Project ACW

- with Greg

For as long as I can remember in my gaming "career" there has been one period of gaming that I've always wanted to get into and get playing. That's the American Civil War. This year, I've finally decided to take the plunge and really get into it. I'm going to try and get some regular updates done here for the Behind Enemy Lines readers of my progress with amassing, assembling and creating my armies. Hopefully this can inspire a few of you to get into that period that's been beckoning you as well!

Why ACW?

I really don't recall where the desire to play ACW started but I do remember watch thew TV series North and South (featuring a young Patrick Swayze) as well as reading quite a bit about the history.

There is something seriously vibrant about a well-painted ACW army facing off against another one. I think it can only be match by Napoleonics for sheer beauty on the tabletop.

And so, my journey begins...

Which side?

I'm pretty lucky with this one in that I'll be doing an army from each side of the conflict...just in different scales. 

In 15mm, Mike and I will be building forces. As Mike is a Yankee himself, he's going to be taking the Union while I'll be painting up the Rebs. There's a little more free reign that you get with the Confederates in that the uniforms are anything but. I expect to be painting a lot of greys and browns with some blues mixed in here.

For 28mm, I'm on the Union side with Ryan taking control of the Confederates. This is the force that I have actually made a start on painting. Here's my first base:

Only 40 or 50 more to go.....


Which Rules?

At this stage, for 28mm we'll be using Black Powder from Warlord Games as this is the rules that are generally played in our area. I've had a test game and the rules seem pretty intuitive and well polished. The most interesting aspect I think is the order system in that you specifically order your units to do things such as "march toward the fence line and deploy to fire" or "CAVALRY CHARGE!" and it's up to you to get into character doing it!

I believe we're also going to use Black Powder in 15mm with some conversions for distances and the like.


So there you have it! I'm in and really looking forward to the journey!