Tale of Two Raiders: Goodbye, CSS Chickamauga, Hello CSS Shenandoah

150 years ago: A Tale of Two Raiders: Goodbye, CSS Chickamauga, Hello CSS Shenandoah

150 Years Ago this week the storied Confederate blockade runner captain, John Wilkinson, went a-raiding aboard the mighty CSS Chickamauga.  In four days of raiding off Long Island, he burned, bonded or scuttled seven Union merchant ships - but as his raider burned coal at such a voracious rate, on November 3 he had to cut short the raid and go in search of coal.  The governor of Bermuda refused to sell Wilkinson a load, claiming he had new orders in regards to the neutrality acts.  Fortunately, Wilkinson, an old hand at this sort of thing, was able to bribe a lesser official (after first getting him roaring drunk), but while taking on coal nearly half his crew jumped ship.  The governor, moreover, got wind of all of this, and put a stop to the coaling.  Warned that four Union cruisers were converging on Bermuda,  Wilkinson upped anchor and set a course for Wilmington, the last major port still open to the raiders and runners.

As the CSS Chickamauga neared Wilmington, a Union squadron intercepted her.   Despite being heavily outgunned, Wilkinson refused to surrender, and fired shot and shell in an unequal duel with four Yankee warships, all while pouring on speed to seek safety under the guns of Fort Fisher.  Although he made it, his ship would never raid or go to sea again.  The CSS Chickamauga, however, did have one last fight left in her:  when the Union finally stormed Fisher, the Rebel raider was there, adding her guns to the fort's in defense.  When it was obvious that the fort would fall, the raider retreated to Wilmington, where she was scuttled and burned let she become a prize of war.

Just as CSS Chickamauga was ending her career as a raider, however, the last - and in may ways the greatest and also the most tragic of the raiders began hers.  CSS Shenandoah made her first capture on October 30  (the day as CSS Chickamauga also made her first capture).  The bark Alina was Captain James I. Waddell's first victory, and while there would be 37 more, 2/3s of those were taken after the end of the war - which Waddell did not know had concluded until reading newspapers found aboard his final prize, the bark Covington, which he burned on June 28, 1865.   Fearful of being held accountable for piracy, Waddell spent months seeking a harbor where he could safely retire his ship and crew, which he did on November 6, 1865....149 years ago this week.

While in my strategic naval game of the Civil War, Rebel Raiders on the High Seas,  the CSS Chickamauga is represented by a generic Raider counter, the CSS Shenandoah has her own counter and card, CSN Card 64:

"Hitler's Reich" is "Favorite New Game" of GMT Fall Weekend of Blogger Charlie Lewis

"Hitler's Reich" is "Favorite New Game" of GMT Fall Weekend of Blogger Charlie Lewis

"Great entry game for a new wargamer" says Charlie

Charlie Lewis of The Game Box blogger fame, just posted that my new WW II design "Hitler's Reich" was his "favorite new game" at GMT's Fall Weekend gaming con.

Hitler's Reich is WW2 for two players in two hours - it is a quick set up, fast-playing strategic game where combat and other conflicts are resolved  through a modified version of the classic card game of "War" - but with dice and Event Cards to modify the total.  Colored wooden pieces mark the march of armies as players battle it out across Europe, Russia, North Africa and the Middle East in a military, political and economic struggle to create or take down "Hitler's Reich."

A full description of the game and links to postings on GMT's blog can be found at:
http://gmtgames.com/p-511-hitlers-reich.aspx

As Charlie says in his blog, however,:

"This is one where the P500 blurbs don't get even close to doing the game justice, that's why I included them from the top.  At one point I was asked what my favorite game of the weekend was, and without hesitation, I answered this one.  Why? Because this is unlike anything I've ever played before, and it works, and its fast, and its not a game that requires a lot of rulebook flipping."

Charlie adds later in his review that:
"It's a fast moving game, as the conflict resolution is quick.  You spend the whole game juggling your own priorities with deciding how hard you want to disrupt your opponent's plans."

He also notes that:
This could become a great entry game for a new wargamer, as it gets a player used to direct conflict but without fiddling with stacks of counters or worrying about ZOCS and terrain costs.  My 10 year old, for example, would probably have fun with this, and I look forward to trying it out with her some day, but my buddy and I also really had fun with it - he even got in a second game of it later in the weekend while I was trying Fields of Despair. I really had fun with this, and the minute the wife gets a new job, I'll be joining the P500 for it."

For the full text of Charlie Lewis' review, please go to:

http://thegamebox.gamesontables.com/index.php?topic=1472.msg19784#msg19784

150 Years Ago: CSS Florida Makes Her Last Capture At Sea

150 Years Ago: CSS Florida Makes Her Last Capture At Sea

On September 26, 1864, the Confederate raider CSS Florida, then under the command of her second captain, Charles M. Morris, made her 37^th and final capture: the bark Mandamis. She was a commercial vessel out of Baltimore that was returning “in ballast” because of the difficulty in finding shippers who wanted to risk their cargo on American flag vessels – vessels which, like Mandamis, were the prey for CSS Florida and other Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.

After setting the bark afire, Morris made for Bahia to take on coal and provisions. He did not know that no fewer than 24 Union warships were after him – one of which, the USS Ticonderoga, was assited in that hunt by one of the CSS Florida's own men: A. L. Drayton. The sailor had been captured when the fishing schooner Archer, which when captured by the CSS Florida had been pressed into service to do some raiding of her own off the New England coast.  Rather than suffer imprisonment, Drayton piloted the Union warship throughout the chase, but always arrived at foreign ports of call just a week or so after the raider. Another of the hunters, however, USS Wachusett, was more timely in her search – catching up with and capturing the CSS Florida on October 7...but that is another story....

The Confederate commerce raiders play a key role in GMT's strategic naval game of the Civil War, Rebel Raiders on the High Seas. For more on the game visit the GMT website on the game at:

http://www.gmtgames.com/p-238-rebel-raiders-on-the-high-seas.aspx

or read a review of the game inissue #27 of Rodger MacGowan's C3i magazine: http://www.gmtgames.com/p-462-c3i-magazine-issue-27.aspx

150 Years Ago: A Rebel Blockade Runner's Last Run

150 Years Ago: A Rebel Blockade Runner's Last Run

Few Confederate ships ran the blockade more often than the Advance.  The fast, Scottish-built 900-ton sidewheeler made more than 20 voyages - paying back her owners many times over as she brought in not only badly needed war supplies but also highly sought after luxuries.  Named in honor of North Carolina Governor Zebulon Vance, the sleek double-stack vessel originally designer as a fast passenger liner eluded capture over 40 times as she zipped in and out of Wilmington and other ports in the Tar Heel State.  Unfortunately, the 41st Union warship she encountered was one of the fastest ships in the Union navy: the USS Santiago de Cuba - which ended the blockade runner's storied 15-month career on the night of September 10, 1864.

The Advance, however, was not sunk by the USS Santiago de Cuba when the Yankee vessel caught up with her in Cape Fear Inlet; she was instead taken as a prize to New York  and then selected for service by the Navy.  Even with a 20-pounder rifled gun and four 24-pound howitzers aboard the now rechristened USS Advance could still make 12 knots, which made her suitable for service in tightening the blockade around the very ports she had been running in and out of under the Rebel flag.   Her capture, however, was a severe blow to Confederate captains, fewer and fewer of whom risked going out where even the Advance had been unable to escape.  

Although she never chased down any of her fellow blockade runners, as USS Advance the vessel did see action in the battle for Fort Fisher at the mouth of the Cape Fear River that Christmas.  Under the command of  Lt. Cmdr. John Upshur  she exchanged fire with the fort's Half-Moon Battery, reportedly silencing its 8-inch gun, then came closer inshore to help rescue and tow away the gunboat USS Osceola,   Upshur's vessel finished out the war as a dispatch and supply ship, and after war's end was renamed USS Frolic and, with Upshur still in command, was sent to the European Squadron.  The vessel was finally decomissioned in 1877 and sold to a private owner in Virginia in 1883.

As CSN Card 67, CSS Advance is one of the many blockade runners that appear in the strategic Civil War naval game, Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.  Successfully running the blockade is vital for Confederate victory in the game, as it was in the war.  Stopping such ships is equally vital for the North, which in attempting to do so makes use of such ships as the gunboat USS Osceola, which also appears in the game as USN Card 9 and which, ironically, as noted above, was saved by Advance when that former blockade runner was in Union service.

150 Years Ago: "That Devil Forrest" Attacks Memphis

150 Years Ago: "That Devil Forrest" Attacks Memphis

On August 21, 1864 the daring Confederate cavalryman General Nathan Bedford Forrest attacked Memphis, which had been in Union hands for over two years.  The raid - which had it been just a little more successful might have turned into a full-scale counterattack to regain the Mississippi city for the South - was a major embarrassment to the North - and especially to the two generals in charge of the garrison, both of whom very narrowly escaped capture.  Major Generals Oren Hurlbut and especially his superior, Cadwallader C. Washburn (who fled his quarters barefoot and clad only in a thin nightshirt), were ridiculed and humiliated for the laxity of their defense. While "That Devil Forrest" and his 2,000 horsemen were too few to oust a defending force three times their size, the Rebels nevertheless "raised hell," riding down the main street at 4 AM firing their pistols, shouting taunts and, of course, letting loose a resounding "Rebel Yell" that echoed through the city - and was heard all the way back in Washington.

Forrest took over 500 prisoners and many wagon loads of supplies.  The Union high command drew troops from all over the theater to go hunting Forrest, but to no avail.  Hurlbut, who had only recently been superseded as commander of the garrison at least got the last laugh, quipping to reporters that while he had been reduced to second in command for his failure to keep Forrest out of Tennessee, at least he had done better than Washburn who "cannot keep him out of his own bedroom."

Rebel Raiders on the High Seas game connection:   Although principally a strategic naval game of the Civil War, Rebel Raiders on the High Seas  also has a strong land element.  The Confederacy can mount counterattacks to attempt to regain cities and forts it has lost, and can harass the Union with numerous actions, including play of CSN Card 85, subtitled  "That Devil Forrest."

Developer and Designer, Reunited!

Fred Schachter and Mark McLaughlin at WBC in Lancaster - with our game, Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.

That is Fred in the tropical themed shirt, and me - wearing a Red Shirt  (my homage to all those Red Shirts on Star Trek)

July 17, 1864 – J.E. Johnston Sacked – Hood Takes Command

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raider’s History

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

  

July 17, 1864 – J.E. Johnston Sacked – Hood Takes Command

Historical Event:   On this day in 1864 President Jefferson Davis removed General Joseph E. Johnston from command of the Army of Tennessee – and replaced him with John Bell Hood.  The revered Johnston, who although outnumbered by more than two to one had skillfully delayed William Tecumseh Sherman’s advance into Georgia, was revered by his troops.  His use of  Fabian tactics (similar to those used by the Roman general Fabius against the Carthaginian invader Hannibal) earned him the nickname “The Gray Cunctator” (Latin for Delayer).  Like the Roman general, however, Johnston was derided for being too cautious and even cowardly – and like Fabius was replaced – and replaced with a fire-eater who vowed to bring the enemy to battle.  Acting on the advice of his friend and chief adviser, General Braxton Bragg, Davis gave Johnston’s command to General John Bell Hood.  The 33-year-old Hood, youngest man on either side to take command of a full army, was brave. He had lost an arm at Gettysburg and a leg at Chickamauga, and had to be strapped to the saddle.  He was also reckless. Within 72 hours Hood made good on his promise to fight – inaugurating the first of four epic battles that would bleed his army white and lead to the evacuation of Atlanta – the very thing Johnston had hoped to prevent or at least delay as long as possible.

Game Connection:  Although primarily a game of naval strategy, there is a strong land war element to Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.  Atlanta is a critical objective of that land war.  It is one of the only two cities in the South that provide the Confederate player with the means to build batteries and ironclads (the other is Richmond).  Its loss costs the Confederates dearly in victory points not only when it falls (the total on two dice) but also every turn (adding a die to the Confederate supply attrition roll).  Atlanta is also one of the key cities whose fall can bring victory for the North,  and holding it helps the Union win the 1864 election – which (with USN Card 36 “If it takes all Summer…” can extend the game for a 13^th and devastating turn.  Generals Sherman,  Hood and Johnston are also included in the game (cards USN 50, CSN 89 and CSN 91, respectively).  Bragg, who advised Davis to remove Johnston, is also represented – not by name, but by his picture on the appropriately named USN Card 7 – A Lack of Brains.

Rebel Raiders "highly recommended" by Mataka.org

Rebel Raiders "highly recommended" For Civil War Fans by Mataka.org

Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is "highly recommended for devotees of the American Civil War and the Civil War Gamer," concludes the popular and respected game review site Mataka.org.  In a well-illustrated review published on July 14,  Mataka.org describes the components, game play and basic strategies of the game, and notes with satisfaction that at a time when "there are very few Civil War Naval Action Games" that "Rebel Raiders, and its sister game Iron and Oak, are two games that fill this void and can be easily recommended."

Mataka.org hails the design not only for its "low complexity" but also for being "an excellent game to play solitaire."

For the full text of the review, see:

 http://www.mataka.org/wp/boardgame/gmt-games-rebel-raiders/

150 Years Ago June 3: The Slaughter at Cold Harbor

150 Years Ago June 3: The Slaughter at Cold Harbor

The Battle of Cold Harbor began on May 31 when General Philip Sheridan's Union cavalry seized a keycrossroads between Bethesda Church and the Chickahominy River.  Confederate General Robert E. Lee responded with a series of counterattacks as Cold Harbor was astride his line of communications back to Richmond.  Both armies continued to hurl men at each other for days along a front that grew to seven miles as they kept attempting to turn each other's flanks.

On the morning of June 3 and impatient General U.S. Grant tried to bludgeon his way through the Rebel line with a massive human assault.  Three Corps (IInd, VIth, XVIIIth) were packed tight into a block and as the sun rose they moved forward - into a hell of Confederate fire.  In one 20-minute period over 7,000 Union soldiers fell; most of them new or green recruits from the heavy artillery regiments that Grant had ordered to leave their fortress positions around Washington and take up rifles.  The assault collapsed, many of the survivors taking cover behind the bodies of the fallen.

Grant, who rarely responded to charges that he was a" murdering officer" and for whom the "butcher's bill" was part of his war of attrition strategy, is on record as saying that he "always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made."   After the attack, Grant changed his strategy, first going to a war of trenches and then beginning his grand turning movement toward the James, a wide swing that would eventually bring the armies back face to face at Petersburg, whre they would remained locked in trench warfare until war's end.

Although primarily a game of naval strategy, Rebel Raiders on the High Seas also replicates the land war.  Many of the key figures in the land campaigns, including Grant (USN Card 8), Sheridan (USN Card 11) and Lee (CSN Card 60) are in the game, and many of the tactics, events and blunders of that war are similarly represented, among them a Cold Harbor card (CSN Card 105).

McPherson, MacGowan, McLaughlin & Memorial Day

 Happy Memorial Day to All!....My friend Rodger MacGowan - who did the cover for Rebel Raiders on the High Seas and many other games of mine not only followed my lead in honoring Civil War historian James McPherson - but also did me one better (as any artist of Rodger's caliber should) by putting up this tribute. For more from Rodger on Memorial Day, games and his magazine, please visit his C3i magazine ops site:  http://www.c3iopscenter.com/currentops/

150 Years Ago: Grant Moves On After the Wilderness and Spotsylvania

150 Years Ago in Rebel Raiders History: Grant Moves On After the Wilderness and Spotsylvania

Historical Event:  On May 8, 1864, Union General Ulysses Simpson Grant once again hurled the Army of the Potomac into the meat grinder that his Confederate counterpart, Robert E. Lee, had designed to trap, frustrate and hopefully repulse the superior Northern forces that were heading toward Richmond.  Although Grant had taken horrific losses earlier in the week in what became known as the Battle of the Wilderness, he refused the advice of his generals to retire and regroup, as they had done so many times before when confronted by Lee.  Grant pushed on without so much as a day's respite, initiating another two days of combat around Spotsylvania Court House and Laurel Hill.  Lee pulled back, only to dig in and create the deadly defensive position that came to be known as "The Mule Shoe."   The attack on that position four days later, on May 12, was initially successful, but for nearly 24 straight hours both sides fed more and more men into the fight - a fight that would claim 17,000 casualties - as many as were lost at Antietam.  Grant would come on again on May 18, hitting the "Bloody Angle" - but even after that repulse he refused to pull back, instead slipping to the side to continue his march to the James - and on toward Richmond.


Game Connection:  Although primarily a game of naval strategy, Rebel Raiders on the High Seas  also covers the land combat side of the American Civil War.  Each turn the Union player receives and may purchase additional attacks to advance on and take key Confederate cities and forts, and those attacks are resolved by a combination of dice and cards rolled and played by both players.  While most of the cards in the game represent individual ships or naval tactics, many also represent some the generals, strategies, events, triumphs and tragedies of the land war.  Among these are the two principal antagonists of the Virginia campaign of 1864:  Robert E. Lee (CSN Card 60 )and Ulysses Simpson Grant (USN Card 8 ).  Although the quote on USN Card 4, is from General Sherman, Grant's refusal to retreat in the face of horrific losses and to only come on again is represented by USN Card 4 - "We cross the ford, never to retreat again to this side."

Ironclad CSS Albemarle: One Ship vs. a Union Blockading Squadron

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

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

May 5, 1864 –  Ironclad CSS Albemarle:  One Ship vs. a Union Blockading Squadron

Historical Event:   The Battle of Albemarle Sound was a rare event in the Civil War, as it was one of the few times a Rebel fleet initiated combat, let alone sortied to break the Union blockade in an amphibious operation, no less.  On May 5, 1864, however,  the Confederate Navy did just that, sending its newest and most feared ironclad ram, CSS Albemarle, into the body of water for which it was named.

 The Albemarle came down the Roanoke River with the gunboat CSS Bombshell and the troopship CSS Cotton Planter.  The goal of the operation was to recapture the key port of New Bern and thus break the Union blockade on North Carolina.  As Commander J.W. Cooke brought the ironclad out into the Sound, he found Captain Melancton Smith and his fleet of eight Union warships waiting for him.   Although heavily outnumbered as well as out-gunned, Cooke plowed ahead, confidant that Union shells would bounce off the thickly-armored, sloping casemate of the CSS Albemarle. 

Cooke’s faith in his warship was well placed, for the Yankee guns (even those firing 100-pound shot ) did little harm.  CSS Albemarle carried only two guns, 6.4-inch Brooke Rifles, but Cooke used them to good effect, gingerly moving them on their pivots to fire out of the six gun-port positions.  The captain of the USS Sassacus, frustrated and declaring that he might as well have been “firing blanks,” poured on the coal, built up to a speed of nearly a dozen knots and rammed the Confederate ram, knocking her so hard as she nearly foundered.  Cooke, however, righted his ship and poured fire at point-blank range into the Union vessel, causing many casualties and inflicting heavy damage.

Three other Union double-ender side-wheel gunboats circled about, adding their fire but each taking more damage than they gave.  USS Wyalusing and USS Mattabesett gave covering fire as USS Miami, armed with a spar torpedo, moved in for the attack, but Cooke evaded successfully.  Unfortunately, his consort, CSS Bombshell, being a mere gunboat, was so badly pounded that she was forced to strike her colors.  At that the troopship turned about and Cooke retired, his reason for fighting the Union fleet now moot.  

 Game Connection:  CSS Albemarle is one of the many named ships in Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.  Represented by a counter and card (CSN Card 75) she is one of the most powerful warships in the small but plucky Confederate Navy.  While the gunboat that accompanied her and the types of Union warships they fought on May 5, 1864 are represented by generic counters of their type, many another individual Yankee man-o-war is present with its own card and counter, as are the big Dahlgrens and other “Yankee Guns” they carried (USN Card 3).  New Bern is a key port in the game, as it was in the war, and holding on to or recapturing it is of great importance in Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.

April 30, 1864 – Union Fleet Escapes Red River Trap via “Bailey’s Dam”

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

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

April 30, 1864 – Union Fleet Escapes Red River Trap via “Bailey’s Dam”

Historical Event:   As if the Union campaign up the Red River had not been enough of a failure, falling waters trapped the fleet above the rapids at Alexandria.  Faced with the ignominious choice of either surrendering or scuttling the ships, Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter eagerly agreed to a scheme by a lieutenant colonel from the 4^th Wisconsin, Joseph Bailey, to build a dam to raise the river.  Construction began on April 30. While Bailey built his dam and its attendant structures, Porter’s sailors lightened their vessels by unshipping many of their heavy guns and even removing some of the armor from the ironclads.  Two weeks later, with Confederate troops fast approaching, most of the fleet managed to ride the rapids to safety before the dam collapsed.   Porter, saying he was done with rivers, sought and took command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.

Game Connection:  The Red River campaign is represented by a space on the map and a card played by the Confederates (CSN Card 76 – Red River Fiasco).  This is a design choice because few Union players would otherwise voluntarily commit such large forces, including their precious ironclads, to the complicated and highly problematic scheme concocted by Union General Henry Halleck.  Admiral Porter is also represented in the game, both as a stand-up leader and as a card (USN Card 2 – David Dixon Porter & His Little Mortar Boats).

Civil War Gamer E-Zine Profiles Rebel Raiders on the High Seas

ACW Gamer  The Ezine, a new publication devoted to "wargaming the war between the states in miniature" profiles Rebel Raiders on the High Seas in its third and current issue.  The six-page article entitled "Finally, the Civil War at Sea: Strategic Naval Gaming in Rebel Raiders on the High Seas," is lavishly illustrated with pictures of the box cover, map and some of the key cards in the game.

Other articles in Vol. I, No. 3 include a report on Civil War gaming at the Cold Wars miniatures convention which was held in March in Lancaster, PA; and after-action report of a big miniatures battle; a primer on the Springfield rifled musket and items on building terrain, modeling an observation balloon and painting 18 mm scale Union infantry.

For a peak inside the magazine, visit the website at: http://www.acwgamer.com/

April 9, 1864 – CSS Squib vs. USS Minnesota: Tiny Confederate Torpedo Boat Attacks Giant Union Frigate

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

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

April 9, 1864 – CSS Squib vs. USS Minnesota: Tiny Confederate Torpedo Boat Attacks Giant Union Frigate 

Historical Event:   Under the cover of darkness on April 9, 1864, six Rebel sailors under the command of Lt. Hunter Davidson quietly steamed their tiny little torpedo launch out into Hampton Roads to strike one of the largest and mightiest men-o-war in the Union fleet: the great USS Minnesota.  The aptly named CSS Squib carried but a single spar-mounted torpedo, while the Yankee warship mounted 47 guns of many calibers.  The small armored launch struck home, caused something of a panic aboard the great steam frigate, and got away – no mean feat in the middle of a Union squadron.   The USS Minnesota also survived, suffering more embarrassment than damage.

USS Minnesota was one of the largest of the pre-war frigates.  She was the flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, sank or captured 22 blockade runners and added her guns to the bombardments of Fort Fisher.  In March 1862 she fought heroically against the CSS Virginia when the iron monster made its first foray.  Despite being driven aground, the USS Minnesota kept on fighting, with her gunners firing over 500 rounds at the Rebel ironclad during that two-day battle. 

CSS Squib was one of a class of fast little torpedo boats, a cousin to the more famous CSS David, which attacked the USS New Ironsides in Charleston Harbor in October 1863 – and with considerably more effect, doing enough damage to put the big ship out of action for a time.

Game Connection:  Union frigates play many roles in Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.  Like USS Minnesota, they bombard Confederate port batteries, intercept blockade runners and even hunt down the raiders for whom the game is named.  The Confederates have many weapons at their disposal to try to break the blockade, among them the CSS Squib’s cousin, CSS David, which appears in the game as CSN Card 63.  Her target, USS New Ironsides, is also in the game, as a counter and as USN Card 26.

April 1, 1864 – Make Ready the CSS Albemarle!

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

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

April 1, 1864 – Make Ready the CSS Albemarle!

Historical Event:  On April 1, 1864 the new Confederate ironclad ram, the CSS Albemarle, was towed to Hamilton, North Carolina, in preparation for the attack on the Union base and squadron at nearby Plymouth.  That operation and the ensuing naval action on April 19 would show that Union fears and concerns about the “monster” were fully warranted. (More on that later in the month), although worries that she might steam out into the Chesapeake and then up the Potomac to bombard Washington were purely the stuff of nightmares – but nightmares that nevertheless led the Union to take extraordinary measures to take her out.

Game Connection:  The CSS Albemarle is only one of the many great ships which play a role in my strategic Civil War naval game Rebel Raiders on the High Sea.  The powerful ironclad ram is represented by its own counter and card (CSN Card 75), which reflect its abilities, real and feared.

March 20, 1864 – CSS Alabama Returns to Cape Town

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

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

March 20, 1864 – CSS Alabama Returns to Cape Town

Historical Event:  On March 20, 1864 the Confederate cruiser CSS Alabama returned to Cape Town, from which she departed the previous August to go raiding in the Indian Ocean, Straits of Malacca and as far as Borneo and Singapore.  Pickings had been slim; only nine Union ships had been found in those seven months, compared to the 55 captures CSS Alabama had made in the nine months before setting out from Cape Town.)

 Captain Raphael Semmes and his crew were again hailed as heroes by the people of Cape Town, but they found British officials far less welcoming.  Much had changed in the last half year, and Semmes and his ship were both worn and in need of rest and a refit.  Unable to find either in Cape Town, and forewarned not to go to England and risk being seized, four days later Semmes set his course for France.  CSS Alabama would take only two more prizes on what would become her final voyage, for shortly after arriving in Cherbourg she would be challenged by USS Kearsarge, which the raider fought in an epic and fateful duel in June 1864.

Game Connection:  The CSS Alabama is not only one of the ships for whom the game Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is named; she graces the cover.  The Confederate cruiser appears in the strategic naval game as a unique counter and card (CSN 63).  The many oceans of the world are presented on the map for CSS Alabama to raid – provided she can stay clear of the Union warships sent to hunt her down – among them, USS Kearsarge – as represented by USN Card 14.

Sherman Takes Command

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History  

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

March 18, 1864 – Sherman Takes Command

Historical Event:  Promoted to lieutenant general in early March and ordered East, U.S. Grant officially turned over command of the Military Division of the Mississippi to William Tecumseh Sherman on March 18, 1864.   While Grant made plans for a coordinated offensive in Virginia, Sherman organized his forces for the invasion of Georgia – which would lead to his capture of Atlanta and the subsequent March to the Sea.

Game Connection:  Although Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is primarily a strategic naval game of the Civil War, the land war is represented.  Sherman and Grant, as well as their Confederate opponents, are present (Sherman is USN Card 50).  These generals grant additional dice, re-rolls and other bonuses in land combat.

March 16, 1864 – “That Devil Forrest” Rides for Kentucky – and on to Ft. Pillow

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

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

March 16, 1864 – “That Devil Forrest” Rides for Kentucky – and on to Ft. Pillow

Historical Event:  On March 16, 1864 General Nathan Bedford Forrest led his famed cavalry command on a month-long raid that would take him through Tennessee and into Kentucky, where he twice attacked Paducah on the Ohio River.  Rebuffed there, Forrest sent most of his division back South while with about 1,500 horsemen continued to lead pursuing Union troops on a wild chase as he headed for Fort Pillow.  There, on April 12, Forrest defeated the defending regiment of U.S. Colored Troops – several dozen of whom were killed allegedly after they surrendered.  The “Fort Pillow Massacre” left a stain upon the honor of General Forrest, whose own reports of the incident are at best ambiguous. 

Game Connection:  Although Rebel Raiders on the High Seas is primarily a strategic naval game of the Civil War, the land war is represented.  General Nathan Bedford Forrest appears in the game as CSN Card 85, and the diversionary nature of his raids are reflected in the penalties applied to one Union land attack when played.  

March 12, 1864 – Red River Campaign: Disaster in the Making

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

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

March 12, 1864 – Red River Campaign: Disaster in the Making

Historical Event:  On March 12, 1864 a score of Union ironclads and gunboats began what would become an ill-fated campaign on Louisiana’s Red River.  Sailing in support of the invading army of General Nathaniel Banks, the fleet would eventually become trapped as water levels fell and Confederate resistance under Kirby Smith rose.  Only by dint of an engineering miracle that included the building of a dam would the fleet be saved.

Additional Event:  On this date in 1864 two blockade runners lowered their colors.   The sloop Persis surrendered to USS Massachusetts in Wassaw Sound, Georgia and the schooner Marion was captured by USS Arostook near Velasco, Texas.

Game Connection:  In Rebel Raiders on the High Seas, Blockade Runners like the Persis and Marion play a vital role in bringing in cargo to keep the South in the war.  To stop them the Union player deploys screw sloops, like the USS Massachusetts and gunboats, like the USS Arostook.  The sloops tend to stay offshore in the outer ring, while the gunboats patrol the blockade stations directly opposite the key Confederate ports.    While the above-named ships themselves are represented by generic ship counters of their type, many of their sister ships appear as named counters and on corresponding cards in Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.

The Red River campaign is represented by a space on the map and a card played by the Confederates (CSN Card 76 – Red River Fiasco).  This is a design choice because few Union players would otherwise voluntarily commit such large forces, including their precious ironclads, to the complicated and highly problematic scheme concocted by Union General Henry Halleck.