ Brigade).
Above: Loomis is initially stalled by fire from Sill’s men, who sell their lives dearly in order to buy time for the artillery to withdraw. However, as a second brigade moves up to support Loomis, Sills is crushed and the remnants flee north across the Wilkinson Turnpike.
Above: Some remnants of Davis’ Division attempt to make a stand on the Gresham Lane, but are hard-pressed by Hardee’s men, who push them inexorably back toward the Gresham House (the large grey building) and the Wilkinson Turnpike.
Above: Some of Davis’ and Johnson’s Divisions have already reached the Gresham House!
Above: On the Union right flank, Johnson is making a stand with Baldwin’s Brigade and the 5th Indiana Light Artillery, who proceed to make life miserable for Rains’ Rebel Brigade and Wharton’s cavalry. However, the deteriorating situation across the rest of McCook’s Corps soon results in Baldwin retreating (albeit in reasonably good order) back to the line of the Wilkinson Turnpike.
Above: The arrival of an ambulance at McCook’s headquarters indicates that his corps has already taken heavy casualties [in game terms a permanent -1 on all Manoeuvre rolls by all brigades in the corps and also a Victory Point for the Rebels]. The shock and speed of the Rebel assault is indicated by the fact that Laiboldt’s Brigade in front of McCook’s HQ, is still deployed in column when they are struck by the seemingly unstoppable General Cleburne, at the head of L. E. Polk’s Brigade.
Above: By some miracle, McCook, Johnson, Davis and Sheridan keep managing to rally brigades and maintain a semblance of a line south of the Wilkinson Turnpike. They keep getting pushed back, but little by little are inflicting a steady trickle of casualties on the Rebels (every little helps…).
Above: Instead of collapsing, Sheridan’s division has wheeled back in the face of the Rebel assaults, its left flank anchored on The Slaughter Pen and bolstered by the artillery that somehow managed to escape the earlier slaughter in the woods. Casualties are heavy on both sides as the Bluebellies doggedly fall back in the face of ferocious attacks from Cleburne and Cheatham.
Above: As Hardee’s Corps continues its assault past the Gresham House, Hardee orders his artillery to unlimber on the Gresham Lane, just in case…
Above: While many of their comrades continue the fight, some of the Union troops have simply had enough…
Above: On the extreme western flank, Zahm’s Union cavalry and Wharton’s Rebel cavalry finally encounter each other. Zahm is outnumbered, but Wharton has already suffered 20% casualties thanks to long-range fire from Johnson’s Indiana battery.
Above: On the Rebel left flank, some of McCown’s and Cleburne’s men are dragging their heels.
Above: Another view of the intense battle around the Gresham House.
Above: A short while later, the Rebels have pushed the Bluebellies back to the Wilkinson Turnpike, but they seem to have found fresh spirit and are now giving almost as good as they get! Confederate casualties are mounting at an alarming rate and the assault is staring to stall just short of the turnpike [in scenario terms, the Wilkinson Turnpike is a key objective; as soon as a Rebel infantry brigade crosses the road, every Union brigade south of the road will attract an additional -1 Manoeuvre modifier (on top of the -1 already suffered due to heavy casualties)].
Note that some bugger has now removed the Gresham House from the table… It will soon return to play, but on the wrong side of the road… Honestly, it’s like casting pearls before swine…
Above: Out to the west, Zahm has decided not to fight the Rebel cavalry while mounted and has instead ordered his green troopers to dismount and defend the woods on foot. As Wharton charges, Zahm’s carbines empty a few Rebel saddles but fail to stop the charge. Nevertheless, Wharton’s cavalry, now disordered by enemy fire, ‘Worn’ due to 25% casualties and struggling in the terrain, fail to make a great impact and only push the Union troopers back to the northern edge of the wood, where both sides take a pause to lick their wounds.
Above: Sheridan’s Division earn their pay this day as they beat off repeated attacks by Cheatham’s Rebels (recognisable by their ‘Polk Battle Flags’, which look somewhat like the flag of Norway). Loomis’ Brigade in particular suffers considerable casualties in the face of point-blank musketry and canister fire from at least two batteries. Undaunted, Cheatham brings up two more brigades.
Cleburne also has a go at Sheridan near the (temporarily absent) Gresham House, but is beaten off with heavy losses. The veteran Brigadier S. A. M. Wood’s brigade suffers the worst of it and Wood himself suffers the loss of a loyal aide de camp, who takes a bullet meant for the general!
Above: An overview of the battle at the end of Turn 5 (0800hrs). In the foreground the Rebel divisions of Withers and Breckenridge continue to suffer losses from incessant Union artillery fire, but in the distance McCook’s Union Corps has been rolled all the way back to the Wilkinson Turnpike.
Above: Negley’s Division, with their corps commander General Thomas in attendance, awaits developments at The Slaughter Pen.
Above: Davis, having rallied part of his broken division, managed to hold the Rebels at the Gresham House for a while, but has now been pushed back once again, conceding possession of the Wilkinson Turnpike to the enemy. Nevertheless, he once again manages to rally the shattered remnants of two brigades alongside one of Johnson’s brigades, in the woods north of the road.
Johnson meanwhile, still has Baldwin’s strong brigade in position on the road. Baldwin boldly extends his line to the left in an attempt to block the Rebels’ capture of the turnpike, but it all goes horribly wrong as his brigade is shot up and falls back to join the rest of McCook’s shattered corps.
Above: Cleburne rallies the remnants of L. E. Polk’s Brigade, but they are now totally Spent thanks to the fruitless assaults against Roberts’ Union Brigade on the north slope of the hill. S. A. M. Wood manages to rally his brigade, but they are now worn and perhaps only have one charge left in them. Cheatham’s division continues to batter itself against Roberts, but to no avail.
It is at this point that Hardee rides over and attempts to lead Loomis’ Brigade in one more charge against Roberts, only to be shot out of the saddle by a Union sharpshooter! It really served him right for attempting to add his leadership bonuses to a formation that wasn’t even his…
Above: The heroic last-ditch Union defence of the Wilkinson Turnpike finally crumbles and the Rebels surge forward once again to take this objective. McCown’s Division is the first to cross the road, smashing one of Davis’ rallied brigades as he does so. In the foreground, Zahm’s cavalry have remounted and fallen back across the Wilkinson Turnpike in some disorder.
Above: McCown’s Rebels may have taken the Turnpike, but the leading brigade has suffered terrible losses and soon becomes the target for Baldwin’s rallied brigade. However, McCown’s boys are made of stern stuff and repulse Baldwin.
Above: The central battle of attrition continues and the bodies are really starting to pile up; particularly on the Rebel side, as Cheatham struggles to make headway against Roberts’ fanatical defence, which is aided by three batteries. However, a mass of Rebel artillery has deployed on the high ground and immediately opens up with canister on Roberts’ supporting gunners.
Above: As the damaged Union batteries pull back past the Blanton House, Cheatham renews his assault. With the Wilkinson Turnpike now cut by Rebel infantry and his right flank being shredded by canister, Roberts at last withdraws.
Above: With all of Cheatham’s Rebels sucked into the battle with Sheridan’s Division, Negley’s Division at The Slaughter Pen (which will now surely have to find a different name?) still haven’t fired a shot! Nevertheless, Stanley’s Zouaves extend their line in order to refuse their right flank. Just in case…
Above: At long last, the rest of the Union army is on the move. Rousseau’s veteran division, which had been held in reserve, is now on the march to stabilise the collapsing right wing.
Above: And not a moment to soon, as the landscape in front of Rousseau is filled with fugitives from McCook’s Corps.
Above: Meanwhile. back at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, Chalmers’ Rebel Brigade has been steadily whittled down by incessant fire from four Union batteries deployed between the Slaughter Pen and the railroad. Chalmers’ entrenchments provide very little protection and the mounting casualties cause his men to waver. The Bluebellies seize their moment and three brigades (Cruft and Hazen from Palmer’s Division and Wagner from Wood’s Division) charge across No-Man’s Land , closely followed by the 6th Ohio Battery.
Above: Chalmers’ battered command doesn’t stand a chance and is completely smashed by the Union onslaught!
Above: As the jubilant Union troops overrun the entrenchments and deploy their artillery to enfilade Hanson’s entrenchments to the north, the shocked Confederate General Withers redeploys his division to face this new threat.
Above: The time is now 1000hrs (Turn 9). McCook’s Corps has suffered horrific casualties, but elements are still holding out against the Confederate assault, which is now starting to stagnate. On the left of the picture, McCook and Johnson rally some of the shattered remnants behind Baldwin’s Brigade, which is still managing to make a good show of things. In the woods to their left, Davis has once again managed to rally some of his survivors and form yet another rough line. Opposite them, Generals McCown and Cleburne of the late General Hardee’s Corps exhort their men to advance once again, but the ‘Rebel Yell’ is now starting to sound a little thin.
Above: Two of Cleburne’s brigades (next to the Gresham House) are now completely spent, but the other two are still reasonably fresh and Cleburne pushes them on, to finally smash Davis and break through to the Nashville Turnpike!
Above: With casualties rapidly mounting, Sheridan (with the red flag) has finally pulled the remnants of his division back to the north side of the Wilkinson Turnpike, but there is no let-up from the Confederate bombardment.
Above: On the extreme western flank, Zahm’s cavalry suffer a crisis of confidence and head to the rear, broken! Now is the ideal time for Wharton’s Confederate cavalry to make their long-awaited strike on the flank of the Union infantry…
Above: Oh dear, never mind… It seems that Wharton has also found urgent business to attend to in the rear…
Above: Rousseau has now arrived to shore up the right flank. Rosecrans has also ridden over to assess the situation for himself.
Above: Over on the Union left flank, Crittenden’s Corps is also on the move as T. Wood’s Division heads south. His guns continue to conduct a long-range bombardment of Breckenridge’s Rebels.
Above: Aside from losing Cobb’s Battery in the very early stages of the battle, as well as a few attritional losses to Hanson’s Brigade atop Wayne’s Hill, Breckenridge’s Division is still fresh and unengaged (there are another two brigades and a battery still off-table). However, Breckenridge remains stationary and dark rumours begin to circulate, suggesting that Breckenridge himself is rascally drunk in a Murfreesboro tavern!
[In scenario terms, Breckenridge is stuck in place until Turn 14 (we’re on Turn 10) or until Union forces come within 6 inches of the white building in the woods (Point A on the map)]
Above: Van Cleve’s Division doesn’t seem to be too inclined to get stuck into Breckenridge at the moment.
Above: As Sheridan pulls back over the Wilkinson Turnpike, some reinforcement columns arrive at his rear; Beatty’s Brigade from Rousseau’s Division and Grose’s Brigade from Palmer’s Division. However, they are already taking fire from the powerful Confederate battery on the high ground south of the Turnpike.
Above: Back at the entrenchments, Withers is organising a counter-attack with his two reserve brigades (Stewart’s and Donelson’s) on the Union incursion into his entrenchments. Carnes’ Battery (deployed on the Turnpike) is already doing damage to Hazen’s Brigade, while musketry from Anderson’s Brigade, in the entrenchments to the left, is discomfiting Cruft, whose men are already starting to waver.
Above: Sheridan makes his last stand at the Blanton House (which some bounder has removed from the table)! Closely observed by his corps commander, Cheatham throws everything he can into this final, desperate assault, including the seemingly unkillable Loomis! In addition to Roberts’ remarkable brigade, Sheridan has managed to rally the remnants of Sills’ Brigade, who form up on Roberts’ right, but they are now taken in the flank by Cleburne’s Rebels.
Above: Seeing Zahm’s cavalry fleeing to the rear, the army commander and his entourage ride over to steady them.
Above: As McCook attempts to rally the fleeing remnants of his corps, Rousseau deploys his division behind the crumbling right flank.
Above: Sheridan’s Division has been thrown back from the (missing) Blanton House and Cheatham urges his troops onward. However, Beatty and Grose have now deployed their brigades along the edge of the woodland and now open fire on the approaching Rebels. The supporting Rebel gunners do what they can, but Rebel brigades are now starting to intrude into the danger zone, forcing the gunners to cease fire or switch to a different target.
Above: Once again the gallant General Davis rallies his troops and once again is charged by Cleburne…
Above: By some miracle, Johnson is also still in the fight! He stands with the last remnants of Baldwin’s Brigade as McCown’s Rebels come on in the same old way.
Above: Over on the opposite flank, things are finally moving, as Van Cleve carefully exploits a flaw in the scenario design…
Above: Morton’s Independent Pioneer Brigade, recognisable by their blue & white headquarters flag, is also on the move, aiming to cross the ford in front of Breckenridge’s entrenchments and join Van Cleve’s assault.
Above: On the other side of the railroad, General Palmer has withdrawn Cruft’s and Hazen’s Brigades from the captured entrenchments. However, Wagner’s Brigade (from T. Wood’s Division) refuses to withdraw and becomes the target for Withers’ counter-attack!
Above: Outnumbered by odds of 2:1, Wagner is utterly smashed and Donelson’s Brigade breaks through to attack the Ohio battery beyond!
Above: The Union gunners stand no chance and are overwhelmed as Withers’ Division retake their entrenchments. Withers may have lost a brigade (one which was already heavily-damaged by artillery) to the Union raid, but this episode has cost the Union side the loss of a previously-fresh brigade and an artillery battery.
Above: There are however, still an awful lot of Bluebellies in front of Withers and presented with fresh targets, the Union guns once again open fire…
Above: As the Union line folds back, The Slaughter Pen becomes the corner bastion of the Union defence. Although The Slaughter Pen hasn’t yet been assaulted, it is now at last under Rebel artillery fire and Cheatham has kept his most powerful brigade fresh, in reserve and in position to mount an immediate assault on the rocks, should the opportunity arise.
Above: At long last, Cheatham pulls Loomis’ battered brigade out of the line. But what’s this? An ambulance has just arrived at Polk’s headquarters to signify that Polk’s Corps (Cheatham’s and Withers’ Divisions) has reached its Heavy Casualties threshold!
Above: At long last, every one of McCook’s brigades are either destroyed, broken or spent and all his artillery has been destroyed or captured!
Above: With the pressure in front at last eased, Cleburne’s Division pushes on in pursuit of the defeated Bluebellies!
Above: However, on Cleburne’s right, the battle at the Blanton House bogs down into a battle of attrition. The two Union brigades are stronger and they’re fresh, while Cheatham’s men are worn and demoralised.
Above: The Rebel artillery continues to hammer away at the enemy while Cheatham’s last reserve prepares to assault the Slaughter Pen.
Above: As Davis’ and Johnson’s Divisions evaporate, the exhausted but jubilant Rebels pursue them to the far edge of the wood… where they find Rousseau’s two fresh, veteran brigades, supported by two batteries, waiting for them…
Above: Sheridan, with the spent remnants of Roberts’ Brigade, withdraws behind Beatty’s Brigade, duty done.
Above: Much to everyone’s surprise, T. Wood’s Division of Crittenden’s Corps, instead of continuing on to counter-attack on the right, turns left at the crossroads to join the attack on Withers and Breckenridge.
The time was now 1200hrs (Turn 13) and sadly that was where we had to leave it. The Confederates had made a valiant attack and in the initial stages, managed to go through McCook’s Corps like a hot knife through butter. However, once they’d overcome their initial surprise the Union army managed to perform an unexpectedly dogged fighting withdrawal. inflicting a constant trickle of attritional losses on the attacking Rebs.
At the close of play, it seemed reasonably unlikely that the combined remnants of McCown’s and Cleburne’s Divisions had sufficient combat-power to defeat Rousseaus’ two veteran brigades, particularly given that they had two batteries in close support, as well as a potential morale-boost due to Rosecrans’s presence.
It also seemed unlikely that Cheatham would be able to defeat the two brigades in front of him and there was nothing stopping Negley from bringing Miller’s Brigade into the fight from the other side of the Slaughter Pen. Cheatham’s only real hope was for his artillery to quickly damage and disorder the defenders of the Slaughter Pen and then throw his last fresh brigade in (perhaps with assistance from Withers) to take that bastion from the Union.
Nevertheless, it seemed unlikely that the Rebels would be able to carry the day. Polk’s Corps had reached its Heavy Casualties threshold and the late General Hardee’s Corps was only one casualty away from achieving that same milestone, thereby handing two Victory Points to the Union. On the Union side, McCook’s Corps had reached its Heavy Casualties threshold and the Union army as a whole had taken far more casualties than the Rebels, thereby handing two Victory Points to the Rebels. However, they still held possession of the Round Forest and the Nashville Turnpike, so retained the deciding Victory Point. Inflicting Heavy Casualties on Thomas’ and Crittenden’s Corps would have given a further Victory Point to the Rebels (for each corps), but neither corps was anywhere near that point.
So all things considered, the Second Battle of Murfreesboro was a victory for the Union! Hurrah!
My thanks once again to Mark, Paddy, Dave, Mike, Richard and Richard for an excellent game and for giving people the impression that I have friends.
This is just a quick post, as I’ve arrived home from Warfare just in time to head off again for three days for a funeral in Derbyshire! Thanks to Mark, Paddy, Dave, Mike, Richard L and Richard de F for their excellent company and gentlemanly conduct during the game (none of which was apparent during the game of ‘Coup’ in the pub on the Saturday night)!
First my apologies for posting nothing over the past month! The month started well with a week’s holiday in the Peak District, but then went rapidly downhill with a family bereavement, my dad having another (thankfully minor) stroke and crashing his car, and then to top it all, a bloody awful cold/cough (completely unrelated to covid) that I’m only now shaking off! 🙁
Above: Photos of painted models rarely get more exciting than this!
Above: The two Confederate corps commanders; namely 
Above: The divisional commanders and brigade command stands for Polk’s Corps. General 
Above: The divisional commanders and brigade command stands for Hardee’s Corps. General 
Above: Some Union ‘Objective Markers’. These markers served as a visual reminder of which side presently has control of the game’s geographical objectives, which in most cases grant a Victory Point or a morale penalty on the opponent (or both).
Above: Some Confederate Objective Markers. The markers each consist of a 40mm MDF disc, with a broken cannon, two casualties from the opposite side and six attacking troops, including a standard bearer.
Above: I forgot to get some decent photographs of the rest of the newly-painted/made stuff before I packed them away in the car, but here’s three metres of rail-fencing (I’ve also done six metres of snake-fencing), six Damaged Battery markers, fourteen Disorder markers (seven for each side, including one cavalryman for each side and a Zouave for the Union) and four Heavy Casualty markers (two for each side). 
There was no universally-recognised sign such as the Red Cross for medical services at this time, so both sides made up their own unofficial signs and these often changed from one theatre of war to another. However, neither side made much effort in telling the opposition what these signs meant! Green cap-bands and green diagonal arm-stripes did become widespread across the Union Army, so I’ve painted those. Rosecrans also dictated that ambulances belonging to the Army of the Cumberland would have a yellow flag (with a green ‘H’ added for field hospitals). The Confederates are recorded as sometimes using red arm-bands, hat-bands and flags for the same purpose, which again I’ve painted on the figures. However, I decided not to add flags, as they wouldn’t then fit in the trays I use to store my ACW collection.
It’s now just one month to go until 
The last phase of the terrain-building was the addition of weeds and bushes to the riverbanks, for which I used more leftover scraps of 
I’m now in the process of building the ‘stick-on’ terrain, starting with these fences from 
With the Union troops finished, I’ve moved on to the last of the Confederate troops and in two weeks have painted over 100 infantry and 20 cavalry, plus the dismounted option for the cavalry. In the past I’ve found that the Rebs take around twice as long to paint, compared to the Bluebellies, but these came together surprisingly quickly. I did however, reduce my palette of greys and butternuts from around fifteen shades to eight or nine, so that probably speeded things up a bit. As usual, these figures are all by 
As mentioned before, I’m using the order of battle for Gettysburg as my painting ‘to do’ list, so this is actually Anderson’s Division from A.P. Hill’s III Corps and actually completes that corps. I’ve now ‘just’ got one division left to do from Ewell’s II Corps and all of Longstreet’s I Corps. 
Using 10mm figures and an increased ground-scale has enabled me to expand the map by 20%, compared to Troy Turner’s original scenario map and I’m therefore able to include the small cavalry clash that took place on the battle’s western flank. I’ve already got more than enough Union cavalry, but my only painted Confederate cavalry until now is the 1st Virginia Regiment, with their rather distinctive blue-grey uniforms, black hats, black facings and hussar-style lacing. I need something a bit more ‘Rebellious’ for the Western Theatre…
I’ve therefore done these fellas in a variety of grey and ‘butternut’ shades, like the infantry, with a few sporting the regulation yellow cavalry facings. I’ve mixed in a few Union cavalry figures, just for a bit of variety and for the colour provided by their forage caps, which are either painted plain grey with a yellow band or in the full regulation yellow with a dark blue band. For the officer I’ve used the Pendraken J.E.B. Stuart personality figure, with his very fashionable feathered hat and buttoned-back yellow plastron lapels. I do like these. 🙂
‘Dragoon Tactics’, i.e. dismounting to skirmish, became increasingly common during the Civil War, so painting the ‘dismounted option’ is somewhat essential. However, Confederate cavalry, often armed with pre-war muzzle-loading carbines or simply shotguns, pistols and hunting rifles, were frequently out-gunned by their Union opponents who were increasingly being supplied with modern breech-loading rifles and even repeating rifles. In game terms using 
This week I’ve been flocking like a belt-fed wombat and have flocked all the grassland and farmland areas of the boards. Sadly, the weather hasn’t been as good, so I haven’t been able to get them all out again, but I did set two up, complete with some troops and (Summer) trees…
Above: The Rebs man the barricades! In the actual game the trees will be mostly bare (
Above: For the grassland I again painted the area with PVA glue and then sprinkled on a few bits of Woodland Scenics ‘Undergrowth’ in olive green shade. That was followed by some irregular patches of Woodland Scenics fine-grade ‘Yellow Grass’ flock and the whole lot was then covered in fine-grade ‘Burnt Grass’ flock.
Above: Veteran flockers will know that you must ALWAYS tap off the excess when the flock has dried, as at least 50% of it (probably more) will be sitting loose on the top and can then be recycled. You can sieve out the bits of undergrowth and bush that also fall off.
Above: A bird’s-eye view. I’m really pleased with how the two shades of grass have worked together and I think it does look suitably dead and wintry. I wasn’t brave enough to make it all with Yellow Grass, which is probably how it looked in the dead of winter (as in the painting above), but the yellow patches do tone down the green tone of the Burnt Grass.
Above: I’m also really pleased with how the railway looks in the landscape. I thought that the brown ballast looked too red, but it’s actually blended into the terrain really. It looks suitably rusty and actually looks just the same colour as the railway line outside my house.
Above: The very last of the Union troops! I had previously miscounted the number I needed to paint for the game, but they’re finally done. As discussed last time, I’m actually working my way through the order of battle for Gettysburg and have now finished the Union I, II, III, XI ad XII Corps apart from two Zouave units, the US Sharp-Shooters and the generals for II & III Corps. The ‘Italian’ flag on the right is that of the 39th New York Infantry (‘Garibaldi Guard’), though they didn’t fight at Murfreesboro, so won’t be seen in this game!
Above: The view from the south, looking north (the same orientation as the scenario map). As mentioned last time, the bare earth looks much paler in photographs than it does in reality.
Above: The view from the east, behind Confederate lines, looking west.
Above: The view from the north, looking south across the railway.
Above: The view from the west, behind Union lines, looking east.
Above: The view along the railway line. Unfortunately, a short section in the middle is slightly wonky, but isn’t that obvious unless you look along the line from this angle. It’s also in the middle of the ‘Round Forest’, so should be hidden by trees when the game is set up.
Above: The ‘Slaughter Pen’. I noticed that I’d actually missed a strip of woodland along the road beyond the rocks, so that’s now been added.
I’m pleased to report that once again, prep work for my 10mm ACW demo game of the 
Above: I’ve now painted and dry-brushed the boards and have added the base flock for the woodland areas. These areas were painted with PVA glue and then had 
Above: The railway is second-hand ‘N’ Gauge flexible model railway track, which I got from an online shop selling second-hand model railway stuff for next to nothing. The chap very kindly cut it into 12-inch lengths for me, to make it easier and cheaper to post. It was originally very shiny metal with black plastic sleepers. In reality, rails and sleepers are always covered in rust and iron ‘brake-dust’, so I painted them with brick-red enamel. When the paint was dry I gave the rail-head a quick polish with fine sandpaper.
Above: The earth colour actually looks a lot lighter in the photographs than it does in real life! I used an interior emulsion colour from B&Q called ‘Caracas’, which is basically beige. Then I dry-brushed it with Sandtex ‘Oatmeal’. Happily, it goes quite well with the colour of the grit I used for the breastworks.
Above: The ‘Slaughter Pen’ looks pretty good now it’s starting to merge into the scenery. I’m going to add some bushes and flock, especially where it meets the road.
Above: Lastly, I’ve done some more Union troops. I thought that these were the last, but it seems I’d miscounted and I still need to do another dozen or so bases! 🙁 The sharp-eyed will notice the green flag of one of the Irish Brigade regiments; I’m still largely using the order of battle for Gettysburg as my painting ‘To Do’ list and I’ve been churning my way through the II, III & XII Corps for that battle, so this is actually Caldwell’s Division of II Corps, plus the III Corps Artillery Brigade. I won’t be using the Irish Brigade flag for Murfreesboro, as they weren’t present at that battle.
Preparation work for 
In addition to the fieldworks, I needed to model the pivotal rocky outcrop known afterwards as ‘The Slaughter Pen’. This is a classic piece of exposed ‘Limestone Pavement’ as we might see on the western Brecon Beacons, Derbyshire Peaks or Yorkshire Dales, so being very familiar with such geology, I considered accurately modelling such a geological feature…
These days I use supermarket play-pit sand. I can get very fine sand from the lovely beach sand-dunes hereabouts, but it contains a lot of salt which can leach out to leave a deposit on water-based paints. Pembrokeshire County Council also tends to take a dim view of people stealing the beach, even if it is just one bag at a time… I picked up my last sack of play-sand at Tesco in 2015 for about £5 and it’s served to cover three demo-games and every figure and tree-base I’ve made since, so it’s good value! And there’s still plenty left.
I described the various known flags last time, but got one key fact wrong: the headquarters flag for McCook’s XX Corps (shown above) was apparently red, not blue. The headquarters flag for XIV Corps was apparently identical, though with a blue field and the number ’14’. The divisional headquarters for XIV Corps carried blue flags with stars indicating the number of the division and it’s therefore probably that XX Corps went with a similar scheme, except using red as the flag colour.
PLEASE let me know if you have better information, as these flags are very easy to remove and replace with more accurate versions! 🙂
Above: ‘Old Rosie’ has attracted some admirers from the local civilian population.
Above: A young staff officer salutes a ‘Southern Belle’…
Above: “Oh God, on second thoughts…”
Above: Thomas’ divisional commanders: 
Above: McCook’s divisional commanders: 
Above: Crittenden’s divisional commanders: 
Above: I’ve also painted some more Union artillery. God I hate painting limbers…
Above: And I’ve also painted three more brigades of Union infantry. I’ve still got another four guns and sixteen bases of infantry left to fo for the Union side, but should have those finished by this time next week. Then I’ve got about thirty bases of Confederate infantry to paint, plus a load of Western-specific infantry command stands and mounted commanders.
I’m using two thicknesses of polystyrene board; the base-boards are 20mm thick and the top-layer is 10mm thick. I cut the rivers out of the 10mm boards and then glue them onto the baseboards using PVA glue:
It needs to be emphasised at this point that this is a job that requires a lot of space and can get VERY messy! Thankfully we’ve had a long period of unseasonably dry and warm weather here in normally-soggy Wales, so I was able to do it all in the garden. Mrs Fawr very unkindly took some photos of me in action and clearly photoshopped out my hair (obviously)…
Oh and I had ‘help’…
After ungluing the dog, the next stage was to mark out the position of roads, railway and hills:
Then the messiest stage of all; cutting out the hills, smoothing them off with a sanding-block, gluing them on to the boards and then using the sanding-block to carve out the roads and fords:
The next stage will be some terrain-detailing in the form a rocky outcrop (the ‘Slaughter Pen’) in the centre of the table and some hasty Confederate breastworks. Once those are done I’ll paint the whole board with PVA and coat it in fine sand for a bit of texture (I find that it also adds toughness and rigidity to the boards) before painting and flocking.
Lastly, I’ve painted a command base for Morton’s special Pioneer Brigade (posed here with some of the infantry from the last photo). This brigade was formed from the massed regimental pioneers from all the regiments of the Army of the Cumberland. The Pioneers didn’t carry regimental colours, but a flag (probably the brigade headquarters flag) is recorded for them later in the war and that’s good enough for me…
With the glorious weather now starting to break, I’m very pleased to report that the biggest terrain jobs are now complete. As the weather gets colder and wetter I can do all the painting and flocking indoors, one board at a time. However, the initial cutting, carving and gluing phase always needs a lot of space in order to lay out the full map and check the alignment of roads and rivers, but that’s now done! 🙂
As discussed 
In 
Above: I’ve now completed the three battalions of Wissembach’s Brigade, which formed the second line of the Prince of Anhalt’s 4th Column at Minden, so here’s the whole formation in all its glory. Scheele’s Brigade (which I covered in 
Above: Prince Carl Leopold of Anhalt-Bernburg is commonly referred to as the ‘Prince of Anhalt’ in most English language accounts, which leads to all sorts of confusion, as there were seemingly dozens of princes of various branches of the Anhalt family (the House of Ascania), including one who at Minden was commanding a brigade on the French side! Prince Carl Leopold of Anhalt was also known by his family name of 
Above: Prince Carl Leopold of Anhalt-Bernburg held a commission in the Army of Hessen-Kassel and was Chef of the 
Above: Wissembach’s Brigade. This consisted of three single-battalion infantry regiments; the 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The rear of the 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: The grenadiers of the 
Above: The 
Above: The 
Above: A rear view of the 
Ab0ve: Wersabé’s Hanoverian Grenadier Battalion (shown on the right) forms up alongside Maxwell’s British Grenadier Battalion (shown on the left). As discussed in 
Above: Hanoverian Grenadier Battalion ‘Wersabé’. As mentioned previously, Hanoverian grenadiers battalions of the first half of the war were ad hoc affairs, formed from whatever was available on a given day. They were therefore of extremely variable strength and composition and this is therefore a conjectural wargames unit, comprising a figure from each of the six line regiments painted thus far, plus another six selected at random from the nine other regiments present at Minden. It’s possible that all fifteen regiments were represented and a large 16-figure unit might therefore be more appropriate, but I’ve kept it as a conservative 12-figure unit.
Above: Hanoverian Grenadier Battalion ‘Wersabé’. From 1759, the Hanoverians formed three permanent Grenadier Battalions at the start of each campaign, though these proved to be rather weak (roughly half the strength of a line infantry battalion), so in 1760 the strength was fixed at 500 men per battalion. In 1762 a massive increase in the strength of each regiment’s grenadier company enabled an increase to six grenadier battalions.
Above: A rear view of Hanoverian Grenadier Battalion ‘Wersabé’.
Above: The military-minded 
Above: The 
Above: By sheer luck, just as I was painting the 