Civil War Presentation

Today we bring you a recap of a recent event that one of our team members attended. Rich Walker is a team veteran, stretching back to the early days when John was wrapping up publishing with Talonsoft. Rich has been a scenario designer for the Civil War Battles games and he was the designer of the new Crusades: Book I title, released earlier this year.

Rich did a presentation on Campaign Chickamauga recently for the Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table (TVCWRT). It was founded as a not-for-profit organization in 1993 to provide a forum for non-partisan study, education, and discussions concerning the American Civil War, support the preservation of Civil War battlefields and related activities. 

My Time with the TVCWRT 

Recently, I had the great privilege to represent Wargames Design Studio by attending the June 2025 meeting of the Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table or TVCWRT. Like myself, this non-profit organization is dedicated to the understanding and contribution for the preservation and remembrance of the American Civil War and its battlefield sites. First established in 1993, the TVCWRT has grown to a membership of about 120 members. They are located in Huntsville, Alabama, with a mission to raise funds that are used to preserve battlefields around the country.
 
As part of their continuing efforts to better understand this nation’s greatest conflict and challenge, including how others are interpreting the war, the TVCWRT initially contacted WDS' Rich Hamilton in an effort to determine if a representative would be willing to attend one of their monthly meetings and make a presentation on how a historic battle can be represented in the form of a computer game. And that’s where I entered the scene. Rich asked me if I would be willing to represent WDS in one of their monthly meetings and make a presentation that would explain the process of taking a Civil War battle and represent it in the form of a computer game. I was only too glad to accept.  

My first task was to select a battle. Of the 15 full campaign Civil War titles and innumerable battles that have been produced over the last 20 years by WDS, I have designed 8 full titles. And of those 8 titles, I choose to take a battle from Campaign Chickamauga. The battle chosen was one that was geographically close to both my residence and Huntsville. The Battle of Stones Rivers (aka Murfreesboro).

I presented to the attending group an initial overview of the battle and how its conclusion influenced the future course of the American Civil War. In short, the battle solidified the Union’s position in Tennessee and denied its resources to the Confederacy. Additionally, of all the battles fought, the Battle of Stones River resulted in the highest percentage of casualties in relation to the total number who fought in it. About 30% of the nearly 80,000 men from both sides were either killed, wounded, captured or otherwise missing. A bloody battle indeed.

My next subject was how such a battle can be effectively translated and represented in the form of a game. The most important part of this process and one that WDS (formally John Tiller Software) takes very seriously, is that any game it publishes must adhere to the history of the battle. This adherence requires a great amount of research. Both from primary and secondary sources. For myself, the most important source of information comes from the 128 volumes of the Official Records of the War of Rebellion. I simply cannot understate the importance of these thousands and thousands of individual documents compiled into the 128 volumes we have today. And I have a CD with all of them in one place. You gotta love modern technology!

Next, we discussed how the order of battles are created and then the maps. With both the maps and orders of battles created, we use the research that I previously discussed, and I demonstrated the process for placing units and setting victory conditions. Lastly, I moved a few units and engaged the opposing side on the battlefield. Shots were fired and men became casualties of war. With my presentation complete, I was able to answer some welcome questions.

Finally, I want to say that it was a great pleasure for me to attend this meeting and have the opportunity to provide some insights into historical wargaming.   

If you want to take deeper look at what the TVCWRT is all about and what activities they are planning, please visit their website at tvcwrt.org. Their meetings take place at the Huntsville Elk’s Lodge and all visitors are welcome.