The Civil War, the war that caused the most American casualties of any war. A war that split households and friendships. In reality, the two sides were roughly evenly matched in terms of generals. Let's hypothesize that those people didn't exist. No Sherman, no Grant, no Lee. Just you and your ability. Who will you pledge your allegiance to and how well will you serve them?
The only things that are brought over from reality into this RP are the following:
1. Abraham Lincoln is president of the USA
2. Jefferson Davis is president of the CSA
3. The infrastructure of the USA and CSA are the same as how they were
These are the continuities, the rest is up to you to decide.
In this RP you can play as a commander in either army, a politician, or a spy. How will you serve your side?
As a commander you will lead military forces against the enemy, organize offensives, and seek to end the war.
As a politician you will lead your nation through a time of strife.
As a spy you will gather information for your side, sabotage the efforts of the enemy, and seek to destabilize the oppositon.
The choice is yours, on to battle.
If you choose to play as a military officer, consider this before you decide what kind of officer you wish to play:
Officer of Infantry: As an officer of infantry, you will fight on the frontlines. This aspect of warfare is what most think of when they think of Civil War battles, lines of infantry taking turns shooting at each other before eventually charging in with bayonets. This is the ugliest part of combat, amidst the smoke and screams of the battlefield.
Officer of Cavalry: As an officer of cavalry, you will be responsible for being the eyes of the larger army, scouting and making initial contact with the enemy. During a battle the cavalry may find itself on the flanks, skirmishing with their carbines, held back in preparation for capitalizing on a breakthrough, or charging in sabers raised to finish off the retreating forces.
Officer of Artillery: This is the most laid-back aspect of combat, sitting several hundred yards back from the fighting, making calculations, picking a shell type, and blowing people apart. The job of the artillery is to suppress and disperse enemy troop formations, provide counter-battery fire for their friendlies, and break the will of the enemy.
Corps or Army commanders: As a commander of a Corps or Army, you will be responsible for managing the above forces and deploying them effectively on the battlefield. The over all strategy and planning will be your responsibility, rather than the messy tactical decisions.
Breakdown of Military structure of the Civil War (This applies to both sides)
Infantry Organization
Company- Commanded by a Captain, this is the smallest group of soldiers that will make maneuvers and engage in combat. Standard combat strength on paper was 100 men per company, but due to illness, desertion, and other factors usual combat strength was around 50 men.
Regiment- Companies were grouped together to form regiments—the fighting unit with which soldiers most identified. The regiment was the basic maneuver unit of the Civil War. Regiments could consist of just a few companies or as many as fourteen, but ten was the official number—ten companies of 100 men meant that regiments, on paper, were composed of 1,000 officers and men. Yet because of undersized companies, especially as the war progressed the average Civil War regiment at mid-war consisted of 300-500 soldiers. Volunteer regiments were denoted by numbers followed by the state they represented, for example, the 99th Pennsylvania or the 7th South Carolina. Regiments were ideally commanded by colonels (the “commanding officer”) who oversaw two field officers—the lieutenant colonel and the major—and 30 “line” officers: ten captains and twenty lieutenants, who were in charge of the companies. A few more officers might work on the colonel’s staff as adjutants and aides. Noncommissioned officers—sergeant majors, sergeants and corporals—were also responsible for company-level duties.
Brigade- Regiments were grouped together to form brigades. Brigades consisted of anywhere from two to seven regiments for a fighting strength that could range from a few hundred to 2,000-4,000 soldiers. A brigadier general ideally commanded a brigade, but colonels and sometimes even lieutenant colonels regularly led brigades. When time and will allowed, brigades engaged in training as a unit—“brigade drill.” Up to the brigade level, the Union and Confederate armies were organized in the same fashion and were of similar size. The Confederate army was much more likely to “brigade” regiments from a particular state together than its Union counterpart. Famous brigades emerged on both sides such as the “Stonewall Brigade” and the “Iron Brigade.”
Division- Brigades were grouped into divisions, the size of which varied between Union and Confederate armies. The Confederacy’s divisions tended to be larger, with four or five brigades per division, while the Union most often had to only have two or three brigades per division. Both sides stipulated that a major general command a division, but Union divisions were sometimes commanded by brigadier generals and occasionally even by colonels. The Confederacy, however, rarely employed anyone below the rank of major general at the helm of a division.
Corps- Two or more divisions formed a corps, and here the ranking on the opposing sides diverges. Throughout most of the Civil War, United States general officers could only hope to attain the rank of major general. The sole rank above it, lieutenant general, was only bestowed during the war to Ulysses S. Grant in 1864. At the outset, however, Confederate general officers had more room for rank elevation. There were numerous slots available for lieutenant generals and a small number for the rank of “full” general—simply called “general.” A Confederate corps was ideally commanded by a lieutenant general, though they were sometimes commanded by major generals. A Union corps was ideally commanded by a major general, although brigadier generals sometimes took the command of a corps.
Army-The armies of the Civil War varied greatly in size from two small corps of just a few thousand soldiers to behemoths of several corps of more than 100,000 officers and men. Union armies were commanded by major generals while Confederate armies were under the command of a full general or lieutenant general. At the corps and army level, leadership would be determined by seniority among the available major generals, or by intervention from Presidents Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis.
Cavalry organization
Company- Similar to Infantry companies, Cavalry companies are commanded by a captain, supported by 2 lieutenants. On paper strength is similar to the Infantry, and the in combat strength is also comparable.
Regiments- Early war this was as large as cavalry units got, operating within larger units.
Artillery organization-
Piece- The smallest unit of organization for the artillery was called a “piece,” which was one cannon. Each piece was serviced by 8-20 men, some actually operating the cannon and others providing logistical support such as driving battery wagons and filling limber chests.
Section- The pieces were then organized into a section, which consisted of two cannons, ideally commanded by a lieutenant.
Battery- Two or more sections formed a battery, commanded by a captain who oversaw the lieutenants (commanding sections) below him. In the South, batteries tended to contain two sections and in the North they tended to contain three sections. Batteries tended to consist of 100 to 150 officers and men.
Early in the war, artillery batteries were often just attached to infantry or cavalry regiments.
Mechanics we are putting through player testing
CO-OPS
1-Revlona
IC
ROSTER:
UNION:
Major General William Westmann (See "Example App"), Command Army of the Potomac- Bolslania
Brigadier General Max Hernandez, Command 1st Southern Volunteer Brigade, no Army assignment- Romextly
Major General Juan Martinez command 1st Division, no army assignment- Langenia
CSA
Major General Ryan AlexanderCommand 1st Corps, no army assignment.- American Pere Housh
Lieutenant General Charles Shepard Graham, Command 3rd Corps, Army of Virginia - Wasi State
Lieutenant General Alexander Robert Henderson III, Command 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia- Revlona
An up to date map of Army locations and battles that have occured
