My son and I were
inspired by the Baron and his son to start a Longstreet campaign. I
must say it has been an incredible amount of fun. We have played
three battles now and our armies are starting to develop some
character. I highly recommend the Longstreet rule set, by Sam Mustafa, to all. It is
very entertaining and provides a chance for some quality time
together.
The campaign system
provides overall flavor for the individual commanders as well as lighthearted moments as the post battle process takes place. If
one is rolling Ones on that particular day then a plague of camp
fever is likely to produce more casualties than the actual battle.
My son is playing
the Union side in this first campaign. His commander is a Mexican
War Veteran and Drill Master named Jack “Pellets” McKenna. He
commands a brigade of troops from Rhode Island. When we started this
campaign, his troops were all eager recruits, after three battles his
brigade is a mix of cautious veterans and new recruits. And after
three battles, it is apparent that Pellets McKenna is an absolute
assassin when using counter battery fire.
The Confederate
troops are a brigade of rascals from deep in Georgia. A former
Cavalry Officer and Drill Master, Eustace P. Marmalade, has been
granted command of this fine and eager brigade. While George Pickett
may have graduated last in his class at West Point, Marmalade may
have been a close second. He has proven to be an offensively minded
commander that loves to charge. After the second battle his antics
were so brazen that he got his name in the papers back home.
We have been been
using the random scenarios from the Longstreet rule book. Our battle
in 1861 was the Walled Farm scenario. Pellets McKenna won that
engagement handily, kill off most of the Confederate artillery in one
battle. EP Marmalade just couldn’t quite understand that charging
a walled defensive position was not a great idea. McKenna was
promoted after that battle for meritorious conduct.
Walled Farm - Rebels press attack to their peril
The second battle
was the scenario for the Railroad Embankment. By the Longstreet
campaign system, this was the first battle in 1862. This time EP
Marmalade had some room to maneuver and get his boys in a position to
ram his charges home. The fortunes of war (dice gods) were smiling
on Marmalade that day and it was a decided Rebel victory. Eustace P
Marmalade was promoted after the battle and a picture of him astride
his faithful mount Macaroon was shown in all the papers from Savannah
to Atlanta. Pellets McKenna was also promoted by an act of congress
because of his continued ability to destroy enemy artillery.
The third battle was
the Outflanking scenario. By the campaign system it is the final
battle for 1862. This one had a bit of everything including some
extremely poor surveying that completely missed a rocky out-cropping
that appeared somewhat magically. This was a battle where Pellets
McKenna seemed to have the advantage the whole game but EP Marmalade
kept sniping at the union troops and snatched a victory out of thin
air.
On the outflanking
scenario, one objective is positioned outside of the confederate
staging area to the left (Union right). The Rebs deploy first, but
the Union gets the first move. Once the rebel position was observed,
Pellets ordered his command to grab the exposed objective. He came
around the rebel left flank like an avalanche.
Final position, the Rebs get one more kill that provides an outside chance at victory.
Longstreet has been
a rare treat for my son and me. It has provided some great
entertainment and a lot of projects for me to complete on a
timetable. For example, my son’s artillery advantage beginning the
1863 battle is now eight stands to five and that is only because I
got lucky on a campaign card after the last battle. I now need to
paint some more union artillery. It has also provided for those
priceless gaming moments where they become part of our gaming lore.
“Needed a six, rolled a six.”
