Thoughts on Needlepoint

Although sinking the CSS Tennessee was still stuck fast to the USS Monadnock. I played this ‘on the fly’ as I had not thought about entangled ships being able to carry on fighting outside of their ‘up close and personal’ situation. Read on for more insight….

In the picture above the CSS Tennessee has rammed the USS Monadnock and they are locked together as a result. The four white counters represent ‘sinking markers’ and one is removed at the start of each game turn. When they have all gone the ship slips slowly beneath the waves….

Now I had not thought about ships being stuck together being able to fight other than with each other at the point of contact but the situation above got me thinking (never a good thing….).

I have not researched this kind of situation in any great detail but I was reminded of the duel between the CSS Governor Moore and the USS Varuna. Although they were around ten feet apart at the time the Confederate ship fired into the hull of the Varuna through her own deck as she was unable to otherwise bring her artillery to bear. The unfortunate Union ship ended up being rammed three times before sinking - twice by the CSS Governor Moore. As ten feet apart would be within the realms of ramming in my rules - it would fall within one grid area - I got to thinking about how a ship could fight in such circumstances.

Looking at the picture above you can see that the bow of the CSS Tennessee is firmly stuck in the starboard aft quarter of the USS Monadnock.

My thoughts are as follows.

The grid area in which the ram occurs prohibits and form of combat IF the two ships are locked together. If they are separated then combat can take place as normal using the appropriate firing arcs.

Ships that are locked together may only fire from the hex that is not rammed so the ramming ship may not fire from her bow whilst the target ship firing will depend on which part has been attacked. Ships may fire outwards as per normal from their unengaged side and either ship may be fire on from any vessel in range.

I will have a bit more of a think about this but on the face of it this seems like a feasible ruling.

In the meantime though, have a look at the below.

The Varuna

by George Henry Boker

Who has not heard of the dauntless Varuna?
Who has not heard of the deeds she has done?
Who shall not hear, while the brown Mississippi
Rushes along from the snow to the sun?

Crippled and leaking she entered the battle,
Sinking and burning she fought through the fray;
Crushed were her sides and the waves ran across her,
Ere, like a death-wounded lion at bay,
Sternly she closed in the last fatal grapple,
Then in her triumph moved grandly away.

Five of the rebels, like satellites round her,
Burned in her orbit of splendor and fear;
One, like the Pleiad of mystical story,
Shot, terror-stricken, beyond her dread sphere.

We who are waiting with crowns for the victors,
Though we should offer the wealth of our store,

Load the Varuna from deck down to kelson,
Still would be niggard, such tribute to pour
On courage so boundless. It beggars possession. — 
It knocks for just payment at heaven's bright door!

Cherish the heroes who fought the Varuna;
Treat them as kings if they honor your way;
Succor and comfort the sick and the wounded;
Oh! for the dead let us all kneel to pray!

For the record both the Varuna and the Governor Moore are STILL on the modelling tray - and have been for best part of a year so I reckon I need to do something about getting them finished!