ENTERING THE OZARKS UPDATE - 3rd October 8:00 a.m.

During the night of 2nd - 3rd October, some units from Haggerty's and Dupont's corps moved, others stayed in place, and others were busy digging into their positions. The ENTERING THE OZARKS sim is now at the start of 3rd October, with orders being prepared for 8:00 a.m.

Sylamore Sights...

Town from Flat Woods Road:

Town from Sylamore Bridge (South Sylamore Creek):

Town from Sylamore Bottom (north of crossing):

Ruddell Manor:

Roper Hollow:

P. Walker House:

Town Looking South: Flat Woods Road leaves town into the hill to the south. Richwoods Road is visible on the opposite side of South Sylamore Creek, running parallel to the creek. Sylamore Road comes out of the woods, leads to a junction and then crosses the Sylamore Bridge into town (and then onward across the river to Ruddell Manor and eventually Mt. Olive on the strategic map).

ENTERING THE OZARKS Update - October 2nd - 5:00 p.m.

ENTERING THE OZARKS Update:  ENTERING THE OZARKS has begun....

On October 1^st  1864, Haggerty’s Provisional Corps of Department of the Eastern Frontier spent the day at Lebanon and Dupont’s Federal Corps was at Mt. Olive. There was no time to rest. Both Corps spent the day and part of the following night preparing defensive positions.  (Those positions have now become part of the permanent WIA landscape.) 

On the morning of October 2^nd, units were given their marching orders.  By 5:00 pm, cavalry from the opposing forces had reached Talbot’s Ferry. They are aware of enemy cavalry presence, but no engagement took place because the sighting was made late in the day. Regardless, the first visual contact between Haggerty’s and Dupont’s corps has been made on the Military Road at Talbot’s Ferry, on the west side of the White River. Thus begins ENTERING THE OZARKS and the setting of the stage for the subsequent OZARKS CAMPAIGN.

Orders will now be issued for the night of October 2^nd – 3^rd, but units will not be able to advance past the enemy or engage. This means that the Military Road is blocked at Talbot's Ferry. The Confederate cavalry sighted  west of Talbot’s Ferry may not proceed eastward and the Union cavalry there may not proceed westward. Other units may issued limited night movement orders and proceed as long until they reach their destination or contact the advance elements of an enemy force.

 

Sylamore Update

After a previous failed attempt, work has resumed on a map for Sylamore.  The historic town of Sylamore was the scene of a skirmish during the war and was located on the west side of the White River (opposite its current location).  Tomahawk was a highly fictionalized version of the Tomahawk in Searcy County.  Because Sylamore is a critical river crossing in THE OZARKS CAMPAIGN command simulation, more effort will be put into the map for the terrain. An attempt will be made to base to simulation map on the actual topography of the  area. 

For players in the ENTERING THE OZARKS simulation, the TC2M Shiloh map will be used as a proxy for Sylamore until the WIA map is finished.  For the players' reference, however, the map is using this portion of a topographic map for the area (actually the joint between the Fifty-Six and Sylamore Quandrants) with the WIA road network being placed on the map roughly as show below:

 

Tomahawk

On the campaign map, Tomahawk, Searcy County, is a choke point on the Clinton Road between Yellville and Lebanon.  In many towns, if a force is blocked from one direction, it is possible to send another force to assist on another road, possibly outflanking the enemy by maneuver. Not so with Tomahawk, which can only be accessed from Yellville to the north and Clinton to the south.

 

Unlike North Fork and Rapps Barren, the map that will be used for THE OZARKS CAMPAIGN command simulation is not an attempt to present a faithful representation of the area. It is more open and not quite as hilly. There are undulations in the terrain, however, somewhat reminiscent to the Antietam Battlefield. In a test of the Tomahawk map, opposing units were very close to each other in open terrain, but did not have a clear line of sight due to some gentle dips and rises on the hill around Tomahawk Town.

 

 

Tomahawk Town is somewhat unremarkable... just a few houses. 

Odom's Grist Mill and the Odom House are near the northern entrance of the map.



When approaching from the south, the only farm on the Clinton Road is the Osborne Farm, seen here looking south down Clinton Road from the north side of the Baker's Spring Branch.

The Robertson Farm, (seen in the distance from near the spring at the head of Cedar Run) is off the main road far to the east of town, but nearby Robertson  Hill gives a position from which batteries can harass movement on the Clinton Road south of town.

 



 

Although not marked as such on the map, Tomahawk town sits on an open hill. It is not steep, but it does give some advantage to the defenders.

 

Tomahawk Creek and Baker's Spring Branch have some woods and brush along its banks. This increases fatigue in crossing, but also gives a defensive bonus in what is sometimes the only cover in the immediate area.

 

Splashes of Scarlet

A new tree has been added to the WIA fall foliage: The Blackgum Tree. The Ozarks Fall Foliage Guide   says this about the blackgum: "When you see the brilliant scarlet colors of the Blackgum, you’ll know summer has ended. Among the first to change its color, the Blackgum tree has presents some of the most luminous leaves in the forest. Some folks consider the Blackgum’s tint the ultimate autumn display."  

Some Red Oak trees have also been added. Below is a blackgum tree and its representation in THE OZARKS CAMPAIGN command simulation.  Some red oaks are visible in the distant background of the screenshot from the game.

ENTERING THE OZARKS - CONFEDERATE OOB

On October 1st, Maj. Gen. Francis Haggerty's Provision Corps is located in Lebanon, Searcy County.
It is composed of the Department of the Eastern Frontier's 4th and 5th Divisions, which were involved in the "Battle" of Crooked Creek on May 27th (WIA2). Not to be confused with the Crooked Creek running through Yellville in the Ozarks, the battle took place at another Crooked Creek to the southeast and was little more than a stand off across the muddy, swamp-like banks of Tar Bottom Run.

The 4th and 5th Division were in defenses at Washington (Arkansas) at the beginning of the WIA3 campaign, but were sent north on July 2nd and were not involved in the fighting and maneuvering at the Battles of Midway and Crane. The two divisions have been joined by the Department of the Eastern Frontier's cavalry, with the brigades that have seen extensive service in the previous campaigns, as well as a new (4th) brigade composed of three green regiments.  Brig. Gen. Randall, erroneously reported as killed during WIA3, is still in command of the 2nd Brigade. Martin's 3rd Brigade, which joined the army in the midst of WIA2, continues to be one of the toughest brigades in either army, with the 32nd and 34th Arkansas cavalry both at veteran level experience while still having over 400 men in their ranks.

Command	Commander	Strength	Quality
Provisional Corps	Major General Francis Haggerty
4th Division	Brigadier General Joseph C. Delaney
1st Brigade, 4th Division	Brigadier General James Binker
35th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry	Lieutenant Colonel Peter J. Foreman	600	Trained
36th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Truman Stone	600	Trained
50th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry	Colonel W. Allen Peck	500	Trained
58th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Edward W. Gantt	800	Green
60th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry	Lieutenant Colonel John J. Carr	800	Green
2nd Brigade, 4th Division	Colonel Hiram J. Bunn
69th Alabama Volunteer Infantry	Lieutenant Colonel John R. Ames	500	Trained
71stAlabama Volunteer Infantry	Colonel James Jarvis	450	Trained
72nd Alabama Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Charles W. Adams	400	Trained
77th Alabama Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Evander McNair	500	Trained
79th Alabama Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Thomas J. Reid	800	Green
3rd Brigade, 4th Division	Brigadier General John Caulfied
37th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Isaac L. Dunlop	500	Trained
41st Louisiana Volunteer Infantry	Colonel William H. Haws	400	Trained
56th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Washington L. Cheston	800	Green
63rd Louisiana Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Albert R. Witt	800	Green
65th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Robert T. Gould	800	Green
Fitzpartick's Battery, Alabama Artillery	Captain John R. Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick's No. 1 Gun (12lb Napoleon)	2nd Lieutenant Emory Fulmar	15	Fair
Fitzpatrick's No. 2 Gun (12lb Napoleon)	Sergeant Winton M. Blout	15	Fair
Fitzpatrick's No. 3 Gun (12lb Napoleon)	1st Sergeant Perry O. Hooper	15	Fair
Fitzpatrick's No. 4 Gun (12lb Napoleon)	Sergeant William L. Dickinson	15	Fair
Fitzpatrick's No. 5 Gun (12lb Napoleon)	Lieutenant John Abercrombie	15	Fair
Fitzpatrick's No. 6 Gun (12lb Napoleon)	Sergeant Robert C. Elmore	15	Fair
Coleman's Battery, Alabama Artillery	Captain James A. Coleman
Coleman's No. 1 Gun (10lb Parrott)	2nd Lieutenant Matthew Raines	15	Fair
Coleman's No. 2 Gun (10lb Parrott)	Sergeant Jonathan S. Penndale	15	Fair
Coleman's No. 3 Gun (10lb Parrott)	1st Sergeant Peter H. Ingram	15	Fair
Coleman's No. 4 Gun (10lb Parrott)	Sergeant Francis A. James	15	Fair
Coleman's No. 5 Gun (10lb Parrott)	Lieutenant George P. Masterson	15	Fair
Coleman's No. 6 Gun (10lb Parrott)	Sergeant Asa S. Goode	15	Fair
5th Division	Major General William Crowell
1st Brigade, 5th Division	Brigadier General Albert M. Malone
42nd Louisiana Volunteer Infantry	Lieutenant Colonel Orsen C. Cole	400	Trained
25th Texas Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Samuel R. Townsend	500	Trained
26th Texas Volunteer Infantry	Colonel William R. Hardy	500	Trained
29th Texas Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Jacob M. Miller	500	Trained
31st Texas Volunteer Infantry	Colonel George King	500	Trained
36th Texas Volunteer Infantry	Colonel John Parker	800	Green
2nd Brigade, 5th Division	Brigadier General Rudolph Oestmann
52nd Mississippi Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Joseph McMyers	500	Trained
58th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Sebastian C. Marcus	500	Trained
59th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Henry M. Slack	800	Green
63rd Mississippi Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Joseph J. Miller	800	Green
65th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry	Colonel John Rickely	800	Green
3rd Brigade, 5th Division	Brigadier General William H. Stokes
49th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Jordan S. Thompson	500	Trained
51st Mississippi Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Patrick W. Griffin	500	Trained
53rd Mississippi Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Robert Morrow	500	Trained
66th Mississippi Volunteer Infantry	Colonel Michael Potter	800	Green
Wiley's Texas Battery	Captain William H. Wiley
Wiley's No. 1 Gun (3inch Ordnance)	1st Sergeant Joseph Hoffman	15	Trained
Wiley's No. 2 Gun (3inch Ordnance)	Sergeant Alexander J. Newell	15	Trained
Wiley's No. 3 Gun (3inch Ordnance)	Lieutenant Jacob Culp	15	Trained
Wiley's No. 4 Gun (3inch Ordnance)	Sergeant William Lott	15	Trained
Wiley's No. 5 Gun (3inch Ordnance)	Sergeant Samuel Ambrose	15	Trained
Wiley's No. 6  Gun (3inch Ordnance)	Sergeant Robert Yeagher	15	Trained
Cavalry Division	Major General Cyrus P. Hackett
1st Brigade, Cavalry Division	Brigadier General William A. Dibble
26th Arkansas Cavalry	Lieutenant Colonel Orin Smith	244	Fair
29th Arkansas Cavalry	Colonel James D. Tyler	320	Fair
30th Arkansas Cavalry	Colonel Thomas Dowd	437	Veteran
31st Arkansas Cavalry	Colonel Orrin E. Bartlett	462	Fair
2nd Brigade, Cavalry Division	Brigadier General Charles F. Randall
16th Missouri Cavalry	Captain Saul Tyson	181	Fair
17th Missouri Cavalry	Major Robert S. Elkins	201	Fair
33rd Arkansas Cavalry	Colonel Robert A. Paul	278	Fair
Meaney's (Arkansas) Battalion	Major Michael Meaney	275	Fair
3rd Brigade, Cavalry Division	Brigadier General Benjamin C. Martin
27th Arkansas Cavalry	Colonel Albert C. Tyson	480	Regular
32nd Arkansas Cavalry	Colonel John D. Smith	422	Veteran
34th  Arkansas Cavalry	Colonel Darrington Marley	422	Veteran
19th Missouri Cavalry	Colonel Johnston C. Dodd	256	Fair
4th Brigade, Cavalry Division	Brigadier General Alfred G. Starke
16th Kentucky Cavalry	Colonel Henry Vaughan	800	Green
18th Kentucky Cavalry	Colonel Patrick Moore	800	Green
24th Tennessee Cavalry	Colonel Martin Kelly	800	Green