The Good The Bad & The Indifferent

[crsutton]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Hey, thanks for the good info and thoughts, gents. There may be things I can use here, especially Bearcat2's find, right down to the weather on the day of the shooting!

Ross, that was an interesting article about Sickles. I knew he'd been involved in a shooting but didn't know the details, like he troubled marriage and Francis Key's son getting shot dead.

It seems that Sickles was a serial womanizer. That reminded me of another Yankee (ha ha) womanizer who was arrested and put on trial for his infidelities. Later, on his death bed, his final words were: "And now the great mystery." Does anybody know who he was without resorting to Google?

Sickles was a scoundrel and a rascal but not without some merit. He served the public all of his life with the occasional controversy thrown in until he died at a very ripe old age in 1914. Let's face it, our national history would be pretty boring without characters such as him to write about..[;)]

[Canoerebel]

Wasn't it Sickles that advanced his Union corps, with no support on the left or right, at Gettysburg on the second day? If memory serves, his corps got chewed up and he lost a leg. This was the fighting around the Peach Orchard? (All of this from rather dim memory.)

[Canoerebel]

I just did a quick Wiki read and confirmed those details and ended up reading a lot more about Sickles. The most interesting fact is that he received the Medal of Honor for his conduct at Gettysburg, some 37 years later.

[Lovejoy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel
If memory serves, his corps got chewed up and he lost a leg.

Best part is that he had the leg recovered and donated it to the army medical museum. He would later visit it on the anniversary of losing it!

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

Wasn't it Sickles that advanced his Union corps, with no support on the left or right, at Gettysburg on the second day? If memory serves, his corps got chewed up and he lost a leg. This was the fighting around the Peach Orchard? (All of this from rather dim memory.)

As you've discovered, yes it was. Making it even more interesting is that it was the second time he'd made such a move: he also advanced his men and took a hill at Chancellorsville.

[Bif1961]

What about Earl Van Dorn another well known Civil War womanizer.

[Lovejoy]

ORIGINAL: Bif1961

What about Earl Van Dorn another well known Civil War womanizer.

Wasn't he also killed by an "aggrieved husband"

[JeffroK]

CR's quiz, quite a family lineup!!

[nicwb]

That's one of the things I find fascinating about the US Civil War - a lot of the generals were -for want of a better phrase -"larger than life" How many of the Confederate Generals were there who took umbrage at fellow officers who made insinuations against them. I think from memory there were quite a few who wanted "honour to be satisfied". And it was not confined to the confederates either. As I recall US General "Bull" Nelson was shot dead by another senior officer over some insult.

[Canoerebel]

Yes, Van Dorn was shot down by a jealous husband.

The officer who shot Bull Nelson was Brigadier General Jefferson Davis (no relation to the Confederate president). That happened in a Louisville hotel in late 1862 and didn't involve a woman. Davis didn't suffer any repercussions, apparently because the US Army was so desperate for experienced officers at that point. Late in the war, Davis was involved in a tragic matter. He had a pontoon bridge dismantled after his division (or corps, by then?) crossed it while advancing towards Savannah and before hundreds or thousands of escaping slaves could cross. The slaves were thus isolated and panicked when Confederate cavalry approached. Many died while tying to cross the river. Many others were taken back into captivity. It was an ugly affair that not many people know about.

Yes, Jeff, the man whose final words were "And now the great mystery" came from quite a family, and he had quite a career of his own.

[tarkalak]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I also think that detection played a large part in things. I'd had high levels of detection on his carriers for many days. And night search had spotted his carriers early in the turn of the carrier clash. In contrast, John didn't have any detection on my carriers until the day of the clash. That seems like an environment that would breed catastrophe.

I read the whole battle from John's viewpoint and it all reminded me of the Battle of Adranople (1205).

A part of John's carriers reacted and were ambushed like the crusaders. Even the lack of intelligence of the enemy force was there.

Sorry for the late replay, but I felt I should add a medieval battle with all the US Civil war ones.

[AcePylut]

Excellent match, great reading, kudo's to both of you. [&o]

[palioboy2]

I have had this AAR open on my phone for well over a year now, it is going to be very strange to close it.

Thanks to Dan, John and everybody else who contributed and taught me so much about the game!

[Canoerebel]

As the peace dividend continues, I've spent a lot of time in the woods. What I do in the woods stays in the woods. What I think about in the woods used to be John III, mostly. Not about his pasty white thighs and other Yankee-like proclivities, but what he was up to and what I'd find when I got home and ran the turn that was almost always waiting in the inbox.

So I did a ten-mile hike Thursday, on a cold, winter-like day with the wind whipping the mountains. Since I didn't have John to mull over, I waxed poetic. And knowing this audience is almost uniformly a fan of mediocre poetry, I want to share it with you:

SOUTH-FACING SLOPE

In shadows on Fort Mountain’s north side,
ice ribbons sprout from naked earth and curl back,
like wood-shavings hewn by a craftsman.
And in shade on Turkey Mountain’s lee side,
icicles drape a craggy woodland outcropping,
raggedy, like a forgetful man’s untidy beard.
The frozen wind whips each mountaintop,
tail-end of a nor’easter lashing the coast,
snatching warmth through shirt cuff and collar
and teasing between buttons.
But at noon, the sun smiles kindly
on the spongy leaf-litter cushioning
Double Knob’s south-facing slope.
An invitation is given,
unspoken, unmistakable,
to take a seat.
And I do,
for lunch.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

As the peace dividend continues, I've spent a lot of time in the woods. What I do in the woods stays in the woods. What I think about in the woods used to be John III, mostly. Not about his pasty white thighs and other Yankee-like proclivities, but what he was up to and what I'd find when I got home and ran the turn that was almost always waiting in the inbox.

So I did a ten-mile hike Thursday, on a cold, winter-like day with the wind whipping the mountains. Since I didn't have John to mull over, I waxed poetic. And knowing this audience is almost uniformly a fan of mediocre poetry, I want to share it with you:

SOUTH-FACING SLOPE

In shadows on Fort Mountain’s north side,
ice ribbons sprout from naked earth and curl back,
like wood-shavings hewn by a craftsman.
And in shade on Turkey Mountain’s lee side,
icicles drape a craggy woodland outcropping,
raggedy, like a forgetful man’s untidy beard.
The frozen wind whips each mountaintop,
tail-end of a nor’easter lashing the coast,
snatching warmth through shirt cuff and collar
and teasing between buttons.
But at noon, the sun smiles kindly
on the spongy leaf-litter cushioning
Double Knob’s south-facing slope.
An invitation is given,
unspoken, unmistakable,
to take a seat.
And I do,
for lunch.

Not bad! But the lunch sounded a little pedestrian (in the commonplace activity sense). I expected you would be marvelling at the two faces of nature you just experienced. Still, it brings back memories of similar experiences and long forgotten images! Kudos! [&o]

[Canoerebel]

Thanks, BB. This is a pretty unusual environment for poetry. A few probably like it or tolerate it, but most probably don't. If it doesn't provoke outrage, I'm probably doing okay.

On a second note, I've also been reading alot. I finished Rick Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy. As a whole they are exceptional: Army at Dawn is very good (Atkinson was learning how to deal with WWII campaigns). The Day of Battle and Guns at Last Light are exceptional. He'd honed his craft and knew how to go about writing both of them.

[Schlussel]

Kinda late to the party...okay really late.[:D]

Just wanted to stop in and express how much I enjoyed your fight against the evil empire. I began following this AAR after its return from hiatus and it was my daily addiction ever since. From the (always enlightening) off topic discussions, to your stream of consciousness narration, your AAR kept me coming back for more.

[Canoerebel]

Thank you, Schlussel. I really enjoyed putting the AAR together for you guys - not only because of your interest in the game, but also for your willingness (or toleration) of those many fun tangents.

When the game ended, I expected there to be a "peace dividend" - far more time spent outdoors, reading and writing. That's exactly what's transpired. I've done a tremendous amount of hiking, much more writing, and the same or more reading (reading was the one activity that didn't suffer during my game with John III - reading is like breathing, for me).

I do miss the interactions with John and the challenge of the late game, but I'm enjoying the more relaxed pace too.

One of these days, I'll try to rope John into another match.