The Battle of the Wildnerness, Saunders Field, May 5th, 1864......in 20mm (1 Viewer)

[Warrior]

On May 5th, 1864, the Union Fifth Corps under the command of General Warren attacked Ewells Corps across a clearing in the Wildnerness known as Saunders Field. Griffin sent Ayres Brigade towards the treeline along the field, men of the 140th NY and the 146th NY charged across the field where Ewells men were dug in along the edges of the field, Johnsons troops awaited them.............

 

[Warrior]

The Confederates came out of the woods and the fighting was hand to hand; at one point, Confederates were firing into the rear of the 146th NY, the 140th tried to support them but were met with a hail of bullets, more units came up and artillery was brought into the field by the Union commanders to support the charge, but it faltered and men began to work their way back to the far end of the field where the charge began.

Meanwhile, to their left, Bartletts men managed to work their way into the Confederate trenches and break the line, punching a hole in the Confederate defenses, the Confederates from Johnsons division began to retreat through the woods...........

 

[Warrior]

As these troops pushed their attack forward, on the other side of the Orange Turnpike Wadsworths men, specifically Cutlers Brigade, the famed Iron Brigade, charged towards the Confederate lines to try to break the entire Confederate line......

 

[Warrior]

Just as it appeared the entire line would break, Brigadier General John B Gordon, his men positioned near the turnpike, thrust his brigade into the head of Cutlers advance, spreading his men to the left and the right of the Iron Brigade and for the first time in the units history, the Iron Brigade broke and retreated............

 

[Ragnar]

Darn look at those rows of troops you just cant beat mass well done Warrior!

 

[Warrior]

Phase one of the battle was over with the Confederates holding their original positions while Union forces waited for Sedwick's Corps to arrive from the north so the battle could resume........................

 

[jazzeum]

Wow! is all I can say. It's like your looking on down as the battle took place. Excellently done my friend.

Brad

 

[Warrior]

Wow! is all I can say. It's like your looking on down as the battle took place. Excellently done my friend.

Brad

Thanks Brad, a lot of planning went into this one, wanted to get the look just right as well as the story.

The Wilderness was a awful place for a fight; confusing battle lines, dense underbrush, a slaughter really and ironic too in that Jackson was killed in the area in 1863 by accidently being fired upon by his own men, Longstreet a year or so later almost met the same fate as he too was accidently fired upon by his own men on May 5th.......................

 

[lancer]

Looks great, George. The waves of troops are very impressive, especially all those fantastic looking Zouaves. There was a very nice LE art print by Keith Rocco depicting a Zouave charge across a field of wheat as they entered the Wilderness. Your depiction reminds me of the print. -- Al

 

[Warrior]

Looks great, George. The waves of troops are very impressive, especially all those fantatic looking Zouaves. There was a very nice LE art print by Keith Rocco depicting a Zouave charge across a field of wheat as they entered the Wilderness. Your depiction reminds me of the print. -- Al

Thanks for the feedback Al; ever since I saw that print, it's been in the back of my mind to try to recreate it via my 20mm troops, finally built them up to the point where I could pull it off.

Been to Saunders Field about three times; one of the markers there that describes the action that took place in the field depicts that print as well, it's a great, great piece of art...............

 

[mestell]

Another fabulous series of photos and historical commentary . . . . as always a great pleasure to be able to view . . . .
Mike

 

[Warrior]

Another fabulous series of photos and historical commentary . . . . as always a great pleasure to be able to view . . . .
Mike

Glad you like my work Mike, this one was a great deal of fun to plan and execute, planning it was half the fun, getting it right and setting it up the other half, not to mention the time I've spent enjoying it.................

 

[Warrior]

Darn look at those rows of troops you just cant beat mass well done Warrior!

Thanks, glad you like my display..........

 

[UKReb]

Beautifully composed work George-Kudos for your skill and ACW knowledge.

After Gettysburg The Wilderness for me is the battle to study.

Two days of bitter fighting in dense woodlands with dreadful casualties on both sides left Bobby Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in possession of the battlefield-technically a victory. But Grant did not fall back across the Potomac like his predecessors had done after receiving a licking by the Rebs. Instead he sent two corps past Lee's right flank. Lee was not expecting that and quickly had to pull his troops south in an attempt to keep his army between Grant and Richmond.

In previous years, the Army of the Potomac had been under the command of someone more foolish or cautious and Lee could get away with dividing his forces, turn a flank and strike the Union army hard where its commander least expected. That was not going to work with Grant, who maintained constant contact and always looked to turn Lee's flank.

After the Wilderness Massa Lee knew he faced his most formidable opponent yet.

Bob

 

[Warrior]

Beautifully composed work George-Kudos for your skill and ACW knowledge.

After Gettysburg The Wilderness for me is the battle to study.

Two days of bitter fighting in dense woodlands with dreadful casualties on both sides left Bobby Lee's Army of Northern Virginia in possession of the battlefield-technically a victory. But Grant did not fall back across the Potomac like his predecessors had done after receiving a licking by the Rebs. Instead he sent two corps past Lee's right flank. Lee was not expecting that and quickly had to pull his troops south in an attempt to keep his army between Grant and Richmond.

In previous years, the Army of the Potomac had been under the command of someone more foolish or cautious and Lee could get away with dividing his forces, turn a flank and strike the Union army hard where its commander least expected. That was not going to work with Grant, who maintained constant contact and always looked to turn Lee's flank.

After the Wilderness Massa Lee knew he faced his most formidable opponent yet.

Bob

Thanks for the compliments Bob, I am glad you like it and your preaching to the choir regarding the Wilderness, I too have become fascinated by it, Spotslyvannia and Cold Harbor, am currently rereading Bloody Roads South by Trudeau.

As you pointed out, Grant rather than retreat as other Union commanders had done pushed on, forcing Lee to do the same to block the path to Richmond, which resulted in the Spotslyvannia bloodbath, the war took a very dark turn with these battles, it became in a way more personal and even more bloody than before................

 

[AIDMAN]

Superb work...Love it, Gives a great feel for the scale and movement of a Civil War battle...Thanks for sharing!!.

Steve

 

[Rob]

Wonderful scenes George, just terrific. Can I ask a) how long would that take to set up and b) do you know how many figures you actually have??

All the best George

Rob

 

[Warrior]

Superb work...Love it, Gives a great feel for the scale and movement of a Civil War battle...Thanks for sharing!!.

Steve

Thanks Steve, Saunders field is where the 146th NY Zouaves fought in the Wilderness, this would be a nice diorama to do with the CS figures...........

 

[Warrior]

Wonderful scenes George, just terrific. Can I ask a) how long would that take to set up and b) do you know how many figures you actually have??

All the best George

Rob

Thanks Rob, glad you like it.

My displays start with research and planning, ie, what was the terrain like, hills, trees, fields, fences, farmhouses, etc, etc. This takes a few days for me to sort out, I want to get it right.

The actual set up takes anywhere from an hour or two to several hours, depends on how elaborate I want to get and how many figures I want to use.

As far as how many figures I've got; ACW, I've got about 3,000 figures, Napoleonics, about 8,000 or 9,000 figures of several different nationalities and WWII, I've got about 5,000 figures, a thousand or so vehicles and countless buildings, bunkers, etc, etc.

At the present time, I am in the process of planning two ACW battles and one Napoleonic one..............so stay tuned.

 

[The Lt.]

Once again George another of your outstanding ACW battle scene an this time you've out done yourself in bringing it to life with the staging and photographing of the event. Glad to see you've had the time between shows to relax an play with your outstanding collection of the period an thanks for sharing it with us. Hope you an your dad had a great Christmas an your new years gotten off to a great start....Joe