Antietam 17th September 1862

[Peter]

Dear Chris...
your work is a so wonderful show and absolut impressive.
Fantastic new pictures!

You took the words out of my mouth! Impressive is the right word!

[Bessiere]

Having seen Antietam in person I must say you have done a fine job capturing the essence and feel of the land. The amount of planning, labor and execution to create what you have is incredible and speaks to your commitment. I can't wait to see what it looks like full of troops engaged in the bloodiest day of fighting in American history.

[C M Dodson]

Thank you everyone for your much appreciated kind words.

Progress

I have made extensive use of Tasma scenic products although I have found their apple saplings very small.

To rectify this, the sedum stalks which are hollow make a very good trunk in which to place the smaller sapling trunk into.



With the white anti bug paint on they look the part.

Meanwhile, I have constructed the Sherrrick farm, Stone mill, and Piper farms.








Sharpsburg, lying in the dip with its Lutheran tower just visible above cemetery hill looks the part.



I like the Mumma farm but the fly mow is from the wrong century.



Der Feldmarschall is inspecting the Dunkard church, using the ladies entrance after doing her hair.



Lots to do but it is starting to come together.

[Peter]

It sure is coming very nice together! Really wonderfull landscaping!

[John Simmons]

Beautiful, Chris. I can hardly wait for the battle to start!
Best,
John

[C M Dodson]

Progress

I have been attempting to bring the landscape together with some success although there is more to do as evidenced with my overview picture.



However the woodlots are coming along nicely.

Mary Loacher cabin looking towards cardboard boxes, I mean the Reel barn.



The West Woods



I am pleased with the John Otto farm as are the girls.



I am in the process of making even more snake fencing which I am very pleased with, along with more stone walling.

Lots to do.

Chris

[Peter]

And again "lots to see" Chris! Go on I can't wait to see the next steps of this project!

PS: how is the garage door doing?

[C M Dodson]

A GOOD DAY AT THE OFFICE

I have been constructing the Rhorbach bridge heights and am pleased with the result.

The bridge will be on an extension much to Der Feldmarschall’s dismay.

However, it will be a portable section so hopefully her space will only be temporarily occupied.

View from the bridge towards Mr Tomb’s position.





I have completed apart from fine detailing the centre section with the Reel barn, Dunker church etc.

I am pleased with the West wood so far.

Reel barn in need of a spirit level check.







Looking North West from the Piper farm with a nice view of the wonderful garage door for Peter.



The stone mill and big spring.



I have now commenced work on the final ‘pop up’ which features the West wood and Nicodemus heights.

The cornfield on the heights hid Confederate batteries under the Command of Captain John Pelham at the original engagement and will do so again.

I have therefore left gaps in the corn for the guns.

The rear plate will be removed when everything is in place to tie in the skyline .






Lots more fences to build and even more stone walls.

I never thought I would need so many trees for what is meant to be open country.

Full speed ahead!

Chris

[Peter]

Thanks Chris! Great to see that garagedoor again!

And that landscape is awesome!

[Egbert]

Hey Chris,
my deepest respect...
Even if I've never been to america, your landscape absolutely convinced me.
You perfectly managed to reproduce the flair of the civil war time, that one only know from books, films and pictures.

[Graeme]

Once again the landscapes are beautiful. Looking at the pictures is like armchair travel and at this time, I think that's just what we need.

My only criticism would be that the watering can looks a touch out of scale.

[John Simmons]

Wow! To say this is "coming together" is a true masterpiece of understatement. I know this battlefield quite well, and you've really captured the feel of the countryside. Everything looks just right. It sets the bar far too high for me, but it's wonderful to see just how realistic a scale battlefield can be made to be. Congratulations, Chris.

Best,
John

[C M Dodson]

Thank you to everyone for their kind comments.

Roulette farm storehouse

Having nearly finished my battlefield preparation I have begun fine tuning the scenery and upon noticing a usable gap decided to construct the Roulette storehouse.



I would like to use this area as a hospital scene perhaps.

Once again the LOC have the details although the existing, original structure does not have windows.



Being a stone, log and timber property I opted for the non windowed version as it is still standing.



The structure is cardboard with twigs halved for the timber and caulk on top as per the original construction method. I used the similar method on the Mary !oacher farm.

Perhaps belatedly, I also came across this work which is immensely useful to students of the battle.

http://johnsmilitaryhistory.com/antietam_north.html

However, it does confirm my layout so I am quite pleased with the progress to date.

Fascinating to see the Mumma stream in the background. Check.

Next up, conversions.

Progressing nicely.

Best wishes,

Chris

[C M Dodson]

Back to fences

My late friend Peter, a Civil War authority, used to say when setting up war games scenery for this period that you should never put too much fencing up as it destroys movement and slows the game.

Very true, but the miles of fencing at Antietam have been placed as accurately as possible by reference to the Library of Congress’s wonderful maps, commissioned at the time.

Post and rail fencing is a sturdy construction requiring some considerable effort to dismantle. Pictures of the Hagerstown pike after the battle show this.

However, worm fencing was designed to be quick to build and easy to repair.

The pictures by Alexander Gardner show them scattered around after the battle and this poor fellow along with the grave of Lt. John A Clark 7th Michigan lies amongst the bits.



I have therefore converted some Union chaps as I would like to show the fences being cleared during Hookers advance.



Lots of chopping and kit additions primarily from the Revel/Accurate Union man standing at ease.

The guy kicking the fence down is an Airfix WW1 chap with an Imex top that I am quite pleased with.

Off to the Rhorbach bridge extension.

Happy modelling.

Chris

[MABO]

The Airfix guy is a great combination of plastic parts for a new character. And I must confess that I first thought this was part of your dio.

[C M Dodson]

Rhorbach Bridge

I have designed this element of the battlefield as a temporary extension that can be brought into action when required.

This keeps my wonderful wife, Der Feldmarschall relatively happy as she can still access the garage and means that I do not end up in hospital!

General Burnside was having a severe case of the sulks on the 17th as his supposed friend McClellan had split his command and as a result he did not commence the attack on Lee’s flank until pressed by threats of demotion late in the day.

I have designed the extension so that it dovetails with the main table allowing the troops to fight it out over the bridge.

Scale is a problem here with the bridge model being disproportionate so I will probably double the range of small arms to compensate in this area.

As this is a portable unit I have used polystyrene to keep the weight down.











There is some tidying up to be done before the ‘set’ is ready for use but I am happy with the basic unit.

Happy modelling.

Chris

[Peter]

It's like a good movie. You can stop watching this project!

[C M Dodson]

Thank you to everyone for their kind comments, you are very kind.

Progress.

I have now essentially completed the battlefield prior to the commencement of hostilities.



The table is rather large even without the two extensions I have constructed but not as big as Captain Silbourne’s mammoth effort.



You will notice Der Feldmarschall visiting the freezer just past the Harper’s Ferry Road.



I would like to do some fine tuning before I start introducing troops but in the meantime here are some handsomes from Virginia and their Federal foes.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVeSKwM--1M



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSKQt9rNwtQ


Happy modelling,

Chris

[Captain Sibourne]

Absolutely glorious, Chris, this looks fantastic. Can't wait to see it populated! Very well done for all the research and imagination that has gone into this.

[Peter]

And "Der Feldmarshall" did that all on foot?

She's taking care of the catering, isn't she?

That is a very impressive battlefield! My congrats to you and your lady!