American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

Gentlemen,

I am reporting to all members of the Army of Tennessee for the October edition of the newsletter. I hope all of you are vigorously pursuing victory on the battlefield against our northern foes. Judging by the results from the tournaments, it looks like we have the yanks on the run—keep up the sceeeer. For those who are interested, registration has opened for the year’s final tournament, and I encourage all to join.



Item 1: 3rd Corps Commander

I am still looking for a replacement for the 3rd Corps Commander. Please reach out to me ASAP so we can get a solid command structure.



Item 2: Musters

Whether you do monthly or quarterly, please respond to your commands for musters. While we look for a commander for 3rd Corps, I will work with the division commanders to get caught up with your musters. I understand this is a minor nuisance for some, but musters are important, so try to stay on top.



Item 3: Happy Hour

This month’s happy hour will be at 8:30pm on October 31st. We are starting a series on battlefield tactics, and our next meeting will be a discussion on defending prepared positions. Thank you to all who have attended so far, and I look forward to seeing anyone who has the time to make it.

Last meeting, we discussed Civil War books, and here are some recommended authors I mentioned in the discussion: Gary Gallagher, Robert Krick, Ed Bears, Gordon Rhea, Stephen Sears, and John Hennessy.



Recommended reading: Nathan Bedford Forrest: In Search of the Enigma

Obviously, one of the Civil War’s most brilliant and controversial leaders. A slave trader, a natural military genius, a frontline leader, a contemptuous subordinate, supposed leader of the Ku Klux Klan, and unlikely advocate of racial justice … Gen Forrest remains at the forefront of Civil War controversy, and this book does a good job of laying out all of it.



Recommended viewing: Chickamauga! High Tide in the West

This film does a good job on illustrating the Battle of Chickamauga. Very informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUEhAB6h3lI



As always, good luck in all of your battles.

_________________
Gen Treuting

Greetings from the east.

You mention that we have "the Yanks on the run". I can verify the truth of that as I have been doing the background work for the Total War Challenge.

Although last month saw a slight setback, we still won more games than we lost. Overall, in the year to date, we are winning more than two games for every one we lose (CSA-251:USA-116). The icing on the cake is that when we win, we usually win well. Over 70% (180/251) of our wins have been Major Victories.
It's looking good: it's looking real good.

I see you also mentioned Gary Gallagher in your discussion on Civil War authors. Early this year I read his book The Union War. That book was described in several reviews as "revisionist" history because it demonstrates that the North was fighting for Union rather than some other reason. But facts are facts and that is what Gallagher stuck to, so I was interested to read it although it seemed to confirm my existing analysis of why the North fought, any other reasons seem more attuned to more modern motives rather than actual historical analysis.

_________________
Paul Swanson
Lieutenant-General
First Division
First Corps
Army of Northern Virginia