The taking of Seminole Ridge

This morning I had a bit of time to set up a battle with the newly based American Civil War troops. I decided I'd do a set-up based on the map form the Battle of Seminole Ridge, which can be found in Charles' Grant's book, 'Wargames Tactics'. This battle would involve a single Brigade of Confederates trying to hold a ridge-line against an attack by two Union Brigades. It was a chance to try out some slightly modified Neil Thomas rules which included a command system and chance cards .

The original battle-plan from the book. I had less units and no cavalry.

I don't have a full battle report, as this was just to try out the rules and see how they went. I randomised the morale status of the units, and the die rolls came up with a lot of militia units, which didn't last long, although one green Confederate unit managed to charge and defeat an average Union Regiment in the centre.
I have included a couple of photos from the end of the game, which finished rather spectacularly with the death of the Confederate Brigade commander and the triumph of numbers on the Union Left flank. Things were much more closely contested on the opposite side.

The close of the battle,as seen from the Confederate HQ on Citadel Heights. The regiments on the left are holding on, but on the right they are about to be forced back over the Blick Bridge (yes, that is spelled correctly).

Before each turn started, the two sides would roll off to see which would have the first move, which led to a couple of interesting moments. At one point the Confederates looked like they would be able to get in the first shot at Union regiments just advancing onto the hill, but the Union got the initiative in the next turn. The Brigade Commander then rolled a 5 for command, which enabled him to draw a card which doubled the power of one unit's volley. The poor Confederates were left barreling back from a position where they thought they had the advantage.

The Rebs hold onto the end of Seminole Ridge next to Saucer Bridge, having seen off two Union Regiments already.

A lone battery covers the retreat of the last Reb regiment defending Blick Bridge. The Yankees are sweeping around the flank.

There's still a couple of things that need to be added - for instance, there are no limbering/unlimbering rules at the moment. But overall they work well, and allowed me to play a game to a conclusion in an hour or so.
It did highlight that I need to invest in some terrain, though. I have no suitable buildings, fences or walls. This will be on my list for the new year.

Nate