Antietam 17th September 1862

[Peter]

Fantastic buildings!

[C M Dodson]

The Mount Calvary Lutheran Church

My balsa supply was delayed so rather than start the Roulette farm I decided to alter some cardboard into the Lutheran church on the outskirts of Sharpsburg.

The village of Sharpsburg was founded on the 9th July 1763 and the church was built in 1768 out of wood with a plaster skim.

Used as a Confederate spotting position it attracted the attention of Union artillery which damaged it so badly that following its use as a hospital, it was pulled down and rebuilt across the road.

Alexander Gardner’s picture of the church is so clear that the enlargements show some excellent detail. The Union troops on the steps give scale and even show the opposite windows upon close inspection, wonderful.







I liked the fences and grave stones as well.

I found a war game of this sector of the field with I think a Hovels model which is fairly representative.



I started with the usual windows amended with paper strips to the correct fixings as per Mr Gardner’s wonderful picture.





The tower is made out of balsa with paper strips again being used for the bell tower slats.



The scale has been adjusted and I have taken a liberty with the height of the centre window. However, I think I have started to recreate the ‘feel’ of the place.

Lots to do.

[C M Dodson]

A disaster!

The church tower was way too big so it was dismantled and then....

Upon examining the fabulous photograph it seems the lower section is windowed and the top section is the bell tower. This makes a deal of sense and indeed it looks like a bell is just visible.

So, rebuild and forwards. The basic shape is there but a lot of trimming and filling before roofing out.

[C M Dodson]

I have now constructed a bell from greenstuff and placed in the tower.

The roof, ridge tiles, guttering and bits have been added along with the doors.

Copper wire cut for hinges with card brackets and door furniture complete the ibadic assembly.

There is some further trimming and tidying up required along with painting but overall I am pleased with this piece of the Sharpsburg jigsaw.



Happy modelling,

Chris

[C M Dodson]

Not sure what an ibadic is but it should read basic.

Chris

[C M Dodson]

I have now added the glazing, drainpipes etc and given the building a weathering.

I chose grey for the windows and doors from the picture as they are only slightly darker than the painted plaster.

Whilst the steeple is darker, I thought that a wooden effect would give it contrast.





I am very pleased with my church.

Back to the Confederate command structure.

[Susofrick]

And rightly pleased! Looks great!

[Egbert]

Hey Chris,
yes indeed, you can be more then very proud about your church …
But not only about your church…
Your other buildings have also become wonderful.

[dykio]

And rightly pleased! Looks great!

I,ll second (and thirth and fourth ) that. Perfect buildings

[Beano Boy]

By the click of a camera, it is so cool to see this artist authors work from the start to finish.
A real pleasure to view C M Dodson. BB

[C M Dodson]

John Bell Hood

Born in 1831 in Kentucky Mr Hood graduated from West Point ( having been nearly thrown off the course) and commenced his military career in California and later Texas.

It was fighting Indians with A S Johnston and a certain R E Lee that he received the first of many wounds, a Comanche arrow through his hand.

After joining the Confederate Army and adopting Texas as his state he rapidly rose to command what became known as the Texas Brigade.



A stellar performance at Gaines Mill resulted in a promotion to command the Texas Division which was then followed by a prominent part in the victory at Second Manassas.

Interestingly during the following pursuit Hood was arrested over an incident involving ambulances. He was still under virtual arrest during the Maryland campaign until his Texas troops asked Lee for him back.

Lee granted the request and Hood was back in command of what were generally considered the finest troops in the Army of North Virginia.

I have no idea why some manufacturers create marvels of uniform perfection and then spoil them with blobs for faces. I think faces bring our troops to life and I have tried to recreate the more famous ones for this refight.

Fortunately Stretlets have some good attempts at personalities although the figures are not so good.

I sliced the Stretlets Hoods head off and attached it to an Italieri cavalry officer. A new arm and a Hat Napoleonic officers horse completed the model.



I have used the Gettysburg film’s Hood as a painting guide. The films attention to detail regarding uniforms is well documented and the re enactor’s determination to ‘do it right’ caused production problems.



There is an excellent critique regarding this on History Buffs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ1f9vliwiA

More staff next.

[C M Dodson]

Confederate Divisional commanders and ADC’s

I have been cutting, swapping and chopping and am quite pleased with the results so far.

My painting ability is nothing compared to some on the forum but I think they convey a good image and as a bonus are much easier than Highlanders!

[Peter]

You're doing fine Chris! Keep on cutting, swapping and chopping!

[C M Dodson]

Roulette Farm



William and Margaret Ann Miller Roulette we’re married in 1847 and following the birth of their second child moved into what is now known as the Roulette Farm.





On the 16th September as the rival armies converged on Sharpsburg,William, a staunch Union supporter, took his wife and six children north, to the Manor Church of the Brethren, six miles away where they met up with the Dunker congregation for safety.

The farm was caught up in the battle and damaged as a result. Despite a compensation claim for this damage only $377.37 was paid for a hospital claim.



In 1998 the property and land were bought for $660,000 and donated to the Antietam National Battlefield.

As stated before the wealth of this area has come as a complete revelation with both the sizes of the farms and also their contents.



Again, the LOC has been invaluable in providing the plans for the property along with pictures.




Q
Google earth and the internet have helped fill in the gaps.

I have again used balsa as the property is of a wooden construction.

The property is of an unusual design but once I had figured out the construction it began to come together.



Whilst the model is not quite exact I have tried to get the ‘feel’ of the place and I hope that when finished Mr Miller would be happy to move in.





Lots to do.

[C M Dodson]

Apologies, the second picture of the lovely Lady Margaret should be this one of the fabulous furniture.

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Best wishes,

Chris

[C M Dodson]

I have now added the railings, columns from sprue, painted the inside, test fixed the roof and commenced building the outside chimney.

The current property, like the Mumma Farm has a galvanised roof which I was not sure about.

I thought that the properties had been restored to their 1862 look by the NPS as they were purchased.

However, a bit of digging around revealed a 1988 study called ‘American Galvanised Iron Roofing and Cladding from the 1870's to 1920's’ by Andrew Benjamin Hall from the
University of Pennsylvania.

Apparently galvanised Iron ( steel) was originally imported from Britain for American properties, especially during the Californian gold rush.

The aesthetics put most domestic residential owners off and it did not gain real acceptance until many decades later.

An investigation into Mr Gardner’s 1862 pictures reveals shingles on the Roulette farm and as far as I am concerned all my properties will be tiled and not sheeted.

Fascinating stuff. Indeed, whilst studying the Piper Farm there is a very nice fire escape on the back, definitely not nineteenth Century.




Onwards and forwards.

[huib]

Lovely work on the farmhouse and the church!

[C M Dodson]

Limbers and caisson

I have been investigating limbers and caissons with the wonderful Adkin, ‘Gettysburg Companion’ book being very useful indeed.

There are some lovely models around but they are not cheap so I have experimented with modifying the Revel and Imex items of which I have a lot from many years ago.

I sliced the tops off and replaced with 1mm balsa.

The handles are unraveled picture wire formed with bull nosed pliers which are then inserted and glued.

The two chest caisson was altered by gluing an extra running board on. A hot wire pushed through the rear chests allows the spare wheel to be attached.

I have some ammunition chests from Newline currently deployed at Quatre Bras.

I was thinking that they would look good deployed at the rear of the guns rather than stuck to the caisson , although being free standing I have options.

Whilst not perfect, I think they are heading in the right direction.



Lots to do

[C M Dodson]

I have now added the roof, chimney supports, outside chimney, gutter etc.

The dormers, as usual are a nightmare. Getting a realistic look is problematic as I do not want them taking over the roof space. I have therefore used some smaller plastic windows from the spares box with additional framing.

The gap between the porch and roof has, after the addition of the roof turned out slightly larger than the original structure.

This is a pity but overall, I think the ‘feel’ of the place is there.



Lots of tidying up before the final paint job.

[Susofrick]

Looks marvelous already!