[Ed. Note]: George Anderson's letter was lengthy, but of importance in my view, meriting a spot of its own. It is my belief that his comments are quite representative of many overseas members' thoughts, and that the views expressed herein should be taken to heart by myself, Clay Cooper, and all of our U.S. members when writing scenarios and articles for our magazine. Dear Brian, Your editorial in the Autumn 1989 issue was a refreshing change from the normal overbearing opinions expressed by many wargame magazine editors. Above all, it smacked of commonsense. At the end of the day any wargamer who disagrees with a set of rules can very easily change over instead of berating anyone who doesn't agree with him. Well done. I think the American Civil War has a great attraction for anyone interested in warfare, and this doesn't just apply in particular to Europeans. It may just work out that way because we [Europeans] never hear of Chinese, Russian, or African, etc., wargamers. So, if you delete Americans, you only have Europeans left. The war itself has all the main ingredients -attractive uniforms, a lost cause, desperate battles and larger than life personalities. It can also be looked on by the casual observer as the last 'romantic' war before warfare turned into a global operation. Helping the interest along is the great amount of documentation, which appeared and was actively encouraged after the war. Also, it seems so close...many participants, including famous names, were still alive well into the beginning of this century. It all adds up to a fascinating preoccupation with the past. From afar, it also gives the impression of being a "nice" war. At the end, the previous years of bloodshed were shrugged off and America continued on its merry way. This, of course, isn't true, but it's the impression many have, and it undoubtedly draws people in. My own interest is a mixture of all the above, but if I were to concentrate on one point it would be the people, heroic, larger than life and almost on our doorstep, not lost in the mists of time. Enough of this philosophizing. I have written a small article on the skirmish at Crampton's Gap which I hope that you will find of interest. I think it's only fair that the readership support the magazine in order that it continue to provide the services we are all looking for. I also have a couple of points I would like to bring up with reference to The Zouave, which I hope will be looked upon as objective and not critical. I enjoy the recollections you print with some of your scenarios, but living in Scotland, this alone is not enough for me to put the scenario into context. I am a relative newcomer to ACW and it would help if at least some detailed backround information accompanied the article, however brief. I would also like to hear about battefield tactics as used on the wargame table, such as what you think about skirmishers, how do you normally deploy them, etc. Along the same lines, perhaps the authors could add a battle report to the end of scenarios, with a review by both 'generals". I would also like to see a larger letters to the editor page, which would encourage dispute/discussion on various Civil War topics. Someone mentioned articles on generals and single regiments - more good ideas! I also realize that much of this is up to the readership itself, and we should all help out to do our best at increasing membership and input, to The Zouave in particular. I have one more idea. Have you ever thought of compiling a booklet of about a dozen of the best scenarios seen in the magazine and publishing them as a commercial interest, or offering them to Games Workshop for use as a JR booklet? Such a project would give the Society a higher profile, increase membership, and bring in funds. All you need is a Society member with access to a word processor and someone who can draw decent maps. In the first instance, it would appeal to all Civil War garners, no matter which rules they used. That's it for now. I hope "Crampton's Gap" is useful, and your work on the magazine is much appreciated. EDITOR'S REPLY I greatly appreciate your letter and the scenario. As you can see in this issue, I beat you to the punch regarding a larger letters to the editor page. However, we don 't get very many useful, but controversial, letters. Booklets covering scenarios and flag illustrations are already planned after the last issue of 1990, with authors of scenarios participating in royalty payments. See Notes From The Editor for news of additional projects being planned. Back to The Zouave Vol III No. 4 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