This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

-Dedicated to Civil War episodes, battles, people and ships that also appear in GMT’s Rebel Raiders on the High Seas, my next game.

May 4, 1863

            Historical Events:  While in the East Sedgwick struggled to hold the line to give the rest of the battered Army of the Potomac time to retreat after the debacle at Chancellorsville, in the West Grant was suffering a defeat of his own – although one far smaller in scope – along the Red River.  A Union flotilla went up the Red River to attack Fort De Russy and was repulsed with heavy damage to a number of its ships, notably the unfortunately named USS Albatross. (See the sketch below, made by a sailor at the time).

            Game Connection:  Although primarily a naval game, there is a great deal of land combat – attack and counter-attack—in Rebel Raiders.  Chancellorsville can be recreated through the play of the Confederate cards for Lee and Jackson (as noted in the May 2 blog entry).  Gunboats vs. Batteries is a key part of the river combat sequence in the game, as the Union needs to reduce those defenses in order to even the odds when attacking the cities and fort spaces those batteries protect.