The American Civil Ware was the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil. More soldiers were killed by disease than by shot and shell. Part of the reason so many were casualties was due to the introduction of more modern and effective weapons but the generals of both sides tended to still use the older tactics of previous wars that were fought with muskets. These required files three deep; one row standing, the middle row kneeling, and the front row on their stomachs. The weapons weren't all that accurate so the entire file in firing position sent a volly of bullets at the enemy. Each file rotated to the rear to reload, while the middle row got into firing position, and the formerly rear file moved to the ready position in the middle. This way, the files could keep up a steady fire for some time. Cavalry and massed charges on foot were the accepted tactics of battle. However, in the Civil War, a mass charge into entrenched enemy positions did not work. Gatlin guns could mow down tens of men at a time. Then there was the grape shoot--a shell full of metal marbles--that could be fired very accurately into a charging mass of men. For some reason, the generals never seemed to get it that they needed to do things differently and so they needlessly squandered thousands and thousands of men. Sterilization was not a medical concept at the time, so the same tools would be used over and over to sever mangled arms and legs. If the shock of amputation didn't kill the wounded outright, the lack of sterilization all too often did. More soldiers died from diarrhea than from bullets. Yet there were some who served through all four years and many battles of that war, who managed to return home to their families relatively intact. Here we see a sargent of the 8th Wisconsin embracing his wife for the first time in over three years. Originally, I wanted a string of children rushing toward the couple, but since my Poser program is not working, I had to leave it as it is. Thanks for looking. And thanks for all those past comments on my other works. Jeremy CREDIT: Bryce 6.1, Poser 6.0, PostShopPro 5.0. Male: DAZ's M3 with "Old Man" skin mat; clothing is "8th Wisconsin" for M3 (Poser World). Female: DAZ's V3 with clothing also by Poser World.) barn, cabin, fences, and hitching post: Transpond's Log Cabin KIt. granary: Made by me, using Transpond's Log Cabin Kit. oak trees in foreground: a Net freebie by Skippy, but retextured by me to look like pin oaks. yellow-leafed oak: one of Modalz's Old Wood trees with textures by Judith Ward. background forest: RDNA WildWood Vol 1 - Autumn Maples by Traveler. grain field: RDNA Fields - Volumetric Field Figures by Traveler. terrains: by me using Jonathan Allen's texture. cattle: models and textures by Debra Ross at Vista Internet. Chickens: modeled and textured and "redi-posed" by Lyne Masamitsu (Vista Internet Products). horses: P4 horses, using textures by MoonRose.