My understanding of the cavalry function is one of security as well as reconnaissance. Probably the primary reason Lee had no information that the Army of the Potomac was nearby was that he depended on Stuart, who he thought was doing his job. The cavalry available was tasked with screening his movements by covering the passes, so the Yankees wouldn't know where he was or what he was doing, and at least in the case of Robertson's, was led by a general with a distinct lack of initiative. Meanwhile, the North's Bureau of Military Information had figured out Lee's order of battle through pieces of information from citizens, captured stragglers, spies, etc. Which is how Lee initially learned of the approach of the AoP.
These alternate and valuable sources of information are why I would support a skirmish function for cavalry units. Picture it as receiving information from spies, sympathizers, stragglers, lost orders, dying campfires, deserters, etc etc. Probably the reason the cavalry performed the reconnaissance and security functions was that they could break contact easier and could deliver information quicker. One problem with the game is that once you make contact, it assumes you are stuck there for twenty minutes, whereas if you got caught in an ambush you would have the option of breaking contact immediately. My impression is that as long as you took proper precautions, casualties in such incidents were usually minimal, because the numbers involved were usually minimal. In the case of Iverson's Brigade, you have to look at what their mission was. In essence, they were attacking and ran into much more than they bargained for, because they failed to take proper precautions.
MG Mike Mihalik
1/III/AoMiss/CSA
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