The Blue and The Gray

[Gary The Procrastinator]

In preparation for our second annual Civil War Collaboration at Brickfair Virginia, here is an introductory build, a mostly symbolic representation of the struggle between the two sides. Depending on how you interpret the build, there are 7 characteristics included that are symbolic of the real conflict. Can you spot them? For more details, click on the picture.

If you are coming to Brickfair Virginia in August, stop by the Civil War collaboration and say hello!

Cheers, Gary

Edited July 5, 2014 by Gary The Procrastinator

[Scaevola]

Great moc, I like the crosses on the side of the bridge. Is this based off Burnside's Bridge from the Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg?

[Hammerhand]

Very nice Gary! How did you do the cross design thing in the sides of the bridge? It looks really cool.

Oh, and I'm guessing one of the symbolic characteristics of the build is that the soldiers from the North are up and to the right (North and East), and the soldiers from the South are down and to the left (South and West)?

[Lady K]

Very beautiful bridge! I love the cross designs! The water looks like it's truly flowing under. And the signature block is very nice!

[Infernum]

Very cool! Love the figs and their posing! Great build all around!

[appmatteach]

Very beautiful bridge! I love the cross designs! The water looks like it's truly flowing under. And the signature block is very nice!

Edited June 14, 2014 by appmatteach

[Balthazar]

Incredible work! Realistic minifigures and water effect.

I love that bridge

[Macsen Wledig]

Interesting stuff - though I don't know enough about American history to guess the symbology. I hope this means that there are more Civil War MOCs on the way!

[Gary The Procrastinator]

Great moc, I like the crosses on the side of the bridge. Is this based off Burnside's Bridge from the Battle of Antietam/Sharpsburg?

Thank you. Great guess, and that's definitely an inspiration. To be accurate though the bridge would have to be about 5 times as long; perhaps one day I will build a full one!

Very nice Gary! How did you do the cross design thing in the sides of the bridge? It looks really cool. Oh, and I'm guessing one of the symbolic characteristics of the build is that the soldiers from the North are up and to the right (North and East), and the soldiers from the South are down and to the left (South and West)?

Thank you very much. The cross consists of a Tile, Round 1 x 1 as the connection point, with Tile, Modified Plate 1 x 1 with clip forming the arms of the cross. It's a bit tricky to get them on there, so the bottom tile with clip should be on a baseplate for stability when you first connect it.

Also, what a great guess, I hadn't even thought of that one! See what I think of the symbolism at the bottom of this post.

Very beautiful bridge! I love the cross designs! The water looks like it's truly flowing under. And the signature block is very nice!

Thank you, great to hear you like the water too.

Very cool! Love the figs and their posing! Great build all around!

Thank you so much!

Very beautiful bridge! I love the cross designs! The water looks like it's truly flowing under. And the signature block is very nice!

Hmmm, that sounds just like what Adventurer1 said?

Incredible work! Realistic minifigures and water effect.

I love that bridge

Thank you for the kind compliments, much appreciated!

Interesting stuff - though I don't know enough about American history to guess the symbology. I hope this means that there are more Civil War MOCs on the way!

Thank you very much Macsen; yes more to follow! Four of us are working on a huge Battle of Wilderness build which I will post once we assemble it at Brickfair Virginia in early August.

So, here's what I think are the 6 characteristics/symbology of the Civil War which I included here:

1. Numbers - In the build, the Union troops outnumber the Rebels, as was the case in nearly every single battle in the entire war.

2. Attack vs. Defense - The Union troops are attacking and the Rebs are defending, as was true for many campaigns. Even though the South fired on Fort Sumpter first, they still saw the confict as the "War of Northern Aggression"

3. Obsolete Tactics - A full frontal assault is shown into a bottleneck. Union commanders of the time had not come to recognize that the advent of rifled muskets had changed the tactics to the advantage of the defender, so they relied too heavily on direct frontal assault, resulting in very high casualties. For instance, in the case of the "Burnside's Bridge" assault, many men died taking it in a frontal assault, even though the water was easily forded at other locations along Antietam Creek... Credit for this one goes to Ardelon.

4. Moral High Ground - The Union has the high ground in the build, alluding to the noble cause of ending the tragedy of slavery in America. Note also that they are attacking from the right. Regardless of the serious issue of States Rights, the Union's sacrifices ended this odious sin in the U.S.

5. Flag of the Victors - The American flag is in a position of victory on the high ground, above the Army of Northern Virginia's Battle Flag. The Union won.

6. V Corps - In the Union's Army of the Potomac, V Corps' badge was an iron cross, matching the two cross decorations on the bridge. Corps were a critical unit all throughout the war, and V Corps in particular showed how a Corps could fight hard starting with the Battle of Gaines Mill in 1862 and continuing all the way to the end of the war.

7. Wounds Now Healed - And finally, admittedly a bit abstract, the visual symbolism of "water under the bridge" as representation of past wounds now healed. With the loss of 600,000 Americans having perished and the South physically devasted, it has taken America a long time to heal. Now 150 years later, the animosity has all but vanished.

Edited July 5, 2014 by Gary The Procrastinator

[ZCerberus]

Looks great Gary. We do need more civil war MOCs, but it is so uniquely American there are fewer people to draw from. Not that a European couldn't make a MOC of it, just less likely than one of the great wars or something from their own history.

Still waiting for you to join Nocturnus so team USA/Nocturnus can rule the roost in GoH

[Gary The Procrastinator]

Looks great Gary. We do need more civil war MOCs, but it is so uniquely American there are fewer people to draw from. Not that a European couldn't make a MOC of it, just less likely than one of the great wars or something from their own history. Still waiting for you to join Nocturnus so team USA/Nocturnus can rule the roost in GoH

Thank you very much again ZCerberus, very kind of you. Well, I will be building more CW in getting ready for Brickfair VA in August. And speaking of European battles, my son and I are going to do a huge Battle of Waterloo next year in honor of the 200th anniversary, so you will be seeing some of that from me too! As far as Nocturnus, I can barely keep up with my LoR commitments, but if I wasn't otherwise engaged there, I'd come on board and join you

[Ardelon]

Bit late, but I'll add my voice to the party - it's a great MOC that really shows a sense of dynamism with the posing and the water. I like the foam around the pillars - clever little detail.

As for the characteristics, I would have ventured a guess at the one with the Union troops advancing and the Confederates defending, and suspected the cross had some meaning, but that's about it.

Maybe as another characteristic I would have suggested something about the ineptitude of the Union commander sending his troops into a bottleneck on the bridge, right into the rifle fire of the rebels - I read about the poor leadership skills of many Northern commanders compared to their Southern counterparts...

[kinggregus]

That s a great MOC. I would have also ventured to say that the officers were not in the front line as depicted in that vignette (not sure we can call it a vignette).

I really like every MOCs that are focused on union soldiers, I hope to see more from you.

[Yzalirk]

Great MOC, good job!

[Gary The Procrastinator]

Bit late, but I'll add my voice to the party - it's a great MOC that really shows a sense of dynamism with the posing and the water. I like the foam around the pillars - clever little detail.

As for the characteristics, I would have ventured a guess at the one with the Union troops advancing and the Confederates defending, and suspected the cross had some meaning, but that's about it.

Maybe as another characteristic I would have suggested something about the ineptitude of the Union commander sending his troops into a bottleneck on the bridge, right into the rifle fire of the rebels - I read about the poor leadership skills of many Northern commanders compared to their Southern counterparts...

It's never too late to comment, and thank you! Wow, you found one I didn't even think of! Yes, the Union commanders of the time had not come to recognize that the advent of rifled muskets had changed the tactics to the advantage of the defender, so they relied too heavily on direct frontal assault such as here, resulting in very high casualties. I'll have to add that one!

That s a great MOC. I would have also ventured to say that the officers were not in the front line as depicted in that vignette (not sure we can call it a vignette).

I really like every MOCs that are focused on union soldiers, I hope to see more from you.

Thank you, and yes there are more coming, for instance check here for our Battle of the Wilderness Collaboration for Brickrfair Virginia 2014.

Great MOC, good job!

Thank you!

Edited July 5, 2014 by Gary The Procrastinator