A few things...

[Ressi]

1. I'm taking a few small liberties with history in this game. These are mostly simple cosmetic things. Most notably, the 1st Division had a number of Commanders during the War... and I don't want to be trying to play a different general every few months. To make things simple for the purposes of this game Gen. John Buford will be considered the Commander of the Division from the get go.

2. Any other cosmetic changes I'll be sure to point out as we go along. Buford's just the biggest one.

3. I will be needing/looking for 4 Brigade Commanders. I should prefer it if you stick with the actual men that held the jobs, though I won't force that issue. Those men and their brigades were: Col. Thornton Brodhead (1st Michigan), Col. Othneil De Froest (5th New York), Col. Charles Thompkins (1st Vermont), and Lt. Col. Nathaniel Richmond (1st Virginia). Yes, I am aware of the historical irony of a man named Richmond commanding a Virginia brigade (Richmond is the capitol of Virginia and was the Confederacy's capitol during the War).

4. At some point we will be getting, and using (in game and not in real life I have a degree in History ergo I am not rich) Spencer Repeating Carbines... yay Union.

5. I plan on following several of Buford's most notable engagements. This means Gettysburg, Antietam, and Second Bull Run among others.

6. If you have questions find the pink kitty. That will be all.

[Ressi]

P.S. please don't think this is going to be nothing more than a battle re-enactment game. I'm going to try to provide as many layers to the conflict as possible. I'm always willing to listen to what the players want to see done and directions they want to go in and will strive to accommodate them... I am not the Iron Fisted GM.

[Ragsdale]

what a pleasant surprise to see this after being out the loop for awhile.

[Ragsdale]

Originally Posted by Ressi

3. I will be needing/looking for 4 Brigade Commanders. I should prefer it if you stick with the actual men that held the jobs, though I won't force that issue. Those men and their brigades were: Col. Thornton Brodhead (1st Michigan), Col. Othneil De Froest (5th New York), Col. Charles Thompkins (1st Vermont), and Lt. Col. Nathaniel Richmond (1st Virginia). Yes, I am aware of the historical irony of a man named Richmond commanding a Virginia brigade (Richmond is the capitol of Virginia and was the Confederacy's capitol during the War).

I'm a little confused by this point. You say Brigade Commanders, but are listing Regiments, not Brigades. Also, what year are you starting this roughly? Was the 1st West Virginia (Richmond's Regiment) also known simply as the 1st Virginia?

[Dkaar Zatain]

Greetings . . . . I'm open to whatever it is you need. I do like the name Nathaniel Richmond
if that is available. Otherwise, whatever is your pleasure.
Oh, it's Zatain from the Ret as promised.

[Ressi]

I grabbed that information from the Biography of Buford by Edward Longacre. He may have decided to call them Brigades since a Brigade is the comparably sized unit in the modern military for ease of understanding for the lay person picking up one of the only biographies on Buford that's ever been done. As for why Longacre would choose to refer to the 1st W. Virginia as the 1st Virginia I couldn't hazard a guess, as I'm not Longacre, but you are correct in pointing out that the unit in question was the 1st W. Virginia.

We'll probably start from the very beginning, but I am willing to listen and do what the players, or potential players, want.

I'm a little confused by this point. You say Brigade Commanders, but are listing Regiments, not Brigades. Also, what year are you starting this roughly? Was the 1st West Virginia (Richmond's Regiment) also known simply as the 1st Virginia?

[Ragsdale]

I'm still a little confused on how you are going to run this. Are you starting with Buford being in command of a brigade within the 1st Division or in command of the entire division? At Gettysburg for example, the 1st Division of the Cavalry Corps held three Brigades each of which held 3-4 regiments.

Personally, I think Buford should command a brigade to begin with and be promoted to the Division later. I just want to clarify this b/c we're talking about the difference in about 700-1500 troops in a brigade of cavalry and 3000-6000 in a division. Each Regiment can be as little as 80-100 to being more than 600.

Also, out of curiousity, what Order of Battle did you use to choose those four regiments to be together? The only spot that I've seen so far that the four are in the same division is the Gettysburg OOB and they're actually listed as being in the 3rd Division with the 1st Michigan being in a separate brigade from the other three.

I'm not trying to be a pain on this, but rather trying to sort these things out from the beginning just to get on the same page.

[Ragsdale]

I found where they were all together (I don't know if its the first time or not) at 2nd Bull Run. They are in Buford's Brigade of Cavalry assigned to the II Corps.

[Ressi]

I think I'm going to plan on having Buford in command of a brigade within the 1st Division. I think that will be simplest and still provide an easy way for expansion if the interest is great enough. The subordinates beneath Buford would then, as you pointed out, be regiment commanders.

I figure each regiment would be around 150-200 men.

In terms of OOB... things were mixed up so much during the war in terms of regimental movement, command changes, and all that good stuff that I'm going to simplify things by keeping it simple. It'll be Buford at the top and Regimental commanders underneath... etc.

Any other questions just ask.

[Ragsdale]

so could I perhaps (if I ever were to find the time) come in later as commander of a regiment that was not historically under Buford? 6th PA for example.