History: Anatomy of an Attack Part II - Federals Retreat from Bath and Action Around Sir Johns Run

Jackson had amassed the Valley District on a campaign against Bath, Hancock and Romney in January 1862. His report seemed to indicate that he may have had greater objectives that he had not made public that he was unable to attain due to low morale. Perhaps he had hoped to take Cumberland and/or the New Creek Depot. His report (excerpts from the official records in the previous post) focused primarily on the tactical level of his attacks and his command challenges with his subordinates. We know that the militia under Brigadier General Carson (and Meem) moved up the west side of Warm Spring Mountain, but we have few details of their advance from Jackson. Likewise, we know that Jackson was not happy that Colonel Gilham and his brigade we unable to engage and defeat the enemy in strength as they took the Sir Johns Run Depot, but Jackson admits that he has no information on why this happened.

The Federals deployed at Bath were a significantly smaller size, less than a regiment in strength when Jackson began to approach the town. Although re-enforced by the 84th Pennsylvania and 13th Indiana, it was primarily a fight by several companies of the 39th Illinois and a handful of cavalry. The 84th had just been issued weapons which had been packed in tallow and were not in effective firing condition, causing Colonel Murray to order a retreat back to Hancock. The 13th Indiana arrived by train from Cumberland, but too late. The got back on the train and returned without engaging. Company commanders from the 39th Illinois, however, leaves some beautiful accounts of the skirmish.

The Federals were aware that the enemy was coming. There were just not sure when, where and how many.  The report below by Capt. Linton of Company D of the 39th Illinois (found in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Volume V), provides an excellent account of the process of sending out scouts. Capt. Linton is ordered to split up his men and go find the enemy. They eventually come upon some mounted enemy, the van guard of the approaching enemy. Linton's men fire on the enemy, who retire out of range without firing back, but then fire three signal shots, presumably to signal the main column of the enemy presence. 

This is a small squad action. Groups of 5 to 10 men playing an important roll in starting (or avoiding) an engagement. Once the enemy is located, a few cavalrymen show up in support with the major commanding the battalion as the squads investigate the situation. 

Eventually, they run into the main body of the enemy, with some horsemen on each flank. The enemy opens fire, and what do Linton's men do: immediately take cover. We often think of engagements early in the war as stand-up fights of men in line. The small band of Federals claims to have placed enough fire on the enemy to drive them back into some woods. Linton's men then start working their way towards a better position behind a fence on the summit of a hill, where "the enemy's balls rattled against it (the fence) like hail." By keeping up fire as they moved, the Federals were able to keep the enemy pinned in the woods while taking a strong position.

A Sergeant Snowden (yes, a Sergeant mentioned by name in the OR!) and his men came across a concealed enemy battalion to their rear. The enemy opened up on them and Snowden's men escaped by falling flat on the ground. The few cavalrymen around, however, fled - which was also noted in Jackson's report. Snowden and his men became surrounded and passed close to the enemy at night, being mistaken for Confederates. A Lieutenant and his men weren't as fortunate and exchanged fire with another body of Confederates in the dark on (night of January 3rd 1862). They were sure that they had inflicted heavy loss on the enemy, but as Jackson's report recounts - they clearly had not. Linton reports losing 8 men as prisoners, confirmed in Jackson's report.  

At the close of his report, Capt. Linton mentions a Clark Spinnings, who was too sick to be moved and join the retreat. He later learned that the Confederates had taken excellent care of the man. It is a wonderful testimony of care by the enemy, followed by a heart-felt plea for assistance in having prisoners exchanged and comrades re-united. 

Captain James Hooker of Company E of the 39th Illinois reports on a later stage of the action around Bath in which he and his company were involved. He speaks of the arrival and departure of the 13th Indiana. His company was at Sir Johns Run and when he saw the main force falling back he asked what the orders were; "they replied a retreat" and the 84th PA kept right on going to Hancock!  

Hooker relates movement back and forth and temporarily moving up an hill, which apparently stopped the Confederate advance (which would probably have been Gilham's Brigade). As with Capt. Linton's action, Capt. Hooker oversaw a small action that, at least by his account, had a significant impact on Jackson's plans. Of course though, Jackson was anxious to get the Valley District moving towards Hancock, so they may have been forced to keep moving onward. 

Eventually, the enemy pressed on to Sir Johns Run and Capt. Hooker was among the last to cross the Potomac to the Maryland side. When they reached the opposite bank, they found that the rest of their regiment had left for Maryland. Capt. Hooker, however, decided that his orders were to guard the railroad and depot and that he would continue to do so (from the other side of the river). 

The next morning, one of the guards along the river reported to Hooker that then enemy on the other side was breaking up the ice. When Hooker went, he discovered that they were not breaking the ice, but were destroying the railroad track. Capt. Hooker's men then fired from the opposite bank and broke up the Confederate's work, eventually taking position in rifle pits. 

History: Anatomy of an attack Part I - Jackson takes Bath

Bath was held by a small Federal force when Thomas J. Jackson's men approached it on January 3rd 1862. Elements of the 39th Illinois had been occupying Bath. As Jackson moved on it, they were re-enforced by the 84th Pennsylvania and 13th Indiana. Jackson had a much larger force and the

Major General Thomas J. Jackson successfully
re-captured Bath and Romney during the campaign
in January 1862.

Federals were compelled to retreat.

In the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion Volume 5, Jackson outlines the activities of the Valley District (Augmented by Loring's Army of the Northwest) during the Bath-Romney Campaign.  He highlights the role of two militia brigades (Carson and Meem) which crossed Warm Springs Mountain to attack Bath from the West, as the rest of his force moved northward towards the town.  He mentions a skirmish with a small force of the enemy, resulting in the capture several of them.  Jackson was unable to take the town on the January 3rd.

Gilbert S. Meem was one of the militia
commanders that advanced on Bath from
the west side of Warm Springs Mountain.

Jackson's account of January 4th starts to show his frustration with the troops under his command. He refers to Loring's unnecessary stops at the head of the column, which became one of the charges he brought against Loring in the Loring-Jackson Incident. Although he does not state it directly, Jackson's account makes it appear that he may have taken control of the situation and circumvented Loring.

Jackson wasn't satisfied with Col. William Gilham's
performance during his advance on the Sir Johns Ru
Depot. After the campaign, Gilham went back to teaching
at the Virginia Military Institute. 

Jackson then relates how the enemy fled before his forces, particularly the enemy cavalry that routed so quickly that his own cavalry could not keep up with them. Jackson's frustration against Loring is
again clear, as he goes to the front with the cavalry as it entered Bath (apparently leaving Loring behind). Jackson even personally went to the road to Sir Johns Run Depot, to "prevent Colonel Gilham (one of Loring's brigade commanders) from missing the way to the depot."  Jackson was not satisfied with Gilham's performance during his advance on the Sir John's Run Depot. (He would prepare court martial charges against him for it.)

In the end, Jackson took Bath and ultimately sent some shells into Hancock. He achieved one of his objectives, taking Bath, with minimal loss, but was obviously not pleased with the troops under his command. Although he does not mention it in his report of the campaign, multiple sources indicate that Loring and even Garnett (commanding Stonewall Brigade) had stopped their columns so that the men could draw rations and eat. Robert G. Tanner's Stonewall in the Valley gives the following account (p. 69):

"I have halted to let the men cook their rations," offered Garnett

Stonewall glowered,  "There is not time for that."

"But it is impossible for the men to march further without them," the brigadier objected.

Stonewall repeated his orders and growled, "I have never found anything impossible with these men."

Jackson's popularity with the men under his command sank to extremely low levels. By the time they reached Romney (and took another objective) morale was so low that Jackson was unable to continue the campaign. Winter campaigns are no easy matter!

George Washington Bathed Here

George Washington apparently was fond of the town of Bath (Berkeley Springs) and bathed in the warm springs there. The town markets itself as America's first spa.

Historic Bath

Ball's Bluff Poem, Frederick West Lander

On October 23rd 1861, Colonel Edward Hinks assumed command of the 1st Brigade of Brigadier General Charles P. Stone's "Corps of Observation" at Edwards Ferry in the area around Poolesville Maryland. The brigade was composed of the 1st Massachusetts Sharpshooters, 7th Michigan, 19th Massachusetts and 20th Massachusetts. Hinks was taking over command from Brigadier General Frederick W. Lander, who had been wounded in fighting at Edwards Ferry on the 21st and had gone to the rear. Although Lander would later be assigned a division and engage Jackson that winter, he

Federal retreat back across the Potomac from Ball's Bluff.
Lander was wounded the next day in a skirmish at Edwards Ferry.

died on March 2 1862 of complications from his Edwards Ferry wound.

Lander wrote the following poem about Ball's Bluff. Oliver Wendell Holmes, future supreme court justice, was an officer of the 20th Massachusetts (in Lander's Brigade) who was also severely wounded at Edwards Ferry and is mentioned in Lander's poem.

--------------------------

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Aye, deem us proud, for we are more
Than proud of all our mighty dead;
Proud of the bleak and rock-bound shore,
A crowned oppressor cannot tread.

Proud of each rock, and wood, and glen;
Of every river, lake and plain;
Proud of the calm and earnest men
Who claim the right and the will to reign.

Proud of the men who gave us birth,
Who battled with the stormy wave
To sweep the red man from the earth,
And build their homes upon their grave.

Proud of the holy summer morn
They traced in blood upon its sod;
The rights of freemen yet unborn;
Proud of their language and their God.

Proud that beneath our proudest dome
And round the cottage-cradled hearth
There is a welcome and a home
For every stricken race on earth.

Proud that yon slowly sinking sun
Saw drowning lips grow white in prayer,
O'er such brief acts of duty done,
As honor gathers from despair.

Pride, it is our watchword; 'clear the boats''Holmes, Putnam, Bartlett, Peirson-Here'
And while this crazy wherry floats
'Let's save our wounded', cries Revere.

Old State - some souls are rudely sped -
This record for thy Twentieth Corps -
Imprisoned, wounded, dying, dead,
It only asks, 'Has Sparta more?'


- Frederick West Lander

History - Turner Ashby, by Paul Christopher Anderson

In the B & O WINTER Command Simulation, a battalion of Ashby's Cavalry, led by Turner Ashby himself, harassed the rear guard of a Federal column commanded by Colonel Nathan Kimball on Day 6 of the campaign. Ashby's original Company A was part of the battalion and managed to capture several wagons as Kimball withdrew towards Bath after engaging at Rhodes Farm north of Unger's Store.

In the command simulation, Jackson has already requested and received Ashby's promotion from Lieutenant Colonel to full Colonel, a little earlier than the historical promotion took place. Ashby is likely to be present in whatever happens at Bath on Day 7 of the campaign.

For a historical perspective on Turner Ashby, the article below was written by Paul Christopher Anderson (citation at the bottom). Not having read much on Ashby (or even Jackson) before this simulation, I was not aware of the apparent rift between Jackson and Ashby in 1862,  As per the citation, the article is taken from Encyclopedia Virginia
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turner Ashby was born on October 23, 1828, in Fauquier County. His father, who died when Ashby was young, had fought in the War of 1812, and his grandfather served under George Washington in the Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Ashby, however, had no formal military training. On the eve of the Civil War, he had settled into an unremarkable life as a merchant and farmer in his boyhood home of Markham. (Little is known about these years, and what is available often comes from eulogistic and exaggerated tales told by entranced biographers.)



Ashby first tasted notoriety in 1859 when, as captain of a volunteer cavalry troop, he led his men to Harpers Ferry in the aftermath of the John Brown raid. Two years later, he returned to Harpers Ferry, this time leading a quasi-official force of Virginians who responded to secession by launching a surprise attack on the federal arsenal there. Such was his popularity in the lower Shenandoah Valley that by June he was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 7th Virginia Cavalry and mustered into Confederate service.

The critical point in Ashby's life and career was the death of his younger brother Richard, who was mortally wounded in a Union ambush near Kelly's Island on the Virginia border with Maryland on June 26, 1861. From then on, according to his overheated admirers, Ashby was driven by a grim vengeance that bordered on bloodlust. Stories of his deeds became legends, fancy became fact. Those stories were not all myths—Ashby thrived and even thrilled in combat—and they became the source of a mesmerizing aura that was all the more powerful because it quelled fears while it idealized hopes. Young men began flocking to him, seeking in Ashby's afterglow something of his cavalier image. To call Ashby the "Knight of the Valley," as many did in 1861, was simultaneously to obscure the brutality of partisan war on the Maryland border and cast it in familial terms as a chivalric defense of home.

By the spring of 1862 Ashby had superseded Angus W. McDonald as colonel and commander of the 7th Cavalry, which thanks to Ashby's aura had grown into a loosely organized and undisciplined collection of twenty-six companies. Moreover, Ashby's cavalry, which operated independently for the first year of the war, was now co-opted into Jackson's Army of the Valley. By and large, Ashby served Jackson well in the latter's illustrious Valley Campaign, a stunning masterpiece of deception, movement, and quick striking that is often credited with discomfiting Union general George B. McClellan's attempt to capture the Confederate capital at Richmond and thus end the war.

Ashby's fame grew as the campaign unfolded, notwithstanding two incidents that speak to his strengths and weaknesses. The first, a serious mistake in reconnaissance preceding the Confederate defeat at Kernstown in March 1862, suggests Ashby's limited mastery of formal military operations. Ashby thought of his duty in far too simple terms: he sought out the enemy and fought them. He was neither an administrator nor a disciplinarian. The second incident, that April, found Ashby at odds with Jackson, who tried to correct those problems by removing Ashby from command so that his disorganized troopers could be properly trained. Ashby reacted to Jackson's impersonal methods by resigning and speaking openly if vaguely about challenging Jackson to a duel. The affair's resolution says much about Ashby's inspirational, personal charisma. Ashby's cavalry would follow no other leader, a fact Jackson recognized by restoring him to command and, according to one observer, "backing square down." Just a month later, and over Jackson's strident objections, Ashby was promoted to brigadier general.

Ashby was killed at the tail end of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign during a skirmish near Harrisonburg that June. His remains were reinterred after the war in the Stonewall Cemetery in Winchester, where, as testament to the ways in which Ashby came to symbolize the Confederate defense of home, he was laid with his brother Richard in one grave.

------------------------

Anderson, P. C. Turner Ashby (1828–1862). (2014, August 1). In Encyclopedia Virginia. Retrieved from http://www.EncyclopediaVirginia.org/Ashby_Turner_1828-1862.

TC2M Mod - A Tour of Bath

Admittedly, I didn't do any finishing work in the town area, but the TC2M modded map of Bath is pretty much done. He is a tour of Bath, which may help players as they think about strategies and tactics for the coming engagement in the B & O WINTER command simulation.

This legend corresponds to the screenshots below.

Looking up St. Johns Run Road from the Depot. Sir Johns Run is to the left of the road and then forded by the road in the distance. The white house is the southern most structure in the group of buildings at the depot. 

Looking towards the depot down St. Johns Run Road. The hills in the distance are on the other side of the Potomac.

The curve in the road between the Thurston Farm and the Depot.

The Thurston Farm, looking north up St. Johns Run Road. 

The Thurston Farm looking South down St. Johns Run Road. The S. Wilson Farm is visible in the distance. 

The S. Wilson Farm at the junction of Sir Johns Road and Cacapon Road. Looking towards the Richie Farm (with the red barn). The Strickland Farm is also visible on the wooded ridge in the distance (right center).

From the S. Wilson Farm looking towards town. The J. Wilson farm is visible in the valley below. 

Looking down the small road in the direction of the Riggs Farm (not visible). The rise to the left is the south end of Warm Spring Ridge. 

The Riggs Farm looking north. 

The Strickland Farm looking north towards town. S. Wilson is visible on the ridge below at the top left. The Richie and J. Wilson Farms are also visible before town with the red and white barns respectively. 

The Richie Farm looking towards S. Wilson. The Cacapon Road crosses Warm Spring Ridge at its lowest point. 

Looking toward Richie, J. Wilson, S. Wilson, North Warm Spring Ridge and Bath Town from a position slightly north of the Berry Farm. 

The Rutherford Farm looking toward Richie. A branch of Warm Spring Run is to the left of the road. 

The back of the J. Wilson Farm looking towards the ridge and town. 

The Hammond Farm, looking toward the southeast corner of town. 

The Hughes Farm looking towards Dent. The church and building at the southwest corner of town are visible, but the Pendle buildings and southeast corner of town are concealed by the hill to the front. 

The Dent Farm. Pendle is fully visible, as is the entrance to town along the Martinsburg Road. 

The southeast corner of town, looking towards Hammond. Dent Hill is visible to the rear left of Hammond, which is at the southwest slope of the hill. 

The center of town looking down the valley towards J. Wilson. 

A view of J. Wilson and Richie from the ridge behind the southwest corner of town. 

Looking out of town along the Martinsburg Road towards Pendle and Dent. 

From the ridge behind town. 

Looking down the Hancock Rd. towards town from the north school. 

TC2M Mod - The Making of Bath: Part 5

As the objects go onto the TC2M modded map, I re-arrange the initial tga file (terrain features) a little, adding fields around the farms and possibly changing some other features such as woods, brush, fields, etc.  I also do some minor details on the terrain file (the painted base of the modded map).  Once the houses are located on the tga file and I believe that the main terrain features are present, I convert the tga file into a minimap.

The minimap serves two main purposes. 

1) It becomes 1 of 4 TC2M map files that are needed to run a map in the game. The Bath map files will be labeled like this:

• Bath.lsl - This file has the topography and objects in it.
• Bath.tga - This file has the map in gray scale that corresponds to terrain features such as trees, grass, some rocks. Each shade on the gray scale has a number: 1 - 256
• Bath.csv - This file tells the game what terrain features to associate with which gray scale. For example: On the Bath map, gray scale 30 represents woods. The Bath.csv tells the game to put certain kinds of trees any place that the gray scale color 30 appears on the Bath.tga map. 
• Bath_MM.dds - This is the minimap that helps navigate in the game. 

2) Players use the minimap as a reference point for issuing orders, interpreting reports and drawing their own maps of troop positions. 

Anyone from Berkeley Springs or the Berkeley Springs historical society will immediately see that this map is not an accurate representation of Bath in January 1862. But it is close enough for a game. Martinsburg Road has been changed slightly (and re-named from an earlier incarnation in which it was called "Hedgesville Road.") The names have been selected randomly and are not representative of actual farms in the area at the time. Those disclaimers aside, here is what the map will look like:

TC2M Objects - Bath emerging

The map work on Bath continues, hopefully to result in an engagement there this weekend. The town is mostly put in, although it has a lot of open spaces. Because of time constraints, I will probably not fill out town with too many out buildings and I will not add fences.

I am done 5 out of 18 farms that will dot the countryside around Bath, although there are always a few details to add. I hope to have the minimap out to the players by tomorrow night and the TC2M map ready by Thursday night. There is still a bit to do, but I may return to finish off details later if there is ever a Second Battle of Bath.

When putting in the objects in landscape studio, it is all about coordinates. You can't actually see where the roads and terrains features are located. 

This farm is at the junction of an un-named road and Bloomery Gap Road, just south of where the Unger's Store Road meets Bloomery Gap Road (visible) beyond the farm. The screenshot is looking north towards town.  

It is still a bit rough, but town will look something like this. The hotel is obviously the major architectural feature. 

This farm (so far un-named) is at the junction of the Sir Johns Road. The road visible is going northward to Sir Johns Run Depot and the B & O.  The pine trees to the right are on the ridge immediately west of town.

This farm is on the small north south road / path that runs behind the south end of Warm Springs Ridge. This is looking north, toward the farm at the Sir Johns Run Road junction.

This farm is on the Bloomery Gap Road. 

This is looking north up Bloomery Gap Road towards Bath Town. 

TC2M Mod - The Making of Bath - Part 4

With the basic terrain features in, I have started placing objects using Landscape Studio 5. These are the 3D objects that appear on the map, including houses, railroad tracks and some rocks. To place them, I have to first identify the spot where an object will be located on the tga map, get the coordinates for that location and then translate it into Landscape Studio 5, where I have options for objects created by other modders.

The Sir Johns Run depot takes shape along the B & O Railroad and the Potomac River.  This is certainly a prime target for Jackson. 

The first buildings go into Bath Town, at the east entrance to town near the warm springs and the large buildings at the west edge of town along the ridge. The rest of the town will eventually be filled mostly with smaller structures. 

TC2M Mod - The Making of Bath: Part 3

With the topography set, the terrain features are added with a tga file. Gray scale values on the tga file correspond to a spreadsheet that associates the gray scale value with terrain features likes trees, rocks and grass. It also associates each gray scale value with movement rates, fatigue penalties and defensive bonuses. This is what allows troops to move faster on the road without fatigue, but slower and with added fatigue through creeks, woods or other difficult terrain.

I have also started painting the terrain features on a file that is laid over top of the topography to show where the roads are and give other ground colors or textures.

The tga file: The large dark areas are woods. The dark gray areas are also woods, but with pine trees. Roads and streams are visible. I have not added fields and farms yet. 

The terrain file. This is what give the textures and colors on the ground. 

A brigade facing east on the ridge behind where town will be. The roads and streets in town are visible (from the terrain file).