Lt. Michael Taylor Joins the AotS!

[Joe Meyer]

Please welcome Lieutenant Michael Taylor to the Army of the Shenandoah! He's been assigned to the 7th Reserve Brigade, Second Infantry Division, VIII Corps. The drinks are free today, Lieutenant, but you'll have to stand on your own account for each of your subsequent rank advancement celebrations. Care to tell us a little of yourself?

[M. Taylor]

It's a pleasure to be here, Sir.

I'm not particularly sure where to begin, really, but I'll try to hit the useful points.

From a gaming perspective, I'm a long-time strategy gamer who recently discovered this great community of ACW players. My interests tend to skew towards grand strategy (Paradox and Ageod) and I found the group through a post on the Ageod PBEM forums while looking for AACW and CWII PBEM games. I enjoy not just the tactical aspects of gaming, but also the operational and strategic - how one would link battles to accomplish campaigns objectives and how one would build, equip and task a force to defeat an opponent. The social aspects of strategy gaming are also a big plus for me, as you not only get to match wits with another, but also learn a little bit about another person in the process.

From a personal perspective, I'm a current federal employee in the US East Time Zone, who has long loved history, politics and who grew up surrounded by Civil War battlefields (I grew up in the Fredericksburg region and now live about 20 minutes from Manassas). This makes ACW gaming somewhat personal for me, since I can associated the hexes with land and visit the battlefields from time to time. Although I grew up in the south, I'm also a Union man, through and through, with my proof as four years college in that den of radical abolitionism and Republicanism, Cambridge, MA.

I look forward to meeting all of you, learning from your experiences, holding counsels of war as we campaign against the Confederacy, and matching wits during maneuvers.

[K. Koch]

Lt. Taylor <salute>

Sir,

Welcome to the club!

My apologies for my lateness, I seemed to have missed placed my orders and had to HQ to get new ones. (lost my password).


I hope you enjoy your gaming here in the club. It is a great place to find opponents and talk strategy and tactics. I too have a great fondness for the Paradox games, though I have in the past couple years only really been playing these fine HPS/Tiller games on a regular basis. The strategy gamer in me tends to seek out much bigger scenarios and campaigns that that tend to involve more options to consider.

Lt. Taylor if you ever want to play a game let me know. I am always open to play against fellow union members in a maneuver game. while the game will be competitive I also like to talk the tactics and stuff.

Regards,

[R. Brooks]

Lt. Taylor,

As a newly returning Club Member, let me also add my welcome and congratulations on your Commission to the ranks of the Army of the Shenandoah.

It seems we have some things in common as well as some intersecting interests. I too am a current federal employee, located at Ft. Bragg, NC. And I have a great and abiding interest in the American Civil War, the people, the organizations, the weapons & equipment & the ground where these great events took place.

I envy your proximity to some of the most notable battlefields in Virginia. I had the great privilege to walk the Second Bull Run battlefield guided by John Hennessy. He just had a book published by H.E. Howard that was a battlefield study of 2d Bull Run. Being on the field, guided by someone that had just done a detailed study of the movements of both sides was a real treat!

Interestingly, I am engaged in a maneuver game against my Corps Commander on that very battlefield! <G>

I joined what was an earlier incarnation of this club back in the 90s. The games were then made by TalonSoft and were strictly at the tactical battlefield level. I have only recently rejoined the Club and have been much impressed by the improvements that have been made by the current leadership.

The current Campaign editions of these games will certainly allow you to explore the linkages between battlefield maneuver as it relates to an overall Operational goal. And you will soon find that no matter what the skill of your opponent might be, going against a real person is much more interesting than what the computer "intelligence" might do.

Welcome again! And feel free to engage in conversation whenever you have the chance.

[D. Klebbe]

Welcome to the ACWGC. I'm sure you will find amny with a similar love of history. I'm jealous of you being raised in the Fredericksburg area.

I live outside of Chicago and no CW sites around here.

[Lucas Kling]

Much Welcome, Lieutenant! I am sure you will like it here!

[cameronm]

It is sad to see young person’s drawn to the evils of Unionism, I will never understand the attraction. Apart from that mistake I can only but welcome you to the Club and drink to your good health. Make sure you are having fun, because that is what this club is all about.