The early arrival of our inclement weather did not deter our hearty sailors from raising sail and recreating the 11 October 1776 Battle of Valcour Island at Miniature Market Cave Springs this Thursday as part of our AWI 250 Project.
Using a bit of a modified “Limeys & Slimeys” rules with ship data cards originally developed by Patrick Connaughton we found a cobbled together American Fleet under the command of Benedict Arnold hoping to delay the British advance on Fort Ticonderoga that was still unprepared for their arrival.
Historically Arnold’s fleet knowing that it wasn’t a match for the British sheltered in Valcour Bay hoping to draw the British into a fight sailing against the wind.
Jay Clendenny was kind enough to share his game report with us so we will turn it over to him for a turn by turn description.
“Captain George Scott paced the deck of HMS Thunderer. He was anxious to find and destroy the rebel force on Lake Champlain. The issue was to find it. HMS Thunderer was part of a large English task force that had securing Lake Champlain as its objective and that meant sweeping the rebel forces off the lake. Scott had command of the Thunderer, a 18 gun ketch along with the scooner HMS Maria (12 guns), HMS Loyal Consort (6 guns) and several gun boats with 1 gun each. The other half of the English force was commanded by Captain Pringle that had the other half of the English task force. As the force moved further out on the lake, rebel ships were spotted to the west and the English turned to pursue. “
“Kevin Fitzpatrick ran a new scenario “Battle of Valcour Island”, which took place on Lake Champlain 11 October, 1776. While the Americans historically lost the battle (the English had far more naval power), Benedict Arnold managed to cause enough damage and delay a English campaign to capture Fort Ticonderoga. While the English got scouting parties within 3 miles of the Fort, the first snows were falling on October 20th and General Carlton decided to retire to the north for winter quarters. “
“Steve L and Jay played the English fleet while Steve, Bill and Mark played the American fleet. The game system used was Limeys and Slimeys. The wind was blowing out of the North, North East, which would affect any ship trying to go in any northerly direction. Many of the smaller ships on both sides used an combination of ores and sails so while they could go to the north, it would be slower going if they decided to go that direction. Both sides had some different victory conditions (US wanted to exit ships to the south while the English wanted to capture the USS Philadelphia, which it was rumored that Arnold would be aboard) and some of the same victory conditions (heavy destruction of the opponet’s fleet). Sail ships would move, turn, move and you could fire at any point during your movement. The oar ships could turn, move, turn, move turn and fire at any point as well.”
“Turn 1 saw the English come out on the lake with half the force hugging the southern shore of Valcour Island and the other half moving out onto the lake proper. The American forces were in a bay to the north west and started to move south.”
“Turn 2 had both sides continue to move in their current directions. The right hand English force formed up a line with the gunboats in the front and sail ships behind. The sail ships could not hug the shore line like the gunboats and needed some maneuvering room. The left hand English force formed up in a line advance with the gunboats in front and the bigger ships trailing. The Americans had their gunboats in the lead in line abreast as they came out of the bay.”
“Turn 3 Saw opening shots by the lead English gunboats on some American gunboats that came out past the point of the island. Hits were scored, but the damage was not severe.”
“Turn 4 The English push along the coast and cause quite a bit of damage to an American gunboat while the American returns fire and damages a English gunboat. The Americans also chase off some natives along the shore line that decided to have some musket practice to which the Americans replied with cannon fire. “
“Turn 5 The English continue to push and cripple 2 American gunboats. The Americans respond by chewing up a English gunboat and the HMS Royal Consort (a oversized gunboat). Both sides are having some issues bringing their full strength into battle since the gunboats are essentially walled up against each other and you can’t shoot through your own ships.”
“Turn 6 The Americans win initative and their entire side goes before the English get to move anything. The Americans take advantage and break the English gunboat line. A English gunboat on the verge of sinking strikes their colors as a result. The lead American gunboat takes a lot of punishment from the HMS Thunderer and Maria since they now have a clear shot. The score still remains Amerian 1, English 0. A general naval brawl is taking place as gunboats and ships exchange fire with each other. Neither side is really getting an upper hand.”
“Turn 7 The Americans win initative again, but not all of their ships get to go first. Two more English gunboats are heavily damaged. English return fire sees an American gally get hit into sinking condition and the crew strike their colors. The Thunderer finds herself surrounded by 3 American gunboats to the front. The Thunderer decides to try a boarding action against one of them and sends her marines, an officer and some regular crew over. While the American puts up a vailiant resistance, most of her defenders are killed. While the issue is not quite settled, there is no doubt of the outcome. Some of the crew and marines transfer from the Maria, who is behind the Thunderer. During the US turn, the boarding action is resolved and the English succeed in capturing the ship. After they capture the gunboat, they realize they have captured the USS Philadelphia, one of their victory objectives. That caused a wow moment for the English as there were 3 ships to pick from and the English happen to guess correctly. The turn ends with each side having had a ship strike and the English in possession of the Philadelphia.”
“Turn 8 The initiative mixed with both sides intermingled in the order. The Royal Consort gets hammered by several gunboats and suffers gun damage to the point none are operational and also loses a third of her crew. She attempts a boarding action against another gunboat (the last boarding action worked great, so why not try it again). The story is quite different this time as the boarders come aboard only to be met by a storm of musket fire and a wall of cutlasses. Two thirds of the boarders are cut down and the remainder retreat back to their boat. The Philadelphia retreats to the east under her new owners. The boat is actually in decent shape except that her guns are knocked out. Both sides continue to punish each other and at the end of the turn, the game is called due to time. HMS Thunderer takes some light damage from the American gunboats in the area while the Thunderer and Maria returned fire for a lot of damage against the Americans.”
“The English were declared victors for capturing the Philadelphia. The Americans were not going to be able to get any significant numbers of ships off to the south (scenario is 12 turns and they could not reach the south edge in 4 turns). Both sides had several gunboats in bad shape as they had done the majority of the fighting. The big English ships either had no damage or were lightly damaged.”
“As we cleaned up, the participants discussed the scenario with Kevin. All indicated they liked it quite a bit and felt it was pretty even and that only very minor adjustments might be needed.”
A Thank You to Pat Lewis for his great terrain contribution to the look of the table, the players that came out giving this scenario a good shakedown cruise and for their great comments to improve the play. Our continued appreciation to Miniature Market Cave Springs and the fine folks there for their support.
Remember to shop local.
