Battleground 5: Antietam – Windows Manual – English

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
2.0 THE BASICS OF PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
HEX OUTLINES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
THE HOT SPOT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
THE TOOLBOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
SELECTING UNITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
FORMATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
FACING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
MOVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Column Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
COMBAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Ranged Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Melee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
LEADERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
QUALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
DISRUPTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
ROUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
RALLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
FATIGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
SUPPLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
STACKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
TERRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
3.0 CHOOSING A SCENARIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
3.1 THE MENU SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
3.2 THE SCENARIO SELECTION SCREEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
3.3 THE TYPES OF A/I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
3.4 RESUMING A SAVED GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
4.0 THE GAME INTERFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
4.1 THE TITLE BAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
4.2 THE MENU BAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Phase Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Units Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Melee Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Reinforce Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Status Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Display Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
A/I Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Special Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Options Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
4.3 THE MAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Scrolling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Place Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Hex Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
4.4 THE UNIT LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Leaders in the Unit List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Combat Units & Supply Wagons in the Unit List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Unit-List Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

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Table of Contents
The Pop-Up Selection Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
The Terrain Info Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Selecting a Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
4.5 THE TOOLBOX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
4.6 THE STATUS BAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
4.7 SAVING A GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
4.8 SNAPSHOTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
5.0 THE UNIT TYPES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
5.1 UNIT ICONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Military Symbol Icon Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
5.2 LEADERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Command & Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
5.3 ARTILLERY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
5.4 AMMO & SUPPLY WAGONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Artillery Ammo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
6.0 PLAYING A SCENARIO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
6.1 TERRAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Hexside Terrain Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
6.2 VICTORY CONDITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
6.3 USING THE A/I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Commander Control A/I & Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Summary of Commander Control A/I Order Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Unknown-Unit Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
6.4 GAME TURNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
6.5 THE SEQUENCE OF PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
6.6 MOVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Reinforcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Protected Entry Hexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Fixed Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
6.7 COMBAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Ranged Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Restrictions on Ranged Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Resolving Ranged Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Melee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Resolving Melee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Morale Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Disruption & Rout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
6.8 RALLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Command Radius/Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
6.9 FATIGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
6.10 COMMAND REPORT FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
7.0 MODEM, PLAY BY E-MAIL & REPLAY FEATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
7.1 MODEM PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
7.2 NULL MODEM PLAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
7.3 PLAY BY E-MAIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
7.4 RECORDING BATTLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
8.0 APPENDIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
8.1 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
8.2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
8.3 HOT KEYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

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Battleground: Antietam

Introduction

1.0 INTRODUCTION
BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM is an historical strategy game dealing with the epic
Civil War battle of Antietam, with the Union forces of George B. McClellan attacking
the Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee. The momentous battle was fought along
the quietly flowing Antietam Creek on the rolling farmland outside the Maryland town
of Sharpsburg on September 17, 1862. It is now noted as the bloodiest single day in
the history of the United States. The battlefield is represented by a “hand-drawn” map,
taken from some of the most detailed sources available. A series of battles, called scenarios, is presented for play on this map.
As an added feature, scenarios and a map for the Battle of South Mountain, fought
just three days prior to Antietam, have also been included. The South Mountain passes at Turner’s Gap and Fox’s Gap were defended by units of D. H. Hill’s division in a
delaying action in order to buy time for Lee to deploy his army around Sharpsburg.
Game Scale. Each hexagon (hex) on the map represents an area 125 yards wide (a mile
equals 14 hexes), and each Game Turn represents twenty minutes in a daytime turn or
one hour in a night turn.
ATTENTION!! VETERAN BATTLEGROUND GAMERS
BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM is, in many ways, similar to the first four games in TalonSoft’s
BattlegroundTM series (Ardennes, Gettysburg, Waterloo and Shiloh). The interface (the toolbar,
menu options, 2D and 3D displays, etc.) all conform to the standard BattlegroundTM style.
More specifically, for veteran gamers of Battleground: Gettysburg or Shiloh, you’ll be able to
move right into this game with little or no problem. However, there are some new game play
features which were introduced in Battleground: Waterloo (i.e., recording battles, replaying
recorded battles, play by E-Mail, etc.). If you are unfamiliar with BG:W, we recommend you
review these guidelines again.

Battleground: Antietam

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The Basics of Play

2.0 THE BASICS OF PLAY
After picking a scenario to play (see 3.0 CHOOSING A SCENARIO), you and your computer or human opponent maneuver, attack and defend with units representing regiments of infantry and cavalry (the “S#” in the Unit List represents total number of soldiers) plus artillery batteries (each “S#” in the Unit List represents one gun) and individual leaders. Your goal in each scenario is to either capture or hold specific objectives, while trying to eliminate as many of the opponent’s units as possible. However,
you must also husband your own forces, for the casualties suffered by each side are
added to the other side’s victory-point total. For more details see 6.2 V ICTORY CONDITIONS. For illustrations of all the unit icons, see 5.1.
The visibility in a daytime turn is limited only by the presence of LOS (line of
sight) obstacles. In a dawn or dusk turn, visibility is limited to four hexes. In a night
turn, each turn is one hour long and visibility is restricted to one hex. To find out when
each type of turn starts and ends, check the scenario’s Parameter Data file (Select Scenario Notes from the Help pop-down menu).
Each Player Turn consists of four phases: Movement, Defensive Fire, Offensive
Fire, and Melee. Two consecutive Player Turns (one for each side) having the same
turn number comprise a Game Turn. When the specified number of Game Turns has
been played, the scenario ends and the victor is announced.
Each time you Select the “find next stack” Toolbox button, the program will
move the Hot Spot to a hex that has a unit which has not yet conducted an action
in the current phase. This lets you check for units you might have forgotten to
move or fire before going on to the next phase.
To advance the game to the next phase, Select the “advance to next phase”
Toolbox button.
The Phasebox. At the start of each new phase,
the Phase Box appears to announce the phase and
give the current turn number. Left-click with the
mouse on the Box to begin the phase—or rightclick on it to begin the phase and make it disappear automatically after a few seconds each time
it appears afterwards.

HEX OUTLINES
The concept of “hexes” is very important to successfully grasping the fundamentals of movement and attack ranges. Since the
hex outlines are “off” by default at start, it is strongly recommended that you make them visible by Selecting the Hex Outlines command in the
Options menu when you begin your first game.

THE HOT SPOT
The red square- or hexagon-shaped indicator that appears on the map is known as the
Hot Spot. The hex currently containing the Hot Spot is called as the Hot Spot hex.

THE TOOLBOX
The Toolbox enables you to conduct certain actions without having to use the pop-down
menus. Selecting a Toolbox button initiates the command associated with it. Some are
explained here, but for a full listing of its buttons and commands see 4.5 on p.29.

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Battleground: Antietam

The Basics of Play

SELECTING UNITS
You must Select a unit before you can have it conduct an action. To do so,
1. Select the hex the unit occupies by left-clicking with the mouse in that hex.
Doing this will make the selected hex the Hot Spot hex.
2. Left-click with the mouse in that units data area in the Unit List at the bottom of
the screen. For an alternative method, see The Pop-Up Selection Dialog on p.27
You can opt to Select more than one unit in a hex, which will enable you to move
(or attack with) all of them at the same time. All the units in a hex can be Selected at
once by double-clicking with the left mouse button in that hex.
If you right-click in a units data area in the Unit List, you will see its organizational information.

FORMATIONS & UNIT TYPES
The units in BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM move and attack in several different “Formations” that were used during the Civil War. Below are the unit types and their formation options.
Infantry is always in either line or column Formation. Line represents
the men lined up “shoulder-to-shoulder” for attacking or defending.
Column represents their being either in marching order or in “column
of companies” attack formation.
Cavalry and leaders are always in either mounted or dismounted Formation.
Artillery is always in either limbered (i.e., hooked up to its horses and
ammunition caissons) or unlimbered (ready to fire) Formation.
Note: Infantry in column, mounted cavalry/leaders and limbered artillery have an
increased movement allowance but cannot attack [Exception: infantry in column and

Battleground: Antietam

5

The Basics of Play
mounted cavalry can engage in Melee] and are more vulnerable to enemy attacks.
Unlimbered artillery cannot move except to change Facing within its hex.
Supply wagons are always in column Formation.
When can I Change A units Formation?
You can change a units Formation only during its Movement Phase. (IMPORTANT:
Infantry and dismounted cavalry can change Formation only before it begins to move.
Once such a unit has moved, you must wait until the next Movement Phase to change
its Formation.)
To change a units Formation,
1. Select the unit
2.
Then, Select the “Change Formation” button in the Toolbox. To find how
to tell what a units current Formation is, see Unit-List Icons on pp.26-27.

FACING
All units, regardless of their present Formation, have a Facing—i.e., always face towards
one of their hex’s hexsides. A “hexside” is the
line between two adjacent hexes (see illustration below).

A unit faces the hexside of a hex.

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Battleground: Antietam

The Basics of Play
IMPORTANT: The current Facing of each regiment in line formation and unlimbered
battery determines its Field of Fire (i.e., its directional ability to attack and defend);
see 6.7 COMBAT. You do not have to change a units Facing to move it.
You can change a units Facing only during its Movement Phase.
To change its Facing, Select the unit, then Select one of the
“change Facing” buttons in the Toolbox. One button changes the
Facing clockwise, one hexside at a time; the button next to it does likewise but in a
counter-clockwise direction; and the third button makes the unit do an “about face”.

MOVEMENT

There are basically three ways to move units:
Hex-by-Hex. One way to move a unit is to Select it, then right-click in a hex adjacent
to it. You can continue right-clicking in adjacent hexes until the unit either is where
you wish it to stop or it can move no futher due to lack of sufficient movement points
to enter another hex.
Drag-and-Drop. Another way is to use “drag-and-drop”. Select the unit, place the cursor on that units hex, press and hold down the left mouse button, move the cursor to
the hex you wish to move the unit to, and then release the mouse button. The program
will move the unit from hex to hex for you, using the path that costs it the least to take.
Auto Movement. A third way to move a unit is by Auto Movement. To use this
method, Select the unit, then hold down the Alt key and right-click in the hex you wish
that unit to move to. The program will move the unit from hex to hex for you, using
the path that costs it the least to take.
Each hex a unit moves into, each Formation change a unit makes (exception: leaders do not pay to mount or dismount), and each Facing change made by infantry in line
or dismounted cavalry, costs it a portion of its movement allowance; these costs are
listed under Change Costs in Parameter Data, which can be found by Selecting Scenario Notes in the Help menu. See also 6.1 TERRAIN for the effects of terrain (including roads, etc.) on movement.
Unless Fog of War is in effect for the opposing side, the most recent movement (or
Facing/Formation change) made by a unit can be undone by holding down the Ctrl key
and pressing U, provided that unit is still Selected.
Selecting either the “highlight moved units” Toolbox button or the Moved
Units command in the Display menu will highlight all units that have moved
thus far in the Movement Phase.

Battleground: Antietam

7

The Basics of Play
Column Movement
You can use column movement to move as a single entity a group of units that are
stacked together and/or in a string of adjacent hexes. There are two types of column
movement: organization and chain.
Organization. To conduct organization column movement,
1. Select the hex occupied by the “leading” unit.
2. Then Select a unit in that hex, hold down the Ctrl key and right-click in the adjacent hex you wish that unit to move to.
As it moves, all units in the group that belong to the Selected units organization
(brigade, division, etc.) will follow it. (To see a units organizational information, rightclick in its data area in the Unit List.)
Chain. To conduct chain column movement,
1. Select the hex occupied by the “leading” unit.
2. After making sure no unit in that hex is Selected, hold down the Ctrl key and
right-click in the adjacent hex you wish that unit to move to.
As it moves, the entire group will follow, with each unit in turn entering the hex
just vacated by the one in front of it. Note, however, that chain column movement will
not work in a hex that has two or more friendly units adjacent to it if those units are in
different hexes and are adjacent to each other, or if the “leading” unit is adjacent to two
or more units in different hexes.
Column movement can also be conducted using Auto Movement (see above). To do
so, hold down both the Ctrl and Alt keys when you right-click in the hex you wish the
“leading” unit to move to.

COMBAT
There are two basic types of combat in the game: Ranged Fire and Melee. A regiment
or battery that takes casualties due to combat has its manpower (“S#” in the Unit List)
lowered by 25 men or more; an artillery unit may lose one or more guns (each S# =
one gun). If a units S# is reduced to zero in this manner the unit is eliminated. See
below for more details. The combat results tables for both types of combat appear in
the Parameter Data, which can be found by Selecting Scenario Notes in the Help
menu. IMPORTANT: Each regiment and battery has a Field of Fire that it cannot
attack outside of; see 6.7.
Ranged Fire
Ranged Fire is simply one regiment or battery shooting at another at a range of one or more
hexes. You conduct Ranged Fire during the Offensive Fire Phase of your Player Turn and
the Defensive Fire Phase of your opponent’s Player Turn. During that fire phase, each of
your units able to fire can make one Ranged-Fire attack, and that attack can be made vs.
only one enemy unit. Routed units, and those that are out of ammunition and/or facing
“away from” (see 6.7) the enemy cannot attack. Artillery that unlimbered or moved (even
just to change Facing) in the Movement Phase cannot fire in the ensuing Offensive Fire
Phase. See also 6.7 COMBAT, Ranged Fire on p.47, and Resolving Ranged-Fire on p.48.
You can perform a Ranged Fire attack in three different ways:
Right-click Target Hex. To use Ranged Fire, Select the regiment or battery that will
fire, then right-click in the target hex.
Drag-and-Drop. Another way to conduct Ranged Fire is to use “drag-and-drop”.
Select the unit that will fire, then place the cursor on that units hex, press and hold
down the left mouse button, move the cursor to the target hex, and then release the
mouse button.

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The Basics of Play
Auto Fire. A third method is Auto Fire. Hold down the Alt key and right-click in the
target hex. A dialog box will appear, listing the name and location of one your units
that is eligible to fire at that hex. If you Select OK in the box, that unit will fire.

Melee
A Melee occurs when one side attempts to advance one or more of its infantry or cavalry regiments into an adjacent, enemy-occupied hex during the Melee Phase. Routed/Disrupted units, artillery, supply wagons, and regiments facing “away from” (see
6.7) the adjacent enemy cannot advance into a Melee. Only mounted cavalry (and one
or more accompanying mounted leaders) can advance into a hex that contains mounted cavalry. A unit can attack in Melee, and a hex can be assaulted, only once per Melee
Phase. If all defending units are eliminated or forced to retreat, the attacking unit(s)
will automatically occupy the defending hex.
Drag-and-Drop. One easy way to conduct Melees is to use “drag-and-drop”. To do
this,
1. Select all the units in a hex which you wish to attack with.
2. Then place the cursor on that hex, press and hold down the left mouse button,
move the cursor to the adjacent hex you wish to attack, and then release the
mouse button.
3.
Repeat this for each hex that contains one or more units you wish to add
to that Melee, then resolve the attack by Selecting the “resolve Melee”
Toolbox button.
For more details, see 6.7 COMBAT, Melee and Resolving Melee on p.49.

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The Basics of Play

LEADERS
Each brigade, division,
corps and army has its own
historical leader. A leader
provides no benefit to movement
or Ranged-Fire attacks, but can aid
in Melee attack/defense and lower
the chance that a unit he is stacked
with will Rout. Most importantly,
however, a leader can use his
Command and Leadership ratings
to aid Disrupted/Routed units
under his command in their
attempts to Rally. The proper positioning of brigade and division
leaders is vital to maintaining the
cohesion of one’s forces. For more
details see 4.4 THE UNIT LIST, 5.2
LEADERS and 6.8 RALLY.

QUALITY
Each regiment and battery has a Quality rating (“Q” in the Unit List) of “A” (best),
“B”, “C”, “D”, “E” or “F”. The program uses this rating at various times to make die
rolls (“A” = “6”; “F” = “1”) to determine if the unit will Disrupt, Rout or Rally. See
Morale Checks on p.50 and Disruption & Rout on p.52.

DISRUPTION
A regiment or battery can become Disrupted when it takes casualties, and automatically becomes Disrupted whenever it is involved in a Melee (some units will
also become Disrupted upon entering certain types of terrain; see 6.1 T ERRAIN). Disrupted status is indicated by a “D” icon in the Unit List. For more details see Disruption & Rout on p.52.

ROUT
A regiment or battery can become Routed when it takes casualties, loses
a Melee, or another friendly unit in or adjacent to its hex Routs. Routed
status is indicated by an “R” icon in the Unit List and by a unit icon containing one or more running figures. Various conditions can affect the
chance that a unit will become Routed; see Disruption & Rout on p.52.

RALLY
At the beginning of each Player Turn, the program attempts to Rally (i.e., bring back
to Good Order) each of that side’s Disrupted/Routed units. The results are displayed in
the Command Report dialog. For more details see 6.8 R ALLY.

FATIGUE
Each regiment and battery has a Fatigue level (“FA” in the Unit List) of between “0”
and “9”. Fatigue can occur/increase due to combat. The higher a units Fatigue, the
weaker it is in Melee, the less effective it conduct Ranged Fire, and the more likely it
will be to Rout when it suffers casualties. For more details see 4.4 THE UNIT LIST and
6.9 FATIGUE.

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SUPPLY
Whenever a regiment makes a Ranged-Fire attack, the program
checks to see if it has depleted its ammunition supply. (The initial
probability is 1-in-24) If it has, a “hollow bullet” (indicating no ammo) or “half-hollow bullet” (indicating low ammo) icon appears in its icon section in the Unit List.
A regiment suffering from low/no ammo has certain restrictions placed on its
Ranged-Fire capabilities, but can be resupplied by a friendly supply wagon; see 5.4
AMMO & SUPPLY WAGONS.
Artillery Ammo. There is a separate ammo supply limit for artillery; see Artillery
Ammo on p.34.

STACKING
Stacking is limited to a total of eight regiment, battery
and/or supply wagon units per hex. No more than 1000
men, or 20 cannons, may occupy a hex (displayed as “S#”
in the Unit List). Stacking limits apply per side in Melee.
Regardless of other stacking rules, only one supply wagon may occupy a hex.
Infantry, Cavalry & Artillery: 1,000 (S# total) in no more than 8 units. For stacking
purposes, one gun equals 50 men.
Leaders: No stacking limit.
Supply Wagons: Regardless of other stacking rules, only one supply wagon may occupy a hex.

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The Basics of Play
You can move a unit from the bottom to the top of a stack in the Hot Spot hex by
Selecting To Top of Stack in the Units menu (if playing on the 2D map, this can sometimes be helpful as you can bring a specific unit to the top of a stack so it is displayed).
That menu also contains a To Bottom of Stack command. When using either the 2D
Normal View or Zoom-Out map (see p.23), you can place all leaders on the top of their
stacks by Selecting Leaders on Top in the Display menu.

TERRAIN
Terrain can affect movement, LOS
and Ranged-Fire combat. Breastworks, walls and embankments can
also affect Melee and Ranged-Fire
combat. These effects are listed in 6.1
TERRAIN, and in Parameter Data
(which can be found by Selecting
Scenario Notes in the Help menu).

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Choosing a Scenario

3.0 CHOOSING A SCENARIO

3.1 THE MENU SCREEN
When you launch BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM, the Menu Screen appears after the
introduction. This screen presents you with five choices:
• Start New Scenario: Select this to proceed to the Scenario Selection Screen to start
a new scenario.
• Resume Saved Game: Select this if you wish to resume playing a non-modem game
you had saved and quit previously.
• Start Game as Modem Host: Select this to become (or resume being) the Host for
a modem-play game.
• Start Game as Modem Caller: Select this to become (or resume being) the Caller
for a modem-play game.
• Special Options: Select this to start (or resume) a Play-By-E-Mail (PBEM) game or
a Two-Player Hot-Seat game.

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Choosing a Scenario

3.2 THE SCENARIO SELECTION SCREEN
This screen lets you pick a new scenario to play. First, Select the name of a scenario.
Once you’ve decided on a scenario, make sure its name is highlighted, and Select the
Play button. A dialog box will then appear, giving you the choice of what type of A/I
you wish to use for each side. (For your choices, see 3.3 T HE TYPES OF A/I.) When you
Select OK, the scenario will begin.
The Previous button takes you back to the Menu Screen, and the Exit button takes
you back to Windows®.

3.3 THE TYPES OF A/I
The type of A/I you choose will determine the amount of control the game’s “Artificial Intelligence” exerts on play. When A/I is being used, the program will make some
or all of the decisions for a particular side and automatically conduct all appropriate
actions, such as firing and moving. The A/I can be used in four modes: Manual, Commander Control, Automatic, and Automatic with Fog-of-War. Any one mode can be
applied to each side.

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Choosing a Scenario
Manual equals “no A/I”. Select this for a side if you want to make all the decisions for that side, including conducting all moves and attacks for it. This is the default
mode for both sides.
If you Select Commander Control for a side, you’ll be able to give orders
(attack, defend, etc.) to the various leaders you choose to command on that side,
while letting the program automatically handle all other actions for the side, such as
moving and firing.
If you Select Automatic for a side, the program will handle all the decisions and
actions for that side.
If you Select Automatic with FOW (Fog-of-War) for a side, the program will handle all the decisions and actions for that side, and Fog of War will be in effect. This
mode is most appropriate when you want to control one side and have the program
control the other.
The Set Advantage bar at the bottom of the A/I Selection screen allows you to balance play between two players of unequal skill or to balance play against the A/I. To
set an Advantage, hold down the left mouse button over the needle and move it to the
left or right (the keyboard’s arrow keys can also be used to adjust the advantage).
Advantage values can range from 0 to 100 for either side. Depending on the value you
set, the side with the advantage will inflict higher than normal combat losses on the
other side, and suffer lower than normal combat losses themselves. Advantage must be
set before play begins in E-Mail or Modem Play games. Otherwise, the Advantage can
be adjusted at any time during the game.
To use the A/I during play, see 6.3 USING THE A/I.

3.4 RESUMING A SAVED GAME
To open a previously saved (non-Modem, non-Play-By-E-mail, non-Two-Player-HotSeat) game, Select Resume Saved Game in the Menu Screen. A dialog box will
appear, in which you must Select the saved-game file you want. At this point, select
the module your game is saved in. All the games currently saved within that module
will appear in the “Select a Battle” window. Highlight the name of the saved game you
wish to resume. Then Select OK.
For resuming a saved Modem-play game
see page 37; for resuming a saved PlayBy-E-mail game see page 38.
If the game had been saved and quit
during a phase that was controlled by the
A/I, you may have to Select the Activate
A/I menu command (or its corresponding Toolbox button) to restart it.

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The Game Interface

4.0 THE GAME INTERFACE
4.1 THE TITLE BAR
This appears at the very top of the screen, and displays the name of the scenario currently being played.

4.2 THE MENU BAR
This appears below the Title Bar, and displays the names of the various pop-down
menus. These menus and their commands are explained below.
File Menu: Use this menu to load a previously saved game, or to save
and/or exit a game.
Select New to start a new scenario. (Do not change directories in the
dialog box that appears.) A new scenario has the extension .scn.
Select Open to resume a previously saved game. A previously saved
game file has the extension .btl.
Select Save to save the game you are playing.
Select Save As to save a game under a file name other than the one currently being used for it.
Select Snapshot to save a copy of the portion of the map (including the position of all
unhidden units) that is currently in memory as a bitmap (.bmp) file. (See 4.8 SNAPSHOTS.)
Select Replay to view a recorded battle. To halt the replay, press the Esc key (see also
RECORDING BATTLES and Replaying a Recorded Battle, both on p.59).
Select Exit to quit the scenario and return to the Menu Screen. If the current game has
changed since the last time it was saved, a dialog will appear giving the option to save
it before exiting.

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The Game Interface
Phase Menu: Use this menu when you want to proceed from one
phase to the next.
Select Next to advance the game to the next phase.
Units Menu: Use this menu to change the position of
friendly units, and to initiate artillery attacks. Most
changes can occur only during the Movement Phase, and
are subject to limitations as a result of the program rules
and movement allowances.
Select To Top Of Stack to move a Selected unit to the top
of its stack.
Select To Bottom of Stack to move a Selected unit to the
bottom of its stack.
Select Turn Clockwise to change the Facing of a Selected
unit one hexside in a clockwise direction.
Select Turn Counterclockwise to change the Facing of a
Selected unit one hexside in a counterclockwise direction.
Select About Face to change the Facing of a Selected unit 180º.
Select Change Formation to change the Formation of a Selected unit.
Select Recrew Battery to provide a new crew for an abandoned friendly artillery battery; see 5.3 ARTILLERY.
Select Remove From Map to voluntarily eliminate a unit. Removal can occur only
during a friendly Movement Phase, and the unit must be in a map-edge hex.
To remove a unit from the map,
1. Select the unit.
2. Select the Remove from Map command. Removed units do not count towards
victory conditions.
Select Artillery Dialog to make attacks with artillery units during the Offensive or
Defensive Fire Phase.
Select Undo Last Movement to cancel the entire movement of the most-recentlymoved still-Selected friendly unit, so you can instead move it in a different way (or not
at all). This command is disabled during Modem play, Play By E-mail, and whenever
Fog of War is in effect. This command cannot be used to cancel the move of a unit that
has just captured a battery or leader by entering its hex in the Movement Phase.
Melee Menu: Use this menu to conduct Melees.
Select Clear Melee to cancel a melee without resolving it.
Select Add to Melee (after right-clicking in a hex to mark it as a
Melee hex) to designate the currently Selected unit(s) as participating in the Melee.
Select Resolve Melee to resolve a Melee in the Hot Spot hex.
Select Show Differential to review the current Strength difference between the two
sides in the Melee in the Hot Spot hex.
Reinforce Menu: Use this menu to check on the availability of reinforcements.
Select Scheduled to display the reinforcements that are scheduled to
arrive during the current scenario. If Fog of War is in effect for one or

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17

The Game Interface
both sides, only the reinforcements for the side currently having its Player Turn will be
displayed; otherwise, all reinforcements will appear. See R EINFORCEMENTS, p.44.
Select Arrived during a friendly Movement Phase to display the reinforcements that
are currently available to be placed on the map.
Select Releases for a display listing the release times of Fixed units; see p.45.
Status Menu: Use this menu to display current strength, objective,
and victory information.
Select Strength to see the current “manpower” strength of each regiment and higher organization. If an organization is not all in Good
Order, the percentage shown is the percentage of the organization that
is in Good Order (a “Good Order” unit is neither Disrupted nor Routed). If Fog of War
is in effect for a side, its strengths will appear only during its own Player Turn.
Select Objectives to see the number, value and hex location of each Objective. Selecting any of the Objective-hex lines in the dialog box will put the Hot Spot in (and scroll
the map to) that hex.
Select Victory to see the current level of victory and related items.
Display Menu: Use this menu to control how information is displayed on the map.
Select Units Off to toggle (off or on) the on-map display of all units and markers. This option is provided
so you can hide them in order to see the underlying
map terrain better.
Select Unit Bases Off to toggle (off or on) the bases
of the unit icons on the 3D (Battleview™) map.
Select Leaders on Top to control the on-map display
of leaders on the 2D maps. When this command has a
check mark next to it, leaders appear above all other
units in their hex.
Select Objectives to toggle (off or on) the display of
Objectives on the map. When this command has a
check mark next to it, each Objective hex will be
marked with the flag of the side that controls it.
Select Locations to help you find a named location
on the map. When you Select one of those listed, the
map will scroll to that hex and put the Hot Spot in it.
Select Visible Hexes to toggle (off or on) a display of
which hexes are in the LOS of the current Hot Spot
hex. A red “X” in a hex indicates no LOS. When on,
this command has a check mark next to it.
Select Full Screen Map to toggle (off or on) the Unit List and Terrain Info Box. When
this command has a check mark next to it, these items are hidden. Units can still be
Selected when the Unit List is hidden; see T HE POP-UP SELECTION DIALOG on p.27.
Select Show Organization to see which units belong to which organizations. When
you Select an organization name in the Organization Dialog, each of that organization’s component units becomes highlighted on the map. If Fog of War is in effect for
one or both sides, only the organizations for the side currently having its Player Turn

18

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The Game Interface
will be displayed. An organization name printed in light gray indicates that all of its
units are currently off-map (i.e., are reinforcements yet to arrive).
Select Find Leader or Units to display a dialog box that will let you find a specific
unit or leader on the map. After Selecting this command,
1. Left-click in the white box labeled “Enter search”.
2. Type in the name of the leader or unit (being sure to spell and capitalize it the
same way it appears in the game).
3. Select Search.
All occurrences of that name in the Order of Battle will appear in the larger white box.
Select the one you’re looking for, then Select OK.
Select Jump Window to display a miniature of the map. When you Select any spot in
the miniature version, the game map will automatically scroll to the corresponding spot.
Select Fixed Units to toggle (off or on) a highlight around all Fixed units.
Select Spotted Units to toggle (off or on) a highlight around all units that have a LOS
to (and thus are in the LOS of) at least one enemy unit.
Select Low on or Out of Ammo, or Uncrewed to toggle (off or on) a highlight around
all units that are low on or out of ammunition and/or have no crew (the latter applies
only to artillery batteries).
Select Fired/Fought Units to toggle (off or on) a highlight around all units that have
either fired at an enemy unit or fought in a Melee during the current phase.
Select Moved Units to toggle (off or on) a highlight around all units that have moved
during the current phase.
Select Disrupted Units to toggle (off or on) a highlight around all units that are Disrupted. Leaders that are highlighted when this option is on (or when the “D” toolbox
button is pressed) are the ones that failed their last command check (see Command
Radius/Rating, p.53).
Select Organization to toggle (off or on) a highlight around all units that are part of
the same organization as the first Selected unit, or are subordinate to the Selected
leader, in the Unit List.
Note: The menu options beginning with Fixed Units and ending with Organization
are mutually exclusive; i.e., Selecting any one of them will toggle-off any of the others that had been previously Selected. During the Melee Phase, each unit that is designated to engage in Melee becomes highlighted if no other highlight is currently
Selected.
Select 2D Normal View to change the map to its 2D version.
Select 2D Zoom-Out View to change the map to a smaller, low resolution 2D version
that enables more of it to be seen.
Select 3D Normal View to change the map to its full-size 3D (Battleview™) mode.
Select 3D Zoom-Out View to change the map to Battleview™ mode but with the
hexes at half their normal size.
Select Rotate Toolbox to toggle the Toolbox between its vertical and horizontal orientation.

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19

The Game Interface
A/I Menu: Use this menu to control the “Artificial
Intelligence” capabilities of the program.
Select [Manual] (i.e., no A/I) for a side if you want to
make all the decisions for that side, including conducting all moves and attacks for it. This is the default mode
for both sides.
Select [Commander Control] for a side if you’d like to
choose certain leaders to command yourself (i.e., to
give orders to), while letting the program automatically
take care of all other decisions and actions for that side.
Select [Automatic] for a side if you want the program
to handle all the decisions and actions for that side.
Select [Automatic with Fog-of-War] for a side if you want the program to handle all
the decisions and actions, and have Fog of War in effect, for that side.
Select Set Advantage to balance play between two players of unequal skill or to balance A/I play. Advantage values can range from 0 to 100 for either side. Depending on
the value, the side with the advantage will inflict higher than normal combat losses on
the other side, and suffer lower than normal combat losses themselves. Advantage
must be set before play begins in E-Mail of Modem Play games. Otherwise, the Advantage can be adjusted at anytime during the game.
Select Activate A/I to restart the A/I after you have canceled it, or if you started the
phase not using A/I but wish to activate it for the remainder of the phase.
Special Menu: This menu provides the special options necessary to play a scenario via modem, null-modem, PBEM, TwoPlayer Hot-Seat, or even to record a game in progress.
Select Modem Host before you start a modem game if you
wish to be in charge of opening and saving the scenario, and to
configure your modem for play. The Host player can also use
this command to close the playing session.
Select Modem Caller before starting a modem game if you
wish to let the other player be responsible for opening and saving the scenario, and to configure your modem for play. As the
Caller, you have the option of specifying an encryption key
(see p.56). The Caller can also use this command to close the playing session.
Select Play by E-Mail to begin an E-Mail game. (See 7.3 PLAY BY E-MAIL for more
information.)
Select Two-Player Hot-Seat to play a scenario with another human opponent on your
computer with Fog of War automatically in effect. After this is invoked from the Special menu, you must then select New (or Open to resume a saved game) from the File
menu. The extension .btt is used to denote a Two-Player Hot-Seat saved-game file.
Select Record Battle to toggle (on or off) the option that allows you to save a record
of the game you are currently playing. (See p.59 for more information.)
Select Null Modem if you wish to play a game using a null-modem cable. See also 7.2
NULL MODEM PLAY.
Select New Encryption Key in a modem game if you are the Caller and wish to
specify a new encryption key. As the Caller you must ensure that the same encryption key is used when re-opening a saved-game file as was used when the file was
saved previously. The extension .btx is used to denote an encrypted saved-game file.
For more on encryption keys, see p.56.

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The Game Interface
Select Resync With Remote in a modem game if the two sides get out of sync (e.g.,
due to a bad data transmission). Using this command re-transmits the entire scenario
to the other player’s computer. The Resync option should rarely be needed, as error
checking is incorporated into the modem protocol used by the program. Before using
it, check with the other player to ensure that he agrees a scenario resync is necessary.
Alternatively, the Host can save the current scenario and open it again.
Select Restart Replay to restart the replay of a previously halted recorded battle file.
(See p.59 for more information.)
Select Communication Dialog in a modem game to display the “chat window” if you
had closed it previously.
Options Menu: Use this menu to set the default for certain
options associated with the main program. A check mark next to
a command in this menu means that it is “on.”
Select Introduction to toggle (off or on) the introductory material
that plays when you launch the game.
The Prompt For Scenario feature is only usable if you selected
a “Custom” Install during set-up and chose the “Map Icon”
option. With this feature toggled on (i.e., with a check next to it),
you will be prompted for a new scenario when you enter the game
directly via a “map icon” (instead of using the “Battleground
Antietam” icon).
Select Beep on Error to toggle (off or on) the option that causes
a beep when you make an error.
Select Blink Hot Spot to toggle (off or on) the option that causes the Hot Spot to blink. [Exception: the Hot Spot never blinks on the 3D maps.]
Select Smooth Scroll to toggle (off or on) the option that causes the map to scroll
incrementally to a new Hot Spot. When this command has no check mark next to it,
the map redraws directly at the new Hot Spot hex without scrolling through the intervening hexes.
Select Sound Effects to toggle (off or on) the playing of sound effects.
Select Background Music to toggle (off or on) background music which plays during
the game.
Select Video Effects to toggle (off or on) the playing of video clips.
Select Graphical Unit Icons to toggle the display of unit icons between graphical and
military-type schematic versions.
Select Leader Faces to toggle between a portrait-type and a graphical icon for each
leader when using the 2D Normal View map (only). Note: Graphical Unit Icons (from
the Options menu) must be “on” for the leaders’ faces to show up.
Select Hex Outlines to hide or display the map’s hex outlines. When the hex outlines
are visible, this command has a check mark next to it.
Select 3D Dialogs to toggle the appearance of the program dialogs between an
enhanced 3D version and the standard Windows® version.
Select Dialog Help Buttons to hide or display the Help buttons in the program dialogs.
Select Auto Save to have the program save the game automatically at the end of each
phase [Exception: it will not save a phase that was conducted under Automatic A/I
(with or without Fog of War) control].

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21

The Game Interface
Help Menu: Use this menu to get information about how
to use the BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM program, about
the battle being fought, and about the program itself.
Select General Help to open the BATTLEGROUND:
ANTIETAM General Help file.
Select Scenario Notes to find miscellaneous information on the two armies, their
orders of battle, and the data used internally in the game (such as the various combat
tables, the height of obstacles, the movement costs and defensive modifiers of the various terrain types, etc.).
Select About Battleground: Antietam to display a dialog containing version and
copyright information about BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM.

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The Game Interface

Jump Map (3D)

2D Zoom-Out

2D Zoom-In

3D Zoom-Out

3D Zoom-In

4.3 THE MAP
The map can be viewed in five different scales.
Jump Map. The smallest map is the Jump Window, which displays the entire map in
play (for details on using the Jump Window, see SCROLLING, p.24). On this map, red and
blue dots indicate the positions of Confederate and Union units (respectively). The jump
map allows you to see, at a glance, the entire disposition of your forces, as well as all
known enemy units. Clicking anywhere on the jump map will take you to that location.
2D Zoom-Out View. The smallest playable size is the 2D Zoom-Out map, which is
displayed by Selecting 2D Zoom-Out View in the Display menu. This is best used for
a quick, overall view of things. Units on this map view cannot be distinguished from
each other as easily as on the other maps, but their positions relative to the opponent’s
units are readily apparent over a wider area.
2D Normal View. The next scale is called the 2D Normal View, and is displayed by
Selecting 2D Normal View in the Display menu (or, if the map is currently in the 2D
Zoom-Out mode, by Selecting the “Zoom Map” button in the Toolbox). This presents
the terrain in more detail than the 2D Zoom-Out map while showing a larger area than
the 3D maps. You can choose to display units on the 2D Normal View map with either
graphical icons or military symbols (see 5.0 THE UNIT TYPES).

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The Game Interface
3D Zoom-Out. The 3D Zoom-Out view displays the Battleview™ map at half of its
normal size, thus allowing twice as much of it to be seen at a time. This is the default
map when you start the game.
3D Normal View. The ultimate map view is the 3D Normal View mode, which is displayed by Selecting 3D Normal View in the Display menu (or, if the map is currently
in the 3D Zoom-Out mode, by Selecting the “Zoom Map” button in the Toolbox). This
presents the Battleview™—a high-resolution map in 3D-type isometric perspective,
presenting much more detail on the screen. In this view, units are shown as “miniatures” with individual positions within their hex.
Scrolling
In most cases the map is too large to fit completely onto the screen, even in those scenarios where only a portion of the overall map is used. Therefore, several different
ways to scroll it are provided. You can use the standard Windows® scroll bars, the
arrow keys on your keyboard, or the Jump Window.
To use the Jump Window, Select either its button in the Toolbox or the Jump
Window command in the Display menu. This will display a miniature of the
map being used (along with an indication of where each side’s units are). Then
Select the desired spot in the jump map, and the game map will automatically scroll to
the corresponding point.
Place Names
Press the Shift key to display the names of
various roads, farms and other geographical
features. These names are given for historical reference only.
Hex Coordinates
Each hex on the map has a unique set of coordinates, given in the form
“#, #”. The number on the left represents the vertical row of hexes
(beginning with “0” for the left-most row of hexes on the map), while the number on
the right represents the horizontal row (beginning with “0” for the topmost row).
The coordinates of the Hot Spot hex are displayed at the far right end of the Status Bar (see 4.6).

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Battleground: Antietam

The Game Interface

4.4 THE UNIT LIST
The Unit List is the portion of the screen display immediately below the map. It contains a representative drawing of each unit that occupies the current Hot Spot hex, plus
that units name and pertinent game data. A horse-head icon in the upper right-hand corner of a battery’s Unit List picture signifies that battery as horse artillery.
To Select a unit in the Unit List, left-click anywhere in its data area. To view the
organizational information for a unit, right-click on its name in the Unit List and hold
down the mouse button.
When there are more units in a hex than can be displayed in the Unit List,
the arrow buttons in the lower right corner of the screen turn bright red
(become highlighted) and can be used to scroll the Unit List.
The Unit List can be hidden by Selecting either Full Screen Map in the Display menu or its equivalent Toolbox button.
Leaders in the Unit List
The following explains the abbreviations and numbers displayed for leaders in the
Unit List:
Command Rating
Leadership Rating
Movement Allowance
Leader’s Name (right-click for organization info)

C (Command): The leader’s Command Rating, given in the form “A” (best), “B”, “C”,
“D”, “E” or “F” (worst). This rating is used by the program to determine the leader’s
ability to stay “in command”, thereby aiding the Rally of his Disrupted units. See COMMAND RADIUS/RATING on p.53.
An icon
“behind” the number when the Leader is Selected indicates that he is currently Detached.
In addition, a leader’s Command Rating is reduced by 1 during night turns.
L (Leadership): The leader’s Leadership Rating, given in the form “A” (best), “B”,
“C”, “D”, “E” or “F” (worst). This rating is used by the program to let the leader aid
in the Rally of a Routed unit he is stacked with; see 6.8 RALLY.
M (Movement): The leader’s current Movement Allowance. This number will decrease
as he moves.
An
icon “behind” the number when the Leader is Selected indicates that he is currently mounted.
A star appearing in the lower right-hand corner of a leader’s Unit-List portrait
means that he has been “promoted” to the command of a higher organization due to the
elimination or promotion of that organization’s original leader.

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25

The Game Interface
Combat Units & Supply Wagons in the Unit List
The following explains the abbreviations and numbers displayed for combat units and
supply wagons in the Unit List:
S (Strength)
RG (Range)
MV (Movement)
QL (Quality rating)
FA (Fatigue level)
Unit List Icons
Unit Name (right-click for organization info)

S (Strength): The units current basic attack (and, if a regiment, defense during Melee)
strength. This number represents the actual number of men in the unit (rounded to the
nearest 25). This number is also used to determine stacking limits; see S TACKING on
p.11. If the S# appears on a red background the unit is Isolated; refer to the Appendix
(p.61) for more details on being Isolated.
RG (Range): The maximum range at which the unit can make a Ranged-Fire attack.
A unit with a range of “–” cannot attack in any way.
MV (Movement): The units current Movement Allowance. This number will decrease
as the unit moves or changes Facing/Formation.
QL (Quality): The units Quality, given in the form “A” (best), “B”, “C”, “D”, “E” or
“F” (worst). This number does not change during play.
FA (Fatigue): The units current Fatigue level: “0”-“3” cause no adverse effect (these
numbers appear in green); “4”-“6” represent Low Fatigue (and appear in red-orange);
“7”-“9” are High Fatigue (and appear in dark red). See also 6.9 FATIGUE.
Unit-List Icons
One or more of the following icons will appear from time to time in the lower-center
compartment of a non-leader units data area. These icons, as they appear from left to
right on the screen, represent the following:
Infantry/Cavalry Regiment. When the full-color bullet appears, the
regiment is eligible to attack. Once it has attacked, the bullet turns
brown. If the unit becomes low on ammo, the bullet will change to “half hollow” (i.e.,
half color and half outline). If the unit becomes out of ammo, the bullet will change to
completely hollow (i.e., outline only).
Artillery Battery. When the full-color cannonball appears, the battery is
eligible to attack. Once it has attacked, the cannonball turns brown. If the
battery is uncrewed (see 5.3 ARTILLERY), the cannonball is hollow (i.e., an outline).
The letter indicates the type of weapon the unit is equipped with:
Weapon Types
B: Breech-loading rifles
C: Carbines
H: 12-pounder howitzers
L: 6-pounder smoothbore cannons
M: Smoothbore muskets
N: 12-pounder Napoleon cannons

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Battleground: Antietam

P: Pistols
R: Rifled muskets
S: Spencer repeating rifles
T: 10-pounder Parrott or 3-inch Rodman cannons
W: 12-pounder Whitworth cannons

The Game Interface
When the wheel appears, the unit is eligible to move. Once it begins to move,
the wheel turns brown. When it has used all of its movement allowance, the
wheel disappears.
When the “F” on a red background appears, the unit is Fixed, meaning that it cannot leave its hex. For more information, see p.45.
These icons show the units present Facing (as indicated by the direction the
red arrow is pointing) and Formation. Depending on the unit type, the two
parallel yellow lines indicate that it is either in line, dismounted or unlimbered (as
shown by the icon illustration on the left) or in column, mounted or limbered (as shown
by the illustration on the right).
When the pick-and-shovel appears, the unit is constructing breastworks.
When the “D” appears, the unit is Disrupted.
When the “R” appears, the unit is Routed.
When the full-color binoculars appear, the unit is currently in the LOS of
(and thus also has a LOS to) at least one enemy unit [Exception: if the only
enemy unit having a LOS to the unit when Fog of War is in effect is an enemy supply
wagon, the binoculars are brown, indicating that the identity of your unit is not known
to the enemy ].
The Pop-Up Selection Dialog
The Pop-Up Selection Dialog allows you to
Select any unit(s) in the Hot Spot hex even if
the Unit List is hidden. To display this dialog, left-click on a map hex with a unit you
wish to Select, then simply press the spacebar. You can then Select a single unit by
left-clicking on its name in the dialog, or
Select multiple units by holding down the
Shift or Ctrl key when you left-click. Double-clicking on a name is the same as pressing Enter, which is the same as Selecting OK. The information at the beginning of each
unit name is that units S# and weapon type.

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The Game Interface

The Terrain Info Box
The Terrain Info Box appears in the lower-left-hand corner of the
screen, presenting certain information about the current Hot Spot
hex. It displays a digitized photo (many of which were taken from
actual sites around the Antietam battlefield) of the type of terrain in
the hex (clear, orchard, forest, etc.), then lists that terrain type by
name and gives its Ranged-Fire combat modifier, its elevation in
feet, and its Objective value.
The bottom line of the Terrain Info Box shows the current
artillery ammunition supply for each side (in the form “#/#”, with the Union total on
the left and the Confederate total on the right). See Artillery Ammo on p.34.
Finding Other Terrain Features Using the Terrain Info Box
In BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM, there are a number of terrain features which move
along hexsides or move through a hex (e.g., roads and streams). To learn which of
these features are present in or alongside the current Hot Spot hex, click anywhere on
the Terrain Info Box. The information in the Terrain Info Box will disappear and the
name(s) of the extra terrain feature(s) will appear.
Right or left click anywhere in the Terrain Info Box for a display of
the hexside terrain features. These terrain features are arranged
(roughly) in the locations pertaining to the hexsides they run along
or through.
For example, in the illustration at left, a stream runs along the
“lower” hexside of the Selected hex, and a road runs through the
hex, crossing the lower left and upper right hexsides.

Selecting a Unit
To Select a unit in the Unit List, left-click anywhere on its area in the List. You can
quickly Select all the units shown in the Unit List by double-clicking with the left
mouse button in the Hot Spot hex.

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Battleground: Antietam

The Game Interface

4.5 THE TOOLBOX
The Toolbox enables you to conduct certain actions without having to use the popdown menus. Selecting a Toolbox button initiates the command associated with it.
These commands are:

Advance the game to the next phase.
Change the screen display between the 2D Normal View and 2D Zoom Out, or 3D Normal View and 3D Zoom Out, mode.
Change the Facing of the Selected unit(s) one hexside in a counterclockwise direction.
Change the Facing of the Selected unit(s) one hexside in a clockwise direction.
Change the Facing of the Selected unit(s) by 180º.
Change the Formation of the Selected infantry unit from column to line (and back), limber/unlimber an artillery unit, or mount/dismount a cavalry regiment or leader.
Toggle (off or on) the on-map display of all units.
Toggle (off or on) the bases of all unit icons on the 3D map.
Make the Artillery Dialog appear.
Resolve the Melee in the Hot Spot hex.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all infantry/cavalry units suffering from low/no
ammo or uncrewed artillery units.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that have a LOS to (and thus are in the
LOS of) at least one enemy unit.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that have moved during the current phase.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that have either fired at an enemy unit or
fought in a Melee during the current phase.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that are Disrupted.
Toggle (on or off) a highlight around all units that are part of the same organization as
the first Selected unit in the Unit List.
Hide (or display) the Unit List and Terrain Info Box.
Toggle (on or off) a display of which hexes are in the LOS of the current Hot Spot hex.
An “X” in a hex indicates no LOS.
Display (or hide) the flag of the controlling side in each Objective hex.
Display the Jump Window. Select any spot on the jump map, and the game map will
scroll to the corresponding spot.
Cycle the Hot Spot to another unit that has yet to (be designated to) perform an action
pertinent to the current phase.
Activate the A/I (after you have halted it, or if you started the phase not using A/I but
wish to activate it for the remainder of the phase).

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29

The Game Interface

4.6 THE STATUS BAR
The Status Bar (see illustration above) appears at the very bottom of the screen. Its
main functions are to show the current time of day, the current phase, and the coordinates of the Hot Spot hex, and a set of scroll arrows (if the current Hot Spot hex has
more units in it than can be displayed at one time). It also displays various types of
messages from time to time (e.g., to explain why the program won’t let you perform
an action). In addition, it gives a brief explanation of each menu command and Toolbox button when you place the cursor on that command or button and hold down the
left mouse button.

4.7 SAVING A GAME
When you start a new scenario, use the Save command in the File menu to save it. A
dialog will appear so you can specify a name for the saved-game file. Alternatively, you
can Select Auto Save in the Options menu, in which case you’ll be prompted at the end
of each phase to save the game. Once you’ve saved the game this way, it will be saved
again automatically by the Auto Save function at the end of each subsequent phase
[Exception: it will not save a phase that was conducted under Automatic (with or without Fog of War) A/I control]. Should you wish to save the game at some other point in
a phase, you can do so via the Save command.
To save the game under a file name different than the one currently being used for
it, Select Save As in the File menu. This allows you to save the current state of a battle in another file without affecting the file being used for the battle.

4.8 SNAPSHOTS
The Snapshot command in the File menu enables you to save, as a “bitmap” (.bmp)
file, a picture of the portion of the map (including the position of all unhidden units)
that is currently in memory. A dialog box will appear so you can specify the name of
the file.
You can use the Paintbrush graphics program (supplied with Windows ®; Paint in
Win95®) to open the file later. Refer to your Windows ® manual for instructions for the
Paint(brush) program. The Paint(brush) program can also be used with your printer
(black and white or color) to supply you with a printout of the map. Paint(brush) will
allow you to resize the map (as desired) before printing.

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Battleground: Antietam

The Unit Types

5.0 THE UNIT TYPES
Infantry and cavalry regiments, artillery batteries, individual leaders and supply
wagons are represented in the game. All, aside from unlimbered artillery, have an
inherent movement capability; and all, aside from leaders, limbered artillery and
supply wagons, can make attacks. (Infantry in column and mounted cavalry can only
engage in Melee.) Most of their characteristics are covered in 2.0 T HE BASICS OF
PLAY, but more details on the special capabilities of leaders, artillery units and supply wagons are given in 5.2-5.4 below. To see the attributes of a specific unit during
play, Select its hex to put it in the Hot Spot and check its data in the Unit List.

5.1 UNIT ICONS
Many different icons are used to represent the units in the game. Refer to the chart on
page 32 for a sample illustration of each type of unit.
Military Symbol Icon Colors
The color of each “military symbol” icon indicates a general category of unit types, as
explained below (note that these colors appear only on the 2D Normal View map):
Light Green: Infantry
Yellow: Cavalry
Red: Artillery
Gold (Star): Leader

Battleground: Antietam

31

The Unit Types

Map Type:
2D

2D

2D

3D

zoom zoom-in zoom-in zoom-in &
out graphical mil. sym. zoom out

Unit Type:

Infantry regiment in line

Infantry regiment in column

Routed Inf/Cav/Art unit

Cavalry regiment in line

Cavalry regiment in column

Unlimbered artillery battery

Limbered artillery battery

Dismounted leader

Mounted leader

Supply wagon

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The Unit Types

5.2 LEADERS
For the basics, see LEADERS on p.10. One leader per side can aid in Melee (when
stacked with a unit) by increasing his side’s differential by one. A leader lowers the
chance that a unit he is stacked with will Rout by adding a –1 modifier to that units
Morale Check die roll, and can aid units under his command in their attempts to Rally.
See also 4.4 THE UNIT LIST and 6.8 RALLY.
A dismounted leader is treated as infantry in column, and a mounted leader is treated as mounted cavalry, for movement-cost purposes. Leaders can mount and dismount
their horses by simply Selecting a leader during the Movement Phase and clicking the
Change Formation button in the Toolbox.
A leader can be attacked as an individual target only if no other unit (aside from
one or more other friendly leaders) is in his hex. Leaders do not become Disrupted or
Routed.
A leader can be killed, wounded or captured. In each case he is eliminated and
another leader is promoted at the start of the next friendly Player Turn to take over his
command. (A leader so “promoted” has a gold star in the lower right-hand corner of
his portrait in the Unit List.) A mounted leader is more likely to be eliminated in this
manner as one who is dismounted. A defending leader is automatically captured if all
other friendly units in his hex are eliminated during Melee.
Night Turns. A leader’s Command Rating (C) is reduced by 1 during night turns.
Command & Leadership
Each leader has both a Command and a Leadership rating, which affect his ability to
influence certain actions of other units under his command; see 4.4 T HE UNIT LIST. In
addition, brigade and division leaders have a Command Radius; see COMMAND
RADIUS/RATING on p.53.

5.3 ARTILLERY
An artillery battery can have its “crew” killed in combat, leaving the guns abandoned and unusable. An uncrewed battery has a hollow (i.e., outline only) cannonball icon in the Unit List. To provide an uncrewed battery with a new crew, a
friendly Good Order regiment that has not moved during the current Player Turn must
be in the hex with it during a friendly Movement Phase, and both must be Selected;
then Select Recrew Battery in the Units menu during that same phase. Note that only
a cavalry regiment can recrew a horse-artillery battery.

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33

The Unit Types
When you Select Recrew Battery, the S# of the recrewing unit is reduced by 25
per gun of the battery to be recrewed, and the battery’s uncrewed status is removed.
Furthermore, in order to recrew, the infantry unit must have at least 25 men remaining
after recrewing. The battery’s Fatigue level becomes the same as the recrewing units.
Neither unit can move (the recrewing unit could advance into Melee), and the battery
cannot fire, until the next friendly Player Turn.
For artillery ammo supply rules, see Artillery Ammo, below. For artillery in Melee,
see Melee on p.49 and Resolving Melee, also on p.49.

5.4 AMMO &
SUPPLY WAGONS
When a regiment incurs a
depletion of its ammo, it
becomes “low on ammo” and
thereafter cannot fire in its
Offensive Fire Phase until
resupplied. If a regiment that is
already low on ammo incurs
another ammo depletion, it
“runs out of ammo” and can
make no Ranged-Fire attack at
all until it is resupplied.
For a unit to be resupplied,
it must be non-Routed and
within five hexes of a friendly
supply wagon. The path of
hexes traced to the supply
wagon may not cross an impassable creek hexside or pass through an enemy unit or its
ZOC. If it does, the unit cannot be resupplied.
Each time a supply wagon resupplies a regiment, that wagon’s supply strength
(“S#” in the Unit List) is reduced by one. When its S# becomes zero, it is eliminated.
Wagons themselves cannot be resupplied.
A supply wagon that incurs a loss due to an attack does not have its S# decreased,
nor does it become Disrupted or Routed. Instead, its “crew” is considered killed and
the wagon becomes immobile (i.e., its movement allowance becomes—and will
remain—zero). An immobile supply wagon cannot be “recrewed”, but can continue to
resupply friendly regiments. A supply wagon captured in Melee becomes a supply
wagon of the captor’s side.
Artillery Ammo
The artillery ammo supply of both sides is displayed in the bottom line of the Terrain
Info Box (see p.28). Each time an artillery battery makes a Ranged-Fire attack, its
side’s artillery ammo supply is reduced by one. When a battery is eliminated in Melee,
the artillery ammo level of the side that lost the battery is reduced. When a side’s
artillery ammo supply reaches zero, none of its artillery units can fire. A side’s artillery
ammo supply can never be increased. Neither captured artillery nor its ammo can be
used by the captor’s side.

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Battleground: Antietam

Playing a Scenario

6.0 PLAYING A SCENARIO
6.1 TERRAIN
The BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM maps contain numerous types of terrain, each
with an associated effect on movement, LOS, and combat. If you wish to inspect the
terrain in a hex obscured by the presence of units, Select that hex to put the Hot Spot
there; then consult the Terrain Info Box, or Select the “toggle units” Toolbox button
(or the Units Off command in the Display menu). If using the 3D map, you also have
the option to Select the “toggle unit bases” Toolbox button or the Unit Bases Off
command in the Display menu.
A terrain key summarizing the effects of the various terrain types follows. The +/–
number in the Combat Effect column alters the Ranged Fire dice roll if the Target is in
that terrain type; see Resolving Ranged-Fire on p.48. Terrain Combat Effects are
cumulative for Ranged-Fire purposes, but the only Terrain Combat Effect that can
apply to Melee are those for breastwork, stone wall or embankment. For Movement
Cost purposes, cavalry in line formation (i.e., dismounted) are considered “infantry”;
in the chart that follows “cavalry” refers to mounted cavalry.

TERRAIN KEY
CLEAR
Movement Cost: 2 (supply wagons: 3)
LOS/Combat Effects: none
BUILDINGS
Most building depictions in the game are for historical flavor only (exception: town hexes). They
do not effect movement, LOS, or combat.

Battleground: Antietam

35

Playing a Scenario
FOREST
Movement Cost: 4 (infantry in line or column);
6 (cavalry); 8 (artillery and supply wagons)
LOS Effect: Based on elevation; forest hexes have a height of 50 feet on all maps.
Combat Effect: –1
ORCHARD
Movement Cost: 3 (infantry);
4 (cavalry); 6 (artillery and supply wagons)
LOS Effect: Based on elevation; orchard hexes have a height of 15 feet.
Combat Effect: none
ROUGH
Movement Cost: 4 (infantry);
6 (cavalry); artillery and supply
wagons may not enter
LOS Effect: Based on elevation; rough hexes have a height of 50 feet.
Combat Effect: –2
TOWN
Movement Cost: 4/1 (infantry line/column);
2 (cavalry); non-column units become disrupted
LOS Effect: Based on elevation; town hexes have a height of 30 feet.
Combat Effect: –1
MARSH
Movement Cost: 4 (infantry); 8 (cavalry);
causes automatic disruption when entering;
artillery and supply wagons cannot enter
LOS/Combat Effects: none
WATER
Impassable to all units
LOS Effect: none
Hexside Terrain Features
In BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM, certain terrain features appear along hexsides.
These features can be viewed by clicking in the Terrain Info Box. Below is a list of the
hexside terrain features.
STREAMS
Additional Movement Cost: +1 (Infantry);
+2 (all other units)
LOS/Combat Effect: none
Special: The extra movement cost to cross a stream is ignored if the unit crossing it
qualifies for the pike/road/trail movement benefit (see below).

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Battleground: Antietam

Playing a Scenario
CREEKS
Additional Movement Cost: none; crossable
only at bridges or fords (ford = stream hexside)
LOS/Combat Effects: none
Special: Creeks are a darker blue than streams, and can be crossed only at a bridge or
ford (where the hexside art becomes stream art to allow units to ford it).
BRIDGES
All units can use a bridge; however, infantry in line
and dismounted cavalry must change Formation to
column or mounted respectively before such a unit
can use a bridge to cross a creek.
PIKES, ROADS & TRAILS
There are a number of pikes, roads and trails that
wind their way across the scenario maps. Below is
a listing of their movement effects: Most units
(except infantry in line and dismounted cavalry; see
below) moving along a road or pike pay one
movement point per hex (regardless of terrain).
Supply wagons pay two movement points per road
hex. Infantry in line and dismounted cavalry pay the
normal terrain movement cost of the hex. All units
(except infantry in line and dismounted cavalry)
pay two movement points to move along a trail.
Infantry in line and dismounted cavalry pay the
normal terrain movement cost of the hex.
IMPORTANT: Only one non-leader unit can
receive a trail or road movement bonus at a time.
STONE WALL
Movement Cost: +1 (infantry); +3 cavalry;
+6 (artillery and supply wagons)
LOS Effect: none
Combat Effect: –2 (ranged fire, and Melee if attacker crossed stone wall hexside)
EMBANKMENT (“The Sunken Road”)
Movement Cost: +1 (infantry); +3 cavalry;
+6 (artillery and supply wagons)
LOS Effect: none
Combat Effect: –2 (ranged fire, and Melee if attacker crossed embankment hexside)
IMPORTANT: Only units in the embankment hex receive the embankment modifier.
BREASTWORKS
Movement Cost: 1
LOS Effect: none
Combat Effect: –1(ranged fire, and Melee if any
crossed breastwork hexside)
Breastworks can be constructed by infantry regiments and dismounted cavalry regiments during play. To start construction, during a friendly Movement Phase Select the
unit and then Select Make Breastworks from the Units pop-down menu. To stop construction, follow the same procedure again during a friendly Movement Phase.

Battleground: Antietam

37

Playing a Scenario
At the start of each Player Turn, the program checks to see if each friendly unit
meets the construction qualifications, which are:
• The unit must be infantry or dismounted cavalry;
• It cannot have moved (including Facing/Formation change), attacked or been
attacked in any way, or been in non-Good-Order status, at any time during the
two preceding Player Turns.
If these conditions are met, the program makes a die roll based on an inherent probability. If the die roll is successful, a breastwork appears along the hexside the unit
directly faces (unless one already exists there or the unit is facing a wall hexside).
A unit constructing breastworks has a “pick-and-shovel” icon displayed in the
icon area of the Unit List. While this icon is visible, the unit cannot recover from
Fatigue, and if it fires it does so at half strength (and loses its “constructing” status).
ELEVATION LEVEL
Each elevation change represents 30 feet
(Exception: 60 feet on the South Mountain map.)
Additional Movement Cost:*
(From lower to higher: +1 (infantry); +2 (all noninfantry units)
(From higher to lower: +1 (all non-infantry units
moving down slope).
* Cost are doubled on the South Mountain map.
Combat Effect: –1 for Ranged Fire if target is one level higher than firer, or –2 if target is two or more levels higher than firer. In melee, the modifier is equal to the most
levels ascended by any attacking unit.

6.2 VICTORY CONDITIONS
Each scenario has its own set of Victory Values, which are point values that determine
victory. They can be viewed via the Victory command in the Status menu. Using this
command causes the Victory Dialog to appear, which lists a variety of data. It shows
the number of men/cannons each side has lost so far and their point value. It also
names the side the victory conditions apply to (calling it the First Side), the total point

38

Battleground: Antietam

Playing a Scenario
value of all Objective hexes that side currently controls, and that side’s current overall
point total (which the program calculates by subtracting the value of its unit losses
from the sum total of its controlled Objectives plus the enemy’s losses).
Any of five levels of victory are possible for the First Side: Major Defeat, Minor
Defeat, Draw, Minor Victory and Major Victory. Each has an associated number of
points which that side must equal or exceed at the end of play in order to achieve the
next-higher level of victory. Specifically:
• The First Side suffers a Major Defeat if its point total is less than or equal to the total
listed for “Major Defeat” in the Victory Dialog.
• The First Side suffers a Minor Defeat if its point total is greater than the total listed
for “Major Defeat”, but is less than or equal to the total listed for “Minor Defeat”, in
the Victory Dialog.
• The First Side achieves a Draw if its point total is greater than the total listed for
“Minor Defeat”, but is also less than the total listed for “Minor Victory”, in the Victory Dialog.
• The First Side wins a Minor Victory if its point total is greater than or equal to the
total listed for “Minor Victory”, but is less than the total listed for “Major Victory”,
in the Victory Dialog.
• The First Side wins a Major Victory if its point total is greater than or equal to the
total listed for “Major Victory” in the Victory Dialog.
The program takes the First Side’s current overall point total, finds which level that
total equates to, and displays that level’s name as the side’s current level of victory.
A scenario does not automatically end when one side achieves a
Major Victory (or suffers a
Major Defeat); the level of victory may change during the
course of play as casualties
occur and Objectives change
hands. Only the level that exists
at the end of the scenario applies
for determining the winner.
Objectives
As the name implies, an Objective is a vital hex to control in a
scenario due to its victory-point
value. All Objectives are controlled by one side or the other at
scenario start. To gain control of
an enemy-controlled Objective,
you must occupy it with one of
your own units.
To display all Objectives on the map, Select Objectives in the Display
menu. When this command has a check mark next to it, each Objective
hex is marked with a flag icon to denote its location and ownership.
To find the point value of a specific Objective hex, Select Objectives
in the Status menu. Selecting one of the Objective-hex lines in the dialog box that
appears will move the Hot Spot to that Objective hex.

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6.3 USING THE A/I
When the A/I is conducting an action, the A/I Action Dialog appears to tell you what
the A/I is doing, and the map will scroll to bring the corresponding action.
The A/I Action Dialog has four buttons:
Step, Run/Pause, Cancel and Help. The Step
button is initially the default. The current
default button is outlined in black, meaning
that it can be chosen by pressing Enter while
the dialog is on-screen.
The Step button runs the A/I for one
action, after which A/I processing halts.
The Run button makes the A/I run continuously until there are no more A/I actions
for the current phase. When you Select Run, it changes to Pause (which becomes the
default).
The Pause button halts the A/I temporarily. (While the game is halted, you cannot
Select anything from the Menu Bar or Unit List—but the Toolbox and other A/I Dialog buttons remain active.) When you Select Pause, it changes back to Run (which
becomes the default).
The Cancel button cancels A/I processing. (When you Select Cancel, it becomes
the default.) To re-activate the A/I, Select the “Activate A/I” button in the Toolbox or
the Activate A/I command in the A/I menu. While the A/I is activated and the A/I
Action Dialog is on-screen, the Esc (Escape) key acts as a Cancel button.
Note: When the A/I for the side conducting the actions in the current phase is
set to Manual, you can Select the Activate A/I menu command (or its corresponding Toolbox button) at any time to have the A/I complete that phase for
you. Also, the type of A/I being used (Commander Control, Automatic, or Automatic with Fog-of-War) can be changed via the A/I menu at any time for either or both
sides [Exception: if playing a modem-to-modem or PBEM game, Fog of War cannot
be turned off once the game has begun].

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Commander Control & Organizations
Selecting the Commander Control command in the A/I menu at the start of the scenario lets you issue orders to one or more leaders (and thus to the units under their
command). If you choose this, the Leader Selection Dialog will appear, from which
you must Select the leader(s) you wish to control. (To choose more than one, hold
down the Ctrl or Shift key as you Select each name.)
Afterwards, an Order Dialog for
each of your leaders will appear
at the start of his friendly Player
Turn. This dialog shows the
order his superior has issued to
him (unless he is the army
leader)—which you can change
if you wish—and allows you to
issue orders to his subordinate
leaders (and thus to their regiments and/or batteries). “Location” shows the coordinates of
the hex the named leader
presently occupies. “Size” indicates the highlighted organization’s current strength.
“Health” indicates the percentage of units in that organization that are in Good Order,
crewed if artillery, and not suffering from High Fatigue.
To give an organization an
order, Select its name and
then Select one of the
orders from the list in the
dialog. Then choose the
organization’s “objective”
for the turn by right-clicking on the appropriate hex.
Once you’ve given orders
to all your organizations,
Select the OK button and
play will proceed.
If you click the Cancel button in the Order Dialog, A/I processing is canceled at
that point. Processing can be resumed by Selecting the “Activate A/I” button in the
Toolbox or the Activate A/I command in the A/I menu.
Summary of Commander Control A/I Order Types
Attack (Extreme). An “extreme” attack order will cause units to attack in a more
concentrated formation with maximum stacking in each hex. Also, extreme order
will cause units not to fall back until all units of that organization are no longer in
Good Order.
Attack Order. A regular attack order causes units to move so as to take the specified
objective. For division or higher organizations, flank units will be deployed in an
advanced position.
No Order. If you don’t want to give an order to a formation, select “No Order”. While
a unit will still fire at a close range target, it will not normally move.
Defend Order. Units will move so as to hold specified objective. For division or higher organizations, flank units will be deployed in a “refused” formation.
Defend (Extreme). A “extreme” defend order will cause units not to fall back until all
of the units of that organization are no longer in Good Order.

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Playing a Scenario
Unknown-Unit Markers
When Fog of War is in effect for a side, its units are partially revealed—
in the form of Unknown-Unit markers—whenever an enemy unit
becomes adjacent to them. An Unknown-Unit marker indicates only the
presence of a hidden unit; the actual type(s) and number of units are not revealed until
the start of the next phase. A units move automatically ends when it reveals an adjacent Unknown-Unit marker.

6.4 GAME TURNS
Each scenario has a maximum number of playable Game Turns. When that number has
been played to completion, the game is over. The number of Game Turns is displayed
in the Phase Box (see p.4).

6.5 THE SEQUENCE OF PLAY
Each Game Turn comprises two Player Turns—one Rebel and one Union. Furthermore, each Player Turn is made up of four phases, which occur in the order listed
below.
For simplicity, the player whose side is “active” in each of these phases (aside
from the Defensive Fire Phase) is referred to as the Phasing Player. Except in the last
Player Turn of the game, the completion of each Melee Phase is followed by the Movement Phase of the next Player Turn, in which the opponent becomes the Phasing Player. To advance the game to the next phase, Select either the “advance to next phase”
Toolbox button or the Next command in the Phase menu.
1. Movement Phase
In the Movement Phase, the Phasing Player may move some, all or none of his units
that are capable of movement. However, as the first action of this phase, the program
finds all of the Phasing Player’s units that are Fatigued, Disrupted, Routed, low on
ammo and/or out of ammo, and checks to see if each loses any Fatigue, is resupplied
and/or Rallied [Exception: Rally attempts do not occur in night turns]. The program
also checks to see if any units that are building breastworks have finished constructed
them. It then announces on-screen, in the form of the “Command Report”, the results
of these checks.
2. Defensive Fire Phase
In the Defensive Fire Phase, the Phasing Player’s opponent may fire some, all or none
of his units that are capable of making a Ranged-Fire attack.
3. Offensive Fire Phase
In the Offensive Fire Phase, the Phasing Player may fire some, all or none of his units
that are capable of making a Ranged-Fire attack.
4. Melee Phase
In the Melee Phase, the Phasing Player may conduct Melees with some, all or none of
his Melee-capable units that are adjacent to an enemy unit, or are adjacent to a Vacant
Hex (see MELEE, p.49).

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6.6 MOVEMENT
The Phasing Player can move his units only during their Movement Phase, at which
time he may move all, some or none of them that are capable of movement (e.g.,
unlimbered artillery cannot move from one hex to another, nor can an uncrewed supply wagon). For a basic explanation of how to use the mouse to move units, see M OVEMENT on p.7.
If more than one unit in a hex is currently Selected, you can move all of them using
any movement method just as if they were a single unit (within stacking limitations;
see STACKING on p.11). Note, however, that moving any stack of units, or entering a
hex that contains even one other non-leader unit, negates the benefits of moving along
a pike, road or trail. For instance, if you try to move two or more line-formation regiments simultaneously along a road, they must pay the non-road cost of the hex they
are entering. Likewise, if a unit already occupies a road hex and you attempt to move
another unit into it, the non-road cost will be charged.
Each Formation change a (non-leader) unit makes, and each Facing change you
invoke, costs that unit a portion of its movement allowance; these costs are listed under
Change Costs in Parameter Data, which can be found by Selecting Scenario Notes in
the Help menu.
If you move a unit but want to start its move over again, you can Select Undo Last
Movement in the Units menu or hold down the Ctrl key and press U on the keyboard,
provided that unit is still Selected [Exception: A move cannot be undone if Fog of War
is in effect for the opposing side, if playing via modem or in a PBEM scenario].
If you move a unit but use only part of its movement allowance, you can move one
or more other units and still go back and finish moving the first unit. A unit can become
the “leading” unit in column movement even if it has already expended part of its
movement allowance.
A units movement allowance drops to “0” whenever it moves adjacent an
Unknown-Unit marker, or moves adjacent to a non-Routed enemy unit and is within
that units Field of Fire.
All the various types of terrain in the game have an associated movement cost, or
provide some kind of benefit or restriction to movement. See 6.1 T ERRAIN for details.

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Playing a Scenario

Reinforcements
Many of the scenarios have reinforcements, which are units that enter from off-map
during play. You can display the Scheduled Dialog to see when, where and how many
reinforcement groups are available by Selecting Scheduled in the Reinforce menu.
(However, you cannot see the opponent’s reinforcement groups if Fog of War is in
effect for his side.) Selecting any line in this dialog automatically scrolls the map to
the arrival hex of that reinforcement group and makes that hex the current Hot Spot.
The percentage chance that the reinforcement group will arrive on the listed turn (or
any turn thereafter if it does not arrive on the first turn) is listed in the Scheduled Dialog. An asterisk (“*”) displayed before the listing for a reinforcement group indicates
that the group has been delayed (but is still in the queue to enter).

At the start of a Movement Phase in which reinforcements have arrived, a message
will appear in the Command Report to alert you to their arrival. The arriving units may
be brought onto the map at any time during the Movement Phase, or they may be
ignored and brought on in a subsequent Movement Phase (i.e., they will remain available indefinitely until entered).

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To bring on reinforcements,
1. Select Arrived in the Reinforce menu to display the Arrived Dialog, which will
show a list of the available units.
2. Double-click with the left mouse button on the name of a unit in the list. When
you do so, the dialog will disappear, the map will scroll to the entry hex and that
unit(s) will appear there.
3. If more reinforcements are available, select Arrived again, and repeat the procedure until you’re done bringing on your reinforcements.
Protected Entry Hexes:
Most reinforcement entry hexes are “protected” such that enemy units within a particular range of them will be automatically routed (or eliminated if in the hex!) when
certain enemy reinforcements appear there. More details on this can be found by Selecting Scenario Notes in the game’s Help menu, then Selecting 8.0 Arrival Schedule.
Fixed Units
Many of the scenarios of BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM have Fixed units. Fixed
units are shown in the Unit List with a red “F” icon. Such units are frequently
“released” automatically during the scenario. The Release Dialog displays the turn the
unit(s) is first eligible for being released is shown, followed by the percentage chance
of it being released. If not released on the first turn it is eligible, a dice roll is performed at the start of each turn for that unit(s) until it is released. The Command
Report at the start of a player’s turn will list units that have just been released. Fixed
units are released immediately if fired on by an enemy unit or if they become routed.
Units cannot be fixed during play. When playing with Fog of War, the Fixed status of
enemy units and their release schedule is not known.
To view the Release Dialog, Select Released from the Reinforce menu and a dialog box similar to the one shown below will appear.

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Playing a Scenario

6.7 COMBAT
For the basics, see COMBAT on p.8. A supply wagon cannot attack; its S# is used only
to show how many units it can resupply (see 5.4 AMMO & SUPPLY WAGONS). The same
unit can be attacked more than once in the same phase [Exception: not in the Melee
Phase]. However, a unit may make a Ranged- Fire attack or advance into Melee only
vs. a target that lies within that attacker’s Field of Fire:
Field of Fire Diagram
The darker gray shading in these illustrations
shows a units (an infantry regiment in line armed
with muskets with a range of “2” hexes) current
Field of Fire. It cannot attack (even to advance
into a Melee) any unit that lies outside this Field
of Fire unless it first makes an appropriate Facing
change during its Movement Phase. In addition,
the units Zone of Control (ZOC) is its front 3
hexes (shown by hexes marked with “X” in these
illustrations). For more information on ZOC see
the illustration in the Appendix, p.62.

X

X
X

X

X
X

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Ranged Fire
Ranged Fire uses a combination of the firer’s strength (S#), weapon type, and the range
(in hexes) to the target to determine the actual strength of the attack. All Disrupted
units, and units firing in the Offensive Fire Phase that moved in the preceding Movement Phase, have their strength factor halved before any other modification (quartered
if both apply). Infantry in column, mounted cavalry, Routed units, and those that are
out of ammunition and/or have no valid target within their Field of Fire cannot use
Ranged Fire.
For a basic explanation of how to use the mouse to conduct Ranged Fire, see
RANGED FIRE on p.8.
Restrictions on Ranged Fire
Ranged Fire can be conducted against only one target unit at a time. If the target hex
contains only one unit the attack will be resolved automatically. If the target hex contains more than one potential target, a Target Dialog will be displayed to let you Select
one of those units as the target. A unit name appearing in gray in the Target Dialog
indicates the unit is suffering from low/no ammo if Fog of War is not in effect.
LOS and terrain can affect the attack. Ranged Fire cannot be used vs. a target the
firer has no LOS to. Selecting either the “show LOS” Toolbox button or the Spotted
Units command in the Display menu will highlight all units that have a LOS to at least
one enemy unit.
No unit may conduct more than one Ranged-Fire attack per friendly fire phase.
Selecting either the “highlight fired units” Toolbox button or the Fired/Fought command in the Display menu will highlight all units on the map that have attacked thus
far in the current phase.

An easy way to fire artillery is via the “display Artillery Dialog” Toolbox button (or the Artillery Dialog command in the Units menu). Selecting either of
these makes the Artillery Dialog appear, which lists all friendly artillery units
that are capable of firing. To fire a unit using the Artillery Dialog, first Select the units
name in the list, then right-click on the target hex. (Note that when a unit in the
Artillery Dialog is Selected, all of its potential targets are highlighted on the map.)
Once the unit fires, it disappears from the list and the next unit is automatically Selected, so all you have to do to fire this next unit is to right-click again on a target hex. A
unit name printed in light gray in the dialog means that particular unit currently has no
eligible target.

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Playing a Scenario
Resolving Ranged-Fire
When a unit makes a Ranged-Fire attack, the program multiplies the firer’s strength
points (25 men = 1 strength point) by a number derived from the firer’s weapon type
and the range to the target. This value is then divided by four. That firepower value is
then halved if the firer is Disrupted or if the fire is taking place during the Offensive
Fire Phase and the firer expended any movement points in the preceding Movement
Phase (quartered if both apply). A die roll is then made which is modified according to
the following conditions (as applicable):
–1
If firer’s fatigue level is 4, 5 or 6
–2
If firer’s fatigue level is 7 or greater
–x
As per the defender’s terrain modifier
–1
If the quality of the firer is E or F (does not apply to artillery)
+1
If the quality of the firer is A or B (does not apply to artillery)
+2
If the target is an infantry unit in column formation
+2
If target unit is being Enfiladed
+4
If the target is a mounted cavalry unit
The program uses the modified dice roll to determine the amount of casualties
(strength point losses) inflicted on the defender, and adjusts the latter’s S# accordingly. (See the Weapon Effectiveness Table and the Fire Results Table in Parameter
Data under Scenario Notes in the Help menu.) Each attack is resolved before the
next one is made.
The possible results of Ranged-Fire depend on the type of target unit:
Regiment: no effect; or a one-level increase in Fatigue; or a reduction in its S# (if
reduced to “0”, the unit is eliminated; see also Morale Checks on p.50).
Battery: no effect; or a one-level increase in Fatigue; or a reduction in its S# (if
reduced to “0”, the unit is eliminated; see also Morale Checks on p.50); or the destruction of the battery’s “crew” (which leaves the guns abandoned). For casualty (and
stacking) purposes, each gun = 50 men.
Leader: no effect; or a capture/wound/elimination. (See 5.2 LEADERS.)
Supply Wagon: no effect; or the destruction of the wagon’s “crew” from small arms
fire; or reduction in S# from artillery fire (see 5.4 AMMO & SUPPLY WAGONS).

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Melee
For the basics, see Melee on p.9. Each gun of an artillery battery is equal to 12.5 men
when defending in Melee. A leader stacked with a unit under his command increases
the strength (i.e., differential) of his side by one in Melee, but any additional friendly
leader present in the Melee provides no further benefit. A leader can advance into
Melee only if accompanying a friendly regiment. Units cannot advance into Melee in
excess of stacking limits, nor if they are Disrupted or Routed.
To initiate a Melee,
1. First choose—using the right mouse button—an enemy-occupied hex adjacent to
the unit(s) that will conduct the Melee.
2. Then Select each friendly unit (or stack of units) that will participate in the Melee
and Select Add to Melee in the Melee menu. (Selecting Show Differential in that
menu will display the attacker’s current strength advantage [“+#”] or disadvantage
[“–#”] in the Melee.)
3.
Once you’ve added the desired attacking unit(s) to the Melee, resolve it by
Selecting the “resolve Melee” Toolbox button or the Resolve Melee command in the Melee menu. A dialog will be displayed to give the results (see
RESOLVING MELEE, p49). Each Melee must be resolved before the next one can be
initiated. Lone leaders cannot Melee each other.
Semi-Auto Melee
You can also use “drag-and-drop” to conduct Melees; see Melee on p.9. Select an eligible friendly unit, and “drag and drop” it onto the adjacent enemy-occupied hex you
wish to Melee. Each time a new unit(s) is added in this manner the Melee differential
is updated and displayed.
Auto-Melee
You can have the program conduct Melee for you even if not using the A/I. To do this,
hold down the Alt key and right-click on an enemy-occupied hex adjacent to at least
one friendly, Melee-eligible unit. The program will find all units eligible to attack that
hex, and will give their names, their locations and the attack differential. If you click
OK, they will automatically attack the hex.
A/I Melee
Another option for conducting Melee is simply to Select the “activate A/I” Toolbox
button. The program will then conduct all Melees in that phase automatically.
Resolving Melee
To resolve a Melee, the program computes a Melee “differential” based on the attacking and defending strengths. The differential is the attacker’s S# minus the defender’s
S# divided by 100 (rounded to the nearest number, to a minimum of “1”).
Versus Gun Battery: Each gun of a battery defending in Melee is equal to 12.5 men.
Versus Routed Unit: As part of the differential calculation, the strength of each Routed defender in the hex is quartered.
Versus Isolated Unit: Melee versus an Isolated unit(s) results in an automatic victory for the attacker at a cost of one Fatigue (this represents the surrender of a surrounded and cut off unit).
Versus Vacant Hex: If all defending units in a hex are eliminated during the
Offensive Fire Phase, a red triangle icon will appear in that hex to mark it as a
Vacant Hex. Such a hex may be attacked in the next Melee Phase, and the meleeing
unit(s) will automatically occupy that Vacant Hex without gaining any fatigue or
becoming Disrupted.

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Even though the advancing side is termed the attacker, both sides engage in Melee
simultaneously; hence the attacker will also suffer casualties. To resolve a Melee, the
program:
• Adds two to the differential if any attacking unit advanced into the melee hex from a
hex that was not in any defending units Field of Fire;
• Adds one to the differential if no attacking unit involved in the Melee fired during
the preceding Offensive Fire Phase;
• Subtracts one from the differential if any attacker involved in the Melee advanced
into the hex across a breastwork hexside;
• Subtracts two from the differential if any attacking unit involved in the Melee
advanced into the hex across a wall or embankment hexside (such that the defending
unit would receive the embankment modifier if fired on by the attacker);
• Subtracts from the differential a number equal to the greatest number of elevation
levels ascended by any one regiment as it advanced into the Melee;
• Subtracts one from the differential if any attacking unit is suffering from Low Fatigue
(fatigue of 4-6), or two if any suffers from High Fatigue (fatigue of 7-9);
• Adds one to the differential if at least one leader is with the attacking unit(s), or subtracts one if at least one leader is with the defending unit(s).
The program then “rolls” two six-sided dice and sums the result, and cross-indexes it on the Melee Table with the final differential to determine the losses each side will
suffer. A negative-number result in the Melee Table for a side indicates that side is the
“loser” in the Melee. (You can view the Melee Table by Selecting the Help menu, Scenario Notes and then Parameter Data.)
Example 1: 175 attackers against 75 defenders = a differential of +1. If none of the
attackers fired in the preceding Offensive Fire Phase, the differential would be +2. If
the attacking unit was accompanied by a leader (and the defender has no leader present), there would be another +1 to the differential, making it +3.
Example 2: A 6-gun battery has a defensive strength equivalent to 75 men.
Melee—unlike Ranged Fire—can affect all units in the hex. In-hex terrain modifiers (such as forest) do not apply in Melee.
All regiments and batteries (of both sides) participating in a Melee automatically
become Disrupted and have their Fatigue level increased by two, unless meleeing an
Isolated stack (see VERSUS ISOLATED UNIT, p.49), or into a Vacant Hex (see VERSUS
VACANT HEX, p.49). Additionally, each non-leader unit of the losing side has its Fatigue
level increased by one more. If the defending side loses a Melee, its survivors are automatically retreated one hex by the program (and will have to undergo a Morale Check;
see Morale Checks below). If a unit must retreat but has no legal hex to retreat to, is an
unlimbered battery or its inherent movement allowance is “0”, it is eliminated instead.
If a regiment advances into a hex containing only one or more enemy leaders, uncrewed
supply wagons and/or uncrewed batteries, it captures them automatically (captured
leaders and batteries are eliminated; supply wagons are taken over by their captor.)
If the attacking side wins the melee, all surviving attacking unit(s) will occupy the
contested hex; all surviving defending units (if any) will be forced to fall back (assuming a retreat route is available and the unit is eligible to retreat from melee).
Morale Checks
When a regiment or battery suffers casualties (i.e., has its S# reduced) due to combat but
is not eliminated or have its crew killed, the program rolls a six-sided die to make a Morale
Check for it. If the casualties were incurred during the Defensive Fire Phase, the Morale
Check occurs at the end of that phase. If the casualties were incurred during the Offensive
Fire or Melee Phase, the Morale Check occurs at the start of the next Player Turn.

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In addition, each time a regiment or battery becomes Routed due to failing a
Morale Check, every friendly regiment and battery in its hex and those adjacent to it
must take a Morale Check.
The following cumulative modifiers can apply to the Morale Check die roll:
–1 If the unit is stacked with any friendly leader
+1 If the unit is suffering from low/no ammo
+1 If the unit was already Disrupted
+1 If the unit was already suffering from Low Fatigue (4-6)
+2 If the unit was already suffering from High Fatigue (7-9)
+2 If the unit was fired on Enfilade
+2 If it is a night turn
+6 If the unit was already Routed
The possible results of a Morale Check depend on whether the combat that caused
it occurred in the Defensive Fire Phase, the Offensive Fire Phase or the Melee Phase
(the results of Morale Checks made at the start of a Player Turn are displayed in the
Command Report dialog):
Defensive Fire Phase: If the modified die roll is less than or equal to the units Quality, it “passes” the Morale Check and there is no effect. If the die roll is greater than its
Quality, it “fails” it and becomes Disrupted.
Offensive Fire Phase: If the modified die roll is less than or equal to the units Quality, it “passes” the Morale Check and becomes Disrupted. If the die roll is greater than
its Quality, it “fails” it and becomes Routed.
Melee Phase: If the modified die roll is less than or equal to the units Quality, it “passes” the Morale Check and there is no effect (though the unit is automatically Disrupted anyway, due to having engaged in Melee; see p.50). If the die roll is greater than its
Quality, it “fails” it and becomes Routed.
Important: The Morale check conducted by the computer at the end of the Offensive Fire Phase is not handled immediately after the phase. Instead, the computer
keeps a record of all the Morale check results of the Offensive Fire Phase and
applies them after the Melee Phase.

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Disruption & Rout
For the basics, see Disruption and Rout on p.10.
When a unit becomes Disrupted, a “D” icon appears in its area of the Unit List. A
Disrupted unit has its attack strength and movement allowance halved, and receives a
+1 die roll modifier for Morale Check purposes.
When a unit becomes Routed, an “R” icon appears in its area of the
Unit List, it cannot attack, it defends at one fourth strength in Melee,
and it has a morale of “0” when conducting morale checks. Infantry in
line change to column Formation, and dismounted cavalry change to
mounted, when they Rout. Mounted cavalry and limbered artillery do
not change Formation when they Rout, but their icon still changes to
the standard “running-man” icon to make them stand out better on the map.
If a Routed unit suffers another Routed result, it loses strength; such units are
termed “lost stragglers” in the Command Report that appears at the start of the next
Player Turn.
Fatigue Rout. If a unit is already suffering from the maximum fatigue level of 9 incurs
a combat effect that would normally cause a unit to gain further fatigue, it is automatically Routed instead.
Auto-Rout Movement. If a unit has Routed, the computer will automatically move
that unit away from the closest known enemy unit. This move will be indicated on the
screen by arrows on most map views (dots on zoom-out 2D map). After getting a handle on where your Routed units have been moved to, you may click anywhere on the
map and the arrows/dots will disappear. Afterwards, a Routed unit cannot move closer to the closest known enemy unit and cannot initiate any type of attack.
Leaders and Supply Wagons. Leaders and supply wagons neither Disrupt nor Rout.
A Routed unit cannot become Disrupted (except when it Rallies; see 6.8), and loses
any Disrupted status it might have had.

6.8 RALLY
For the basics, see RALLY on p.10. In a Rally attempt, the program makes a six-sided
die roll for each of the Phasing Player’s friendly Disrupted/Routed units [Exception:
Rally attempts are not made for Routed units during night turns].
The Quality of a unit is used as its “morale” for rally purposes. If a unit is stacked
with a leader of the same or higher organization, the Leadership Rating of that leader
modifies that units morale. If the leader’s Leadership rating is higher than the units
Quality, his Leadership Rating is used as the units morale. If his Leadership Rating is

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the same or lower than the units Quality, a +1 is added. The possible results of a Rally
attempt are:
• If a Routed units die roll is less than or equal to its morale, it Rallies (i.e., loses its
Routed status and becomes Disrupted—but cannot be returned to Good Order in the
same turn).
• If a Disrupted units die roll is less than or equal to the applicable command value, it
Rallies (i.e., loses its Disrupted status and returns to Good Order). Each Disrupted
unit has a nominal Command Rating of “1” for Rally purposes. If it is not Detached
and its brigade leader is “in command”, its Rally die roll will be successful if less
than or equal to “1 plus the applicable Command Rating modifier”. If its brigade
leader is “not in command”, it will Rally only on a die roll of “1”. See Command
Radius/Rating below for further clarification.
Command Radius/Rating
The Command Radius of a brigade leader is the maximum distance in hexes he can be
from one of his regiments and still be able to provide it with his Command Rating
modifier. The Command Radius of a division leader is the maximum distance in hexes
he can be from his brigade leaders and still be able to pass a Command Rating modifier to the latter. Army and Corps leaders have an unlimited Command Radius.
Any unit (including brigade leader) outside the pertinent Command Radius of
its/his superior officer is considered Detached, meaning that it/he can neither receive
nor pass down a Command Rating modifier.
All Command Ratings are treated as being one lower than normal in a night turn.
Rally Procedure. At the beginning of each Player Turn, the program determines each
friendly leader’s Command State (i.e., whether he is “in command” or “out of command”). To highlight the leaders that failed their last command check, click the “D”
button on the toolbar.
When a subordinate leader is determined to be “in command”, his Command Rating changes in the Unit List for the current turn to reflect the Command Rating modifier he received.
• Starting with the highest (the army) leader, a six-sided die roll is made. If the die roll
is less than or equal to his Command Rating (his “C#” in the Unit List), he is “in
command”.
• If the army leader is found to be “in command”, he automatically passes down to
each of his corps commanders a +1 Command Rating modifier to their Command
Rating.
• In turn, each corps commander found to be “in command” passes down a +2 Command Rating modifier for each of his division commanders (because each time a subordinate is found to be “in command”, the Command Rating modifier he passes down
to his subordinates increases by one).
• In turn, each division leader found to be “in command” will in turn pass down a +3
Command Rating modifier to each of his non-Detached brigade leaders.
• In turn, each brigade leader who is found to be “in command” will pass down a +4
Command Rating modifier to each of his Disrupted but non-Detached units. Whenever a leader is found to be “out of command” (or is Detached), the modifier he passes down becomes “0”.

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6.9 FATIGUE
For the basics, see FATIGUE on p.10. Fatigue has an adverse effect on a unit’s
strength in Melee, when conducting Ranged Fire, and on its ability to avoid Routing
when it takes a Morale Check.
Fatigue occurs in a regiment or battery in the following ways:
• If it suffers a Fatigue result (“F” result in the Fire Results Table) when attacked by
Ranged Fire, its Fatigue is increased by one (this can apply only once per phase);
• If it suffers casualties, its Fatigue is increased by one (this fatigue increase can apply
only once per phase regardless of the number of times the unit suffers casualties in
that phase);
• If it engages (or is engaged) in Melee, its Fatigue is increased by two, or by three if
it loses the Melee (Exception: vs. Vacant Hex or vs. Isolated unit; see p.49).
A unit whose Fatigue level (“FA” in the Unit List) is 0-3 suffers no adverse effects.
A unit suffering from Low Fatigue (“FA” of 4-6) receives a +1 die roll modifier to each
Morale Check it takes. One suffering from High Fatigue (“FA” of 7-9) receives a +2
modifier to its Morale Checks. In addition, all Melee/ranged-fire attacks by units suffering from Low Fatigue receive a –1 modifier; all Melee/ranged-fire attacks by units
suffering from High Fatigue receive a –2 modifier. If a unit with a Fatigue level of 9
receives any increase in Fatigue, it is automatically Routed; see Fatigue Rout, p.52.
At the beginning of each friendly Player Turn, each Fatigued unit has a chance of
reducing its Fatigue by one if on the two preceding Player Turns it has not moved
(including a Facing/Formation change), fired, fired upon, or participated in a Melee.
This chance is increased at night.

6.10 COMMAND REPORT FEATURES
At the beginning of each turn, the computer displays a Command Report dialog box.
This command report lists units that have been released, units undisrupted, units that
have recovered from Fatigue, units that have Routed, etc. Below is an example of such
a command report.

At the end of each Offensive Fire Phase, a Command Report is displayed indicating all units that have been Disrupted.
Once you have reviewed the information in the Command Report, you may continue the game by clicking OK.

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7.0 MODEM, PLAY BY E-MAIL &
REPLAY FEATURES
7.1 MODEM PLAY
Modem play allows two people to play the opposing sides in a scenario without having to be together in the same place. All each player needs is an installed copy of the
game, and a modem hooked up to his computer and phone line.
To start a new scenario and play it by modem, first call your opponent on the
phone, pick a scenario to play, and agree on who will be the Caller and who will be the
Host. The Host will be responsible for opening and saving the scenario on his computer. The Caller has the option of providing an encryption key at the start of the scenario to ensure that, when the scenario is saved, no one but the Caller will be able to
open the saved-game file later (see p.56).
Each player should launch BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM and, when the Menu
Screen appears, Select Start Game as Modem Host or Start Game as Modem Caller as
agreed on beforehand. (If you’re presently viewing the Scenario Selection Screen,
Select Previous to go to the Menu Screen.)
For the Caller, a dialog box will appear, offering a choice of which game map to
open. Be sure to Select the correct one for the scenario.
For the Host, a dialog box will appear, asking him to Select whether a new or a
saved game will be played. Select a new game, and then the Scenario Selection Screen
will appear. Then, Select the appropriate scenario and the Play button.
Once the map and Modem Settings dialog box appear on-screen, the Host should
configure his modem port. The most important setting is Baud Rate. If you’re not sure
what your modem’s baud rate is, choose something conservative like 2400. If you have
a 28.8 modem, select the baud rate 38400. The next most important setting is Port. A
typical configuration is for the modem to be on COM2 (if the mouse is on COM1), but
you may have to consult your hardware documentation (or use trial-and-error) to find
your correct setting.
Once the map and Modem Settings dialog box appear on his screen, the Caller
should configure his own modem port. The baud rates need not be the same. The
modems will negotiate the highest rate both can handle.
Both sides now hang up the phone.
The Host clicks OK in the Modem Settings dialog box, and should see the Answer
Dialog showing that it is waiting for a call. He then waits.
The Caller clicks OK in his Modem Settings dialog box, and should see the Dial
Dialog. He then left-clicks in the phone entry line and types in the phone number of
the Host system (i.e., the phone number of the line connected to his opponent’s
modem). He may also type in an encryption key now (see 7.2). Lastly he Selects the

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Dial button or presses the Enter key, and the modem will call the Host. The Host system should answer after the first or second ring.
Momentarily both players should see the Communications Dialog (a “chat window”). This may be used by both players to type messages to each other. One or both
players may close his Communications Dialog at any time during modem play. It will
automatically reappear if the other side types a message or, if due to a data transmission backlog, the number of messages waiting to be sent reaches 20. It can also be reopened at any time by Selecting Communication Dialog in the Modem menu.
Immediately after the Communication Dialog appears, so will a dialog box
enabling him to Select the side he has chosen to play and, if both players have agreed,
Fog of War. Once he does this and clicks OK, the scenario will be transmitted to the
Caller. Only the player who goes first will see the Phase Box that denotes the first
Movement Phase of the game. He should left-click with the mouse on the Phase Box
to make it disappear, and he may then begin playing in the normal manner.
As the game proceeds, both players will see their own and enemy units fire and
move in turn. As each player completes a phase and advances the game to the next
phase, the player who will be in control for that phase will see the Phase Box appear.
He should left-click on the Phase Box and proceed with his actions for that phase. The
Status Bar at the bottom of the screen will show whether the current phase is under
Local (your) or Remote (your opponent’s) Control. During a phase that’s under
Remote Control you should not attempt to move or fire any units, but rather wait until
you see the Phase Box appear, indicating that you are now in control (i.e., it’s your
phase to move or attack). When the scenario is over, the Victory Dialog will be displayed for both sides to see.
If the game must be halted prematurely but the players wish to resume it later, the
Host should choose Save or Save As in the File menu and save the scenario. Both sides
then simply exit the program. Alternatively, after the Host saves the scenario he can
Select Host and the Caller can Select Caller again in the Modem menu; doing this will
close the scenario without exiting the program.
ENCRYPTION KEY
While the Caller has the Dial Dialog on-screen prior to the start of play, he should enter
an encryption key (i.e., a password) in the appropriate spot in order to encrypt the
saved-game file so that once it is saved the Host cannot open it. (If no encryption key
is entered at this time, the file can still be saved later but it won’t be encrypted.) The
Caller should pick an encryption key that will be easy for him to remember but difficult for the Host to guess. It can be a word or a phrase, and numerals and/or punctuation marks can be used.
The extension .btx indicates a saved-game file that has been encrypted using the
Caller’s encryption key. Encrypted scenario files are stored in a binary format, and the
user should not attempt to view or print them directly without using the BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM program.
When re-opening a saved game, the Caller must specify the same exact encryption
key that was in use when the scenario was last saved.
RESUMING A SAVED MODEM-PLAY GAME
The procedure for doing this is the same as starting a new modem-play scenario,
except that when the Host is prompted to Select a new or saved game he must pick the
latter. He then picks the agreed-upon scenario in the ensuing dialog box.
If the scenario doesn’t open, the Host should check to make sure he Selected the
right one. If that’s not the problem, the Caller should Select New Encryption Key in
the Modem menu and type in the key again, for he probably entered it incorrectly the
first time.

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7.2 NULL-MODEM PLAY
Null-modem play requires a direct cable connection between the two computers. Users
should obtain a suitable serial communication cable and a null-modem connector
(available at computer supply stores). Select Null Modem before Selecting Host or
Client; that way, when Host or Client is Selected, you will still be prompted for the correct port and baud rate, but no modem dialing will be done. Note that under null
modem, the exact baud rate for both machines needs to be Selected. Note also that
some older machines may not have serial ports that can handle speeds at or above 9600
baud, so a lower rate may have to be used.
The “Washington Monument” atop Monument Hill
(see the South Mountain map)

7.3 PLAY BY E-MAIL
1. Select the Special Options button from the Menu Screen (see illustration on p.13)
2. Then Select “Play By E-Mail” from the Special Options window.
3. You will then be asked “Do you want to start a new battle?” Select “Yes” if you are
starting a new game.
4. The Scenario Screen will then appear. Choose the scenario to be played. Note that
as each scenario’s name is selected on the Scenario Screen, that scenario’s “Module” is displayed in the Module window of the Scenario Screen. It is imperative that

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the PBEM game file be kept in that subdirectory in each player’s BGN game. See
the chart below listing which “module” corresponds to which BGN subdirectory.

Battleground: Antietam Modules & Subdirectories
Module Name
Antietam
Burnside’s Bridge
Bloody Lane
East Woods
North Map
South Map
South Mountain
West Woods

Corresponding Subdirectory
an
bb
bl
ew
nh
sh
sm
ww

IMPORTANT!
The player starting a PBEM game must note which “module” the selected scenario is from and convey this information to his opponent. After being transferred
via E-mail and downloaded, the PBEM game file must be kept in the corresponding BGN subdirectory on each player’s computer.
Please refer to your Windows® Tutorial Guide (supplied with your computer or
packaged with your original Windows® installation software) if you need instructions on transferring files.
4. When the map appears, choose the local side (i.e., the side you will play) and whether
or not Fog of War will be used. You can also set the Advantage (see p.15) at this
point. Then Select OK, and proceed with play.
5. When the first phase under the control of the other side begins, you will see a message that local control is over. You will be prompted to save the game (note that it
must retain a “.bte” extension) and E-mail the saved-game file to your opponent.
To Resume a PBEM Game...
1. To resume a Play By E-mail game, you must download the file into the subdirectory that contains the map used by that scenario.
2. Then double-click on the BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM main program icon and
select the PBEM option from the Menu Screen.
3. You will then be asked “Do you want to start a new battle?”. Select No if you are
resuming a PBEM game.
4. When the “Battle Selection Dialog” window appears, Select the appropriate Module. All PBEM games saved in that module (subdirectory) will be displayed in the
bottom window. Select the proper PBEM battle file and click the OK button.
5. After the map and scenario are loaded, you will be given an option to see a “Replay”
of your opponent’s most recent moves/attacks. After the Replay is finished (or if you
choose not to view it), the next phase begins and play resumes. At the end of local
control, a prompt to E-mail the file will appear.
The same procedure is followed to play the remainder of the game, with each player alternately playing and E-mailing the game to his opponent.
NOTE: If you would like to view the Replay in other than the default “3D ZoomOut” mode, you can select “Cancel” when initially asked to view the Replay, then
change the view mode to the desired setting, then reopen the same file again.

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7.4 RECORDING BATTLES
The Record Battle feature of the Special pop-down menu allows you to record a scenario as you play it. You can then “replay” this saved battle later by selecting Replay
from the File pop-down menu (see below).
Why would you record a battle? During a hotly contested scenario, you might
anticipate that the next few turns will decide the winner. You may want to keep a
record of this and show it to someone later, or (for your own satisfaction) review the
moves you made to help improve your strategy for future scenarios.
You can record just a few turns of a battle, or an entire scenario. To record a battle,
1. Select Record Battle from the Special pop-down menu. Doing so places a
check mark ( ) next to the feature. Immediately, a file window will appear
allowing you to name this file (or accept the default file name).
2. After naming the file, select OK to return to the game. From this point forward, all
scenario turns you play will be saved into this file.
You cannot record modem play or PBEM battles.
Note: The Record Battle feature is a toggle. At anytime during play, you can select the
feature again to turn it off. Anytime you start recording, it will overwrite any existing
file of the same name.
Replaying a Recorded Battle
When you want to view the turns of a recorded battle, simply select Replay from
the File pop-down menu and the recorded turns will automatically replay.
To halt the replay, press the Esc key. To resume the replay again, select Restart
Replay from the Special menu, and the recorded battle will resume where it left off.
NOTE: When you replay a battle that has been recorded with Fog of War in effect, the
replay is from the perspective of the other side.
EX: If you replay a battle that you played vs the computer, the replay will be from the
perspective of the computer (not your perspective). This means you’ll see what the
computer “saw”.

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Appendix

8.0 APPENDIX
8.1 TERMS & DEFINITIONS
[Terms and abbreviations used in this manual are defined here for your convenience]
Adjacent: Two units or hexes that are directly next to each other on the map, with no
intervening hex between them.
A/I: Artificial Intelligence; the capability of the program to make decisions and conduct actions for a given side.
Command Radius: The maximum hex distance at which a brigade or division leader
can pass down a Command Rating modifier.
Command Rating: A rating (“C#” in the Unit List) given to a leader, and used by him
in his attempts to Rally Disrupted units under his command. See also the definition of
“Command Radius”.
Detached: A unit (usually a regiment) that is outside the Command Radius of its brigade
leader. A brigade leader who is outside the Command Radius of his division leader.
Disrupted: A regiment or battery that is not in Good Order but is not Routed. A Disrupted unit fires at half strength, and cannot advance into Melee.
Encryption Key: A “password” specified by the Caller in a modem-play game to keep
the Host (the Caller’s opponent) from opening the saved-game file.
Enfilade: A Ranged-Fire attack made from outside the defender’s Field of Fire, or
made vs. infantry in column.
Fatigue: A rating (“FA#” in the Unit List) given to a regiment or battery, and used by
it for Morale Check and Melee purposes.
Fatigue Rout: If a unit with a fatigue of 9 suffers a combat result that would normally require it to gain another point of fatigue, it is automatically routed instead.
Field of Fire: The 120° arc through which a regiment or battery can fire. See also the
definition of “Enfilade”.
Fixed Unit: A unit that begins a scenario unable to move (usually for historical purposes). A Fixed Unit is marked with an “F” in a red circle in the Unit List. For more
information, see p29.
Fog of War: A game option that lets a player who chooses Fog of War for the opposing side see all of his own (i.e., friendly) units, but only those enemy units that have

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Appendix
moved/attacked while currently in the LOS of a friendly unit. When playing with this
option in effect, the Fatigue level and Fixed status of opposing units is also hidden.
Game Turn: Two consecutive Player Turns having the same turn number.
Good Order: A regiment or battery that is neither Disrupted nor Routed.
Hex: Each hexagon on the map. Hexes are used for movement, range and LOS calculations. The hexes are displayed/hidden via the Hex Outlines command in the
Options menu.
Hot Seat Fog of War: A game option that allows two players to play a game on the
same computer without seeing the other player’s units. After a player has finished making his moves and/or attacks, the program then draws a blank map and informs the
player that it’s time for the opposing player to take his turn (and occupy the “hot seat”).
Hot Spot: The red square- or hexagon-shaped indicator that appears on the map. The
hex currently containing the Hot Spot is known as the Hot Spot hex.
Isolated: A unit which begins its turn surrounded by enemy units, enemy ZOC, and/or
impassible hexes or hexsides will be listed as “Isolated” in the Command Report dialog box. Such a unit is indicated by having its S# in the Unit List printed on a red background. While Isolated, a unit may still conduct ranged fire and Melee normally. If
attacked in the Melee Phase it is automatically eliminated (surrenders).
Leadership Rating: A rating (“L#” in the Unit List) given to a leader, and used by him
in his attempts to Rally Routed units under his command.
LOS: Line of Sight; an imaginary line between units that the program uses to determine
if they can “see” each other. If the LOS is blocked (see the definition of “Obstacle”),
they cannot see (and hence have no LOS to) each other. The existing LOS to/from the
Hot Spot hex can be viewed via the Visible Hexes command in the Display menu.
Melee: An attack made from a hex adjacent to the defender during the Melee Phase,
in which the attacker can advance into that hex if the Melee eliminates all defenders in
the hex or forces them to retreat.
Menu Bar: The line in the screen display immediately above the map, which contains
the titles of the various pop-down menus.
Morale Check: A die roll made by the program for a unit that has taken casualties due
to an attack, or that is in the same hex as (or is adjacent to) another friendly unit that
becomes Routed. The possible results are No Effect, Disruption or Rout; see Morale
Checks on p.50.
Objective: A scenario-specific hex with an assigned point value used to determine victory and defeat in a given scenario.
Obstacle: Terrain that can block LOS through its hex. Forest, Hill, Marsh, Orchard
and Rough hexes can block LOS, depending on the relative heights of the firer, the
obstacle and the target.
Phase: Any of the four main segments of a Player Turn: Movement Phase, Defensive
Fire Phase, Offensive Fire Phase, and Melee Phase.
Player Turn: Each turn in which one side or the other is the “moving” side. See also
the definition of “Game Turn”.
Protected Entry Hex: Most reinforcing (non-leader, non-artillery) units have their
entry hex “protected” in the sense that enemy units that are within a set range (usually from 3 to 5 hexes) of their entry hex when the units enter will be routed, or eliminated if in the hex. See also “Protected Entry Hexes”, p.45.
Quality: A rating (“QL#” in the Unit List) given to a regiment or battery, and used by
it when it takes a Morale Check or tries to Rally.
Rally: A die roll made by the program for each of the Phasing Player’s Disrupted

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Appendix
and/or Routed units at the start of each friendly Player Turn. If successful, a Routed
unit becomes Disrupted, and a Disrupted unit is returned to Good Order.
Ranged Fire: Any non-Melee attack made by a unit.
Rout: A unit becomes Routed whenever it fails a Morale Check caused by either an attack
or by the Routing of another friendly unit in/adjacent-to its hex or due to Fatigue Rout.
Scenario: Each of the specific battles that are listed in the Scenario Selection Screen.
Select: To click on an item using the left mouse button.
S#: For a regiment or battery, the basic strength (which equals the total number of men
or guns) used when it makes an attack. For a supply wagon, the number of units it can
resupply. The S# is displayed in the Unit List, and can change during play (i.e., it
decreases whenever the regiment/battery takes casualties or when the supply wagon
resupplies a unit.
Stack: The collective name for two or more units in the same hex.
Status Bar: The line at the very bottom of the screen display, which contains the current time of day, phase, and hex coordinates of the Hot Spot.
Stragglers: A Routed unit that suffers another Routed result loses one or more strength
factors (as determined by a die roll made by the program); such units are termed “lost
stragglers” in the Command Report that appears at the start of the next Player Turn.
Strength Factor: See the definition of “S#”.
Unit List: The portion of the screen display immediately below the map, listing the
data pertaining to each unit in the current Hot Spot hex plus a representative drawing/portrait of the unit.
Vacant Hex: A hex in which all occupying units were eliminated by Offensive Fire.
Such a hex can be “meleed” by adjacent units in the following Melee Phase without
gaining fatigue or becoming disrupted; see Melee on p.49.
Zone of Control (ZOC): Each land combat unit (i.e., infantry/cavalry in line formation, and unlimbered artillery) exerts a ZOC into the front three hexes it is facing. See
illustration below.

In this illustration, each units Zone of Control (ZOC) is shown by the shaded hexes. Note
that only regiments in line and unlimbered artillery have a Zone of Control; regiments in
column, limbered artillery and all leaders have no ZOC. Thus, the cavalry and infantry
units in column formation have no ZOC.

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Appendix

8.2 HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
by Kerry L. Hall
In the Fall of 1862 the Confederacy was winning. Although the Union was enjoying tangible results in the west, the Confederates in Virginia were continually successful in their efforts to whip the Yankees. Throughout the previous year, the war in the
east had focused on two cities, the Federal capitol of Washington, DC, and the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. These two cities had become the focus of the
war. The names of the armies designated with protecting these two cities, the Union
Army of Virginia and the Confederate Army of the Potomac, reflected the intent of the
opposing governments to keep the war well away from their respective capitols. Unfortunately for the Confederate army, although its men continued to win on the battlefield,
it lacked the manpower to keep the war off of southern soil. For the first year and a
half these two armies had waged their war on Virginia’s soil.

In April of 1862, the Union commander, General George B. McClellan (West Point
class of 1846) took his army, by sea, down the coast of Virginia, and flanked the Confederate capitol by landing at Hampton Roads and moving up the James River peninsula to the outskirts of Richmond. As successful as the maneuver was, however, his
cautiousness and tendency to rely on erroneous and exaggerated reports of Confederate troop strength cost him the campaign. McClellan consistently believed reports that
had the Confederate army strength from 150,000 to over 200,000. In actuality the Confederates had barely a third of that. In fear of this fictitious Confederate superiority,
McClellan eventually retreated back to the James River at Harrison’s Landing.
Primary credit for McClellan’s retreat can be given to the aggressive generalship
of confederate General Joseph E. Johnston (West Point, 1829) and Johnston’s successor, General Robert E. Lee (also West Point, 1829). During McClellan’s protracted
offensive against Richmond, Johnston decided to take the initiative and launched an
attack against the Federals at Fair Oaks. When Johnston was wounded during that
engagement, Confederate President Jefferson Davis replaced him with General
Robert E. Lee, who continued to attack McClellan during what is now known as the
Seven Days Battle. Despite the high loss of men, the Confederate plan had proven

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Appendix
successful. After Malvern Hill, McClellan had retreated to the relative safety of Harrison’s Landing. He would not threaten Richmond again. Probably the most important
strategic note of this Peninsula Campaign was President Davis’ appointment of Lee to
command the Confederate Army of the Potomac, which Lee promptly renamed The
Army of Northern Virginia.
Before his appointment Lee had few battlefield accomplishments to brag about.
However, after his success during the Seven Days Battles his men stopped calling him
“Granny Lee” and took up using a new nickname, “Marse Robert”, which he would
keep throughout the rest of the war. Lee understood well the cautiousness of his Union
opponent. After McClellan’s retreat on the peninsula, President Lincoln decided that
he needed a new leader. McClellan was left at Harrison’s Landing while General John
Pope was brought from the war in the West, where things had been much more successful. Pope took command of the combined forces of McDowell, Burnside, and
McClellan’s “Peninsula Army”, which McClellan sent piecemeal back up to Washington to Pope’s new command.
Pope, in contrast to McClellan, was never accepted by his men. His second in command, McDowell, was also disliked due to his failure at the first Battle of Bull Run
(Manassas). Between the two generals, the men of the Union Army of Virginia could
not have been more unhappy. With this lack of support from his army Pope decided to
move south against Lee and Richmond. President Lincoln strongly encouraged Pope in
this move. In contrast to the Union army, the morale of the Confederate Army of
Northern Virginia was at an all-time high.
With McClellan’s army bottled up on the Peninsula, Lee now decided to engage
Pope’s army, which had advanced to the Rappahannock River near Rappahannock Station. Pope showed his over-confidence by leaving his supply lines lightly guarded. Lee
and his commander’s, Jackson, Longstreet, and Stuart, saw this weak point. Jackson and
Stuart were sent around Pope’s right flank to seize his supply depot near Manassas,
while Longstreet’s Corps kept Pope pinned along the Rappahannock. Jackson seized
and burned a vast amount of Pope’s stores, forcing Pope to recognize his tenuous situation. Pope quickly retreated back up his supply line to face Jackson, who had taken up
a defensive line on the field of the previous year’s battle along Bull Run creek. After
stumbling around the countryside a bit, Pope finally found and attacked Jackson.
Longstreet had followed Pope and attacked Pope’s left flank just as the Union soldiers
were beginning to break under the pressure of trying to assault Jackson head-on. The
result was the Second Battle of Bull Run, another humiliating rout for the Union Army.

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At this point the politicians in Washington became desperate. Lincoln again put
McClellan in command of the Army in order to reorganize it and defend the Capitol.
Lincoln’s cabinet was preparing to abandon the city even as he was meeting with his
newly re-appointed commander. In contrast to the panic of the politicians in Washington, the soldiers of the Union Army could not have been happier. They had “Little
Mac” back! Whatever George McClellan lacked in battlefield leadership he made up
for in popularity among the troops. Morale in the Union Army was on the rise.
Robert E. Lee saw his chance. In several correspondences to President Davis in
early September, Lee proposed an invasion of Maryland. He reported to President
Davis that due to the recent battlefield successes and current high morale, now was
“the most propitious time” for The Army of Northern Virginia to strike north, free the
state of Maryland from its Union oppressors, swell the ranks of the army with Maryland volunteers, and possibly move against Baltimore, Harrisburg, or Philadelphia. Lee
hoped that this would push the U.S. Government to sue for peace. Davis agreed with
Lee. Lee’s only concerns were shortages of food supplies and ammunition, especially
artillery ammunition. Lee made the move. He took his army west and north and
crossed the Potomac river into Maryland. Nearby, at Harper’s Ferry, was a Union force
and large quantities of supplies that Lee hoped to capture.

Lincoln and McClellan, however, had no intentions of giving up so easily. As soon
as Lee moved west, McClellan mobilized and moved “his” army in the same direction,
leaving a small force to defend the now un-threatened Washington, DC. In his urgency,
McClellan led the Army out of Washington without any real authority to do so. His
orders read that he was to command the defenses of the city only, and that his authority went no further. McClellan ignored this small detail due to the importance of catching up to Lee. Because of this, the potential of failure hung over him like a dark cloud.
McClellan knew that if he did not come back victorious he could be court-martialed.
Fate played a strong role in the events of the next few days. Lee took his army as
far as Frederick, Maryland. After his hoped-for Maryland recruits did not appear in
great numbers, he decided to split his forces, apparently unworried in the face of the
approaching Union army. McClellan, as Lee knew, was a cautious general, and this
would give Lee plenty of time to achieve his other goals. Lee retreated from Frederick
as McClellan’s army approached. He split his command into five different directions.

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Appendix
Primarily sending Longstreet’s Corps to Boonsboro, and Jackson’s Corps to take Harper’s Ferry. Jackson captured Harper’s Ferry on the 15th of September. More importantly, two days prior, on the 13th, in a field on the outskirts of Frederick, fate turned
its favor to McClellan. Two union soldiers found three cigars rolled up in a copy of
Lee’s orders, detailing the risky troop movements of the Confederates. McClellan now
knew where Lee was and how spread out his rival’s command was. McClellan knew
he must act quickly to take advantage of the situation. Unfortunately, “acting quickly”
was not one of McClellan’s strong points.

Lee soon learned through a spy that his plans had fallen into McClellan’s hands.
He began fixing the situation as rapidly as possible. To slow McClellan’s advance,
Lee sent D. H. Hill’s division to Turner’s Gap, had Stuart send detachments to assist
in the protection of the South Mountain passes, and ordered Longstreet up from
Boonsboro to support D. H. Hill. Meanwhile, McLaws had the arduous task of delaying Franklin and the Union VI corps from pushing through at Crampton’s Gap and
relieving Harper’s Ferry. The Battle of South Mountain took place on the 14th of September. McClellan’s I and IX Corps suffered a total of 1,813 casualties. Lee’s men
lost over 2,685 men killed or wounded. Hardest hit was D. H. Hill’s command defending Turner’s Gap. Many of the Confederate wounded had to be left on the battlefield.

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Appendix
The loss had been necessary to Lee. The battle, and McClellan’s cautious nature,
gave Lee the time he needed to order Jackson from Harper’s Ferry to set up a line of
defense at Sharpsburg, Maryland, a site suggested by Longstreet. The town of Sharpsburg lay just west of a meandering creek called Antietam. The creek had only a few
fordable spots and three bridges crossing it. The terrain was partially wooded with lots
of farmland. There were many limestone outcropping, and the ground rolled with many
swales that would limit lines of sight and provide natural defensive positions. Jackson
and Longstreet’s men began to arrive in the town and surrounding woods and farms on
the morning of the 16th. By that evening all of Lee’s men had reached the field except
for McLaws’ and Anderson’s divisions, who were on their way from Harper’s Ferry,
and A. P. Hill’s Division, which was still in Harper’s Ferry gathering supplies and
paroling prisoners.
After forcing the Confederate withdrawal from South Mountain, McClellan
resumed his plodding advance. He was still convinced that Lee outnumbered him by
more than two to one. By midday on the 16th the Federal troops began arriving east of
Antietam Creek. Slowly, McClellan began to prepare for a battle the next day. He sent
the I Corps, commanded by “Fighting Joe” Hooker, and the XII Corps, commanded by
Joseph Mansfield, across the creek to the north. He positioned the rest of his forces at
the northern fords, middle bridge (Boonsboro Pike), and lower bridge. By late afternoon, some of Hooker’s men moved into woods on the northern part of the battlefield,
in what would later be known as the North Woods and the East Woods. Sharp skirmishing broke out between Confederate pickets and advancing Union forces.
By nightfall, both sides had established picket lines in these woods, and were facing off at the middle and lower bridges. Artillery on both sides took advantage of the
available high ground in preparation for the upcoming fight. Both armies prepared for
the next morning. If the men could have known of the indescribable carnage to come
on the morrow, many would have fled the field in horror. The morning of September
17, 1862, would begin the single bloodiest day in the history of the United States.
Before night could bring a merciful end to the bloodshed, over 20,000 American soldiers, both Northern and Southern, would be counted as casualties in the small area of
farms, fields, and woods between the town of Sharpsburg and Antietam Creek.
The bloody carnival of death, known as Antietam, was about to begin...

Battleground: Antietam

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Appendix

8.3 HOT KEYS
Ctrl-N: Advance to next phase
Ctrl-U: Undo last movement
Shift: Displays on the map the names of various geographical features
Esc: Cancels A/I processing while the A/I is activated and the A/I Action Dialog is
on-screen
Left Arrow: Scroll map to the left
Right Arrow: Scroll map to the right
Up Arrow: Scroll map up
Down Arrow: Scroll map down
F1: Invoke general Help
F2: Invoke Scenario Notes Help
The following hot keys can be used to move units from one hex to another:
Keypad 1: Move Selected unit(s) down and left to next hex
Keypad 2: Move Selected unit(s) down to next hex
Keypad 3: Move Selected unit(s) down and right to next hex
Keypad 7: Move Selected unit(s) up and left to next hex
Keypad 8: Move Selected unit(s) up to next hex
Keypad 9: Move Selected unit(s) up and right to next hex
The following hot keys can be used to move units within their hex:
Keypad 0: Change Formation of Selected unit(s)
Ctrl-B or End: Move Selected unit(s) backward in hex
Ctrl-F or Home: Move Selected unit(s) forward in hex
Ctrl-L or Delete: Change Facing of Selected unit(s) one hexside counter-clockwise in hex
Ctrl-R or Page Down: Change Facing of Selected unit(s) one hexside clockwise
in hex

68

Battleground: Antietam

Appendix

CREDITS
Executive Producer: Jim Rose
Producer: Bob McNamara
Game Design & Concepts: John Tiller, Jim Rose, & Charles Kibler
Programming: John Tiller
Technical Director: Ken Robinson
Art Director: Charles Kibler
Game Graphics: J. A., Stephen Langmead & Tim Kipp
Map Layout: Rick Barber
Video & Sound: Jim Rose
Scenarios: Charles Kibler & Rick de la Parra
Playtest Coordination: Bob McNamara & Ken Robinson
Players Guide: Charles Kibler & Bob McNamara
Cover Art: Dale Gallon
Historical Overview: Kerry L. Hall
Historical Consultant: Rick de la Parra
Production Coordination: John Davidson
Playtesters: Rick de la Parra, Stephen Clark, Mike Elliot, John C. Kincaid, Miles Blazek, E. Mark Smith, Rob Lowe, James W. Johnson, Tom
Herrschaft and George Chow
In Europe;
Playtesters: Mahendra Sampath and Simon Flynn
Quality Assurance: Andy Mullins
Packaging Artwork: Sharon O’Neill, Grant Mitchel and Clare Brown
Production: Tony Bond and Gary Lucken

© 1996 TalonSoft, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

Battleground: Antietam

69

Appendix

Bobby Horton
3430 Sagebrook Lane, Birmingham, AL 35243
Phone: (205) 967-6426 Fax: (205) 967-6426 *51

70

Battleground: Antietam

Appendix

AUTHENTIC MUSIC
OF THE

CIVIL WAR
by Bobby Horton
Most of the really fine music you’ll hear while playing BATTLEGROUND: ANTIETAM are tunes by the talented Bobby Horton. But these are
just a small sampler of the authentic tunes he has recorded, most of which are
available on CD and audio cassette. Some of his recordings were even used
in the now-famous Civil War series by Ken Burns that aired on PBS.
Each CD and audio cassette (with the exception of the “Homespun Songs
of the Christmas Season”) comes complete with historical liner notes about
the songs. Most of the songs were recorded with “period” 19th century instruments (or authentic reproductions), and recorded in “period” style arrangements. His songs are truly a “labor of love” (one reason, perhaps, why they
go so well with this TalonSoft game!).
If you’re interested in hearing more of his songs, TalonSoft encourages
you to contact Mr. Horton (see under picture).

CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
Homespun Songs of the CSA
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
Volume 5

CD
yes
yes
yes
yes
no

Cassette
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes

Homespun Songs of the Union Army
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3

yes
yes
no

yes
yes
yes

Homespun Songs of the Christmas Season no

yes

Homespun Songs of Faith, 1861-1865

yes

no

Each CD is $15; each audio cassette sells for $10.
Also available is “Music & Memories of the Civil War” on video
cassette. Produced by PBS and Bobby Horton, this sells for $25 plus $3
shipping and handling.
Battleground: Antietam

71

Appendix

TECHNICAL SUPPORT
If you have a technical problem concerning the operation of our software, please
contact our technical support staff. When you call, be at your computer if possible
and have the following information ready: computer type, Windowsâ version, available hard drive space, total RAM, type of video card, and a list of options you
choose when you installed the game.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT: 0181 343 9143
If you have a modem and would like to contact us on-line, you will find us:
INTERNET: E-mail us at [email protected]
WWW: http://www.empire.co.uk

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Battleground: Antietam