During my tour of Virginia-Maryland battlefields last week I tried to imagine the game maps as I stood at certain vantage points. Many times (especially at Fredericksburg) the foliage would block what was otherwise a clear view in the 1860's. But at Cedar Mountain there was a lot of open ground and I was surprised to see how little the HPS game map resembles the lay of the land. While most of the other HPS maps seem to be pretty well researched, a quick look at the topo map from the Civil war Trust website confirms that the Game map for Cedar Mountain is a bit fictionalized.
This first photograph shows the Union approach route up the Culpeper Rd. toward Mitchell Station Rd, familiar to any Union player who has played the scenario:
![Image](http://imageshack.us/a/img10/9686/cmclprrd.jpg)
2nd photo at the intersection, the Confederate lines are visible at nearly the same elevation, with slight rolling hills in between:
![Image](http://imageshack.us/a/img546/8117/cmmitchell.jpg)
3rd photo of Cedar Run Church on a hilltop east of the creek, not as shown on the game map.
![Image](http://imageshack.us/a/img9/6360/cmcedarchurch.jpg)
4th photo
![Image](http://imageshack.us/a/img822/7201/cmcpprroadtothegate.jpg)
5th photo
![Image](http://imageshack.us/a/img18/1882/cmrebline.jpg)