"Cavalry brigades?" Topic

I have an ACW campaign in mind, but haven't painted any cavalry as yet. I plan to use Fire & Fury for the table top, but not too sure how many stands (on average) I should put together for my cavalry brigades. How many stands of mounted figures do you think I should build? Planning on the Eastern theatre, c. 1862 – 63.
Thanks,
Bob

Honestly, cavalry so rarely played a part in battles I wouldn't paint any for battles. They'd be important for the campaign – raiding, screening etc.

But if you want to paint some becasue they look so nice, I'd say keep it to two per side.

Look at Gettysburg or Brandy Station. Most brigades are 6-8 stands.

I used to believe that ACW cavalry played a minor role in the East until I dug a little more into the History. Check out Pleaston's, Bayard, Grierson, Sheridan's, Kilpatrick raids and other operations. Remember that it was Buford's cavalry that started Gettysburg and that saw 3 Brigades worth of guys! (Oh, and Custer was there later on!) And that is just the Union!

While you may not want to create a lot of painted regiments/brigades, I'd suggest having 3 Brigades since you are talking about Campaigns. That should cover the largest actions. As for how many per Brigade will depend on your rules used. About 8 stands of 2 mounted figs should look nice on the table. (15mm and up) . Using smaller scale figs, I'd suggest using 3 mounted per stand as it "looks" better IMHO. YMMV. The infantry get the most written about it but the cav played big parts in campaigning. (Not just in the ACW, BTW!) Have fun!

Start with Dismtd Infantry first but for the valley campaign and others you will need some cavalry – suggest picking a battle or two and building to that

Can highly recommend Six Days of Hard Fighting by Eric Wittenberg, which covers the brigade/division sized cavalry actions fought at Hanovertown, Haws Shop, Old Church, Hanover Court House and Ashland during the period 27 May – June 1, 1864 as Grant tried to find Lees flanks and side slip him only to end up stuck at Cold Harbor thanks in part to Wade Hampton's quick learning curve as Jeb Stuart's replacement. This was a different kind of cavalry fighting, using horses for mobility and screening, but fighting mostly on foot without infantry support.

Can highly recommend Six Days of Hard Fighting by Eric Wittenberg, which covers the brigade/division sized cavalry actions fought at Hanovertown, Haws Shop, Old Church, Hanover Court House and Ashland during the period 27 May – June 1, 1864 as Grant tried to find Lees flanks and side slip him only to end up stuck at Cold Harbor thanks in part to Wade Hampton's quick learning curve as Jeb Stuart's replacement. This was a different kind of cavalry fighting, using horses for mobility and screening, but fighting mostly on foot without infantry support.

Thx Chris..I am always on the lookout for details of ACW cavalry actions!

Dave, "The Union Cavalry in the Civil War" is a 3 vol set by a guy named Starr if you have not seen it.

Three more suggested books:

Failure in the Saddle: Nathan Bedford Forrest, Joseph Wheeler, and the Confederate Cavalry in the Chickamauga Campaign by David A. Powell (author of The Maps of Chickamauga).

Holding the Line at the River of Death: Union Mounted Forces at Chickamauga, September 18, 1863 by Eric J. Wittenberg.

"The Devil's to Pay" – John Buford at Gettysburg by Eric J. Wittenberg (also author of Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions).

All three are excellent studies of cavalry in action in 1863. Although the first two are in the more important Western theater [Can you tell where my emphasis lies?], they offer opposing examinations of the Union and Confederate cavalry during the important Chickamauga campaign.

Jim

I use 6 stands for my cavalry brigades – both Union and Reb

OP, F&F brigade or regimental scale rules?

79th, sorry, F & F brigade.

Well done to those pointing out there was more cavalry action than generally allowed for and giving examples.

Part of the problem for gamers is that rules have often supported the "forget the cavalry" perspective by not really having the flexibility to replicate cavalry tactics which were employed at a lower level.

It's been a tendency to concentrate on Infantry and Artillery so people can play the whole, or big chunks of, major battles and avoid getting into the weeds with cavalry Divisions or Brigades.