The Grisiana War of Secession - The Battle of Beleau (May 22, 1861)

 As the final column crossed into Grisiana, General Richard Thomas received word from the Governor of Verdemedio that their borders were officially closed to all belligerents. Worried about his lines of supply, he made his way to the capital city of Verdemedio, San Manuel, to try and enter negotiations with the civil and military authorities for continued passage through the railway network in the southeast corner of the state.

In the meantime, he had ordered the Army of the Bleunois to secure a secondary supply line into Masonville. The roads were poorer that way, but at least then they could have a means of transporting provisions to the Army, and a means of bringing all prisoners out of the reach of Rebel forces. They did so with gusto, engaging in numerous skirmishes to secure the town of Rossburg and the village of Belleau, establishing the new supply line into Masonville. They even captured Toulouse and Liege for good measure, with the determination to hold Beleau, a railway junction and the connecting point of any lines leading to their ultimate objective of New Gascony.

When General Thomas returned, he was grinning from ear to ear. Rumors spread that he had gotten very friendly with a Verdemedian Senorita, but he had even better news: Verdemedio had joined the Union, and chose to commit all their volunteer forces to the fight to end Grisiana's rebellion!

This news reached General Polk, who was, understandably, far from enthusiastic about this development. He decided that the best course of action was to concentrate all forces at Ceubert and attack the Federals at Beleau before they could fully concentrate, with the hopes of defeating the invading forces in detail. 

The combined might of Grisiana reached Beleau at 10AM on the 22nd of May, launching a frontal assault with the Brigades of Polk, Grouchy and Zolicoffer, sending Bragg's Brigade on a diversionary attack on the right flank of the Federal position.

(Due to the size of the forces involved, I had to resort to my old 3mm ACW collection, with 6mm WWII Germans representing Gen Bustamante's brigade.)

Polk and Grouchy were the first to arrive, attacking the Union center, where they found the Brigades of Gen. Joseph Kennedy and Col. William Ryan. Ryan was given command of Thomas's Brigade when the good General left for San Manuel, and was allowed to keep his rank and command upon Thomas's return. Both of these Brigades were behind some good earthworks dug up just south of the town. 

Protracted firefights erupted all along the line as the Rebels advanced. As they moved in to assault the field works and try to drive the enemy out, more fighting could be heard to the left. Bragg had arrived!

General Bragg, upon seeing the familiar Colors of the regiments that drove him out of Carentan, was eager for a rematch. He placed the 2 Grisiana Artillery to his left, anchoring their position on the railway lines to Carentan and had them provide what fire they could with the limited strength they had available, their wounded all returning to duty only days before the fight. He ordered an all out assault on the rear of the enemy's position, and the fighting began in earnest shortly after. 

Some Federals were moved out of their works to deal with this new threat and prevent the right flank from getting totally rolled up. The Bleunois Voltigeurs engaged in a vicious melee with the Westerville Guards, ultimately driving off the foe and taking their Colors! The Voltigeurs themselves, however, were too worn out to effectively contribute to the remainder of the battle.

General Thomas ordered General Bustamente to send his troops off to the right to help contain the flank assault. De La Vega complies to the best of his ability, but has trouble coordinating his men when they are not in column, leaving the extremely green and untrained Los Toros de Trinidad battalion in the rear.

The 5th Grisiana Infantry saw the anhilation of the Westervilled Guards, and decided that they weren't all that thrilled about fighting afterall and routed off the field. 

Meanwhile, Bragg joined up with the 6th Grisiana Infantry, who were eager to redeem themselves from their behavior at Carentan earlier in the month. They chase of the 2nd Grisiana Infantry, stealing their Colors, only to have the Blauwald Rangers charge them from behind and send them right into the path of the 6th Verdemedio Infantry, leaving behind their prize and their own Colors for the Rangers to claim. Bragg survived the fracass, but is left out in the open with formed enemy infantry very close by!

Around 2PM, another column of grey clad troops approached, this time attacking the left most position of the Union line, where Kennedy's troops were the most concentrated. Zolicoffer immediately put his men to work in blitzing the line all across, the 3rd Grisiana Artillery depleting their caissons in their efforts to support the assault. 

As for Kennedy, he personally oversees the efforts of the 7th Bleunois Infantry to repulse the attackers, only to be felled by a stray bullet in the fighting! As word spreads of his death, half the Brigade flees for the rear. General Thomas spends much of the afternoon rallying these regiments, trying to get them back into line to plug the gaps. The only unit that totally quits the field in panic are Los Toros, who are still stuck near the Brigade Headquarters by Bleunois Manor!

Later in the afternoon, a member of Kennedy's staff steps in to lead the remainder of the Brigade, Col Patrick Harper! It was always a mystery why Kennedy only had fellow Irishmen in his staff when there were so many more able officers, but Harper puts some fire into the remaining units in the line, blunting the assault and causing Zolicoffer to send word to Polk that he's not as confident in his ability to take those works as he was only an hour ago.

Meanwhile on the other side of the field, the Blauwald Rangers manage to capture General Bragg, while the 1st Bleunois Artillery defend their position manfully, pouring cannister fire into the Grisiana Tigers as they try to charge the entrenched battery from the front(?), and defeat them handily in the ensuing melee, stealing the Tigers' Colors and sending them running. "We got the Tigers' Stripes!" They shout exultantly, and the rest of Polk's men seriously reconsider attacking that position.

As dusk approaches, Polk realizes that there's not much more damage they can do today. His own brigade is all beat up, as is Zolicoffer's, with Grouchy only meeting minimal successes at best, and Bragg's Brigade nowhere to be found. He orders a general withdrawal as the tired and ragged Rebels leave the field littered in Union and Confederate dead.

Union Casualties

7 Bleunois Infantry: 125 killed, 62 lightly wounded, 63 severely wounded

8 Bleunois Infantry: 175 killed, 87 lightly wounded, 88 severely wounded

Bleunois guards: 150 killed, 75 wounded, 75 severely wounded

1 Bleunois Infantry: 175 killed, 87 lightly wounded, 88 severely wounded

2 Bleunois Infantry: 50 killed, 25 lightly wounded, 25 severely wounded

1 Bleunois Artillery: 25 killed, 13 lightly wounded, 12 severely wounded

2 Bleunois Artillery: 50 killed, 25 lightly wounded, 25 severely wounded

Blauwald Rangers: 87 killed, 43 lightly wounded, 44 severely wounded

Bleunois Voltigeurs: 175 killed, 87 lightly wounded, 88 severely wounded

6 Verdemedio Infantry: 25 killed, 13 lightly wounded, 12 severely wounded

General Joseph Kennedy killed in action

Los Toros de Trinidad routed and sorely reprimanded by General De La Vega in the aftermath...they're pride sorely wounded

Confederate Casualties

1 Grisiana Infantry: 225 killed, 112 lightly wounded, 113 captured

2 Grisiana Infantry: 163 killed, 81 lightly wounded, 82 captured

Grisiana Tigers: 150 killed, 75 lightly wounded, 75 captured...and pride sorely wounded by getting their butts kicked in melee by Artillery crews

3 Grisiana Infantry: 75 killed, 37 lightly wounded, 38 captured

4 Grisiana Infantry: 25 killed, 13 lightly wounded, 12 captured

Grisiana Guards: 38 killed, 18 lightly wounded, 19 captured

7 Grisiana Infantry: 50 killed, 25 lightly wounded, 25 captured

8 Grisiana Infantry: 62 killed, 31 lightly wounded, 32 captured

Ceubert Voltigeurs: 88 killed, 43 lightly wounded, 44 captured

5 Grisiana Infantry: 63 killed, 31 lightly wounded, 32 captured

6 Grisiana Infantry: 213 killed, 106 lightly wounded, 107 captured

Westerville Guards: 225 killed, 112 lightly wounded, 113 captured (leaving only 3 men fit for duty)

General Daniel Harvey Bragg captured

Colors Taken

Union: 6 (Westerville Guards, 3 GR Infantry, 2 GR Infantry, 1 GR Infantry, Grisiana Tigers, 6 GR Infantry)

Confederate: 1 (7 BL Infantry)

Morale Changes

4 BL Artillery: Militia -> Recruits (+1)

Bleunois Guards: Militia -> Recruits (+1)

Bleunois Voltigeurs: Regulars -> Veterans (+1)

7 Verdemedio Infantry: Prov. Regulars -> Regulars (+1)

Colonel Ryan: B -> A (+1, increase in light of holding ground and personally claiming an enemy regiment's Colors)

2 Grisiana Infantry: Prov. Regulars -> Recruits (-1)

Grisiana Tigers: Prov. Regulars -> Recruits (-1)

Rossburg Rifles: Prov. Regulars -> Regulars (+1)

6 Grisiana Infantry: Regulars -> Veterans (+1)