Chantilly
Chantilly
(Ox Hill)
Monday, Sept. 1, 1862
Fairfax County, Virginia
By Scott Mingus
"Highlanders! My Highlanders! Follow your general!”
- Maj. Gen. Isaac Stevens, USA
BACKGROUND
Fresh off its stunning victory at Second Manassas, the Army of Northern Virginia faced the demoralized Union army under John Pope at its Centreville, Virginia, fortifications. Gen. Robert E. Lee decided to have Stonewall Jackson flank the position in an effort to cut off the Yankees as they retreated along the Warrenton Pike. Jackson was ordered to march around the Union right flank using a parallel road and cut off Pope’s retreat route if possible. Hasty Union defenses were erected at Germantown (Jermantown) under Joe Hooker to try to stop Jackson’s advance, as Pope started much of his army towards Washington.
J.E.B. Stuart’s advance cavalry skirmished with Union infantry near Germantown, while General Jackson uncharacteristically napped. Upon his awakening, Jackson ordered his troops to continue their march. However, precious time had been lost, and Pope was able to get some Union divisions under Phil Kearny, Isaac Stevens, and others moving to intercept Jackson.
Moving up the West Ox Road, Stevens pushed back Jackson’s skirmishers and attacked across a grassy field, while Ferrero’s regiments moved through the woods on the Rebel left. Heavy Southern fire soon halted the US advance, and a bullet killed Stevens shortly after he vaulted over a snake fence while urging his men forward. A part of Kearny’s division then advanced across a cornfield and attacked the CSA right (held by part of Hill’s famed Light Division). Trying to urge the men on, Phil Kearny wandered too close to the Rebel lines and was shot off his horse at close range by Georgians.
With Kearny’s death, and with a violent thunderstorm now raging, Union impetus was lost. Both sides had difficulty firing their muskets as powder was wet from the driving rainstorm. As darkness deepened, the battle waned, essentially ending as a tactical draw. Lee changed his plans and headed north, on to what became the bloody battle of Antietam.
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THE WARGAME
The wargame depicts the Federal attack on Jackson’s forces just as a driving rainstorm hit the Fairfax, Virginia, area. For regimental level gaming, the game scale is 1 inch of miniature terrain = 50 yards of actual terrain. Map is 4’x5’.
DEPLOYMENT
Gregg’s Brigade was aligned as follows: 13th SC and 14th SC (left to right from the rear in the first line; Orr’s Rifles and the 12th SC in a 2nd line behind them, with 1st SC in reserve behind them)
The 16th and 34th NC were on the right of Pender’s Brigade, with the 22nd and 38th on the left.
Set up according to the map, with reinforcements coming in as follows:
4:00PM USA – Birney’s Brigade (in column with limbered artillery) enters at point A.
4:20PM USA – General Kearny arrives at A on horseback. The remainder of his division will not arrive until the battle is nearly ended, and therefore is not used in this scenario.
TERRAIN
Fences require +1” to cross. The woods are fairly heavy. The small streams cost +1” to cross. The railroad cut and all slopes cost +1” movement penalty to climb, with no penalty to go down a slope. Grassy fields are all treated as open terrain. The orchard is broken terrain.
The Reid cornfield is broken terrain for movement. Line of sight (LOS) is rolled each turn as if in woods; add 1 inch each game turn as troop movement and gunfire mow down the corn.
A major thunderstorm hit hard around 5 p.m. For each turn after then, roll 1D6 for each infantry unit that chooses to fire. If the die roll = 1 or 2, that regiment cannot fire due to wet cartridges. On a die roll of 3-6, there is no effect, and the unit may fire normally. Melee strength is unaffected by this rule, nor is artillery fire.
This Ox Hill scenario runs from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. (10 turns). The final two game turns are in darkness – all visibility is limited to 4”.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
Union – must hold both star points (objectives) on the map AND inflict >40% CSA casualties to win a major victory. Capturing both star points with ................
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