Generals Bios Project

Call for Volunteers! This sub-forum is devoted to our ongoing project of researching and
writing brief biographical sketches of all 1000 Civil War generals, each
of whom has a chance of appearing when one plays "Forge of Freedom."
Players are invited to participate in providing info for these bios, which will be added to the game by means of patches, as they are
written.

Moderator: Gil R.

Post Reply
User avatar
Gil R.
Posts: 10820
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 4:22 am

Generals Bios Project

Post by Gil R. »

Okay, it's time to gear up the project of trying to get into the game brief bios (max. 3000 characters) of each of the 1000 Civil War generals in the game. This would make for a valuable addition to the game in that players could read about their generals, but also because in researching these guys we should be able to make their ratings stats (leadership, tactics, etc.) more accurate. The idea was for volunteers to be assigned a certain number of generals and then share their first drafts with the rest of us, making for more complete and interesting (and peer-reviewed!) bios. The best time to work on this would be now, so that we can get most (or all?) of the bios into the first patch.

For those of you who want to read up on this project, it was previously discussed on this thread: tm.asp?m=1218830

It was also discussed here for a time: tm.asp?m=1212053

A number of you volunteered some time ago, and I actually took the step of assigning some generals to early volunteers. If you are still interested, or are first reading about it now and are interested, please respond on this thread. Also, let me know if you have special requests: it will be easiest to just go down the list of generals and distribute them evenly, but if people have favorite generals I’m certainly willing to keep that in mind. (I can easily assign just CSA or USA generals if you prefer; otherwise, everyone will get a mixture.)

Here is a list of everyone who has previously volunteered: marecone, fmonster, archer1863, dh76513, diesel7013, Murat, Carny, ross_ntu, Greyshaft, Battleline (who has reserved his distant cousin Gen. Cullen A. Battle), RERomine, migoodman, and Twotribes. Some of those listed are still active on the forum, but others haven’t been around for a while, and might have lost interest (or time to work on this).

When I first began trying to organize this project, before I became too busy to deal with it, I assigned the following “100-percenter” generals to the following individuals:
fmonster: Grant, Meade, McClellan
Murat: Longstreet, Stuart, Sherman, Burnside
marecone (= Marko): Forrest, Lee, Jackson
Murat already has turned in a first draft for Burnside that needed some changes, and marecone turned in a Forrest bio that is pretty much ready to go. However, I haven’t received an update on how the other bios are going, and marecone told me that he would be too busy to work on more. So, I might reassign these generals, but first want to hear from fmonster, Murat and marecone.

I should note that while there would be no compensation (hence the word "volunteer"), anyone who contributes will be recognized for their role in the credits screen.
Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I torment eager potential customers by not sharing screenshots of "Brother Against Brother." Everyone has a talent.
User avatar
Gil R.
Posts: 10820
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 4:22 am

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by Gil R. »

On a related note, the game has roughly 30 historical forts at the start of the game, and it would be great if we could have "bios" of these, too. (The player, of course, can build new forts, but we start with Fort Pulaski, Fort Monroe, Fort McHenry, etc.) If anyone is interested in writing up histories of these forts, in addition to or instead of generals, please say so.

If both the generals and forts projects succeed, the game will have text informing the player about generals, forts, governors (and other prominent politicians who function as candidates for governor), gun types, and famous brigades/regiments/companies such as the Iron Brigade. That would definitely be something.
Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I torment eager potential customers by not sharing screenshots of "Brother Against Brother." Everyone has a talent.
USSLockwood
Posts: 537
Joined: Fri Aug 16, 2002 4:42 am

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by USSLockwood »

I volunteer!  I have an extensive Civil War Library, including Foote, Catton, etc.
 
 
Dave
San Diego
Home of the World's Busiest Radar Approach Control
Dave
San Diego
Home of the World's Busiest Radar Approach Control
RERomine
Posts: 280
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:45 pm

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by RERomine »

What kind of timeframe do we have to work with once we get the list? Not an issue as far as my involvement. Just want to know how much time we have.
User avatar
Gil R.
Posts: 10820
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 4:22 am

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by Gil R. »

ORIGINAL: RERomine

What kind of timeframe do we have to work with once we get the list? Not an issue as far as my involvement. Just want to know how much time we have.


A good question, to which I have no precise answer. There are 1000 generals, so if we have 20 volunteers that means 50 generals per person. But I'm thinking that once the game comes out and more people know about this forum there might be more volunteers, so I think I'll start everyone off on 25. Some of those generals will not lend themselves to more than a few sentences, while the more famous/interesting ones will require more research and writing. So, I think it would be realistic to target the first week of December for posting drafts of the bios, followed by a period of collective feedback, followed by my editing them and preparing them for inclusion in the game. Of course, this isn't school and you aren't students, so it's okay if someone doesn't finish all 25 by the deadline -- whatever people can get done by then will be great, and the rest can trickle in. I'm not expecting this project to be done next month, but I do think we can make good progress.
Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I torment eager potential customers by not sharing screenshots of "Brother Against Brother." Everyone has a talent.
User avatar
scout1
Posts: 3065
Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 11:26 pm
Location: South Bend, In

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by scout1 »

Do you have an example so as to judge the type/amount of content for any general ?

User avatar
Twotribes
Posts: 6466
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2002 10:00 am
Location: Jacksonville NC
Contact:

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by Twotribes »

I am around just not always here in this forum. If Brig Gen. Zealous B. Tower is in the game I want him please. He was a critical player at second battle of Bull Run ( Manassass) On the last day his troops delayed the Confederates long enough that the Union Army escaped. He was so severly wounded he did not return to combat duty, in 64 I believe he was given Command of West point for a bit and then another command somewhere in the North east.

he graduated 1st in his class at West Point, I believe 1840, and served as a Lt helped Lee and others survey the assault on Chaulpoltepec in Mexican War.

His wounding at Bull Run ended what could have been a bigger career in the Civil War.
Favoritism is alive and well here.
Dog robber
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 3:38 pm

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by Dog robber »

I would like to volunteer. I have no particular preferences and would have no problem with the more obscure subjects. I would also be happy to review, edit, check facts, or any anything else that might be necessary in the way of quality assurance.
User avatar
Gil R.
Posts: 10820
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 4:22 am

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by Gil R. »

Welcome to the new volunteers.

I'm going to take another day or two to let those who earlier volunteered see this thread, and will private-message those who haven't confirmed their availability. Once I know who's on board I'll start distributing generals.

I'm assuming that those of you who just volunteered have no preference between USA and CSA (other than a request for Zealous B. Tower that is being taken under advisement).
Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I torment eager potential customers by not sharing screenshots of "Brother Against Brother." Everyone has a talent.
RERomine
Posts: 280
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:45 pm

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by RERomine »

I have no preference one way or the other. Have a good collection of resources to provide information for either. Should be able to get information on the obscure as well.
HMSWarspite
Posts: 1404
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2002 10:38 pm
Location: Bristol, UK

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by HMSWarspite »

What format do you want the bios in? Text file OK (or Word97!)? ALso, I would struggle to do more than a few (=say 3) a week for a sustained period (could do a few faster). If this is OK, count me in (forts or people). Failing that, happy to proof read/edit drafts.

[edit] Oh,yes, got an example of a good one (say the Forest one) to encourage a degree of consistency of style and content? Also, 3000 char max, is there a min (I know 100 would be silly, but what about 1500?)
I have a cunning plan, My Lord
User avatar
Gil R.
Posts: 10820
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 4:22 am

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by Gil R. »

We discussed the general contents and style in one of the threads I link to at the top, but I'll post an example and give more info in the next day or two. (Maybe I'll put up Marecone's bio of Forrest as an example.)

The main idea is to give basic biographical info, then key info about their role in the Civil War, plus anything noteworthy before or after (e.g., Grant became president, which is probably worth mentioning). It would be great to have interesting anecdotes and/or memorable quotes. People will be more eager to read these if they know they'll be more than just "Gen. X was born in 1823, graduated from West Point, served as a Union brigadier general, and was killed at Big Bethel." If you mention that a guy was known for sucking lemons, that adds some color.

Also, as people research their generals it would be VERY helpful for them to suggest ratings that would be programmed into the game. We already have ratings established for the most famous generals, but for the obscure ones we have simply gone with random stats for now, but would love to have more realistic ones.
Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I torment eager potential customers by not sharing screenshots of "Brother Against Brother." Everyone has a talent.
ross_ntu
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:53 pm
Contact:

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by ross_ntu »

Hi! I am still up for doing a few - although my wife and I have just had a baby so time is a bit tight. Will do my best though.

Ross
User avatar
Gil R.
Posts: 10820
Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2005 4:22 am

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by Gil R. »

I've already addressed some style issues in that other thread, and will summarize them in this one in the near future, but here as a sample is what marecone did for Forrest (plus a few minor stylistic changes that I made). The bio I'm showing you guys is good enough to be included without further changes, but for someone as important as Forrest it should be more than 2100 characters, so I might add a bit more.


Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest (b. 1821, d. 1877). Uneducated but not illiterate, Forrest was a natural tactician who earned the praise of his enemies. Both Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (USA) and Gen. William T. Sherman (USA) feared this man who entered the Confederate forces a private and left a general. The stories of him are legend. Forrest enlisted in the Confederate army as a private in July, 1861, and just a year later, on July 21, 1862, he was appointed a brigadier general. On December 4, 1863 he was already a major general, and he ultimately was promoted to lieutenant general near the end of the war on February 28, 1865. Forrest was one of the pioneers of "mobile warfare." Paramount in his strategy was to "get there fustest with the mostest," even if it meant pushing his horses at a killing pace, which he did more than once. A report on the Battle of Paducah stated that Forrest led a mounted cavalry of 2,500 troopers 100 miles in only 50 hours. His favorite maxim was, "War means fighting, and fighting means killing." Without the slightest knowledge of them, he seemed by instinct to adopt the tactics of the great masters of the military art. He was not taught at West Point, but he gave lessons to West Point that are still taught there. Gen. Richard Taylor (CSA) has well said: "I doubt if any commander, since the days of lion hearted Richard, has killed as many enemies with his own hand as Forrest." In accomplishing this, Forrest exposed himself to constant danger, having twenty-seven horses killed and wounded under him in battle and twice being severely wounded himself. He conducted many successful raids on the Union lines of communication and specialized in delivering surprise attacks on isolated Union garrisons which yielded many prisoners and caused Federal authorities much aggravation. Forrest’s most impressive victory came at Brice’s Cross Roads in Mississippi, where, against a force over twice the size of his own, he succeeded in putting his enemies to confused flight. After Lee and then Johnston surrendered their forces in April, 1865, Forrest finally gave up the fight.
Michael Jordan plays ball. Charles Manson kills people. I torment eager potential customers by not sharing screenshots of "Brother Against Brother." Everyone has a talent.
User avatar
marecone
Posts: 457
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2006 1:50 pm
Location: Croatia, Europe
Contact:

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by marecone »

Nice to see it again[;)]. I erased it on my comp by accident. We have talked about how 100% should have more spaces.
Like, Forrest had so many great battles that even 21000 spaces would be enough [&o]
"I have never, on the field of battle, sent you where I was unwilling to go myself; nor would I now advise you to a course which I felt myself unwilling to pursue."

Nathan Bedford Forrest
User avatar
scout1
Posts: 3065
Joined: Mon Aug 23, 2004 11:26 pm
Location: South Bend, In

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by scout1 »

I probably will struggle time-wise, but sign me on. I'll help out as best I can .....
User avatar
Graycompany
Posts: 511
Joined: Thu Aug 19, 2004 4:32 am

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by Graycompany »

I would like to help with the Forts. If you have a list of them, I could tell you which I can do. I have a number of friends who are experts in this area and hope to enlist them for help. I live near Gettysburg and it is one of my Favorite places to visit. One of my Friends is a Guide there, another helps take care of the monuments, and another has written numerous published articles on the Civil war.
I thought this place was a empire, now im the last, I can't be sure...
Image
Jonathan Palfrey
Posts: 535
Joined: Sat Apr 10, 2004 4:39 am
Location: Sant Pere de Ribes, Spain
Contact:

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by Jonathan Palfrey »

ORIGINAL: Gil R.
Paramount in his strategy was to "get there fustest with the mostest" ...

I have read, but I don't remember where, that this famous phrase is a misquote. Forrest had some peculiarities of speech, but at least some writers believe that "fustest" and "mostest" were not among them, and that he was more likely to have said "get there first with the most", like any normal person.

Wikipedia says, "The "fustest ... mostest" quote may be apocryphal, as it first appeared in print in a New York Times story in 1917, written to provide colorful comments in reaction to European interest in Civil War generals."
User avatar
AU Tiger_MatrixForum
Posts: 1606
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:03 am
Location: Deepest Dixie

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by AU Tiger_MatrixForum »

I would have to agree. Forrest became a millionaire (very rich indeed in those days) before the war in trade. You don't get that rich that way sounding like an illiterate hick.
"Never take counsel of your fears."

Tho. Jackson
User avatar
Missouri_Rebel
Posts: 3062
Joined: Sun Jun 18, 2006 11:12 pm
Location: Southern Missouri

RE: Generals Bios Project (yes, it's time) (finally)

Post by Missouri_Rebel »

I would like to help but with my current workload, commitments with church, and remodeling the house I am afraid that I probably couldn't do more than a few. If you need someone to do just a few bios please let me know and I can certainly set aside some time for the task.

Mo Reb 
**Those who rob Peter to pay Paul can always count on the support of Paul
**A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have-Gerald Ford
Post Reply

Return to “Generals' Biographies Project”