Nick's new ACW project

[nicknorthstar]

Last December I showed off one last figure, a barefoot Johnny.

He was the start of Cobb's Legion, here they are all done. Barefoot is on the far left of the photo.

I'm going to put a 'how I painted Cobb's Legion' article in the North Star online magazine soon, I'll post a link when I do.

What was left of Cobb's (or the Georgia) Legion were on the far left of the line at 'Bloody Lane' next to the Alabama Brigade. They had been in the thick of the action 2 days before in the Battle of South Mountain, and had lost 72% of their men there. They had also lost their flag (one account said they had 2 flags, a Georgia State flag as well, and both were lost), so this unit is them pre-Antietam really.

I've photographed them next to the two minie-balls I got from Gettysburg last July. Big aren't they?

[Captain Blood]

They look a disreputable bunch of rogues. Very nice unit Nick.

[vtsaogames]

Indeed.

[nicknorthstar]

I'm sure the regular 'Legionnaire' was just fighting for his 'raaaats', but TRR Cobb was really horrible. A fully committed White Supremacist who as a lawyer was central to weaving racism into the laws of Georgia. He formed the Legion at the beginning of the war. There's a theory that the founders of the Legions were authoritarians who wanted to control their own 'little armies' of Infantry/ Cavalry & Artillery. Of course as soon as Cobb arrived in the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee was having none of it and the component parts of the Legion were split off. Confusingly, Cobb's Legion (The infantry battalion) was sent to Cobb's Brigade. But that Cobb was Howell Cobb, TRR's older brother and one of the founders of the Confederacy.

[vodkafan]

Very charismatic looking unit Nick- I know it's the same Crusader figures you are using but this one seems to have even more character. The way they are hunched down with grim faces they look like they are advancing into fire.
TRR Cobb doesn't sound like a sweet man at all

[Axebreaker]

Another fine addition to an interesting project.

Christopher

[Calimero]

I’ve got a minié and a musket ball (round) from Gettysburg when I went there in the 1990s… The weight of those things make you understand the kind of damage it could do… makes you even more impress by the courage of the men of the time than stood under a hail of fire from, sometime, just a few yards away…

[Lord Raglan]

Nicely done Nic and so much more interesting to play with, when you understand the units history.

[Andrew_McGuire]

Have you considered an Ashley Wilkes figure?

[vtsaogames]

I’ve got a minié and a musket ball (round) from Gettysburg when I went there in the 1990s… The weight of those things make you understand the kind of damage it could do… makes you even more impress by the courage of the men of the time than stood under a hail of fire from, sometime, just a few yards away…

The first time I fired a black powder muzzle-loader (.69 caliber) it became clear that I should stick to modern rifles. The explosion was jarring. I wondered about walking around with packets of black powder on my person, so unlike modern cartridges.

[nicknorthstar]

Have you considered an Ashley Wilkes figure?

Tempted!

[Andrew_McGuire]

Pleased to hear that, but research may not be straightforward, as based on my rather dim memory of the film, it's never clarified whether Ashley is in the mounted or foot branch of Cobb's Legion, or whether he served at Antietam. Of course the book may be more illuminating.

On a slight digression, I recall that Rhett survived the slaughter at Franklin without losing an ounce of his swagger, let alone any body parts, so between them they'd have to be considered be a remarkably lucky pair.

[nicknorthstar]

The yellow trim of his uniform says he's Cavalry.

[vtsaogames]

Oh Ashley, Ashley... (sigh)

[Lord Raglan]

Best add another Union regt now