alternatehistory.com

18 May

At 10am, the Battle of Moulin Rouge begins in drizzling rain about halfway between Ann Arbor and Detroit proper. The Union attackers number roughly 10,000, mostly infantry - the demands of their relocation having led to a reduction in the number of cavalry - and with around two batteries of artillery totalling eleven Napoleon smoothbores.
Defending are 4,000 Canadian militia infantry and a single British battalion (the sole battalion of the 49th Regiment of Foot, Princess Charlotte of Wales' Herefordshires) plus some militia cavalry squadrons and a few guns. In command is a Canadian militia brigadier, who - unlike his Union opponent - has focused his reading not on Napoleon but on Wellington.
Accordingly, he deploys his troops behind a reverse slope. Owing to what he feels to be the superior training of his men in rifle-musketry compared to the muskets of Wellington's time, they are further behind the ridge than the soldiers were at Waterloo, with more like 150 yards between the shallow crest and the Canadians waiting in their ranks.
The 49th opens the battle, four companies deployed in extended skirmish order on the western side of the hill and the rest just behind the lip as a reserve. Their best shots begin careful firing at nearly half a mile, causing consternation from Union troops mostly ill-equipped to face this kind of ranged attack, and the Union assault force mills about for a few minutes before bringing their artillery to bear.
What follows is a slow-motion duel. The British forces are not as accurate at the long range at first, especially in the poor weather, but their dispersed formation serves very well to limit the casualties from the American artillery fire as well - though as the engagement progresses the Union commander has his infantry and artillery advance at the same time in an attempt to recreate the famous 'artillery charge'.
Over the course of about half an hour, the 49th suppress the guns and inflict further casualties on the Union for the cost of about eighty dead or wounded of their own. By this time, however, the Union infantry are close enough (about two hundred yards from the British force) that Morris - the 49th's colonel - sounds the withdrawal.

The sight of retreating British troops heartens the Union commander, who sounds the charge - producing a cheer, as his 6,000-strong assault force rush up the hill. By the time they reach the crest, however, they discover that the 49th has already reformed on their reserves - and taken a place in the line.

Roughly 2,000 rifles fire at once as the first rank of the British force opens fire.

The next few minutes are an increasingly confused, smoky engagement over less than two hundred yards of ground. Most of the infantry involved in the battle are not very experienced, many of them are aiming high, and the veterans of the 49th are soon unable to use their rifles to the fullest due to the confusion of smoke. Worse, the ground is turning to mud, and very few troops can tell what is going on beyond that they are to keep firing and reloading as fast as possible.

It is very hard to tell which units break. What is known is that at least two Canadian militia regiments are driven to fall back from their own fire, and that the Union end up retreating a hundred yards downslope before forming square in an attempt to get a grip on the situation. Once this is done, the American troops are reluctant to advance again, and it takes at least ten minutes for either side to sort out an effective response.
The Union reserves start up the slope, at which point the 49th - having extricated themselves from the still-complex situation behind the ridge - open fire. This drives the Union commander to signal a more general retreat, his reserves switching to covering this withdrawal, and the Canadian brigadier is unwilling to throw away his victory by having the 49th go off on their own (and he is well aware his own now-blooded troops will need a while to reorganize).

Late in the afternoon, as the weather worsens, the two armies have a tally of the results. The relative casualty rates have been relatively close to even, with about 1,500 Union dead or wounded and 600 British/Canadian, though the impact on the Union morale has been worse as their artillery has been all but destroyed. (The Canadian militia artillery was not involved in the battle, and two 40-lber Armstrong guns being made ready to head up to Grand Rapids have also been diverted towards the defence).


Pennefather dispatches one of his cavalry regiments to the east on hearing of the battle, sending the fastest troops he has available as reinforcement, and also removes 2,000 militia and two infantry battalions to ensure the situation at Detroit remains under control. Some of the militia will be spread out as pickets for the Detroit - Grand Rapids road, to prevent it being cut behind him.
Meanwhile, his opposite number - Blair - has discovered a serious problem. The powder stores were shipped to Grand Rapids in a tearing hurry, and several of the barrels have become damp in the rain - thus he does not have nearly as much available to defend as he had hoped.
Despite this, he is hopeful that Pennefather will not discover the weakness.