The players mustered in at Fantasy Books & Games in O’Fallon, IL for a trip back to in time to September 1776 as the Patriots clashed with the British Army in New York. This is another in our series of games featuring the American War of Independence 250th Anniversary.
Game Master, Steve King was kind enough to forward a description of both the historical event and how the game played out in relation to history so we will turn the narrative over to him.
“After Action Report Battle of Harlem Heights September 1776“
“First let’s begin with a short historical background. This battle took place towards the end of the Long Island campaign of 1776. This campaign was designed by the British to take control of New York and the Hudson Valley, thereby cutting the colonial area of control in half. The secondary objective was to completely surround and capture, or destroy, George Washington and his Army. The British successfully took control of New York and decisively defeated the Colonial Army in a series of battles from Brooklyn all the way up Manhattan Island. In September Washington heard rumors the British were on the move again to try and cut him off in the area of Harlem. Washington dispatched pickets to find out the accuracy of these rumors. A skirmish occurred between the British advance pickets and the American scouting light riflemen. Further British reinforcements compelled the American scouts to retire. The British pursued into the open hollow way and exposed their flank to some wooded high ground where Washington had based his Colonial troops. Seeing an opportunity Washington attacked. A two hour musket dual ensued after which the British withdrew. This was the first time during the revolutionary war that the colonial army had stood and fought toe to toe with the British Army. Both sides withdrew, but the morale of the American troops would be given a huge boost.”
“Washington and his Army would go on to lose at the battle of White Plains and be forced out of New York State to winter in New Jersey. The Army and the cause of liberty would go on for another year.”
“So what happened in our game on Wednesday night February 11th 2026? Well the skirmish went pretty much as it did historically; the American riflemen gave ground and took high casualties. The British advanced rapidly into the hollow way with half of their forces, the remainder, including two 3pdr guns decided to advance very slowly through heavy wooded terrain. When the British right flank was considered in the open, the American assault was sent into action. The British rapidly retreated to and area of wooded high ground and stood to receive the Americans. The firing started at effective range and the initial volleys accounted for 50% of the troops engaged on both sides! After two turns both sides had run out of steam and further attacks would have yielded little gain.”
“The British would not capture or destroy Washington or his Army, and the Americans would not stop the advance of the British. Both sides withdrew with heavy casualties, but all the players agreed it was a good game and they all enjoyed themselves.”
Respectfully submitted by Stephen King, Game Master.
Thanks Steve for the great report and photos from the game. It was super to see the table and get both the historical perspective and the game results. In addition we thank all the players who made it out to the game and a special Thank You to the fine staff at Fantasy Books & Games for their continued support.
