Battle of Hampton Roads Wargame | 160th Anniversary

In this episode, Little Wars TV is on location in Hampton Roads, Virginia for the 160th anniversary of the world's first ironclad battle! We're refighting the legendary duel between the CSS Virginia and USS Monitor on the deck of a life-size, replica Monitor at the Mariners' Museum. Our wargame scenario includes both days of the engagement, March 8th and 9th. Can the Confederate James River Squadron scatter the Federal fleet? Or will the USS Monitor arrive in time to tip the scales? Will one of these legendary ironclads wind up at the bottom of Hampton Roads? Let's find out!
The Battle of Hampton Roads isn't just one of the world's most famous naval battles--it also plays a pivotal role shaping George McClellan's Peninsula Campaign to march against Richmond. We're spending the entire spring down in the Virginia peninsula to retrace the path of the Army of the Potomac. Subscribe to Little Wars TV and join us for the largest campaign of the American Civil War!
Our thanks again to the staff of The Mariners' Museum and Park. You can visit them in Newport News t walk on the deck of a life-size replica of the USS Monitor AND see the remains of the actual Monitor! The cost to visit this world-class museum is $1! That's not a typo. ONE DOLLAR. For any military history or Civil War buff, this place is a must-see.
www.marinersmuseum.org/

[@KimKhan]

"I'm sorry!" she was worried she ruined their fun, but no, all she did was add to the event. It's great to see people curious and get invited in without reservation.

[@reecedignan8365]

Having run a couple Battletech games it’s fun to seeing new people curiously come over and take up a chance at playing. It’s been a fun day watching new players take up the duty and rivalry’s of the inner sphere in fighting both the clans and each other.

[@eriknpf1]

She was a wonderful addition to the game and hopefully a new fan.

[@Fitzwalrus06]

"Newbie's Luck". It NEVER fails....🙄🤣

[@rc59191]

@@reecedignan8365 I miss the hell out of that Battletech clix game that stuff was legit. Now I can only play the Battletech RTS game on steam since nobody around here I know of plays the game.

[@MGBait]

There is nothing more dangerous (to the other side) than an enthusiastic newbie with beginners luck. Stephanie's enjoyment of the game definitely added something to an already excellent video.

[@iratespartan13]

Love how you guys just welcomed in someone to play. This is how you grow the hobby.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Well said--if you see someone lingering around your table, stealing glances at what's happening, there's no harm in inviting them to roll some dice! I've found very few people who don't manage to have fun jumping into a tabletop wargame!

[@tommckinnell2001]

@@LittleWarsTV Now get her to come back! :)

[@IronIvanKeith]

Stephanie is my new favorite LWTV hero of the hour. What a great game and a joy to watch her enthusiasm.

[@DeePsix501]

Always cool when you get the museum staff involved! We had staff get involved at a game at Guilford Courthouse, and they also dominated with amazing rolls. Must be part of a training course for all museum staff to outroll wargamers.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Would love to visit that battlefield someday!

[@DeePsix501]

@@LittleWarsTV Come on down. Excellent NC craft beer on me!

[@tommckinnell2001]

@@LittleWarsTV Or come to the Battle of Neville's Cross in historic (original) Durham :)

[@stephenwood6663]

When the Virginia didn't go for a ramming attack on the first day, as she did historically, I assumed at first that she was saving her torpedo-ram to deal with the Monitor - probably the best chance she would have had to decisively deal with the Union ironclad.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Agreed! We'll get into this a bit more next week in the rule review, but the rules we played are very lite and don't fully capture some of the historical issues at play. In the game, the two ironclads are equally maneuverable, but historically the Virginia was a VERY slow, cumbersome ship that would have had trouble conducting a ram attack against the Monitor. Another issue with the rules is that ram attacks in this game aren't particularly effective, so even if our rebel players had lined up a good hit, I suspect it would not have been crippling. Historically, if the Virginia had managed to ram the Monitor somehow (again, hard to imagine that happening for real) it would have been utterly devastating.

[@BodyGuardOfLies1]

It was wonderful to see Stephanie join the game and share her absolute delight as she wrought havoc with a string of great die rolls. This for me epitomises the pleasure and camaraderie of tabletop gaming.

[@mrgunn2726]

I loved this episode, it was great see a new person engaged in the hobby, maybe you have a hobbyist for life. One area I don't think was accurately modeled was the extremely wide turning radius of the Virginia and with rudder damage, I would think she'd have had trouble turning at all. The other area that did not impact the battle as much as it did historically was ship grounding. All in all another outstanding Little Wars TV effort! Thanks Guys!

[@LittleWarsTV]

TOTALLY AGREED on the turning speeds. The Virginia took 45-50 minutes historically to make a full turn and this rule set definitely does not model that. It's a topic we'll be discussing at length in next week's rule review. This is a great game for fast, fun battles. But it's a bit lite on the historical elements that help define the limitations of these period ships.

[@mrgunn2726]

@@LittleWarsTV Thanks for the reply, I look forward to the rules review.

[@VLSG]

Patrick seems great! Love to see him and more of his work here in the future!

[@LittleWarsTV]

A couple of us first met Patrick online, chatting via Discord, and when we found out he made model ironclads and lived in Yorktown, it was the perfect opportunity to meet in person for a game. He's a very talented 3D model designer and we had a great time hanging out, rolling dice, and feasting on BBQ that day when we drove down to Newport News. It's what gaming is all about! Such an awesome community of people.

[@r_a_t7046]

@@LittleWarsTV just let me know next time you're down! I've got a Big Bethel scenario in the works 😉

[@markmatzeder6208]

@@r_a_t7046 I’d be interested in that! (Especially your victory conditions)

[@r_a_t7046]

When Virginia was scuttled at Craney Island, there actually was a decent amount left underwater (a roughly equivalent amount to Neuse and Jackson) But it was all destroyed when the military started dredging and adding land at the island to make some kind of waste dump.

[@Urlocallordandsavior]

The Confederates should've scuttled it in the ocean for posterity's sake ;)

[@combatwomble5584]

Big up to Stephanie even through her mask you could see her smile. She was queen of the sea's that day!

[@slartybartfarst55]

I always love your wargames & visits to Historical sites, but I have got to say this one was absolutely my favourite yet! Thank you all so much for a truly fantastic pair of videos - whenever I make it over to the States again & have a day off close to the Museum, I really have to visit. And I'm guessing that wonderful Lady could clean up in Vegas with her dice rolls!

[@bigsarge2085]

Gunnery MVP Stephanie! I'll take this opportunity to thank you all for including her in the game as one of the "guys." My wife is black. We enjoy gaming, but my beautiful, intelligent, tactically proficient wife sometimes finds it difficult or even impossible to be taken seriously at certain tables/by certain players for no other reason than she's a woman & black , which shouldn't be the case, heaven knows the tabletop can use some diversity. So, thanks again.

[@LittleWarsTV]

You bet, Big Sarge. When our group rolls dice, anyone interested in history and having fun is always welcome to give it a shot. We have yet to find someone who failed to have a good time!

[@DeePsix501]

It's really a shame that Josh got court marshaled after letting the USS Congress get sunk. He'll be missed from the show.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Hahah I'm not sure Josh has learned of the court marshal proceedings yet....

[@agent148]

@@LittleWarsTV that might actually be kind of interesting and fun to see you folks at Little Wars TV roleplay

[@Mr_St_Lazarus-1099]

@@LittleWarsTV what

[@SubBrief]

Great job.

[@robertmastrud8124]

CSS Hunley subrief when?

[@Qoda]

Awesome game, guys! And great opportunity to introduce someone new into wargaming as well. Great stuff as usual! 👍🏼👍🏼

[@crupt7301]

Stephanie made my day, she was so happy and it made me smile nothing like happy people

[@duncansBoB]

Just love what you do, guys! Informative, educational and a whole lot of fun. Historical wargaming at its best!

[@davefranklin4136]

Great game/video! I haven't played ironclads in ages, and didn't have the ships myself. I don't even remember what rules we used to play. About the only thing I remember about them was they had (in our opinion) a flaw: the mechanic for long range shooting was to halve the number of guns of each size, rounding down. As I recall, there were ships, particularly some later war monitors, that had two different sized guns in the turret - so essentially they couldn't fire at long range at all.

[@DrBanzai]

This is extremely wholesome and I’m very glad I’m watching this :)

[@haroldmorgan7381]

Our Thursday night miniatures tabletop group here in KC Mo. did Battle of Mobile Bay ( Damn the Torpedoes!) a while back with Civil War Ironclads and wooden gunships too passing by two gun-forts (Ft. Gaines/Ft. Morgan) entering the bay past the floating torpedoes set off by the forts when Union ships came close - then had to fight the Confed ironclad ram Tennessee and other gun-boats (some with spar- torpedoes on long poles) - it was a fun battle with "hand-craft ships" we had made and a 1-page rules-sheet using 3 D6 dice for combat results !! Great fun!! :-)

[@richardklug822]

Kudos to all for another great LWTV presentation. I've played Yaquinto's Ironclads board game for years, but your miniatures game was much more "alive". Made me wish I had a 3D printer!

[@jesmichan]

oh I loved hearing Ashokan Farewell at the end! great song to cap off a great battle

[@thattassiewargamer]

A great game and fantastic to see new player get to roll some dice, so effectively too! More Stephanie please! ❤️

[@conorshaw5755]

It's great to see people get involved and have fun wargaming for the first time,

[@steveholmes11]

Stephanie deserves promotion to Admiral. Fantastic shooting.

[@michaeldecarlo6945]

Another great video. I just downloaded the Dawn of Iron Rules two days ago and am looking forward to fighting the Battle of Cherbourg with them - the classic Kearsarge vs the Alabama duel. Watching this video helped tremendously with understanding the game system. Thanks for all your doing for the hobby.

[@model-man7802]

I live here too and have been going to this museum since I was a boy.

[@attea1942]

LOVED the video, thank you so much for pulling together this great ironclad-on-ironclad-on-(replica)ironclad action! Kudos to Patrick for his dedication to the role, uniform, and awesome models. Well done Stephanie for giving those damn rebs something to think about! Thank you to the Mariners' Museum for providing such an awesome venue, I grin from ear to ear seeing that! And to the LWTV team for pulling together such a great and engaging series. On to Richmond!

[@LittleWarsTV]

Thanks, Mike! Your new rules were perfect for this setting. They are very fast, deadly, and easy for new players to jump in and have fun immediately.

[@Lewismarty1]

When you head to the office expecting admin and emails, then are met with a mini game to play! Sounds like a great day on the job

[@LittleWarsTV]

Especially when your job is at a world-class museum! Doesn't get much better than that.

[@elevencastle6154]

I’ve never played naval war games but this certainly has piqued my interest, the age of sail is such a fascinating period in time.

[@alexerny5552]

Top line: "Give her the Monitor!" Lol. Great episode!

[@sterlingmoose9335]

I visited the museum a few years ago, it's great and I highly recommend a visit. Unfortunately my camera died completely before I had taken many pics, I would love to revisit some time. The area is so rich with history, The Mariners Museum, Fort Munro, Yorktown, Jamestown and Williamsburg to name but a few. Go there, you wont be disappointed!! Thanks for another great video team!

[@chrisrobinson196]

Love all your games at museums and/or battlefields, and this may be the best. Looks like some of the visitors got to see the games too. I helped with a miniature table (we never actually had enough free moments to run the game!) of Vimy Ridge for the 100th anniversary of that battle at the Canadian War Museum, and it was a special experience.

[@caomhan84]

I live here and I don't even remember the Mariners' Museum even having a replica like that. I guess I need to go again...I haven't been there since grade school. Regrettably, when you hear "Monitor Merrimac" here, your mind doesn't go immediately to the ships/battle, it goes to the tunnel since we hear it so often on traffic reports.

[@LittleWarsTV]

You absolutely should check this place out. The museum is huge--we spent a couple hours inside and didn't even get to see everything. They have so many artifacts and a wonderful model ship display. And of course, walking on the deck of the replica Monitor is just awesome to get a sense of the scale of the real ship.

[@caomhan84]

@@LittleWarsTV yeah, I saw on the close up shot of the plaque that it was built in 2006, which makes sense because I went there in the '90s in elementary school, and all I remember is some revolutionary war stuff and scrimshaw/whaling artifacts. It looks like they have really updated inside in the last 30 years. I do need to go again as an adult.😂

[@lochmoigh1]

Not envious at all of being able to play a battle on the replica of a ship involved.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Before you get too envious, just know this...it was 85 degrees that day, full sun, on a steel deck. We all left that game having lost several pounds of water weight....

[@polishedpebble4111]

The animated maps help a lot in following the battle.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Thank you! That's nice to hear because it was a total pain in the *&# to make them!

[@batesmt25]

Good job Stephanie👍🏼. Great presentation

[@benjaminloyd6056]

Great start to the Peninsula Campaign, I am sure looking forward to McClellan's efforts!

[@13thLegio]

Brilliant guys, you just keep evolving the channel in such great ways!

[@zenlizard1850]

Excellent recruitment!

[@vincentgregory1470]

So cool to see you guys inviting Stephanie in to play. Made it even more fun to watch!

[@logancole5101]

Ah yes. Home turf, it's weird but cool having what might as well be my backyard not only be a place filled with history but also said history being recreated through a wargame.

[@theofficerfactory2625]

Beginner's luck! Glad a random stranger had fun.

[@hamsteronthepaintingtable6465]

Great game and lovely looking models :-)👍 Onto Richmond!

[@LittleWarsTV]

It's a long road, but we're going to make it all the way there!

[@hamsteronthepaintingtable6465]

@@LittleWarsTV loving the series 👍

[@DH.2016]

Loved that. Brought back memories of a couple of great vacations down that way, including visits to the Mariners' Museum. Very nice models, too, Patrick and good paint job (although may I suggest a run of appropriately coloured paint around the flag edges to finish them off?). Looking forward to the next video.

[@martinevans9757]

Lovely fun, and just in time for my birthday! Thank you for the battle, although as an Australian, I'm just a little envious that ACW battle sites are a mere roadtrip away for you folk. Hope Stephanie is one day writing rules for Osprey, or hosting a huge participation battle at Historicon, with 1/72 scale ironclads!

[@aaronsomerville2124]

Have y'all ever visited the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas? You'd love it and it would be a great setting for any number of Pacific games.

[@seanmorgan2257]

Another excellent, informative and fun video, thank you guys and Stephanie

[@russby3554]

You guys do love me! Thanks for a wonderful game!

[@thomaswilliams5005]

This is very entertaining and informative. Thanks for putting this in. I look forward to the rest of the aeries

[@anthonyjones7609]

I love the Mariners' museum. Great spot for gameplay.

[@hernandotorres1234]

Great video. fascinating topic and great too see the museum staff taking part and having so much fun. What an advert for historical miniatures wargaming. Well done to all,

[@davidgeister]

Great game - loved the inclusion of the Museum staff member.

[@carterhall8100]

The miniatures are awesome too, makes me what to get some

[@MisterNizz]

GREAT video. I was there the day they brought the turret home. It was a very emotional day!

[@stanleydomalewski8497]

Great Video, Thanks for Sharing !

[@stevenverdoliva6217]

Incredibly well done.👏👏

[@TheSappySalamander]

Awesome video, keep up the good work!

[@StatsScott]

Fun game. Great informative background. And made a new wargamer convert!

[@Brandolupa]

inviting her to play was the absolute highlight of the video, esp watching her sheer enjoyment

[@dancingpotplant]

A very entertaining video indeed, and more of military master Stephanie if possible please!

[@richardbradley2335]

Playing a naval game on a ship !!! Now i i have to find a fetid swamp to play my fetid swamp 40k game ?!

[@EricAlainDufresne]

Stephanie rocks! Really good video guys. Thanks

[@tommckinnell2001]

In other 'What ifs' of mid 19th century naval, how about an 'Anglo-French War goes hot' with Gloire and Warrior along with all the now obsolete but massive 3 deckers?

[@jimcourter5633]

Another great video!!

[@lorcanievers1521]

Spot on, very enjoyable.

[@brandoncampanaro7571]

Absolutely lovely that you guys invited her into the game, I think you guys mightve started a new hobbyist

[@patmcn9854]

Super Cool wargame!

[@walkakaloi4984]

That was awesome lol great videos as usual

[@joaoespecial4168]

Great Game and video!! That lady should join the US Navy asap!!

[@user-yf4jx6te2b]

Give'em hell, Stephanie!!!

[@haroldmorgan7381]

Our Thursday night group did Hampton Roads a while back with "hand-craft ships" we made and a one-pager rules-sheet ! On the 1st day the Confeds came out and the CSA Virginia "rammed" the USA Congress before the Congress could raise anchor & sails - firing from the Union guns just bounced off the ship's armor-plate and as the CSA Virginia backed out the USA Congress sunk in the mud ! The USA Minnesota showed up and a "Lucky Shot" blew off the Minnesota's smoke-stack and she filled with smoke as her crew abandoned ship ( Uhrahh!!) ! The Union side had rolled before game and just then the USA Monitor showed up from the N.E table edge firing it's two Heavy guns at the CSA Virginia and with extremely "Lucky Shots" penetrated the CSA Virginia's armor-plate and damaged guns and machinery (steering) - the CSA Virginia immediately started retreating back away toward the South's table edge as fast as she could get away off the table ! Because of "ship damage" - the ram, some guns, the steering to the CSA Virginia we did not continue into the 2nd day and the Union Monitor held the bay ! Our battle system used 3D6 dice of 3 colors - white = to hit, green = to penetrate, red = damage (hull points, guns, crittical hit (roll again).

[@Executioner9000]

Always watch out for the beginners luck! :D

[@LittleWarsTV]

We told Stephanie she needed to go to a casino after this game and put that hot streak to good use! She was ripping the rebel fleet up.

[@user-uf9sz8fj3w]

Hand-Craft-Ships - Our group made our own ship-models for this tabletop battle out of available "crafting materials " (nails, for masts, rubber eracers, and "gray-cardboard" for the ship-shapes) ! While I mentioned "backs of tablets" to get gray card-stock people have asked me for a BETTER SOURSE (here's the SECRET with experience) - go buy a VINYL-COVERED 3-RING NOTE-BOOK at a thrift-store or WALMART then cut off and peel-off the vinyl-covering and behold there are multiple pieces of MUCH THICKER GRAY CARD-STOCK for making better "ship-shapes !! Another question has been "rubber eracers" - you cut these standard school eracers with a "razor-knife" to make wheel-houses or other "parts" of ships glued to the deck-level - when painted these "parts" blend in to the ship-shapes ! You can also make more modern-era ships out of this thicker gray card-stock for dreadnaught and pre-dreadnaught ship models !! Enjoy the hobby of WARGAMING !!

[@tomwinkelspecht7796]

Excellent game. It’d be neat to see more ACW stuff-maybe some combined army/navy operations like the Nam game you guys did.

[@r_a_t7046]

Did someone say Fort Fisher!?! Or Fort Wagner!?! Sounds like a scenario idea!

[@snipeefox]

Ah yes, the double edged sword of the newbie. None of the tactical or strategic prowess, but indefatigable plot armour provided by the dice

[@markmatzeder6208]

Wish I could have stopped by and met y’all

[@saraschueler5467]

Drafting a new player from the crowd should become SOP!

[@dunning234]

I am really enjoying this thanks very much. Have you dun Jutland or The Battle of the Bulge.

[@adamantlyadam5201]

Dang, Stephanie was relentless.

[@anathardayaldar]

I love how you support the community and nonprofits and get them some publicity.

[@LittleWarsTV]

Thanks. We love working with museums, historical sites, and nonprofits. They could all use whatever help we can offer!

[@r_a_t7046]

Files for all the ships can be found here! www.wargaming3d.com/vendor/eastcoastironclads/

[@faolanliath6687]

Bet Miss Stephanie never thought she'd be whooping the confederate navy that day. Cool.

[@philiphughes7481]

The Virginia should have continued her attack on the Minnesota on the first day-the decision to break up was a disaster for the Confederate side. Yes it was getting dark, but the Union ships were on the ropes. You never let up when you have the enemy on the run.

[@dougbright6970]

Cool! More naval battles please?

[@LittleWarsTV]

Don't worry, Doug! Tom is hard at work on a really fascinating naval battle in South America. Could be our first club foray into South American military history!

[@dougbright6970]

Great! Say you’re doing the battle of River Plate without saying you’re doing the battle of River Plate.

[@TheMartymar1976]

Not necessary just that battle. Both Chile and Peru had ironclads that fought against each other during their wars in the late 19th century.

[@duaneleavesley3778]

Great Great fun video

[@anathardayaldar]

16:50 As Mr. Miyagi would say, "BEGINNAR RRUCK!!!"

[@EtzEchad]

That was fairly similar to the actual battle. Including the Minnesota going aground.

[@chrisbolland5634]

Cumberland didn't have 50 guns at the time it sank, only 22, 20 9 inchers, 1 ten inch, and 1 "70 pounder rifle". The ship was razeed in the 1840s to make it able to carry the heavy Dahlgren artillery.

[@professorpipe3270]

If you guys visit Hampton Roads again, be sure to get in touch with ODMS (the local wargaming club) - we would love to hook up for a wargame or talk history!!

[@oldschoolfrp2326]

Beautiful looking game, $20 for the stl files is a great deal

[@nicholaswalsh4462]

I need to drop by there.

[@richardphillips5517]

Great episode. Can Stephanie please roll my dice from now on. Out of interest how long was the actual game time for both days of the battle. Would it work as one or two club night games?

[@LittleWarsTV]

We resolved both days in roughly 4 hours of actual play time. The rules are very quick and deadly (as you'll hear in our upcoming review next week).

[@rolo8950]

The confederacy actually won the battle of Hampton roads. The union did delay the confeds but at the end of the day, one Confederate ship basically destroyed like three ships and heavily damaged and ironclad and managed to slip away.

[@reglavcor]

A Black.........Female............ player in your games? That is a first! Kudos! Hope she was on the Union side!! I am Black, and my great-great-great grand father would be spinning in his grave, if I played on the Confederate side!! Great video.

[@LittleWarsTV]

That's one of the great elements of tabletop gaming (historical or otherwise)...anyone can have fun! It's hard to roll dice, push toys around, and NOT manage to have a good time!

[@Jalu3]

The 175th anniversary of the California Campaign just passed. Please do a series for the many battles of that often overlooked part of the Mexican-American War which ended with the annexation of Alta California.

[@auricom8472]

Those dice have some umph to them when they hit the table. I'm guessing that they're using metal dice.

[@deathmagnetic300]

Does this outcome influence the next game in the campaign? Or the larger mission as a whole? Perhaps we may see them again to finish what they started!

[@LittleWarsTV]

The wargames we played on this road trip are NOT connected or linked. They are each stand-alone battles. If you're interested in linked campaign play, you'll love our upcoming ancients series. We played a massive Pyrrhic War campaign and are editing those videos now. Each turn and each battle influenced the next.

[@haroldmorgan7381]

HAND-CRAFT SHIPS - While commercial model ships are available at a price We Made Our Own Ships out of materials available - we used gray cardboard ( backs of tablets) cut in ship-shapes then used small nails for masts (one cut shorter for ship smokestacks) then cut rubber eracers pieces for steering houses - we also found some round Smiley-faced eracers which we cut in half for paddle-wheels glued to each side or put on the rear of river-steamers - after painting you can use a felt-tip marker to put gun-ports on the ship-sides each ship - while we bought a small pact of metal naval cannon on our ships another "cannon gun" can be a LIFE game blue/pink person marker painted black then glued on the decks ! Monitor-type ironclads (both 1&2 turrent) can be a ship-shape with round wooden floor plugs then painted black - Confed ironclads were a ship-shape with a small (2 inch) piece of car fan belt painted gray with a smoke-stack short nail ! We used these "hand-craft-ships" in both Hampton Roads and Battle of Mobile Bay (pretty much the same ships with different name labels ! :-)