Battle of Holville Church 1863

I've just had another venture into the ACW using the rules from Introduction
with an encounter battle between an elite Confederate Army and a regular Union
force.

Both were fighting over a strategic bridge (Trent Bridge) and Holville Church,
towards the right flank of the Union advance.

Both sides started well with a rapid advance towards the strategic objectives.
The Confederates momentarily halted which gave the Union time to bring on
several reserve units but gradually the Rebels gained the required positions and
managed to exert a concerted fire along their right and centre where they had a
local superiority. Both sides were hampered by a table cluttered in terrain and
linear obstacles. Mobility and visibility was pretty restricted as a consequence
and this stoked up the sense of battlefield chaos.

Initially it looked favourable for the Union side with a numerical superiority,
however, the quality of the Rebel forces began to tell and some judicious use
of the rallying rules managed to get a couple of their battle weary units back
into action.

Meanwhile the Union was suffering along their whole line and the victorious
Confederate right flank commenced an encirclement which snuffed out the
remainder of the Union resistance.

A great game which lasted a couple of hours and was full of excitement right to
the end. The cavalry on both sides were hampered by terrain and couldn't use
mobility as effectively as I've seen in other games. The artillery was important
but the decider for me was the superior morale status of the Rebel forces which
helped them in morale checks and rallying.