American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Antony Barlow</i>
You are never far from a battlefield of one sort or another. I would assume that it is the same in Germany, even discounting WWII.
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Yeah, you know how German WW2 battlefields tend to look ...



But indeed, thinking about it some more over dinner last night, I find Turnham Green was by no means my only battlefield. Apart from having seen Bunker Hill and Ticonderoga as well as Waterloo and Ypres (don't know how all that escaped me when I typed my first post yesterday), I also practically grew up on a battlefield, if you count sieges. My home town of Augsburg was fought over repeatedly from the times when Southern Germany was a Roman province right in the 18th century. Also Hamburg where I live now was besieged last time in 1814 (and then bombed in WW2, see above). Then of course Germany is full of fortified towns and castles and most have been the site of a battle more than once.

But battlefields the way there are in North America--with the terrain mostly preserved and markers all around--, that we don't have. Central Europe's too densely settled to allow that. (Does anyone recall the anecdote about the guy who wondered how the Americans always managed to fight their battles in national parks?)

Gen. Walter, USA
<i>The Blue Blitz</i>
3/2/VIII AoS

West Point Class of '01

I didn't know about that site. A few years prior to staying on the southern coast of NC, we stayed at Emerald Isle and visited Fort Macon State Park:
http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v ... &encType=1

If I recall, that was fairly well preserved too.

I see Fort Fisher (MS Maps Bird's Eye is a great tool...)

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v ... &encType=1

Battleship North Carolina:

http://www.bing.com/maps/default.aspx?v ... &encType=1

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="3" face="book antiqua" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by boilertech</i>
<br />Hey Dirk,
If you had the time, about twenty miles away from the Battleship, you could of seen Fort Fisher which is a state park with visitor center. It still has some of the old earthen works, cannons etc. Which fell to the Yankee hordes in Jan 1865 [B)]and Wilmington,NC. Also across the Cape Fear River from Wilmington was another Confederate fort called Fort Anderson but the only thing left are some historical signs about it. Up the road from Wilmington on I-40 was Bentonville battlefield. I only live about 15 miles from the Battleship, last year in May the Navy had their newest Sub commissioned in Wilmington. It's the fourth Naval ship to carry the name North Carolina they were going to have it next to the battleship but the Cape Fear River isn't deep enough so they had the ceremony at the State Port. As with Naval tradition they have items from the three previous ships on the new one

Respectfully,
Lt. Gen. Gery Bastiani
AoM CSA



"If there is a shell or bullet over there destined for us, it will find us" - General James Longstreet


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Lt. General Dirk Gross
XIV Corps/AoC

Most of my recent battlefield visits are eastern theater, during the period I lived in DC. My favorites:

Antietam - very well preserved, you can walk the entire thing from north to south in a leisurely day, following the development of the battle. Lunch by the creek is nice.

Gettysburg - getting a bit squeezed by development, but still a very well-maintained and interpreted park, with 90% of the ground on which there was fighting in public ownership.

Manassas - Points off because some areas that were fields remain wooded today, a problem they solved at Antietam by subsidizing farmers to keep the fields in crops. Still, well-interpreted, and you get two for one.

Vicksburg - Nicely-restored works, and easy to tour the whole thing, since it was essentially a static line.

Fort Sumter - I enjoy almost anyplace you have to get to by boat!





Gen. Matt Perrenod
<i>The Blue Ghost</i>
Commandant, Union Military Academy
1st Brigade, 2nd Division, VIII Corps, Army of the Shenandoah
UMA Class of '01

Hi,

My top five are:

1) Gettysburg-Lots of info available there.

2) Vicksburg-Because it includes the Cairo.

3) Sharpsburg-Easy to follow how it all went down.

4) Chickamauga- Another large battle.

5) Shiloh- well-preserved.

Some interesting sites not mentioned:

Droop Mountain, W Va- A very pretty park for a small battle.

Carnifex Ferry, W Va-Another very pretty park, but the battle barely happened.

Ft Blakely, Ala-Part of the seige of Mobile, the fort was stormed and captured near the end of the war.

I have visited a few other places like Ball's Bluff, Rich Mt, Helena and Sabine Pass, but these have little more than a marker. Helena has a good museum though.

MG Mike Mihalik
1/III/AoMiss/CSA