!BG 004 - Lee Flanks Grant
104 Turns
Designed by Blake Strickler

Alternate (104 Turns) – May 5th, 1864 - 5:00 am: Looking for a giant and unpredictable battle with a ton of moving parts? Try this one out.                                       REBEL – Lee would attack first. He persuaded Davis to strip the capital defenses and create a new “army” led by Beauregard. This force rode the rails north to join Lee’s army as quicky and as quietly as possible. During the night of the May 3rd the veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia slipped out of their fortified lines and were replaced by Beauregard’s men at Fredericksburg. Leaving behind only Kershaw’s veteran division with Beauregard, Lee moved with the rest of his army to strike Grant’s flank. Kershaw’s men, the same men who had defended the town in December of 1862, were on familiar ground. With the rest of the army, Lee moved to the northwest to launch an attack over the Rappahannock River against Grant’s right. The crossing would be contested but Lee would force his way across. As the sun rose on the morning of May 5th, all was in place. Hill’s Corps would attack across the river and then turn east to uncover the fords for Ewell’s and Longstreet’s corps. As each ford was uncovered in succession the army’s numbers would swell. With any luck they might even reach Falmouth and link up with Beauregard. Stuart would fight across the river as well and look to get on Grant’s flank and rear. At 5 AM the signal was given and the artillery opened up with a tremendous roar. Tens of thousands of Lee’s men moved forward in unison as only veterans could. But westward from Richard’s Ford, the fords seemed only lightly guarded. Lee’s men cheered as they streamed forward and saw the open fields where thousands of enemy soldiers had been entrenched the day before. The Gods of War smiled south once more.                                                 UNION – Grant’s army was nearly concentrated. After hearing rumors that Lee had consolidated the scattered Rebel forces in Virginia, Grant was reinforced by Sigel’s Department of West Virginia army. These men, along with Burnside’s Ninth Corps, swelled his numbers to over 140,000. He ordered Burnside to replace the Fifth Corps in their positions fronting Fredericksburg, a town Burnside knew only too well. The Fifth Corps would fall back to Aquia and then turn west to begin a flanking maneuver on Lee’s army. With them would be Sheridan’s cavalrymen who were already concentrated at Stafford’s Store and preparing to lead the army forward. Sheridan’s men had only just left the army’s right flank the evening before. Sigel’s arriving force would take over their positions. The first of Sigel’s men, his cavalry, were already in place as Sheridan’s men rode away. But Sigel’s infantry, expected to arrive within the hour, never arrived. Sigel decided to rest his men that night after a long day’s march before reaching their objective. Sigel felt his cavalry division could guard the river for one night and allowed his men to rest in the rear. Stahel, the cavalry commander, was as equally complacent as Sigel. It had been a long hot march, and two taverns up the road beckoned his men as they rode past. Stahel could not deny himself, or his men, any longer. Leaving behind a skeleton thin line of cavalrymen, Stahel and his division rode away from the river for one night’s “French leave.” As the sun rose at 5 AM, the peaceful morning suddenly exploded with cannon fire. On the army’s right flank, where Grant was visiting with Sedgwick, the hammer would fall first. Sheridan, alerted by the cacophony of artillery fire, immediately knew something was horribly wrong and ordered his men to mount up. For Meade, then miles away with Warren at Aquia, the morning was still quiet. The Fifth Corps would begin their march on schedule – 10 AM. Elsewhere along the river, the corps commanders would have to watch their fords for more enemy attacks while also worrying about what was happening on their flank. To Grant, the situation was troubling. Could the army hold against this unexpected onslaught? Thinking back to Shiloh, he knew that time was on his side. Soon the Fifth Corps and Sheridan would arrive. It would be a hard fight today – but he’d lick them tomorrow.                                        NOTE: Stahel’s division begins the battle disrupted as a result of their night of drinking at the local taverns. Morris’s green brigade at Richard’s Ford also begins disrupted as the sounds of the enemy moving over the river in the night had unnerved the untried regiments. There is an EXIT hex available for the Federals to the south. Can Grant possibly attack the weakened lines at Fredericksburg and make his way to Richmond with part of his army? Expect an epic battle from turn one.            TOTAL NUMBERS: USA – 140,997   CSA – 93,527

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