The Battle of Novice Mountain Part 3

 The final hours of the Battle of Novice Mountain bring to its conclusion the bloody work started earlier in the day as Union forces try to hold the two flanking passes while taking the middle pass.  

5:40pm-7:00pm

McClaws’ Division on the far Confederate right has pierced the Union line at the wall and driven off the Zouaves of the 11th New York and the Irish Brigade but two Rhode Island regiments and the 3rd Maine drive them off routing two South Carolina regiments and driving beyond the wall their division originally held. They, in turn are struck  and driven back to the yard  but McClaws’ division is spent and can do no more.  The Union left has held.

New Englanders seal the breach and drive back the Confederates 

On the Confederate left near disaster strikes as down go two brigade commanders, and division commander Daniel Tyler is carried from the field.  It is fortunate that Corp commander Joseph Hooker is up and is able to stabilize the flank.  It may not be enough.  Several Union regiments and a battery of guns rout and Hood’s division has regrouped on the flank.  Massed artillery breaks a Confederate charge before it can be launched from behind a stone wall but farther left six regiments are sent forward against two Union regiments only to be thrown back in disorder.  If the charge had succeeded the flank would have broken.  The Union flank holds on the right.   

The Union line erupts in flame across the front. 

  In the center the more slowly developing Union push finally rolls across the widest pass.  The Confederate Division of DR Jones deals punishment from near a small farm house but is late in blocking the pass.  Jones decides it’s time to throw in a large brigade in an all out assault.   Like the assault on the Confederate left Jones has numerical superiority.  Six regiments charge the 3rd Vermont who are supported by one other regiment.   The result is a repulse.   The confederates have failed to prevent from Union troops from taking the center pass. 

The Confederates fall back in confusion. 

Conclusion

In five hours  approximately 18490 Union troops battle 19340 Confederate troops with estimated casualties 6783 Union and 6630 Confederates. Two Union brigade commanders and a division commander fall.  

The Union army by taking and holding all three objectives has scored a major victory and has disrupted the Confederate march on the far side of the mountain and can now pitch in. 

On a purely gaming note: The two Confederate charges on the last turn saw 12 total regiments charge four. In both cases during the dice down for impact the Union side could only break the charge by rolling double ones.  Both did.   The gaming group “engineer” says that’s a 1/1296 probability.  The “actuary” was silent on the matter.