Map: 1st Manassas, 9:30 AM

1st Manassas, 9:30 AM

It's a hot July morning in 1861. Finally--and only momentarily--overcoming communications difficulties, USA General David Hunter sends Ambrose Burnside and his 2nd Brigade forward to force the Confederate line back across the Warrenton Turnpike.

CSA Colonel Nathan Evans waits atop Matthews Hill with barely a regiment behind him, watching 20,000 blue-coated troops unfold into assault formations.

Generals Bartow and Bee scramble their brigades in Evans's support. Young men from Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi squint nervously at the dust swirling a few miles down the road.

It's only going to get hotter, and the word has just been passed through the Northern ranks that an intrepid young officer named William T. Sherman will soon hit the Confederate flank with a full-strength brigade...
* * *
This is a rough map for the scenario that will be put online with the basic rules. A couple of things to note:

-Each box represents roughly a 2x2 inch square on the battlefield. The game is scaled in the following way:
-One inch equals 50 yards.
-A company of 120 takes up a frontage of 7/8 inches, 3/4 inches deep. These are guidelines, and minor deviations for the sake of sanity will not affect the game.

-The map should end up being about 36x30 inches, representing a little less than a mile by mile snapshot of this particular engagement.

This is our first foray into AutoRealm, a free map-making software online. (Find it here: http://www.autorealm.sourceforge.net/ ) Its power seems to only be matched by its inscrutability. As we continue to publish scenarios we have high hopes that we will only get better at it.

If all goes according to plan then tomorrow will see enough of the basic rules posted to get you on your feet playing the game. An order of battle and a little bit more background on the 9:30 AM scenario will follow shortly after.