At Unioncon 2025, I ran a second game- the only ACW game at Unioncon- the Battle of Monocacy, 1864!
Just down the road from Unioncon, outside of Frederick Maryland in July 1864, Jubal Early’s confederate column has invaded to relieve pressure on the Army of Northern Virginia, slipping behind the Union armies. Marching down the pike towards Washington D.C. only one force stands between the confederates and Washington- Lew Wallace’s hastily assembled Union Brigades. Outnumbered by more than 2 to 1, the Union troops aim to hold Monocacy junction just long enough to buy time for Union reinforcements to cross the Potomac and reinforce D.C. Can the outnumbered Federals delay Early?
This was a brand new con game that was really a group effort to put together. We used Brigade Fire and Fury for the ruleset, modeling the approximately 6000 Union troops and 14000 Confederates at a scale of around 1:200 using 10mm figures, with turns around 30 minutes to an hour in length.
Before diving in huge thanks to Bruce, a long time wargamer and friend running an ongoing campaign of Jackson’s valley campaign. This has been an ongoing campaign in 10mm with Brigade Fire and Fury, and Bruce as kind enough to lend me over 60 stands of confederates to build out my forces.
Also a huge thanks to Tory and Mike, as well as the rest of the Union gang, for helping on the assembly line at the club gluing tiny dudes to stands.
And finally a huge thanks to Tory fro lending out rivers, roads, and making custom railroad pieces for this battle! I hope to keep improving this over time- the goal here is to build this into a little living diorama that tells a little known story of a dogged Union defense in 1864. So while this was the first time this battle was run, it certainly won’t be the last!
The Battle
The initial deployment – the Monocacy river flows south out of Frederick. The stone bridge heads to Baltimore, and the covered bridge to DC, the target of Jubal Early. On the right, the confederates are deployed, ready to take the fight to the Union.
Outnumbered, the Union held strong defensive positions along the river, guarding some key objectives- the Junction by the railroad bridge, and the roads to Baltimore and DC. After working on this custom scenario more, I will be sure to post some rules!
During turns 1-2, the Union held strong defensive positions as the Confederates deployed their brigades into supported lines and brought up their guns. In addition, Cavalry and Infantry pushed for the Southern ford, threatening the Union flank.
Despite the strong position, the Confederates opened fire, chipping away at the Union brigades and scoring first blood! Their artillery was particularly effective, silencing many of the Union Guns. The Union aimed to bring reinforcements across the river, but troops and guns were arriving piecemeal.
During turns 3-4, the Confederates made their assaults! In the south, three brigades forced the ford, two of cavalry and one of Infantry. Opposed by only one Union Cavalry brigade, they made it across!
However, it was in the center where two brigades, supported by artillery, charged into the green Union brigade, smashing it and sending the troops fleeing across the river. This assault spilled over into a second Union brigade crossing the river in march column. Caught out of position, this brigade too was hammered and sent fleeing over the river- the Confederates had the Junction!
The Union brigades attempted to rally on the far side of the river, forming a ragged defensive line. However, the Confederates steamed forward, supported by their guns, as the Union guns were taken out of action, with the exception of the howitzer in the blockhouse. As the Union was pushed back, with an over 2:1 casualty ratio in favor of the Confederates, we had to call the action and give victory to the rebels- DC may burn!
However, on the southern flank, the Union cavalry did launch one final charge into one of the three confederate brigades crossing the ford. They smashed into the rebel cavalry, who had been joined by Jubal Early himself to stiffen their resolve. However this was not enough! The Union troopers broke through and scattered the confederates, forcing that brigade and Early to ignominiously retreat from the field!
So a huge thank you to all the players, who were amazing and patient as we did our first run through. I think this worked to help immerse them in this battle, and bring it to life in an interesting and visual way. And a huge thank you to Bruce and the Uniongang- it truly takes a village to stage a tiny toy soldier battle!
I’ll be back running this game more often, and try to provide some details on the rules and build of the board, which is an interesting ongoing effort!
-BS