Many of the needs of ACW miniatures garners have been filled. There are rules for regimental level games and brigade level games, along with a campaign system. However, there is still one area yet to be covered....being able to command a single regiment where each casting represents one actual soldier. Even "The Sword and the Flame" has overlooked our period, which is a shame. Being a collector of images from certain Civil War regiments, the editor has learned to love the history of the individual soldiers and officers of our great war. I feel that it's time to be able to play their stories out on the table! Take your favorite regiment. Perhaps it belonged to the Iron Brigade or the Stonewall Brigade. Your task as Colonel is to mold these men into a strong and disciplined fighting unit. You will agonize over each engagement, knowing that death will strike some of your better officers and men. Each casualty is a personal blow, yet orders are orders and you lead the men in their duties. Your regiment leads the column and you have detached a company to act as a skirmish line. They come across an enemy regiment and the skirmishers hold them off as you form a line of battle. Into the fray they go, and a fierce engagement ensues. The color guard gallantly stands its ground as man after man falls in the hail of bullets, but heroes begin to develop. Maybe the 2nd Lieutenant of Company G, now commanding the company due to the captain and 1st lieutenant having been killed or wounded, advances with the colors. The men, taking heart, surge after him, pushing the enemy into a precipitous retreat. Of the 300 men that entered the battle, 72 have become casualties, with 23 killed, 39 wounded, and 10 captured. The whole regiment mourns the loss of their major, a gallant fellow who died bravely in the counterattack. But the war goes on and several officers and non—corns receive field promotions to take up the slack. Having fought well in this action, their capabilities are increased and the men have great faith in their leadership. The recruits are rapidly becoming grizzled veterans, able to take their place in history as one of the elite regiments of the division. Here is a chance to become emotionally involved with your castings. They begin to represent something more than mere painted lead. Perhaps you are part of a large group that can muster several regiments per side, leading to brigade sized battles. With more than one regiment to each side, there is the chance of having to face artillery. Pity the poor men who must charge the guns, knowing that the canister will open gaping holes in their lines. The marksmen drop to the ground, picking off artillerists and, with a yell, the soldiers advance, taking the guns that are bloody trophies of a hard day of fighting! If the idea of this kind of rules set appeals to you please contact me at THE ZOUAVE address. If your figures are already based for JR, RRTF, or SNB3, you will NOT have to rebase them to play these rules. You will have to add some individually mounted officers to represent the colonel, lt. colonel, and major, along with a casting to represent the sergeant major, but such can be from your box of generals (except the sgt. major). Each officer and 1st sergeant will have a morale effect on the men he leads. [f there is enough interest, the rules will be finished and published, with our members being offered a special pre—publication price. Back to The Zouave Vol III No. 2 Table of Contents Back to The Zouave List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1989 The American Civil War Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com