Game of the Week, October 19–25

From October 19 through 25, this week’s Game of the Week is Civil War Battles: Campaign Peninsula, available at a 25% discount. In spring 1862, the Union Army of the Potomac approached Richmond by water, hoping to reach the Confederate capital from the Virginia Peninsula. The campaign brought the armies close enough for Richmond’s church bells to carry to Union lines, but the path between the York and James rivers narrowed into a maze of rivers, roads, and defensive positions.

The campaign asks both commanders to solve a challenging problem. The Union must move a large army inland while keeping its supply lines open and its divided forces connected across the Chickahominy. The Confederates must delay that advance, then seize the initiative before Richmond is encircled. The battles around the capital turned on timing, terrain, and coordination—and on whether either army could turn a local success into a decisive result.

Campaign Peninsula has just been updated to version 4.05.6. Do Not apply the update to ongoing games. Existing players with games in progress should read the update note below before installing it. 

The Road to Richmond

At the start of 1862, the Union sought a way to end the war quickly. General George B. McClellan proposed transporting the Army of the Potomac by water to Fort Monroe, at the tip of the Virginia Peninsula, then advancing northwest toward Richmond. The route avoided the Confederate positions in northern Virginia, but it required the army to move far from Washington and depend on a long supply line by water, road, and rail. President Abraham Lincoln approved the plan while keeping forces near the capital and retaining close oversight of the campaign.

McClellan’s army began landing at Fort Monroe in March. Its advance stalled before Yorktown, where Confederate general John B. Magruder used a thin defensive line and conspicuous activity to make his force appear stronger. McClellan chose to besiege the position and bring forward heavy guns. Before the bombardment could begin, the Confederates withdrew. Union troops pursued them and fought at Williamsburg on May 5, but the retreating army continued toward Richmond.

The advance followed the peninsula’s narrow roads and rivers. By late May, McClellan’s army had reached the Chickahominy, a difficult river running through low, swampy ground east of Richmond. Rain swelled the river and damaged roads. The Union army had to bridge the crossings and keep its supply network working while it spread across both banks. On May 31, Confederate general Joseph E. Johnston attacked at Seven Pines, also called Fair Oaks, hoping to strike the separated Union forces. Confusion and poor coordination blunted the attack, and Federal reinforcements helped prevent a disaster. Johnston was badly wounded. Robert E. Lee took command of the Confederate army defending Richmond.

The pause that followed gave both sides time to prepare. McClellan planned to bring siege guns forward and move against Richmond’s defenses. Lee strengthened those defenses, watched the Union positions, and looked for an opportunity to attack. The Chickahominy remained a practical obstacle: rain could isolate corps on opposite banks just as an army needed to concentrate. Lincoln sent McClellan a short warning about the river and the weather:

“With these continuous rains, I am very anxious about the Chickahominy so close in your rear, and crossing your line of communication. Please look well to it.”

— Abraham Lincoln, telegram to George B. McClellan, June 3, 1862. The Lincoln Log.

Lee also needed to draw together forces scattered across Virginia. In early June, Stonewall Jackson’s command was operating in the Shenandoah Valley, where its victories had occupied Union forces that might otherwise have reinforced McClellan. Lee wanted Jackson to keep the enemy uncertain while preparing to bring him toward Richmond at the critical moment:

“Should there be nothing requiring your attention in the valley […] you may unite at the decisive moment with the army near Richmond.”

— Robert E. Lee to Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, June 8, 1862,
War of the Rebellion, ser. 1, vol. 11, pt. 3, pp. 582–83. Lee Family Digital Archive.

On June 25, Union troops attacked at Oak Grove, beginning the Seven Days. The following day, Lee struck north of the Chickahominy at Beaver Dam Creek, also known as Mechanicsville. The defenders repelled the assault, but Lee renewed it on June 27 at Gaines’s Mill. There, Confederate attacks finally forced the Union V Corps across the river. McClellan abandoned his supply base at White House Landing and began moving the army toward the James River, where Union gunboats could protect it.

The retreat was a sequence of battles rather than a clean withdrawal. At Golding’s Farm and Savage’s Station, Confederate attacks failed to destroy the Union rear guard. Lee hoped to cut across the retreating army’s route at Glendale on June 30, but delayed and disconnected Confederate attacks met determined Union resistance. The Army of the Potomac held the crossroads long enough to continue toward Malvern Hill, a strong position overlooking the approaches to the James.

On July 1, Confederate commanders launched repeated assaults against the Union position at Malvern Hill. Federal artillery and infantry fire inflicted severe losses, and the attacks failed to dislodge them. Yet McClellan did not resume the advance on Richmond. His army moved to Harrison’s Landing on the James, where it could be supplied under the cover of Union naval guns. Lee had not destroyed the Army of the Potomac, and the Confederates had suffered heavily, but Richmond was safe for the moment, and the Union campaign had ended.

The Peninsula campaign left both armies with hard lessons about movement, command, and the limits of battlefield success. A Confederate victory in the campaign’s strategic purpose came at a high cost, while Union troops had won the final battle but still withdrew. Campaign Peninsula lets players revisit the contest across its successive engagements: keep the army supplied and connected, defend the approaches to Richmond, and decide when a bold attack is worth the risk.

What's in the Game

• Campaign Peninsula includes 230 Scenarios – covering all sizes and situations, including a solo tutorial scenario plus specialized versions for both head to head play and vs. the computer AI.
• The master map (64,695 hexes) includes all the significant locations fought over in the Peninsula campaign.
• The order of battle file covers the Union and Confederate forces that participated in the campaign with other formations added in for hypothetical situations.
• Campaign and Scenario Editors which allow players to customize the game.
• Design notes which cover the production of the game, campaign notes and a bibliography that includes the sources used by the designer team to produce this simulation game.
• Campaign Peninsula provides multiple play options including play against the computer AI, Play by E-mail (PBEM), LAN & Internet "live" play as well as two player hot seat.

New in version 4.05.6: refinements to artillery fire and retreat behavior, a fire-range highlight, and master-map corrections. Important: the update moves all PDT files a new version and will break games already in progress. Finish those games before installing it.

The sister title Civil War Battles: Campaign Shenandoah lets players follow Jackson’s 1862 Valley battles. Those operations occupied Union forces that might otherwise have reinforced McClellan, linking the fighting in the Valley to Lee’s defense of Richmond.

Book and Video recommendations

Burton, Brian K. Extraordinary Circumstances: The Seven Days Battles. Indiana University Press, 2001.

Gallagher, Gary W., ed. The Richmond Campaign of 1862: The Peninsula and the Seven Days. University of North Carolina Press, 2000.

Newton, Steven H. Joseph E. Johnston and the Defense of Richmond. University Press of Kansas, 1998.

Sears, Stephen W. To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign. Ticknor & Fields, 1992.

Warhawk over on YouTube has a whole series on the Seven Days

Screenshots

We hope you enjoy this week’s Game of the Week: Civil War Battles: Campaign Peninsula. Like all WDS titles, it provides countless hours of rich historical gameplay at a very attractive price.