The following dispatch was sent this morning from the Commander of the ACWGC Union Army Military Group, General Derald Riggs, to General Ken Miller, Chief of Staff, Union Army of the Potomac.
"General Miller,
"Upon receipt of this dispatch you are officially informed that your name has been retroactively removed from the active roster of the Union Army to date from January 15, 2018, and that you are relieved from further combat and administrative duties as per your personal request and wishes".Ken Miller graduated from the Union Military Academy on January 15th, 2000. His retirement, which we celebrate today, marks the passage of an 18-year career as an officer of the ACWGC UA, making him one of the earliest members of the club. Ken's club ID number is 158, out of 1,477. Only some 28 out of those 158 still remain active. But few of them can claim the tremendous and sustained personal contributions made to the ACWGC and the Union Military Group than General Miller.
Ken was originally assigned to the 1st Brigade, Second Division, XIX Corps, Army of the Shenandoah, personally identifying his command as "The Allegheny Blues." He threw himself quickly into the club's digital battlefields, earning a promotion to colonel in August of his first year and the assignment as commander of the Third Division, XIX Corps. In October he undertook additional duties at the UMA as an Instructor. By the 1st of November he had gained his first star as a brigadier general.
In February of 2001 Ken was given a brevet promotion as a major general and the command of the VIII Corps, AotS. He continued to regularly collect battle awards and was promoted to Lieutenant General in early September. Throughout all of 2002 Ken remained a challenger upon the battlefield and commanded his corps consistently and dependably. He stepped down from VIII Corps command on January 15th, 2003 and resumed command of his old brigade.
Throughout 2003 and 2004 Ken pursued his gaming with gusto and was then assigned to command what was known as the Veteran's Division, VIII Corps. On December 26th, 2005, Ken received his 4th star as a full General and was placed in command of the Union Army of the Shenandoah. By that time he had also been instrumental in the training and graduation of 23 cadets at the UMA! He was also centrally involved with the integration of the officers of the old XXV Corps from the deactivated Army of the James into the AotS's VI Corps. From his installation as the AotS AC until January 1st, 2008, when he returned to his old brigade again, General Miller rigorously placed himself in combat while directing the fortunes of the AotS.
In October of 2009 he once again stepped back into admin duty as the 3/VIII DC. But that assignment was short-lived when he was called upon to take command of the Union Army of the Potomac in mid-December! He quickly provided and installed the multi-page website for the AotP, so familiar to club members today. In mid-August Ken's tenure as the AotP AC came to a close, but his association with the AotP continued for the rest of his career as that field army's Chief of Staff. For the next six years General Miller became a fixture in the AotP, expertly assisting 5 different and successive AC's. General Miller undertook to provide the necessary data and facts for the AC to fashion the regular, monthly reports. He did this all with his usual attention to detail and fine eye for organization. Nor did he cease his constant presence upon the battlefield during this time.
General Miller leaves the ACWGC with a 97-27-49-16-43 combat record, one of the most prodigious and successful endeavors ever turned in by any club member! He has amassed 3,893 OBD Points. His service and combat awards list reads like a dictionary. He has been awarded the Union Army's prestigious Defender of the Union Medal, two Outstanding Service Medals, three Exemplary Service Medals, the Honorable Service Medal and three Good Conduct Medals. He also holds the rare Bureau of Military Information Sharpe Medal with oak leaves, and the Union Academy Instructor's Medal (40 Cadets)! Of his combat attainments General Miller was awarded the Kearny Cross, the Sheridan Combat Medal and the Union Army Combat Badge Medal. He is the recipient of 10 Campaign Medals, over 150 Battleground Battle Stars, 4 JTS/HPS FMV's, 51 separate Battlefield Ribbons, 12 individual tournament ribbons and 10 appearances in the Red Badge of Courage Tournament with 6 Major Victories.
Yet all of that still does not compare to the tremendous volume of investigative and supportive engineering work that Ken accomplished for the club throughout his career. He fashioned and put together a number of detailed websites that served as informative foundation sites for the club members. Among these is/was his famous ACWGC/ACWCO Engineering site (temporarily unavailable), his ground-breaking Corinth Files site, and his two (Hooker's Gamble and Stone's River) Tessier MP System sites. In this respect, Ken gave more of himself and his passion for the club in a way that no one else has approached. These particular works stand as pillars of his commitment and energies. One cannot read and investigate them without understanding the keen mind and questioning character behind them.
It is no exaggeration to state that General Ken Miller is an acknowledged
master of the game, and that without him these past 18 years the ACWGC would be something far less that what it is today. And while it is somehow and somewhat inadequate for the club and the Union Military Group to attempt a suitable recognition for this officer upon the occasion of his elective retirement, it is nonetheless proper that we at least try.
GENTLEMEN OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR GAME CLUB,
ATTENTION TO PARADE!
The ACWGC Cabinet awards General Ken Miller
THE LEGION OF MERIT MEDAL and RIBBON
The Union Army Military Group awards General Ken Miller
The Defender of the Union Medal (2nd), The Outstanding Service Medal (3rd), The Exemplary Service Medal (4th), The Honorable Service Medal (2nd) and the Good Conduct Medal (4th)
GENTLEMEN OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR GAME CLUB,
PARADE DISMISSED!
All officers and dignitaries are kindly invited to repair to the Mason Dixon Tavern's bar to help celebrate the retirement of General Ken Miller.