This has turned into an interesting, competitive game. Here is the latest update, from about four game-months of play during the Spring and Summer of 1862. -Longshanks
UPDATES
Rudolf (USA) v Blindsniper (CSA)
awaiting E Aug 62 orders
76 NM v 115 NM (+7/+4 since last report)
36 VP/turn v 50 VP/turn (from cities) (37 v 49 last report)
1054 v 1295 total VPs (714 v 931 last report)
86,253 v 84,051 combat losses (32,078 v 26,763 last report)
POW: 9300 USA prisoners, 9800 CSA prisoners
E Apr 62 Results
Union Defeated at Alexandria! ( ... twice)
Union Turns Back Reb Assault on Bowling Green!
Big change in NM (unfortunately I didn't record this!)
L Apr 62 Results
Price Takes Jefferson City Without a Fight!
E May 62 Results
Rebs Take Back Ft. Pulaski!
Union Invades Williamsburg! Capture an Army HQ! (worth 2 NM! wow!) Lincoln Praises Hooker!
[Note: this establishes a key position, as Lee's army is besieging Ft. Monroe. Hooker's position plays across the next several turns, as the two players spar for dominance on the peninsula.]
L May 62 Results
May 17, 1862 Lee Pounds Butler But Ft. Monroe Holds! 6,600 lost! +2 CSA NM!
May 19, 1862 Lyons Booted from Lake, Tennessee! Fort at Island#10 Holds But Is Besieged! 3,800 Lost! +1 USA NM! [note: one these odd battles which you lose, but gain NM]
E Jun 62 Results
June 4, 1862 - Grant Defeats Polk at Clarksville Tennessee! +1NM for USA! Combined Losses over 5,000! Thomas' Action Cited by Lincoln!
June 6, 1862 - J Johnston Retakes Island #10! Lyons Moved Into Arkansas! Hoke's Actions Cited!
June 10, 1862 - Battle of Williamsburg is Union Victory! Longstreet's Attack Fails with CSA Losses Over 7,000! +3 USA NM!
[Note: On this turn, the USA begins picking up NM steam. Several key generals have rec'd promotions. Blindsniper (CSA) still has the edge, but it's starting to fray ....]
L Jun 62 Results
June - Epic Battles Continue!
Stonewall Jackson Holds F'burg Against Kearny with Heavy Losses on Both Sides! +1 CSA NM Over 12,000 Casualties Total!
Hooker Stops "Bloody Lee" Cold at Five Forks [Williamsburg]! Lee Loses over 6,800! +3 USA NM!
Grant Defeats Forrest at Fort Donelson! Four CSA Regiments Taken Prisoners! +2 USA NM Lincoln: " I Can't Spare Him! He Fights!"
Polk Takes St. Joseph Missouri! Union Garrison Wiped Out! +1 CSA NM
[Note: an oddity here ... Kearny loses and gets a commendation and Hooker wins (big!) and gets chastised! Grant gets his third star! My newspaper "headlines" often call RELee "Bloody Lee" because it is my observation that his battles nearly always cost the CSA more losses than if led by, say, Longstreet or especially Jackson. Your results may vary.]
E July 62 Results
July 4, 1862 - Grant Holds in Tennessee! Forney's Force Repelled! Over 4,600 Casualties Combined! +2 USA NM
July 5, 1862 - Shields Defeats Lee on Peninsula! Lee Loses Four Regiments as 1,000 Prisoners Taken! Are the Rebels Trapped?
July 8, 1862 - Longstreet Surprises, then Defeats Hooker at Williamsburg! 900 Prisoners Taken! Heavy Rebel Losses Over 6,200 Mitigate Victory! Davis Praises Longstreet Nonetheless!
July 8, 1862 - Van Dorn Routed in Missouri! Barnes Liberates Bloomington!
July 8, 1862 - Price and Rebels Take Fort Leavenworth in Kansas!
July 13, 1862 - Carnage on the Rappahannock! Foster Loses over 10,000 and 14 Regiments in Great Disaster Against Stonewall! 3,400 Yanks Taken Prisoners! Brilliant Positioning of Holmes' and Magruder's Artillery Ravages Bluebellies as They Crossed the River! +7 CSA NM! Davis Praises Actions!
[Note: I do believe that a +7 battle is the biggest single result of the tourney so far ..... this is where the game stands at the moment:
Northern Virginia: Union controls Harper's Ferry and Winchester with no known CSA forces nearby. Union controls Alexandria and Manassas, as well as Stafford.
VA Peninsula: Strange moves. See map. Hooker retreats out of W'burg into the region where Longstreet moved out of to attack him! Then, Hooker is set to auto-move back into W'burg. Net result is no more entrenchments. Meanwhile Shields moves out of Ft. Monroe to attack Lee in Hampton, and Lee retreats ... wait for it ... into the Ft. Monroe region! (not into the fort which is still USA). So, Shield and Lee swap places. This makes several turns now that Lee has been "trapped" on the peninsula and so is presumably very low on supplies and ammo (but I haven't looked to see).
Kentucky. Grant controls Ft. Donelson which is hotly contested. Thomas controls Clarksville and the Army of the Potomac, under Fremont, controls Bowling Green. Rebels own Paducah and Columbus, as well as Prestonsburg. Everything else is Union.
Missouri/Arkansas. There is a campaign along the Black River in Arkansas between Lyons and Bragg. It's mix and match in Missouri, with the Union controlling St. Louis, Jeff City and Lexington, and the Confeds controlling Rolla, and Ft. Leavenworth and points south.
As you can see from the losses listed above, the game has gotten bloodier. Not Charlesonmission v Durk bloody, but up there!
L July 62 Results
New York Herald
Lee's Starving Army Nearly Eliminated! [+6 USA NM]
July 23, 1862 - Newport News, Virginia - Desperate to save his starving army, Rebel General Lee attempted a final forced-march breakout through the USA army led by General Shields on the peninsula in Virginia. He did not succeed, and most of his army was taken prisoner (5,600*). What was left fell back into the area near Ft. Monroe, where it awaits its fate. In the battle, Lee's Gen. Ruggles was killed, and there are rumors of others being wounded. Nearly all the losses occurred on the approach to the union lines, as the Yankee artillery fire was withering across a narrow strait of land. Many white flags appeared, and several rebel units surrendered en masse. Confederate regiments lost include:
• 4 elite infantry
• 12 line infantry
• 1 conscript infantry
• 4 light/sharpshooter/militia infantry
• 3 cavalry
• 2 12-lb artillery
Some prisoners said they had not eaten in two days, nor did they have the accoutrements of war. "We ain't had no cartridges in weeks. How you supposed to fight wit'out no cartridges, I'd like to know?" said one Johnny Reb. The presence of large numbers of Union naval vessels all around the peninsula precluded the hope of any retreat or supply by sea.
The President praised General Shields for his defense. "In recent weeks General Shields, General Humphreys and their men have shown us their fine and true nature, first on the attack, and now on the defense. We thank them for their perspicacity and bravery. I am sure we will see General Shields' contributions continue on an even higher level," indicating the likelihood of a promotion for Gen. Shields.
*Note: The battle report showed Lee with considerably fewer men. Such discrepancies are common due to the "flavor" nature of numbers on battle reports. Incidentally, the losses were worth about 122 VPs to the Union.
Grant Destroys Rebel Fort
Dover, Tennessee - General Grant destroyed the remnants of Forts Henry and Donelson before moving out to rest and refit his men. The presence of large rebel land and river forces made holding the position no longer tenable, according to our reporters. Captured rebel guns were taken as well.
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Prospects: What a difference one turn makes! From the depths of the losses of Fredricksburg, the Union pays back in the fullest measure on the peninsula to Marse Roberts, who will be known as "Bloody Lee" throughout the rest of this war, -7NM and +6NM respectively. In Kentucky, the Union has destroyed the key fort guarding the approaches to Nashville, and thus central Tennessee, but has fallen back to regroup and refit. Neither side will yield in Missouri, where maneuver and commitment of new forces seems to be the keys.