"Longstreet Campaign Battle 3. Damp Wood" Topic

Across from the federal position the confederate brigade prepared for battle. Their artillery was positioned so as to provide fire support to the massed Reb infantry. It was apparent to the union commander, Brigadier Rawlin, that about 3000 rebel infantry intended to advance on the center of the union line via the woods and broken ground in the center of the field of battle. The rebel cavalry appeared to be tasked with protecting the rebel artillery just in case the Yankees decided to go on the offensive, or maybe exploite some opportunity if it presented itself.

"We will keep the Marines in reserve" Brig Gen Rawlin gestured to an aide and his horse was brought to him. "I expect the Rebs wil fall on our center. The 1st Maine and the 11th New York will meet them. I will use both batteries to fire into the flanks of their assaulting columns as the come on as I know the will. The 14th Brooklyn will counterattack the left of the enemy attack and the new boys from Utah will strike the right. The cavalry will hold our right flank. Hopefully the 1st Minassota will arrive soon, but we need to be ready to fight this day without them. Those people over yonder mean to drive us off. They're arrogant people. Today we must stand firm"!

Rawlin settled into his saddle. "I'm confident we will prevail men, with or without Minassota".
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See more at my blog:
link
As Usual. Comments are welcomed
Cheers
trailape.blogspot.com.au

Oh,.. and YES I know Utah wasn't a State until well after the ACW, but is WAS a territory and they DID provide troops for the Mex-American war, so it's not too much of a stretch

Well,no, it is perhaps too much of a stretch for a historical unit, but for a fictional one, it would be fine, of course.

It is true that the "Mormon Battalion" of volunteers were enlisted to help in the Mexican War, which actually has an interesting history, especially regarding the American expansion into California.

However, the Utah Expedition, seen by the Mormons as an encroachment of a hostile government on peaceful settlers, meant that Utah Mormons sat out the war, apart from a small group of "cavalry" that served to keep the mail routes open in the Rockies.

There were some Mormons, from those who did not go west in the 1840s, who served during the ACW, but only on an individual basis and not as a church backed or even territory based unit (apart from the noted exception).

FWIW, the Mormon Battalion is one of my research topics as its members were critical elements in San Diego and Sacramento settlement and the subsequent discovery of gold in the region.

Apart from the historical aspects, I am enjoying reading your campaign stories. I look forward to seeing how it ends.

Hi Justin
Re, your comments:

Well, no, it is perhaps too much of a stretch for a historical unit, but for a fictional one, it would be fine, of course

Well, it IS a fictional one,.. Though like I said, IMHO not too much of a stretch. The Mormons did raise for a VERY SHORT period a cavalry unit that served in the early days of the war:
Utah Civil War units[edit]
At the start of the Civil War, the withdrawal of Union Army forces left a void which several Indian tribes took advantage in order to start raids on the mail trails leading through the territory. To solve this, Young offered the government the services of the Nauvoo Legion, the Mormon militia organization. After discussing his offer with Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln accepted the formation of a thirty man cavalry company for ninety days; this was later expanded into a 106-man company. Although the company made several efforts to track down the culprits of the raids, it never saw any military action.[12]

So you see, I don't consider it a 'wild and wacky' idea. After all, my 'Brigade' itself is fictitious. There are historical units in it, but there was no 'Brigadier General Rawlin'.
I do try to give each battle some historical background, but it's usually just cobbled together without too much thought.
Thanks for your comments.
Oh, and I'm a Mormon, and that's why I wanted to include the the battalion. If you read the initial campaign AAR it will give some 'background' to my Brigade Commander and relevance to the inclusion of the battalion in 'question'.
Here are the links to the previous engagements
Start and Battle number 1:
link
Battle number 2:
link
Cheers

@trailape

Yes, I am also LDS, and have done not a small amount of research into the Mormon Battalion, Nauvoo Legion, and the short-lived cavalry force.

I have visited the Mormon Battalion museum in San Diego a few times, always gaining a bit more from the experience each time.

The fiction of your units is, of course, no bother and is a cool way to add the extra bit of flavor. I have read some excerpts of LDS participants in the war, from those who stayed behind in Illinois or Ohio after the westward migration post-1846. A few are here and there about the internet, should you want to include real names in case you get a hero for the unit.

I have read all of your posts for the campaign thus far, and had done so prior to your providing the links. I like the Longstreet rules, but have yet to start painting up the army I purchased due RL constraints.

Best of luck on the campaign.

Hi Justin
I can't recommend 'LONGSTREET' highly enough for sheer fun and campaign playability.
A really great set of rules for Battalion level action IMHO.
I was in California last year (and Salt Lake) but wasn't aware there was a Mormon Battalion Museum!
Now I'm annoyed. :)
As for your research, if you could provide some links I'd appreciate it
CTR
Scott