Since I’ve only just now started subscribing to Charge!: The Official Newsletter of the Johnny Reb Gaming Society, I’ll be reviewing the first two years of the newsletter two issues at a time in a similar format to my reviews of North & South, Blue & Gray, America’s Civil War, and Civil War Times Illustrated. Back issues of Charge! cost $5.00 plus $1.00 shipping per issue. The newsletter comes spiral-bound (think Kinkos here), and is usually around 20 pages long. Many of the maps and illustrations are in color. Typical articles include scenarios for Johnny Reb, painting figures, creating terrain, special rules for certain out of the ordinary situations, and historical pieces on a unit or battle.
Charge! Issue 1
| Page 1 |
| It Has Been Needed for a Long, Long Time by John Hill |
| The creator of the Johnny Reb rules system leads off Issue 1 of Charge! by explaining why a newsletter of this sort is needed. Zouave Magazine used to cover the niche of supplying ongoing rules discussions and new scenarios for Johnny Reb III, but it folded several years ago. So Charge! fills that niche. |
| Page 2 |
| Johnny Reb III Cheat Sheet by Scott Mingus, Sr. and P.J. O’Neill |
| Scott and P.J. compiled some frequently overlooked official rules from the Johnny Reb III rules book. |
| Page 3 |
| Shepherdstown: Saturday, Sept. 20, 1862 by Scott Mingus, Sr. |
| Shepherdstown is the first scenario seen in Charge! It focuses on the action at this small battle following the large fight at Antietam. It mainly featured Hill’s Light Division versus elements of Porter’s Union V Corps. This one includes a colorful map. The scenario is approximately Division-size on each side, and the game board measures 4×6 feet. The scenario was specifically designed for Johnny Reb III since it is excerpted from Scott’s scenario book “Undying Courage – Antietam in Miniature: Volume 2”. I do not believe it is out for sale yet. |
| Page 7 |
| Kernstown: March 23, 1862 by Clay Cooper |
| This is another scenario for Johnny Reb, although this one was originally designed for JR2. Kernstown was a part of Jackson’s 1862 Valley Campaign and was little more than a skirmish compared to larger battles such as Gettysburg. The fight features Jackson’s Valley Army (basically a Division) versus Shields’ Union Division. This scenario also comes with a color map. It originally appeared in “The Zouave”, Volume 1, Issue 2 in March 1987. |
| Page 10 |
| The Effectiveness of the Rifle-musket by Brent Nosworthy |
| Brent Nosworthy, author of The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War, writes an interesting little article talking about just how effective the Rifle-musket was during the war. It seems to be a short summary of part of Nosworthy’s book. |
| Page 12 |
| Fences and American Civil War Combat by Doug Kline |
| Doug Kline, owner of Battlefield Terrain Concepts, talks about fences and their impact on units advancing through or defending along them. After talking about the war, he specifically comments on Johnny Reb III rules and modifiers covering the effects of fences. He finished the article by showing how to model fences in JR3. |
| Page 14 |
| JRGS Trivia Contest |
| Page 14 contains a 15 question trivia contest for members of the Johnny Reb Gaming Society. |
| Page 15 |
| Fairfield Road, Gettysburg, PA: July 1st, 1863 by Scott Mingus, Sr. |
| This is a small Gettysburg Day 1 scenario (excerpted from “Enduring Valor – Gettysburg in Miniature: Volume 3”) featuring a fight between Lane’s Confederate Brigade of Pender’s Division and Gamble’s Union Cavalry Brigade of Buford’s 1st Cavalry Division. The game board is only 3×4 feet and the scenario was designed specifically for JR3. In the “Wargame Notes” section, Mingus mentions that this game is well suited for those gamers “with limited space, time, terrain, figures, and/or experience in JR3”. As with all scenarios from the Enduring Valor line, the map is in beautiful color. |
| Page 18 |
| “They’ll Come Booming in the Morning”: Buford’s Cavalry at the Battle of Gettysburg by J. David Petruzzi |
| Guest-blogger and cavalry aficionado J.D. Petruzzi weighs in with an interesting article focusing on Buford’s Cavalry Division at the Battle of Gettysburg. Buford’s men played a crucial role in delaying the Confederates long enough on Day 1 for Reynolds’ I Corps to come up, thus allowing the Union to retain the high ground. |
Charge! Issue 2
| Page 1 |
| Johnny Reb Online Resources |
| This page contains websites containing JR discussion groups, online scenarios, and other links. Of particular interest is the Johnny Reb III Yahoo Group. I encourage those of you thinking of getting into miniatures gaming to check this message board out. |
| Page 2 |
| JRGS Trivia Contest |
| This is the second Johnny Reb Gaming Society trivia contests. One winner received a prize package from one of the Society’s sponsors. Included on the page are the answers to the first trivia contest. |
| Page 3 |
| Civil War Flags from GMB Designs by Burkhard Schulze |
| Burkhard Schulze reviews 25mm flags produced by GMB Designs in this article. Apparently at the time of this article’s writing, GMB had flags available for 56 different Union units and 46 different Confederate units. |
| Page 4 |
| Heth Bar by GHQ |
| This is a scenario modeling the early part of Buford’s delaying action at Gettysburg versus Heth’s Division. It is GHQ’s Tac News Scenario #3 and it was not specifically designed for any gaming system. The game uses 4-inch wide hexes, and the map is 7×12 hexes. |
| Page 5 |
| Corn in the Civil War Era by Scott Mingus, Sr. |
| Scott Mingus goes over the differences in how corn was planted during the Civil War and how it is planted today. Basically, corn was planted in crisscrossed patterns of “mounds” during that time versus the straight rows we see today. Corn was also shorter during this era before advanced agricultural practices were used with ant regularity. |
| Page 6 |
| “Making the Cornstalks Fly”: Cornfields and American Civil War Combat, A Wargaming Perspective by Doug Kline |
| Terrain guru Doug Kline of Battlefield Terrain Concepts follows up Scott’s article with his own discussing how to wargame the effects of cornfields. He mentions Johnny Reb specifically, and then he also shows how to model corn on the tabletop. |
| Page 8 |
| “Charging into the Din of Hell” by Lt. Col. (ret.) Charles “Chuck” Teague |
| This article discusses the countercharges of elements of the Union I Corps and XI Corps during the first day at Gettysburg. |
| Page 10 |
| Perryville, KY: October 8, 1862 by George Anderson |
| This is a scenario designed specifically for Johnny Reb II. This is a pretty large scenario which requires a lot of figures and terrain. The color map shows a game board of 4×6 feet is required. This looks like a really interesting scenario, though a lot of gamers would probably need to combine collections to play it. |
| Page 13 |
| Ask John Hill! |
| In this section, Johnny Reb creator John Hill responds to gamer questions to clarify rules. |
| Page 14 |
| The Sutler’s Corner: Product Review |
| In this section, the editors review products associated with miniatures gaming. In this particular issue, Jeff Chierpeski’s Black Mountain Miniatures painting service is reviewed. Apparently Jeff did not have a web site at the time of the review, and I don’t print anyone’s email address on this blog. I did a Google search and found the site here. |
| Page 14 |
| Alternate Charge Resolution in JR3 by P.J. O’Neill |
| This small article discusses an alternate way of handling charges and includes a nice chart to illustrate the alternate rule. |
| Page 16 |
| Salem Cemetery: Friday, December 19, 1862 near Jackson, TN by Scott Mingus, Sr. |
| This small scenario features an ambush set by the force defending Jackson, TN against Forrest’s Cavalry Brigade. Table size is 3×4 feet and this is a Brigade versus Brigade level scenario. The article includes an excellent color map. |
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Check out Beyond the Crater: The Petersburg Campaign Online for the latest on the Siege of Petersburg!
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