The American Civil War Diaries (2 Viewers)

Have to agree with everyone else here my friend. You are the ultimate "story teller" and I enjoy every episode!!



Just wish there was a like minded character to do a "Zulu story" :)
 
Excellent work Bob, love the wide angle shots the best as they truly capture the moment. As Chris points out, it's great the way all of the manufacturers offerings work so well together in a large scene such as this one............
 
lancer said:
Brilliant rendition of Bloody Lane, Bob. Terrific action, as usual. Love the construction you did on the lane itself, and the crowded, chaotic conditions are captured as it must have been. Well done, sir. --
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Many thanks guys for all of your kind comments-This particular and bloody episode has always sent shivers down my spine-the carnage in the sunken lane and Miller's cornfield were absolutely appalling. Imagine an army today suffering 10% casualties in a battle- there would be a public outcry and a full investigation. And yet at Antietam both the Confederate and Federal army's casualties were north of 35-40%.

Al the inspiration for these first two shots


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.......I got from Troiani's painting "Until Sundown" which commemorates Gordon's comment to Lee. I used a different perspective because as you see Lee had his right arm in a sling due to Traveller getting spooked and throwing the general who landed on both hands severely spraining both of his wrists-I tried to populate the scene as the artist has done because those Southern boys were apparently packed tight in that narrow road.
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The Bloody Lane today also helped me to construct the road for the dio.

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Thanks again guys currently topping and tailing the concluding episode....and for those who don't know it doesn't come out well for those poor Johnny Rebs.

Bob
 
Just great shots, Bob. Using Troiani for inspiration is understandable. He is the best at his craft. Research and accuracy are his keys, much like they are yours. The modern day picture of 'Bloody Lane' once again hammers home how mothernature mends what human conflict has wrought. It looks like any other meandering country lane. The hurricane of destruction hits, passes by, and then nature resumes command. Man's worst battlefields all return to their peaceful appearence eventually, regardless of the monuments and momentos we leave behind. All the ACW battlefields, (those that have survived urban growth) belie their grim history. Just remarkable. -- Al
 
Once again Bob you have presented to us for our viewing pleasure some incredibly done photographs . . . .
:smile2: Mike
 
It is not only your work I admire, but your passion for the subject matter, this hobby can go way beyond just collecting and putting a bunch of figures on a shelf, it can be a visual trip back in time, you take this concept to the highest level. Alex
 
Gee, just when i thought i had seen it all, another superb dio is presented on this forum frame by frame with narration of the battle! Awesome! {bravo}}

Tom
 
Hi Bob ,
What can I say that hasn't already been said ... Just Beautiful {bravo}}.
I live about 1 1/2 hour drive from Antietam National Battlefield and have been there more times then I can remember , as I get older i still try and visit at least four times a year to enjoy the Seasons . I have sat in the sunken lane at lenth and just wondered back and also enjoyed the natural beauty that it has now become . Your latest scene is a very fitting tribute to the many thousands both North & South that died that day .
I know alot of people don't think of visiting the Battlefields in winter time but if ever you get a chance I would highly recommend the Annual Memorial Illumination its to be held on December 1st this year at 6pm . They light over 23,000 candles on the battlefield, each represents a casualty from the bloodiest single-day battle in American history . They also have a few reenactors on site set up by campfires . Its one of the most moving things I have ever experienced , last time we went we took a couple with us who have no interest in the ACW or any History for that matter . I played the Gettysburg movie soundtrack and explained what had happend before we started the drive . When we started driving I ask for silence while the music played in memory of the fallen , I can say in a few minutes there wasn't a dry eye in the whole group .
Sorry for going on but your latest scene brought that memory forth . Thanks for sharing and taking the rest of us on your journey though the ACW , your work is just wonderful I truly enjoy it .. Thanks and Regards Gebhard
 
Wow!!

All of these pictures are so cool!! Starting this weekend, I'm going to work on a diorama and hopefully get some pictures up for all of you asap.
 
Barksdale said:
Wow!!

All of these pictures are so cool!! Starting this weekend, I'm going to work on a diorama and hopefully get some pictures up for all of you asap.
Click to expand...

That's the thing with Bobs work, it make you want to have a go doesn't it?!

Rob
 
Yeah I saw those pictures and it all looked so real!! I had the urge to hop off the computer and spend all night working on something but that would require me to change my current battlefield (which I am in the process of launching an attack.)
 
Battle for the Sunken Road Part II


Meagher's plan was a bayonet charge by his Irish Brigade moving forward without stopping. But his line staggered and stalled under the killing fire from the roadbed. Eight colour bearers of the 69th New York fell charging that position. Captain James McGee would end the day with the regiments flag in his hand, the staff shot in two and the banner cut to pieces.

Meagher having his horse shot from under him was carried injured and cursing from the field reluctantly ordering his remaining troops to withdraw

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But this particular attack also took a heavy toll on the ranks of the defenders for the IB had used smoothbore muskets loaded with "buck & ball" a combination of a .69 calibre musket ball and three large buckshot. This was deadly at close range and had torn large gaps in the Confederate line. Amongst the casualties was Brig Gen Anderson, Colonels Gordon, Colquitt and Tew and every single officer of the 4th North Carolina was either dead or critically wounded.

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After holding the position for almost three hours disaster struck the rebel line. Awaiting the next frontal attack the 12th & 26th Alabama regiments were suddenly exposed to devastating enfilade fire to their right flank.

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The road bent to the left and had been defended by their colleagues the 5th & 6th Alabama. But now they faced a full flanking attack by the 61st & 64th New York regiments.

The whole of the Confederate right had somehow collapsed!

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So what had happened?

When Col John B Gordon received his sixth bullet wound he collapsed and was removed from the road. Command of the 6th Alabama was now assumed by Lt Col. James M Lightfoot who had asked for orders to counter an attack to his front and right. B.Gen. Rodes had ordered him to "refuse his right"-"move back"-"new position". But in the unbearable noise of the battle that caused officers and mens ears to bleed Lightfoot misheard or completely misunderstood his CO's shouts. Instead he ordered his regiment "about face-forward march" and left the road.

When the 5th Alabama saw the 6th move out they assumed the order was generic and they too moved to the rear-Result-Disaster.

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Brig Gen Robert Rodes immediately gave the order to "refuse the right"-that is throwing the Rebs right wing back to form a new defence line-exactly like Lightfoot should have done. But now only the 2nd & 14th North Carolina remained to defend the northern section of the lane

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But the situation turned dismal for Rodes command in an instant as Brig Gen John Caldwell seizing the moment ordered a full frontal attack by his remaining Federal regiments shouting "Now men- now take that damm lane"

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The Yankees stormed into the gap raking the defenders and splintering apart their whole line. Shocked by the bold and sudden turn of events, confused by the absence of their colleagues to their right many of the men in gray began to break ranks.

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After three hours of turning back assault after brutal assault the road began to fill with dead and dying Confederates. What had appeared to have been a perfect natural fortification had now become a deathtrap for the Reb defenders as the Federal troops poured volley after volley into the hapless Southern soldiers

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The struggle for the Sunken Road rivaled the body count in Miller's cornfield. Over 3000 Yankees were killed or wounded trying to take the road and more than twenty five hundred Rebs fell in its defence.

At the end of the battle the Confederate dead lay three deep for the whole half mile length of "Bloody Lane" and ironically just as Colonel Gordon had promised Lee-

These men were indeed still there when the sun went down.

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Reb
 
A beautiful telling of a horribly tragic story: 5,500 brave young Americans dead - for every last one of those brave men, be they Union or Confederate, native born or an immigrant, was one of us, an American.
 
Sublime work Bob, just wonderful stuff {bravo}}

Rob
 
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