fallendown

When I used to work in Chantilly, VA, I drove past Henry Hill, Matthew Hill, and the Stone Bridge everyday. Rte 29 here runs right through the Manassas Battlefield.

Lol, when I was trying out for the mounted patrol at Manassas Battlefield we charged during a reenactment...it was fun... When I was in the Army I served in the Old Guards Caisson Platoon at Arlington Cemetery. That's where I learned to ride horses, out of 1927 cavalry manual...

They closed the trails to people on horseback. It makes sense though, narrow trail, big horse. Mine stands 5'5", nearly 2 meters at the shoulder. Plus people have their dogs sometimes too.

It's changing a lot because of development but the Civil War Trust is trying to buy up as much land as it can before people put houses on it. Everywhere you walk in this area has been fought over at one time or another. My girlfriend and I have ridden her horses through Manassas battlefield. They've opened up most of the battlefields to riders now, but some trails are off limits.

Nothing can truly describe the horror of that war. I recommend that anyone with an interest in the war read "A Mississippi Rebel in the Army of Northern Virginia." It's the personal memoir of Pvt David Holt who served as a skirmisher in the 21st Mississippi Infantry Regiment under General Posey. He was present from 2nd Manassas until his capture at Petersburg in 1865. His description of the horrors witness both on the skirmish line and in the trenches is gut wrenching at times. If cavalry is more your thing I suggest the book "The Last Cavalier" which is a biography of J.E.B. Stuart. Of course you could listen to the words of the last surviving confederate cavalryman who talked about the war at the Library of Congress in 1947 shortly before his death in 1948. Remember however this recording is not politically correct.

Those are the .58 caliber minie bullets. The .69's minie's used in the older Springfields with rebored barrels are larger than that.

Bullets were mostly .58 caliber but I did find 6 .69 caliber bullets. All of this was found in a half acre yard in a subdivision.

lol, speaking of sharing some history, I found 39 dropped bullets, an infantry officers coat button, and a US Belt buckle, in my grandfathers yard which is on the opposite side of Salem Church. Here's just some of it.

Exactly there's so much more to the Civil War besides battles. It's the ultimate chess game of maneuver and counter-maneuver.

I've been working on this very concept for a game I was working on, If multiplayer is to be implemented in this game then a real-time campaign map is greatly needed. Instead of being forced to fight a campaign of historical battles the players would dictate the flow of the war. It doesn't have to be as complex as Civil War 2, but some form of strategic movement would add a huge variety to the game.

You also have to add in that Confederate Divisions on average were nearly the same size as a Union Corps.Also while Union Batteries were of the same weapon type, Confederates used whatever they had to create a battery. The Union also had 6 guns in a battery while the Confederates had 4. Interestingly enough we still use the Confederate model for our current Artillery Batteries....

Chancellorsville: road Jackson used on his flank march and Confederate Artillery position at Hazel Grove looking towards federal position at Fairview

Spotsylvania Courthouse Battlefield, Bloody Angle from Confederate positions

These are pics of the stonewall, sunken road, and the Federal cemetery. The cemetery is atop Marye's Heights in Fredericksburg

Lees Hill Fredericksburg, VA These are pics from Lee's personal position during the Battle of Fredericksburg.

I'd like to introduce myself. I'm a 41 year old Army veteran and Civil War Historian who was born and raised in Fredericksburg, VA. The Civil War has naturally always weighed heavy on me because of where I live. Currently, I live within a stone's throw of Salem Church which figured so prominently on the final day of the Chancellorsville campaign. As we speak the City of Fredericksburg is gearing up for the yearly reenactment of The Battle of Fredericksburg. In the following posts, I'll be adding pictures from the area for those of you who've never been here. I'm also willing to help out however I can with questions and information for the community.

If Gettysburg is representative of Civil War Battles then it took 300 shots to cause 1 casualty. While this may seem strange, what you have to remember is that this is the age of black powder. Unless there was a breeze, the smoke from rifles and artillery quickly obscured vision on the battlefield. Also, the ranges were extremely short, while rifles then were easily capable of killing at 600 meters (yds)+ most engagements happened at 150m(yds) or less.

Exactly, I've loved that game ever since it came out. The sheer possibilities are endless. Sadly I can't get the sound to work on DOSBox for some reason.

Or Better yet, have a full Campaign/mission editor similar to Norm Kroger's Age of Rifles. Where you could edit the maps, unit composition, uniforms, weapon types, unit names, commanders, etc.

I am documenting everything that I've found wrong with the game thus far and sadly enough most are things carried over from Ultimate General Gettysburg. Routing: Soldiers are still routing towards the enemy instead of routing towards friendly troops. Skirmishers: Skirmishers never operated as they're portrayed in this game. Their principle job was to screen the main battle line from the enemy's skirmishers, who were generally the best shots in the regiment. For more detail read "A Mississippi Rebel in the Army of Northern Virginia", who's author, David Holt, was a skirmisher for the 21st Mississippi under General Posey. They never operated "Special Forces" style as depicted in this game, operating behind enemy lines. They stayed close to their regiments so when confronted with the enemy in force they could retreat to the safety of the main battle line. Even when used to protect strategic areas, like river fords, they still operated close to their regiments. The only exception to this was cavalry. Artillery depression and elevation: Like routing, this was a problem that was also present in Ultimate General: Gettysburg. For instance, there were many times where artillery at the base of Big Round Top could miraculously fire up to the top of Big Round Top. I've been there, there's no way that could happen. Civil war artillery had a max elevation and depression. Similarly, dead ground, operating "under the guns" is not accurately portrayed. For instance on Gaines Mill, it's possible to put artillery on the backside of the ridge along the stream and hit enemy troops on the opposite slope, which according to the game map, is pretty steep. Surrendering: If a unit has a way to escape it will try to escape, who wants to spend the rest of the war in Andersonville or Point Lookout. Yesterday at 1st Bull Run, Bee's troops surrendered after being charged while still having 1465 troops and nothing blocking their retreat. Other than this the game is pretty good. It's kinda cheesy how the weapon purchasing is a direct rip off of Civil War General's 2, but I'm not sure there's a better way to implement it. EDIT: Also Artillery firing at enemy infantry that is in close proximity or in melee with friendly infantry, also friendly artillery firing canister through friendly infantry. What about friendly casualties?

As it stands if I am CSA and I rout a Union formation that union formation can easily circumvent my line of battle and reform behind my line and attack from the rear. This is a problem I've been addressing since the beta. Routing forces will always fall back on their own troops, they're not going to seek cover and protection from the enemy, unless they're surrendering of course. Right now, a routing enemy unit can crash into your lines and force your line to break. If anything a routing unit should rout only rearwards towards it's own lines, seek cover behind friendly lines, reform and then it can rejoin the attack. If a routing force is going to break any lines, it will break the lines of it's own forces as seen many times throughout the Civil War. This is most readily seen in 1863 during the Chancellorsville Campaign when Howard's Corps routs after they're flanked by Jackson's Corps.

If you look at some of the battles in the east that involved hills, it was easy to see if you held the high ground you had an extremely important advantage, and that's in any time period. At Malvern Hill in 1862, Lee sent waves of infantry against the Union position to no avail. At Fredericksburg Marye's Heights, was held in depth, though troops positioned at the stonewall and sunken road did more damage. The heights behind Fredericksburg even today look like a formidable defensive position. Fredericksburg basically occupies a river valley, the only way to go south is to assault the heights. Even in '63 during Chancellorsville, Early held Fredericksburg, until Sedgwick out flanked the stonewall. I've been to Gettysburg also, and you can instantly tell from the confederate positions, it was a horrible place to fight...

This game has already provided more joy than all the Total War series games, which I found mundane with unimaginative battles, that posed a challenge only when played during multiplayer matches. Being a long time wargamer and a lifelong Civil War fanatic, I'd like to offer this advice, and I've read that it is being worked on. Firstly, troop withdraw and routing. Enemy troops would never withdraw towards enemy lines, no matter what. I've seen several times where enemy troops will route towards enemy lines and actually cause them to route as well. Secondly skirmishers. I've never read or seen a "unit" of skirmishers, I've also never read about a group of skirmishers charging a main line of infantry. The role of skirmishers was to attack targets of opportunity and suppress enemy skirmishers, when confronted by infantry in force they would retire to their own lines... There's a great article on Skirmish doctrine during the civil war here at http://www.mvep.org/skirmishold.htm