A Review of Antietam Army Lists: A Wargamer's Guide to the Opposing Armies Engaged on America's Bloodiest Day

I recently received a notification from the Wargame Vault (www.wargamevault.com) about a new product from Scott Mingus.  If you have played Civil War miniatures games, then you probably know the Mingus clan.  Scott Senior is central to the Johnny Reb Gaming Society which exists to promote regimental-level Civil War miniature wargaming.  He and his wife Debi edit the Society’s newsletter, Charge!  Scott’s sons, Scott Junior and Dr Thomas Mingus are also into Civil War history.  They published Human Interest Stories of the Civil War in 2010. 

Scott’s latest effort is called Antietam Army Lists: A Wargamer's Guide to the Opposing Armies Engaged on America's Bloodiest Day.  

 

I went ahead and downloaded the book from the Wargame Vault site as an Adobe PDF.  So, what did I get for my $5.99?  As the title indicates, this publication is an order of battle for the Battle of Antietam that covers 41 pages.  It includes regimental strength estimates, regimental and battery armament, and suggested morale ratings for each unit that participated in the battle (data is not listed for units that were not actually engaged).  There is also a sample scenario (for Johnny Reb III, but it could be easily adapted to any regimental level rules set), bibliography, a page of ‘Antietam Facts,’ and several human interest stories from the battle participants.  The bibliography is useful and the human interest stories are … well interesting.  I really like the one about the Confederate infantry engaging a cow in a firefight.  The information found in the fact sheet is also enlightening… did you know that the average size of CSA infantry regiments at Antietam was only 166 men? 

What you will not get is a publication similar to Scott’s other scenario books (Brothers Divided, Enduring Valor, and Undying Courage).   This is because Antietam Army Lists does not use color graphics and cartography like that done by Scott Tully in those books.  Of course, Antietam Army Lists also costs a lot less.  I personally will find this book very useful as I put together scenarios for the various games I plan on doing which center on Lee’s first invasion of the North.  I think it was money well spent.