Years ago, when my wife still had family in her native state of Mississippi, I spent a few days one visit retracing the Vicksburg Campaign, which is a fascinating blend of naval and army combined operations, overland campaigning and siege warfare. I started doodling a small point-to-point sketch map of a fictional part of the state, centering on the imaginary town of Bluffsburg. Some of the place names on the map are actual Mississippi place names, chosen because I liked the sound of them.
I then scribbled down an order of battle, based on what my 28mm ACW miniatures collection might be able to field if I painted like hell and made some more purchases, particularly cavalry and artillery. The idea was that this would be a backwater campaign, with the Union having a reinforced Division plus several river gunboats and transports, while the Confederates would have a smaller, scratched together division with a few dubious gunboats and some shore batteries. I won't list the OOBs here because I may talk some folks into participating in an online version of this campaign.
My plan now is to paint some more stuff, polish up the map using MS Paint or maybe an online program called Hexographer, and get up to speed on some rules. For larger table actions (probably a brigade a side) I will likely use Too Fat Lardies' They Couldn't Hit An Elephant (TCHAE), and for smaller actions, Terrible Sharp Sword (TSS) by the same publisher. TSS holds promise because I expect the game to have lots of opportunities for scouting and recce actions as the two sides maneouvre on the map and develop each other's positions. Hopefully more posts on this to come. If you're interested in participating online, email me at madpadre@gmail.com.
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