Sharpeville Turns 7 - 8

I’m continuing to play it safe for the moment by avoiding contact with the enemy and concentrating the army at Sharpeville. Tompkins cavalry have withdrawn slightly but I now have the Corps of Porter, Heintzelman and McDowell positioned closely to the town.

My forces are achieving a reassuringly tight concentration around Sharpeville.

Unit symbols with red text on them denote troops deployed in battle-line.

My scouts report that Jackson’s entire Corps is now assembled due east of Sharpeville but there is still no news of the whereabouts of Longstreet or the enemy Artillery Reserve and Wagon Train. Stuart’s Cavalry have also given us the slip – which is always a bit of a worry as Dave has a tendency to do nasty sneaky things with them!

My dispositions at the end of turn 8 - Bayard's Cavalry (to the south) are
now desperately seeking the whereabouts of Longstreets Corps!

So current thinking here at HQ is that the best course of action is to try to bring on a battle as soon as possible in the hope of catching Lee off guard. It’s just possible that the enemy forces are quite widely separated and to strike now, on ground of our own choosing, might give the best chance of success on the battlefield.