So I wrote about the Battle of Seven Pines, the Redoubt, and my wish to create a digital model of the Twin Houses, which while they were two houses in real life, for the purposes of a digital model it is simply a single model reversed to create an opposite and then 3D printed in both variants. The creation and printing were completed quite some time ago, and the models sat languishing in the “pile of shame” awaiting some paint.
Twin House: Base matt black spray paint. (wood) Burnt Umber(223), dry-brush 50/50 Warm Grey(078)/Process Black(040),dry-brush Warm Grey(078), dry-brush Buff Titanium(024). (bricks) dry-brush Yellow Ochre(633), dry-brush Naples Yellow(634), dry-dry-brush AP Pure Red(WP1104), dry-brush AP Barbarian Flesh(WP1126)
Luckily it was also one of the “projects” I put in the “box of hope”, so a bit of spray-paint then successive layers of dry-brushing later, they are pretty much complete and since I have almost all the terrain elements I wanted when I started this project (save the Union Observation Balloon) I’m hoping when I move these safely to the wargaming room, I will be able to start looking at army lists and what not to refight a small section of this battle.
So looking at making some terrain features for ACW battles, I found myself drawn to the twin houses and redoubt that formed such a focus of the Battle of Seven Pines. While a few detailed photos taken in June 1862 show the twin houses clearly and from differing angles the redoubt that formed a contested focal point of the battle is difficult to make out in most of them.
The close up at right comes from the fantastic blog of John Banks, which I think of as essential reading for Civil War gamers and buffs alike. The photo shows a basically dirt rampart construction, it is difficult to make out if any internal bracing existed, though I suspect it in all likelihood did, and apart from the records that and maps that show the redoubt was occupied by artillery, (1 NY Coy A) other details of the redoubt are hazy. For the twin houses, I am going to try and replicate them in 3D-modelling software as close as I can before I print them for battlefield use. Given that the twin houses really are just a mirror of each other, I will design one, and just let the software flip the whole model for me.
Casey’s* Redoubt
Luckily I had already made a redoubt earlier and while it has less earth ramparts than the photo above and below suggest it will suffice for my needs. (see redoubt post)
2 story square clapboard, brick chimney on east side, door on west (offset to the south), 2 windows upper and lower floors on north and south sides. 12 pane sash windows open (so only 6 panes visible). half circle detailed fascia, chimney detailing at top. hip roof, almost pyramidal. (Design note: 3 part print for FDM printers: roof, fascia detailing, main building.)
Other
The Battle of Seven Pines is also a notable battle for the use of observation balloons by the Union forces, and while McClellan ignored much of the intel that came from the use of the balloon, I do think it would be a fun vignette to model for the table top. (So this is possibly something to add to the list for the future)
* Brig. General Silas Casey was the divisional commander when the redoubt fell to the confederate forces under D.H. Hill. Wrongfully blamed by a sick McClellan for turning certain victory into an inconclusive draw, Casey was to spend the rest of the war in largely administrative posts.
Reading (still): Welker, David A., The Cornfield, Antietam’s bloody turning point. (2020) ISBN: 978-1-61200-832-5
Although I scaled the model for 15mm during the design process, I also designed it to use a .2mm print head with a layer height of 0.06mm, which although vastly increasing the print times, does give me the flexibility to scale up the print for 28mm without losing detail.
Overall I am very happy with how this turned out, but I do wonder what the “box” on the roof ridge to the left of the steeple is? I would guess it’s some form of chimney for heating the church, but have decided to omit it since I can’t get a clear picture of what it actually is. Likewise I completely made up the far side and back of the church, reasoning that the far side would be a reflection of the near side in respect to the arrangement of windows, and that it would exhibit far less damage. As for the back, I just completely made it up and added a small door for rear access.
Reading (still): Welker, David A., The Cornfield, Antietam’s bloody turning point. (2020) ISBN: 978-1-61200-832-5
The Gun Bar 