Battle of Adrian Fork

I figured it was high time to post a battle report. Why have a blog for war gaming and not do actual war game?

This was a quick little battle put together one afternoon.
The Federal Brigade is set up in ambush on the right side of the creek.
The Confederate Brigade is in march column on the left side of the creek.

 At the beginning of each turn, the Confederate general rolls dice to see if they discover the ambush.
Needless to say they did not.

"Steady, men. Just a little further and we'll slam the door shut."

Singing a few choruses of "Bonnie Blue Flag" as they march beside the peaceful creek. Such a nice day for a march. Would be a shame if something bad happened.........

The Federal General waited til the leading Confederate Regiment started to cross the creek before springing the trap.

The General continues to move his troops forward

The Federal Artillery opens up near the middle of the column. At the same time the Regiments fire a volley into the rear of the formation.

Seeing the treeline come alive with musketry, The leading Confederate regiments finish crossing the creek and come into line of battle. The Artillery Battery quickly races to the top of the hill to deploy. The trailing Confederate regiments come into line and return fire from the opposite side of the creek.

The Rebel Battery fires across the creek hoping to supress the Federal Battery.

"Forward South Carolina!"

"Pennsylvania, fix bayonets. Forward, March!"

One of the Pennsylvania Regiments surge from the treeline onto the hill. They adjust fire down the hill onto the Rebs below

After a few exchanges of musketry, a South Carolina regiment breaks and withdraws across the creek. The other two regiments hold there line as they take the murderous fire from the Federals in the treeline to their front, and the Artillery battery to their left on the hill.

The Confederate Brigade commander crossed the creek hoping his presence would rally his troops.
The routed regiment continues to withdraw from the table. Another Regiment breaks and retreats to the creek.

Steadfast and forty rounds. The South Carolinians defy the odds. Southern stubbornness bolstered by their general's presence continues the contest. In the end, faced with certain death and mounting casualties, The lone regiment is forced to surrender. The upside to their capitulation is that the opposing Federal regiments suffered severe casualties.

With two regiments broken and another surrendered. The rest of the brigade falls back to lick their wounds. They may be scuffed up, but they are not defeated.

This ended as a Federal victory. It was difficult continuing to move troops forward as if you didn't see the ambush. I was glad when the trap was sprung. It allowed for some interesting challenges. The lesson learned here is that it is hard to fight a battle when you have a creek or river dividing your army. It's best to be on either one side or the other as a whole.
Lesson learned from the Federal side is. "Divide your enemy and defeat him in detail." This principle seemed to work.