A Battle near Murfreesboro

By Wouter de Groot

What follows is a story about a game of No Better Place To Die. We used scenario 6.5. The game was played over the course of one weekend in a double blind setting. All the players on one side could see all units of their own army but got only very limited information about their enemy. They could not see extended lines, unit/division identity, fire levels and die roll results. They were not told how many casualties they inflicted, only extreme morale results were mentioned. All players had some experience with the Civil War Brigade series but none had any experience with double blind gaming. In the end the result of the battle was very clear and in spite of that everyone had had a great weekend.

As the day dawned on 30 December 1862, major general William Starke Rosecrans was anxiously awaiting the arrival of the third wing of his army. At the moment he only had four infantry divisions and one cavalry brigade at his disposal and across Stones River the entire Confederate army of Tennessee was in a strong defensive position. He could only hope it would not fall upon his mere 14 brigades before Alexander McCook's 10 brigades arrived to even the odds.

On the other side of the river general Braxton Bragg was having some thoughts of his own. The Federal army in his front had been harassed by Wheeler's cavalry and by the commands of Morgan and Forrest. The cavalry raids had all had their effect in destroying supplies and tying up troops but the general advance of the army had not been slowed at all. Bragg had Breckenridge's division posted on Wayne's Hill and he had not seen a Federal attempt to cross the river. He also had McCown's division in a forward position and no reports had been coming in about a Federal presence in his front, this just might mean that the Federal right flank was in the air. Bragg decided he would first gather some more information about the enemy and perhaps test its mettle.

Rosecrans' first orders went out to Mortons pioneers and called upon them to take and defend McFadden's Ford and the nearby bridge across Stones River, knowing this was all he could do until McCook's corps arrived. Meanwhile general Crittenden was busy trying to improve his position. He started by shelling the Confederates in his front, then changed his aim and started dueling with the Rebel artillery which was posted on Wayne's Hill. In about two hours he managed to silence the Rebel artillery in his front and force the enemy to remove his guns from Wayne's Hill. Crittenden had also send out his scouts to determine what was on the other side of the river and if it was moving. The scouts took the roundabout route via the road across Sinking Creek and encountered nothing but for a few Confederate scouts. The captain in command of the scouting party then decided to venture even farther into the enemy rear and they were very close to Bragg's headquarters when they discovered, and were slaughtered by, a brigade from Cleburne's division.

It was around this time that general Breckenridge received orders to move his command to the ford below Wayne's Hill. There were a few Federal brigades posted there and Breckenridge's men engaged them at long range. He had not been ordered to force a crossing but the firefight was fierce none the less. Van Cleve's division was wrecked defending the ford and was replaced by Wood's division. Wood was unpleasantly surprised when he saw one of his brigades racing to the rear before getting off a single volley. The fight died down a little when Breckenridge took most of his troops out of the line to rally a routed brigade and replenish his ammunition, but he quickly got all of his troops back in line and the fighting continued.

While this was going on both commanders had been busy gathering information about the enemy's intentions near the Harding and Gresham mansions. The Federals learned of McCown's position and the Confederates learned about the nonexistent Federal right flank. In a dramatic action an Union scouting party was ambushed and destroyed, by Wharton's brigade of cavalry. When Bragg got the news about the Federal right he quickly decided to send Hardee with Cleburne's division to bolster McCown so that, together, they might seize the opportunity. Almost the whole Confederate army was now on the move. Hardee was getting into position on the left and Polk was reorganizing his mixed up divisions between the Nashville and Wilkerson Pikes and the forest next to the Wilkerson Pike.

While his troops were getting into position around the hideout orchard, Hardee decided to send out a scouting party to investigate the ground around the Gresham mansion. This scouting party crossed the pike and ventured into the woods and the hills beyond to get a good look at the entire Federal army. As they took position on the hilltop the sound of a band playing `The Star Spangled Banner' came from their rear. Turning around Hardee's scouts saw a large column of Federal infantry moving along the Wilkerson Pike. Alexander McCook's troops had at last reached the field. McCook had orders to take up position on Thomas' right and extend the line to the Overall Creek. McCook was not able to do this due to a lack of troops and a Rebel attack. He was just getting into position when Hardee's troops started moving toward the Franklin Road and Gresham Lane junction.

Hardee's Confederate scouting party was now trapped behind enemy lines and was desperately trying to find a way out. McCook send his cavalry brigade into the woods where he expected the scouts to be hiding. As McCook was directing the placement of his HQ the sound of fast moving cavalry came from the rear. One regiment of Sheridan's division was just passing McCook who ordered them into line of battle. These Federals waited with their muskets at the ready. When the thunder of hoofs turned out to be the Confederate scouts, Sheridan's men opened fire and destroyed the detachment.

Hardee and Cheatam had just received orders to mount a limited attack with their three divisions on the Federal right. Cheatam was to take the high ground on the Wilkerson Pike and Hardee had to attack on Cheatam's left and sweep all before him until his troops reached the Wilkerson Pike. Having taken this position they should take up a defensive stand and parry the expected counter-attack.

These three Confederate divisions started moving forward around 12:30 and quickly came to grips with McCook's Federals. Cheatam found the divisions of Davis and Negley in his front and they were supported by ample artillery. One of Cheatam's brigades quickly routed to the rear and this left him with just three brigades to accomplish his objective. On Cheatam's left McCown's division went into action supported on its left by Cleburne's men. These men found Sheridan's and Johnston's troops in their front supported by a brigade of cavalry. The fighting between these troops was a fierce affair. Cleburne saw one of his brigades fleeing to the rear after its initial contact. Sheridan's first reaction to the Rebel attack was to conduct a bayonet charge with two of his brigades over a front of 400 yards. This attack had little effect on the Rebs but Sill's brigade was routed after being punished by McNair's regiments. Cleburne also charged with two of his remaining brigades and fell, mortally wounded, when he led the charge of Johnson's brigade. The fighting on this flank quickly degenerated in a full frontal slugging match, with the Federals on the defensive and with numerical superiority.

Cheatam was the only Confederate general whose troops actually broke the Union line. At first Cheatam found himself heavily outnumbered and outgunned and casualties mounted quickly. In only 90 minutes of fighting Cheatam himself was killed by a sniper, one brigade was routed, one destroyed and one reduced to two hundred men. At this point Donelson, commanding the only brigade in Cheatam's division that wasn't wrecked, send his men forward on the double quick, with fixed bayonets and orders not to stop and fire until they were upon their enemy. These yelling Rebels slammed into Miller's brigade and send it reeling. Then they turned to the left and charged and routed Post's brigade. The 200 remaining men in Maney's brigade went forward with Donelson and, adding insult to injury, forced Carlin's brigade which was supported by 15 guns to join in the retreat. There now was a gap in the Union line 600 yards wide, but there was no one left to exploit the breakthrough. Cheatam's division was completely fought out and Donelson fell back slowly. The Federals readjusted their line some 400 yards to the rear and this ended the fighting in the center. Half an hour later the divisions of Cleburne and McCown also stopped pressing their attack. All in all the Federals had fallen back a few hundred yards but they were still covering the Wilkersons Pike. Both sides had taken heavy casualties, McCown had been wounded. Hardee build a defensive line with the remaining troops and so did McCook.

On the other side of the field the fighting between Breckenridge and Crittenden flared up again. Breckenridge had been fighting Wood and Van Cleve since the early hours of the day. This fighting had subsided a little around midday and both forces did some reorganizing but at 13:00 Crittenden was ordered to cross Stones River at the ford closest to Wayne's Hill and capture the hill. It had started raining and the river was rising a little but since the crossing was not contested Crittenden decided he would try to cross Wood's and Van Cleve's divisions regardless of the rising water. He had crossed five brigades and one battery when the rain intensified and made fording the river impossible. Crittenden was now standing on the wrong side of the river watching five of his brigades engaged with Breckenridge and with no way to reach them except by way of the bridge near McFadden's ford. Crittenden decided to make this long trip so that he could take control of the fighting east of the river. By the time he got there the fight was almost over. A few Federal brigades had scaled Wayne's Hill but had decided to leave it and move to the support of Wood's division who was being pressed hard by Breckenridge. Crittenden then decided to break off the attack, with both divisions wrecked, Wood dead and Van Cleve injured. Breckenridge's men still stood, but only barely.

At 15:00 PM the fighting had died down all over the field. Both sides had suffered heavily and Bragg send out orders for his army to retreat behind the river and guard the bridges.

At this point the two army commanders shook hands. The Federals had won an impressive victory.

On reflection, and as the referee, I can see why the Rebels lost this game. In a double blind game the tactical defense is really stronger than the tactical offense. The Confederates had a real problem with their main attack because of the limited knowledge about the enemy position. It's not easy to identify the weak points in a line when you can't see the extended line markers, B's or C's under units or their morale level. This, combined with the fact that they were outnumbered, gave little hope of success in a frontal attack. Both sides scored about even in the scouting department, getting a pretty good, if somewhat flawed, impression of the enemy line, with one notable exception. The player who handled Hardee's corps stopped scouting as soon as the bulk of his forces was in contact with the enemy. He had not yet found the exposed part of McCook's flank before his advance, and made no more attempt to do so during the attack. I should also say that I don't think anything spectacular would have happened if he had been able to launch a flanking attack. He might have reached his objective but not much more. For one thing, the Federal line was not as exposed as it was historically. And another important factor was that the Federals had won in the game of deception. When the fighting was going on at the flanks the centers of both armies were watching each other silently. Palmer's division was covering six hexes and facing Wither's men. Both divisions were fresh but Palmer was overextended and the rest of Crittenden's corps was trapped on the other side of the river and Thomas' men (just one division) were engaged against Cheatam. An attack by Withers could have had some effect. But alas, this is all with the benefit of hindsight and the benefit of knowledge. In the end I think the Federals really deserved their victory.