A slow month for games…….been busy of an evening and being late winter its a bit cold down in the garage at night!(even with heaters on!) So organised a Saturday game at Hutt Club. Carrying on the current ACW theme, decided on the Salem Church scenario from the Black Powder ACW supplement. While doing some extra research on the battle I discovered a map totally different from scenario one in book so went with that!

Players on the day were Goldie, Robert and Sheridan on the Union side and Russ, Rob and Alan on the Confederate side. I was doing rules etc but had decided if a side was failing badly would bring a brigade on at some stage.

The scenario had 3 Union brigades on the East side of table with 5 Confederates on the West side. The Confederates get first move…the sides being 24 inches apart and 12 inches from North/South edges. On Union turn 1, 3 more brigades arrive. The SE section of table is heavily wooded….which has chance of units getting disorientated in them. Otherwise rest of table open with fences/walled fields and light woods with Salem Church and School in the open.

Game is 7 turns and objective is Confederates to force Union to retreat and the Union to not retreat off table!

The Salem Church map is below.

So players from left to right…Robert, Alan and Rob pointing at something. Russ in his Reb kepi, Goldie in white and Sheridan sitting obscured by Goldie.

Below is look from South to North. The three Northern Confederate brigades have special rules….can only move 1 move…and suffer a -1 in combat as are exhausted. By the end of game I wondered if designers had actually play tested this scenario. The Union have spread a thin Blue line out while they await the arrival of the rest of their force.

This was Sheridan’s 3rd game of Black Powder ACW and his first using his own beautifully painted Union figures. Below is Russ advancing…slowly…on his position.

On Union left Robert has a brigade arriving in the heavy woods. In march column and if 3 inches apart they can move on a single brigade order. If in line like the other 2 regts in brigade they must be ordered individually. The regt beside the columns got lost in the woods and ended up leaving the table edge(it came back when ordered back on next turn). Liked that wee rule.

Goldie arrived from reserve in the centre. For some reason a unit of Louisiana Tigers has joined them. The thin line of Rob’s troops face them.

Over in the woods Alan has advanced his Reb’s to try and force Robert back off the table.

Now I have an aspiration to run a Gettysburg BFG in 2023. So towards that I have started generating Corp command stands for the armies. So far have 3 completed for Union and 2 for Confederates. The single command figures as seen below will also be rebased with mounted standard bearers and brigade flags added. GMB has a great range of the flags thankfully. Painting the command figures and standard bearers is also easy..if you own Don Troiani’s ‘Regiments &Uniforms of the Civil War’, go to page 250-251…there is an AMAZING likeness to the Perry sculpts!!

Up on the North edge of table Russ was taking some stick…Russ is rolling 6’s to avoid taking more casualties…but….just to much damage being done…picture below just before they was ‘Whupped!’.

The game turned into 2 lines shooting…..and the Union just had to many numbers…so I threw Barksdale onto the table on turn 4…to late.

In south Alan is getting pushed out of the woods.

In the North Sheridan’s reserves are on and Russ has his high water mark……makes it to wall…..but Union has to much depth.

In centre Barksdale reinforces Rob’s brigade who have taken a battering.

Turn 7…..Confederates cannot win…but I decided to just move Barksdale and see….and I really wanted to throw some dice….not enough to do anything…sadly.

Alan has now been forced back out of the woods and is not in good shape.

So clear Union victory.

Will rejig sides and do again one night in the garage.

So that was that……next game in Garage on 25th which will be a practice for upcoming Ligny refight and Goldie is running an Antietam refight at Hutt club next month. Later in month Ancients will roll out again for a game of Hail Caesar. Keith has been beavering away on his Macedonians which look OUTSTANDING so time to test their mettle!

Til next time…Terry out.