The American Civil War - Part 2
Update 19
If you haven’t already, please feel free to view Part 1.
As before, kakado_to_save was kind enough to help me out on the image editing side, so please, if you have time, visit one of his current CJ’s (Volynsia, World War 2) and tell him what a great job he did.
Gettysburg
On July 1, 1863, fresh from his victory at Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee intended to take the fight to the northern cities in hopes of ending the war through a negotiated peace. Major General George Gordon Meade led the Union forces against Lee, meeting at the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The first two days saw fierce fighting, with the south gaining ground both days. On the final day, General Lee ordered a massive infantry assault of some 12,000 confederate soldiers against the center of the union line. After giving the orders, all Lee could do was wait, and prey.
For those interested, here is an unedited clip from the movie “Gettysburg” depicting General Lee’s assault, now commonly known as ‘Pickett’s Charge’. The following images are based on this final engagement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3po17QbHLRQ&feature=related
Confederate soldiers crossed over a half mile of open fields in the face of Union cannon fire.
Union soldiers, led by General Hancock (who was wounded in the battle) attempt to flank the Confederate assault, but are stopped near the Codori Farm.
During the climax of the assault, Lee’s forces pierce the Union line near the ‘copse of trees’.
The fighting was devastatingly brutal, with heavy losses on both sides.
The Confederate infantry suffered especially heavy casualties, and were eventually forced to retreat from the battlefield. Here is a helpful map showing the last hour of Pickett’s charge.
And finally, here is a massive SC4 mosaic depicting the battle. This is not scale accurate, but I think it is a decent representation of the actual battlefield. After the battle, General Lee was forced to withdraw his army back to Virginia – and while the battle was not a decisive defeat for the Confederacy, it is generally agreed that Gettysburg represents the turning point in the American Civil War.
Massive Mosaic - Click for full size
Dimensions: 6440x3280
Size: 5.3MB
Atlanta Campaign
During the summer of 1864, Major General William T. Sherman and the three Union armies under his command fought a series of battles throughout northwest Georgia, eventually culminating in the capture of Atlanta on September 2nd.
In November of 1864, Sherman ordered the evacuation of Atlanta by all citizens. Then, on November 14, Sherman’s army burned government and military buildings.
The ensuing fire destroyed much of the city.
The next day, As Sherman led his army east toward Savannah, he wrote: "Behind us lay Atlanta, smouldering and in ruins, the black smoke rising high in air, and hanging like a pall over the ruined city."
Massive Mosaic - Click for full size
Dimensions: 2680x2452
Size: 1.6MB
Appomattox
Sherman’s ‘march to the sea’ demoralized the South, and severely disrupted supply lines. By the spring of 1865 the Confederacy was on her last legs. On April 9, General Robert E. Lee found his Army of Northern Virginia surrounded by union forces and unable to resupply. Lee made one last attempt to break through the Union lines, but the battle fought near the Appomattox Court House would be his last.
Lee signed surrender documents that afternoon, and a formal surrender ceremony was held on April 12. For all intents and purposes, the American Civil War was finally over.
I hope you enjoyed this little side project. I had a lot of fun ‘painting’ each scene, as well as researching pictures, appropriate BATs, and the historical facts to go along with each picture. I’d like to thank Kakado one last time for generously taking time to work his magical photo editing skills on these images. Next time we will head back west and see what is happening in the SorGun region and see how this major historical event has shaped our pioneers.
I’d love to hear your feedback, and thanks for visiting.
Replies to the last Teaser
MilitantRadical: I'll be there.
Hope you enjoyed it 
ggamgus: Beautiful... 
I have a request (more like a challenge, actually). Can you recreate the Battle of the Crater?
I would love to see that battle. If you don't know what it is, it involves Union troops detonating explosives beneath Confederate defenses in Virginia...
Ooof... that would be a heck of a challenge. I think there is a scene from that battle in the movie "Cold Mountain" right? Talk about some serious terraforming. I think these last two Civil War updates have taken all the energy I can muster for painting war scenes. I'd love to see your take on it though
Mithrik: Wow! I can't wait to see the battle of Gettysburg in SC4!
I spent quite a bit of time on Gettysburg because I wanted to get it right. I hope you enjoyed it.
dubaidude303: Waiting on this one!
Hope you liked it
NMUSpidey: I'm certainly looking forward to this. Are you researching this for school? Is there a special reason you're putting this together other than enjoyment? It's good, either way!
Nope, I've been done with school for a while now, and If there were school projects based on SC4 I'd probably have gotten better grades in History No, this is just for fun.
hahei: You can't tease us like this! No, no, no!!!! I hope that entry is soon.
Hopefully I didn't have you waiting too long
IL.: Dat's amazing 
Thanks!
10000000000000: WHOA D:
Civil War is fun
but bloody ;(
I find history fascinating, and the Civil War is no different. And yes, very bloody - Old tactics combined with new weapons technology created enormous casualties.
Jetty Jockey: One would think that the Pacific Northwest would be pretty well insulated from events back east at this point in time, what with no transcontinental railway ( still under construction) or telegraph service. I'll be curious to see what's going on back in New SorGun during this period.
No doubt that the west escaped the violence of the war, but it's effects were certainly felt all along the west coast (politically, demographically, and financially). We'll head back west next time to see how things are going.
@grstudios - Hopefully I answered your question.
spursrule14: excited...can't wait!!!
Thanks, hope you enjoyed it.
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