Texas Rangers! (and John B. Floyd)

[Stauffenberg]

No not the baseball team, although I was rooting for them. At least a SOUTHERN team won either way (Missouri of course being staunchly for the South).

McCulloch is obviously an important commander for the CSA, best used out west. In my latest PBEM I had him running a cavalry raid up north cutting rail lines in Missouri, then deeking south to teleport range where he took over command of the Texan army massing at Henderson preparing to retake Kaufman from the dastardly Houstonite bluebelly rabble that unexpectedly appeared (I had not seen this variant before--quite interesting).

So my question is simple: Texas rangers have the NATO infantry icon but are pictorially depicted as cavalry. DO they get the McCulloch cavalry bonus of 25% stacked with him? I assume not as he can't combine with them. And DO these rangers function as cavalry "spotters" for enemy raids passing through their regions, as do regular cavalry? DO they add any recon value to a stack they are in if there are no other cavalry there?

And of what use is John B. Floyd to the CSA? He was actually of immense service before the war. As Secretary of War in the cabinet of President James Buchanan he diverted all sorts of arms to the south and was investigated by the U.S. congress for these actions although the charges were quashed. The man, ex Governor of Virginia and ex U.S. Secretary of War was an asset for the South. As a reward he got various commands under Lee and Johnston in the west and was a failure because he was dropped in over his head. He should be an able militia commander (only), his negative attributes applied against him only for front line duty with regular troops. He might also be a wildcard asset as CSA Sec of War with an optional event.

Just picking a nit. He died and should be removed in 1862 in any case.

[Pat "Stonewall" Cleburne]

Interesting stuff. Any AACW2 would need alot more events tied into stuff like this.

[caranorn]

I generally give McCulloch (one of my favorites) a mix of cavalry and ranger commands before I can raise large enough infantry brigades for campaigning out west. I don't think his cavalry bonus will apply to the rangers who are essentially mounted infantry (take a look at the rangers' unit stats to see how good they are at cavalry tasks, I expect they make good scouts but am unsure as I haven't played for a while). Note that Indians an Bushwackers are not cavalry either in this sense...

Concerning Floyd. Apparently he was not too bad in his first command. But certainly he made a major mess of things at Donnelson. Compared to other officers present there he also proved to be a coward and essentially deserted his post (though the high likelyhood of him being lynched right on capture is a slight argument in his favour). In game terms Floyd would be useful as a second in command for some force, giving command points to a leader senior to him. That's about it...

[Citizen X]

AFAIK rangers count as raiders, game mechanics wise. Basically fast infantry that can't occupy cities in regions with low loyalty. They got the "light cavalry" speed bonus and high detect and evasion bonus so they qualify as scouts. They don't have the patrol value of the cavlry and they can't cut it in combat, except in the assault phase. So they basically make for worse fighters then even militia. The have fewer men in a unit, too.

[Stauffenberg]

Look at the ranger unit stats, yep that's a great idea. I suppose it was mostly these guys that took part in that raid into the west and the subsequent death march back when they got whipped. Useful units to have all the same, and they cost no war supplies to build. I have a self-imposed limit against using them as expendable raiders behind union lines for the most part--leaders that can combine with said unit only.

And re Floyd as a coward... he certainly had brass in Washington, diverting thousands of guns and ordinance to the South just before the war, right under government noses. It was because of this he lost his nerve at Donelson--fear of being summarily executed can do amazing things to your sense of judgement I imagine. In any case the real failure was in his higher ups dropping him into a situation he was obviously unsuited for. My point was simply to underline the fact that he was considered a hero by the government in Richmond, and rightly so. Ironically, it was this that landed him in hot water. He should have been given a job as Sec War or in armaments.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Longshanks]

The best thing I can say about Floyd (in the game) is that if you use random generation of general's stats, he can only go up!

...unless it's possible to go to 0-0-0 ...

[Jim-NC]

Summary execution is a huge damper on the desire to surrender (look at what all the enemies of the Roman's did).

[Citizen X]

The best thing I can say about Floyd (in the game) is that if you use random generation of general's stats, he can only go up!

...unless it's possible to go to 0-0-0 ...

0-0-1 worst I ever saw.

[Coldsteel]

Interesting. . .. I didn't know that they technically weren't "calvary" units in real life.

So if they won't really attack, what is the best use for them? Just scouting?

Thanks,

[John Sedgwick]

Rangers make decent scouts, but I don't think they excel at anything in particular, except being very, very cheap and quick to recruit. I use them as an emergency stopgap if the Sam Houston event catches me unprepared, or if I want some cheap filler units to garrison the southwest.

[ohms_law]

They're "Dragoons"... ride to combat, dismount and fight.

[Stauffenberg]

Interesting. . .. I didn't know that they technically weren't "calvary" units in real life.

So if they won't really attack, what is the best use for them? Just scouting?

Thanks,

I call them my "Texas Volksturm." Basically, anyone with a gun and a horse can join the rangers (which means most--this isn't Baltimore). Militia on horseback, with attitude!

[Longshanks]

I agree it's their cheap cost that is among the most appealing attributes. I use them as scouts. They're very fast, even through bad terrain, and if they get eliminated it's no biggie. If you don't play with a "anti-raider" rule, they'll wreck havoc on the north's rail system. Another reason to build them is the north can't!