024-620805-[B]BatonRge-No Ark.20 - WDS Forgotten Campaigns

(Alternative 30 minute turns) Perhaps the most notable thing about this battle is that both armies were sick. Summer in Mississippi did not pick sides. Malaria, dysentery, cholera, and sundry other exotic diseases laid low yanks and rebs alike. On 12 May 1862 a brigade of the U.S. 19th Corps, under BrGen Thomas Williams, had landed at Baton Rouge. It was the continuation of a campaign that had begun with the capture of New Orleans and was supposed to culminate with the capture of Vicksburg. A Confederate corps under MajGen John C Breckinrdige was dispatched to recapture the place. The scenario begins when the union pickets raise the alarm: "Johnnies out in the fog!" The ironclad C.S.S. Arkansas developed engine trouble, making her appearance doubtful, and the ship was finally blown up by her crew to avoid capture. Reference: "The Battle of Baton Rouge" by William A Spedale.