Any Civil War Buffs?

[revo]

I was a US History major in college with a concentration on US Military History, and the Civil War was always a great point of interest. I’ve been to a few Civil War battlefields (Antietam, Bull Run a couple of times, Hampton Roads), and later today I’m excited to go to Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg. I might make it to Gettysburg in a few weeks, but my wife usually rolls her eyes at these excursions!

[nullnor]

Keith Hernandez of the NYM is a Civil War buff.

[cardboardbox]

I used to love playing Sid Meier's Gettysburg!

[nullnor]

there's a Sid Meier's Gettysburg! omg. i used to play colonization all the time, i think that's Sid Meier. microprose. it was freeware for the longest time, and then some company bought the rights to it and you can't find it anywhere for free now.

i learned everything about the founding fathers from colonization. the trick to that game is you have to immediately locate and eliminate the Spanish before they kill Indians and steal the loot.

[revo]

We made it to Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania National Battlefield, but didn't get to Chancellorsville. Seeing Sunken Road was worth it.

[Moonlight J]

Went to Manassas again a few weeks back, but have otherwise not been to many myself. Drove through Gettysburg on my way to work with the school district a few years back.

[heyelander]

Gettysburg is fantastic... reread Killer Angels before going.

[dslaw]

Was able to see Gettysburg, Antietam and lots of the ones in VA when I lived out there. Moved to AR and went to Pea Ridge. That one was interesting because growing up in VA we didn't learn much about battles outside that area. I don't really get into the war the way some guys do, the uniforms and weapons and units in each battle, but I like touring the battlefields.

[Fresno Bob]

It stuns me that the military strategists of Europe learned nothing from the US Civil War, leading to the western front of WWI

[revo]

Went to Manassas again a few weeks back, but have otherwise not been to many myself. Drove through Gettysburg on my way to work with the school district a few years back.

In addition to Fredericksburg, I’ve been to Manassas a couple of times, Antietam, Hampton Roads, and a couple of minor skirmish areas. I might get to Gettysburg in mid-September.

[nullnor]

Europe learned about ships made of iron. maybe that was one of the biggest technological advances?

in the game colonization, i would skip William Brewster a lot, and when indentured servants and criminals showed up to emigrate i would use Simon Bolivar to bless them as missionaries. so they actually never became free colonists. essentially i sent criminals to teach the native americans. heh. which made them attack the English even more!

[Kevin Seitzer]

It stuns me that the military strategists of Europe learned nothing from the US Civil War, leading to the western front of WWI

American military strategists didn't seem to learn much either.

[Fresno Bob]

American military strategists didn't seem to learn much either.

it took like 6 months for us to learn the bloody lessons the Brits and French and Germans had spent 3 years showing the world once we showed up "Late and Loud" in 1917

[Fresno Bob]

we did learn them for WWII though, the joke goes "How do you know which army is hiding in the woods over there? A: Shoot into the woods, if accurate rifle fire comes from the woods, they are Brits, if accurate MG fire, Germans, if no one fires back, but a bunch of artillery hits you while planes strafe your rear area, those are Americans"

[umjewman]

One of my favorite links:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/who-had-best-civil-war-facial-hair-180951965/