A Quick Return...

...to 'The Valley'. Paul had expressed a desire to play an ACW game on his February visit to GHQ and obviously I was only too happy to oblige! I decided on a follow-up game to the recent second engagement in our 'The Valley' mini campaign. Richmond has despatched General P Gornall to relieve the temporarily exhausted PJ Robinson. Gornall has been assured that reinforcements will follow urgently. His task is to reinvigorate and reorganise the Rebs before ol' Useless S Bykleigh can get his victorious Union army ready to deliver the telling blow to end the campaign. There follows a photomontage of pictures Paul took at intervals during the ensuing battle which will I trust give you, gentle reader, a sense of being down amongst the action ~

An alarming lack of urgency seems to pervade the defeated Rebs. Gornall will soon put a stop to that as he reorganises his force.

Rested and reorganised, the Tar Heels step out ready to do their duty once more.

More of the Rebs are on the move now flanked by resupplied artillery emplaced to cover the Reb position.

More artillery are ready for action in support of Gornall's deploying Rebs.

Meanwhile Bykleigh has begun to get his men on the move, spurred on by an important visitor from Washington who poses with some obscure Western general called Grant for Mr M.Brady.

Let's hope Brady has got the President in focus!

Union Regular Infantry match down the Turnpike passed the idlers and malingerers still loitering in their camp.

On the flank of the Regular Infantry brigade colourfully uniformed troops from New York are also confidently advancing to crush those damned rebels!

The US Sharpshooters screening the regiments from Wisconsin and Indiana are surprised by Rebs unexpectedly advancing briskly on them.

As the left flank of the Union is unexpectedly attacked Bykleigh's attention is drawn away from the centre where the 14th Brooklyn and the 79th New York are deploying below the massed batteries of Federal artillery. No resupply problems here of course.

On the Union right flank the Garibaldi Guard once again find themselves in action shoring up the hard pressed line. The troops from the 3rd New Jersey and the 20th Massachusetts have their hands full holding off the reinvigorated Rebs under Gornall.

In the centre the New Yorkers hesitate as Rebel infantry from South Carolina surge forward giving full voice to the chilling 'Rebel Yell'!

The Garibaldi Guard are about to be overwhelmed by Rebs here! The Union plan has unravelled through lost commands, missed opportunities and indifferent firepower!

It had all looked so promising early in the action but determined Reb attacks had turned the tide and the New Yorkers retired 'Whipped' from mounting losses and failing morale!

Lost and misinterpreted orders - Blunders if you prefer - saw gaps appear in the Union centre which encouraged the Rebs to press home their attack.

Finally the boys from Michigan and Indiana can take no more, their morale breaks and they too retire 'Whipped'! With that US Bykleigh's army is 'Broken' and streams away to the rear to regroup and go again in this ongoing tussle for control of 'The Valley'.

It seems that Mr Brady was not the only photographer to capture scenes from the battle. Mr Watson up from the 'Deep South' has captured the Tar Heels as they step off from their lines ready for action.