LotACW First Game.

We finally got started with our ACW skirmish gaming. Rules used are LotOW; various extracts from Frontier and LotOW and a couple of bits from Alamo. The posses are a bit larger than normal, but they generally only consist of fairly similarly armed soldiers, recruits, sergeants and lieutenants, so there's less record keeping than a characterful western posse.

So the mission for both sides is to secure the town. The Union forces consist of $400 of regular infantry, plus $200 of sharpshooters. The Confederates have $400 of infantry and a $200 Zouave detachment.

The Union forces advance through cornfields towards the centre of town.

A main body of Confederates has an easier job, deploying out from one of the roads.

A couple of turns later, the sharpshooters are still making their way through a thick woodland

towards the road on one edge of the battlefield.

A second body of Confederates approaches, trying to flank the Union forces on their left.

Meanwhile Zouaves filter through the buildings and take the main road through the town

The rebels reach the cornfield fenceline first and begin to inflict casualties on

the union infantry marching towards them.

The Union infantry heads for cover behind buildings and fences and gets pinned down. Unbelievably,

the lieutenant fell off the fence while trying to climb it...

Several turns later the Sharpshooters are charged by the Zouaves, but bravely

fight them down; forcing their rout without a single casualty.

Sadly the sharpshooters efforts were in vain. Several turns later they came under heavy fire from the Confederate main body and, being outnumbered, were quickly felled.

Once the flank action was over, the Confederates made to surround the Union infantry survivors, but before they could the casualties were too many and the boys in blue fled the field, abandoning the town to the Confederate Army.