Differing maps

Looks like the map on the Wikipedia page on Bull Run is somewhat different to some other maps out there. I did some digging and found some maps used in other games. This is the map from Take Command: Second Manassas I mentioned in an earlier post:

It has that nice elbow room I appreciate in a wargame. Looking at the Henry Hill area you can see that there are a lot more woods in that area than in the wikipedia map. Also, ingame, I could have a look at some nice 3d-representation of the terrain:

That's the only source I've seen with a stone wall on Henry House Hill. My version probably won't have one. This next map is from a Hex & Counter wargame, "Three Battles of Manassas". This is a good one:

In this map you het a better idea of the elevations. Also, the road behind Henry house is closer to the house in this one (as well as some other maps I've seen) than in the wiki. The area behind the hill is wooded and the elevations are more defined. Also, the wikipedia map didn't have Buck Hill, which looks like a feature that needs to be on my map.

I've also been looking at the Bull Run scenario from the Fire and Fury scenario book and maps on a book called "Maps of first Bull Run". Ive also done some measurement checks on Google Earth on some of the hotspots still on the field to make sure everything keeps on the proper place. I suppose I now have enough reference to build by own map on the field. I'm in the process of editing the wikipedia map to reflect all my sources and fit a wargame better. It's not ready yet so I wont show it. The table will be 160 cm * 240 cm though, so I'll be able to fit it on two citadel grassmats.

Also, Litko sent me a mail that my order is now done. I hope I'll get the bases in a couple of weeks. I've already undercoated a bunch of fresh union troops and I'll start painting them after I finish one 28mm piece I'm working on. I still haven't replaced my broken camera with a new one, so no miniature pics for you until I do!

Some background research

A kindly person from the Baccus forums lent me a look at the Bull Run scenario from the Eastern Battles scenario book, many thanks! It's a good basis from which to start developing my own version of the scenario. The "official" scenario is designed for the 150 scale which means there are 1/4 more stands in the brigades and the groundscale is 1/4 larger than what I'm going to use. Conversions should be easy enough. Looking at the map I see the designers have bent the real locations of things a bit to fit the scenario. I suppose it's ok if it fits the table better while still keeping to history. Also, I see there are some details of the battlefield which are different with different maps I see. For example, the wikipedia map I looked at doesn't have woods on the southern half of Henry House Hill, whereas many other sources do. This is an important detail I'll have to look into. I will be double checking the terrain and OOB from any sources I can lay my hands on. One promising source I found was this blog with some digitized old records of the war. It's the first source of manpower information of the brigades I've come across.

A bit of a lazy man's source, I'm also in possession of a civil war PC game from a few years back, Take Command: Second Manassas. It's a sequel to a game which had the battle of Bull Run, but which is no longer available. The modding community for TC2M has been active however, and has ported the Bull Run scenarios of the previous game into the second. I can take a look at the well researched information on regimental level strengths of the combatants in these scenarios as well as see a 3D implementation of the battlefield, which'll give me a good idea on what the terrain on the tabletop version of the battle should look like. TC2M is the game which got me interested in the American Civil War for wargaming in the first place. It's still a good game (verified yesterday) and you can get it for dirt cheap on Steam. Also, take a look at the successor for the game, Scourge of war: Gettysburg, which improves on the recipe by adding multiplayer. And no, I'm not getting paid for this advertising.  

I'll end with a holiday snapshot from a Pickett's charge scenario from SOWGB.