American Civil War Cavalry

American Civil War Cavalry

Note: This article was compiled before the release of Volley & Bayonet: Road to Glory which includes updated rules for American Civil War cavalry. However, it is retained for background material.

By Greg Novak.

American Civil War cavalry in my opinion functions as dragoons did prior to the rise of light cavalry, they served as the screening force for one's side and were able to serve as well mounted as dismounted. They are not battlefield cavalry in the Napoleonic sense of the term, but can have a major effect on the battlefield under the proper circumstances.

Frank Chadwick has proposed making them all skirmish cavalry, which bothers me as it simultaneously makes them too weak as well as too powerful. Too weak while mounted, as it changes them into a force of Cossack style troops never really able to incur any damage, and too powerful as they dismount as skirmish stands, which allows ones dismounted lads to carry out the death of a 1,000 cuts as one can swarm the enemy and shoot into them. Neither option strikes me as very Civil War like.

What I suggest is that they serve as "regimental" stands (3" by 1.5") both mounted and dismounted, with a strength per stand of 2 to 3 strength points. This gives a possible strength of 800 to 1700 men per stand, which corresponds well to the actual strength of an American Civil War Cavalry Brigade. The "cavalry super brigades" as used by the Army of Northern Virginia in 1862 to 1863 are better represented by what they actually were, cavalry divisions consisting of two separate stands with a divisional commander.

The basic cavalry stand gets while mounted only two dice for melee, while dismounted they get only two dice for fire and melee. They may go stationary, but only get one additional die for doing so. They do not break down as skirmishers. The cavalry save rule applies to them for all fire attacks while mounted.

Special American Civil War Cavalry Rules:

Troops armed with breechloaders carbine get one additional save, in addition to any saves for terrain.

Troops armed with repeating carbine get one additional save, in addition to any saves for terrain. In addition, they while dismounted, start with a basic allotment of three dice for fire and melee, and then add two additional dice if stationary.

Forrest's Cavalry Brigades (1864 to 1865) get while mounted only two dice for melee, while dismounted they get two dice for fire and defensive melee. They may go stationary, but only get one additional die for doing so. However when attacking dismounted in melee, they roll three dice per stand and count as shock.

Union Cavalry Stand Ratings:

1861 & 1862:
Cavalry stands are 60% 2-4 PDR or 3-4 PDR, 30% 2-4 or 3-4, and with a 10% chance of a 2-5 or 3-5, rounding down. Up to 25% of the stands may carry breech loading carbines, all others carry regular carbines. If engaged in mounted melee against Confederate Cavalry, count the Confederate cavalry as heavier in weight.

1863:
Cavalry stands are a mixture of 30% 3-4, 60% 2-5 or 3-5 with a 10% chance of a 2-6 or 3-6, rounding down. No more than 10% of the stands (round down) may carry repeating carbines, Up to 60% of the stands may carry breech loading carbines, all other stands carry regular carbines.

1864 & 1865:
Cavalry stands are a mixture with at least 66% being 2-5 or 3-5, with up to 33% being 2-6, and 3-6.
50% of the stands (round down) may carry repeating carbines, all other stands carry breech loading carbines.

Confederate Cavalry Stand Ratings:

1861 & 1862:
Cavalry stands are 2-5 or 3-5 with a 10% chance of a 2-6 or 3-6, rounding down. All stands carry regular carbines.

1863:
Cavalry stands are 2-5 or 3-5 with a 33% chance of a 2-6 or 3-6, rounding down. All stands carry regular carbines. No more than 10% of the stands (round down) may carry breech loading carbines, all other stands carry regular carbines.

1864 & 1865:
Cavalry stands are a mixture with at least 50% being 2-5 or 3-5, and 50% being 2-6, and 3-6. If engaged in mounted melee against Union Cavalry, count the Union cavalry as heavier in weight. No more than 10% of the stands (round down) may carry breech loading carbines. In addition 20% of all stands (round down) can be considered to be armed with rifle muskets with a longer range then the carbine. All other stands carry regular carbines. All stands that are part of Forrestąs Cavalry Corps are considered morale 6, with 2 or 3 strength points per stand. They use the special rules for dismounted combat.

Note, that in all situations if formed infantry, that is they are not disordered, are charged by mounted cavalry the infantry hit on a 5 or a 6 rather than the normal 6. This further represents the almost suicidal nature of mounted charges against rifled weapons who remaining calm could pour out a high volume of fire.

Some Random Thoughts:

One of the great disservices to history is the movie Gettysburg and its portrayal of Bufordąs stand on the 1st day of Gettysburg, While Buford did a great job and finally got his long deserved credit, his troops were never seriously engaged. Total losses for his division of 2500 men over a two day period were reported as 125 dead, wounded or missing or 5%. The Illinois section of the Gettysburg National Cemetery has (I think) 6 bodies from the 8th and 12th Illinois Cavalry which made up about a quarter of Buford's command, which held the Chambersburg Pike against Heth, and which were the only Illinois units present at the battle.

If you game Gettysburg with dismounted cavalry skirmish stands, one can usually do some damage to the rebels if for no other reason that one can usually get a flank shot or two off with the rebels able to return fire.

Buford's lads usually stay around far longer then they did if you give Buford two regimental stands instead, the battle looks far more historic as he buys time and forces the rebels to deploy rather then engage in the battle of the odd shot.

Using regimental stands in place of skirmish stands means that a dismounted cavalry force needs to pick its position with care, since one does not get saves for being in skirmish order. It also better reflects the fact that the combat power of the formation, unless lucky enough to be armed with repeating weapons, is diminished by ones horse holders which reflect a 25% cut in firepower.

If one uses the single point skirmish stand for mounted cavalry, Buford's force at Gettysburg becomes no less than five stands, a dammed difficult force for a single commander to manage using regimental stands makes into two stands, and gives a much better feel for the ground that the unit can cover.

One of the best examples of the use of American Civil War cavalry was during the battle of Cedar Creek, with the Union infantry routed or forced back, two Union cavalry divisions advanced toward the oncoming Confederate infantry, forcing them to deploy and close up their line, after which the cavalry fell back, only to advance again when the rebel troops started forward, buying time for the Union infantry to reform.

Translation in Volley & Bayonet terms, advance your cavalry to 5" of the enemy infantry and then let the enemy infantry advance and fire on you, retreating and attempting saves if hit. In your turn, repeat the process, advance to 5", let the rebels close, and retreat. One will use up one's cavalry by doing this, but if one is buying time for Phil Sheridan to appear it works.

Last Thought:

Stones River Union Cavalry being mainly 2-4 and 3-4 PDR, with the odd 3-4 stand in there, Confederate Cavalry being 2-5 and 3-5. The Union Cavalry will have trouble backing up or maneuvering against its Confederate counterparts.

[Return to the Volley & Bayonet Page]