by Night Strike on Sun May 04, 2008 12:40 pm
Round 5: American Civil War
The American Civil War was fought between the United States of America (the "Union") and the Southern slave states of the newly formed Confederate States of America. The Union included all of the free states and the five slaveholding border states and was led by Abraham Lincoln of the Republican Party. Republicans opposed the expansion of slavery into territories owned by the United States, and their victory in the presidential election of 1860 resulted in seven Southern states declaring their secession from the Union. The Union rejected secession, regarding it as rebellion.
Hostilities began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for a large volunteer army, then four more Southern states declared their secession. In the war's first year, the Union assumed control of the border states and established a naval blockade as both sides massed armies and resources. Confederate resistance collapsed after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.
The Conquer Club map plays as a standard map, but it offers many different bonuses. There are bonuses for holding key cities, brigades, and the entire army. Since the Union territory is larger, it provides a larger bonus than the Confederate territories for holding the whole area. The neutral states really are neutral on the map and do not provide any bonuses. Because Maryland is the capital of the Union, it can attack all of the Union ships, which provides a back door to the Confederate territories.
For the tournament, this round begins the second half of the tournament. Only 12 teams remain from the starting 24, and there are some heavyweights still in the race. Scores will become tighter, so remember that tiebreakers are determined by the total scores from all the rounds. The lowest 3 teams will be dropped at the end of this leg of the race.