Pea Ridge Visual Reference

I live a short distance from the Pea Ridge American Civil War National Battlefield and went there this morning to kick around and get myself inspired for the upcoming ACW wargaming hijinx.

The park is a great place to go for a hike or bike ride, as the the grounds cover hundreds of acres. Wildlife is abundant-usually you see dozens of whitetail deer. This trip a large variety of colorful butterflies took center stage. The prairie grasses, rolling landscape, and managed woodlands are all great environments to move through.

Anyway, there is a variety of split rail fencing to look at, various cannon, and the Elkhorn Tavern reconstruction, which I may try to scratch-build at some point. I thought I’d put together a small visual reference for the future.

Without further to-do, here are three types of split rail fence on display at Pea Ridge.

Split Rail Type 1

Split Rail Type 1

Split Rail Type 2

Split Rail Type 2

Split Rail Type 3

Gate connection. This may be totally ahistorical. It does, however, work.

Gate Connection: Part Deux

And here is the scene of the heaviest fighting-Elkhorn Tavern.

Elkhorn Tavern

 

Elkhorn Tavern – West Elevation

Elkhorn Tavern – South Elevation

Elkhorn Tavern – East Elevation

Elkhorn Tavern – North Elevation

Elkhorn Tavern – Artist’s Depiction (note the difference in the porch canopy compared to the photographs and the lack of ground floor railing)

And last, but not least, some cannon, which I am too ignorant to identify. I do know (well, guess, really) that they are NOT 12 pound Napoleons.

I have no idea what sort of cannon this is. It’s rifled. Its carriage is a deep olive green. Barrel is of brass. It has a flared muzzle.

A Gem of a Resource

It may be that everyone in the world, other than me, knows about this, but in case you don’t, the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago has an extensive collection of podcasts on military history subjects.

Many of the podcasts are interviews with historians and authors, but there is also a series on Medal of Honor winners, and a number of multi-generational round table discussions, as well. Great stuff. Well worth listening to while painting miniatures, making the morning commute, or going for a run.

I’ve only listened to two full podcasts, so far, but one discussed the 82nd Airborne and its leaders in Sicily, and the other was about the famous WW2 cartoonist, Bill Mauldin.

Here’s the index: CLICK ME

A Dry Season

State of the Union

Well, the gaming drought continues due to the crushing workload of architecture school (insert whimpering sounds). After complaining, I’ll admit that I’m giving myself a four-hour break on Saturday to play Squad Leader with a friend at the local gaming club’s monthly game day. It’s been a long, long, (very long) time since I’ve played a game of Squad Leader, or any hex-and-chit wargame (unless Memoir ’44 or Command and Colors counts), and I’m really looking forward to it.

Current Events

I have managed to do a bit of reading here and there, though it’s not getting done at my usual rapacious pace. I finished up Frigates, Sloops, and Brigs, which was pretty darned awesome and launched into Balkoski’s Beyond the Beachhead: The 29th Infantry Division in Normandy. Balkoski’s book is the perfect resource for Skirmish Campaign’s Heroes of Omaha and Panzer Lehr, as it details the exploits of the US force covered in that game book and is written from the level of the blood and mud. The author did lots and lots of research from primary resources, which lends a lot of authenticity to the nitty-gritty perspective.

A chronicle of the 29th Division in WW2

I’m only about 50 pages in, but the book is clearly written, and has some great breakdowns of US infantry organization and small unit tactics. The narrative hasn’t reached actual combat, yet, but I suspect the quality will continue, or even improve. I get the impression that Balkoski fell in love with the 29th a bit, but I hope it won’t be to an annoyingly blinding degree.

In any case, if you’re considering playing the HOOPLA campaign book, Beyond the Beachhead is proving to be an essential companion piece. Unless the next 200 pages completely suck, in which case I’ll let you know!

Signing off for yet another night of drafting until I drool…