1864: Georgia's Burning -- OOC and Casting Call

[shadowoftheheart]

Okay, this is an idea I have for an historical SRP. As the title indicates, it takes place in Georgia in 1864, as William Tecumseh Sherman's Union Army bears down on Atlanta. Specifically, it occurs on a plantation smack dab in the path of a specific division of Sherman's army.

Getting the historical info together, and that will be posted here in the coming days. Looking for a good, solid period RP piece that will be true to the period, but allow for flexibility. If the Union forces want to sack, pillage, etc. the plantation, that's cool. If they want to play good guys, and bypass, that's cool. If Confederate soldiers want to hide, fight, etc. that's cool.

Yes, this tackles some sensitive issues: Race-based chattel slavery was the cornerstone of the plantation economy, so slaves would be a vital part of this RP as well.

In any case, general outline is that the SRP would begin somewhere around a week before the impending arrival of Union troops to allow RP between the Plantation Mistress (me of course) slaves, Confederate officers and soldiers, etc. etc. Then the Union arrival would be RPed, however they wish to do it. Then ... ??

Feel free to post ideas or comments here. I will post when casting call beigns ... though due to some issues I've found lately all character submissions are subject to approval or denial. Oh, and no Major Historical Figures will be playable (ie Sherman, Joe Johnston, Jeff Davis, etc.).

 

[Tseranc]

OK, I'll bite. Should we go ahead and assume all played characters will be entirely fictional, not just Big figures in history?

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Right. The big historical characters would be restricted. NPCs or not present.

More flexibility that way.

 

[Blue Dolphin]

This appeals to me dear lady.

I would be happy to join, as the very distant English cousin of the Mistress`s (ex?) husband.

I have knowledge of the times, and the events.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Wonderful! More the Merrier, as they say.

Now, just need to post some historical info for those who might be interested in RPing but don't have the knowledge ...

 

[sharingfantasies]

Basic concept of the character.

Patience Heartwell, the neighbor and friend to the Mistress. Often found at her friend's house, drinking sweet tea on the verandah and listening to the slave chants coming from the fields.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Basic Chronology.

This is a basic timeline of events in 1864 that characters would know about, come to know about, or would effect them.

This post is based almost entirely on The Civil War Day by Day, a wonderful reference book by E. B. Long that is exactly what it says it is: A day by day summary of events from November 1860 to August 1866.

Entries in Red are fictional events that apply to this SRP specifically. This post may be updated during the course of play, at my option.

5-5-64: Tuesday. Battle of the Wilderness, between U.S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. General Marcus Penrose struck by a Union Sniper's bullet. Gives an artifact to another Confederate near him, asking him to take it to his wife (Emily Penrose) in Georgia.
5-7-64: Sherman begins his march on Atlanta.
5-14 to 5-15-64: Battle of Resaca. GA. Confederate forces retreat.
5-25 to 6-4-64: New Hope Church campaign in Georgia.
6-15-64: Union attacks, and eventual siege, of Petersburg in Virginia, directly south of the Confederate capital of Richmond, begins.
6-27 - 7-2-64: Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, GA.
7-8-64: Friday. Opening of SRP. The Confederate with his artifact, arrives at Penrose Plantation.
7-11-64: Confederates under Jubal Early invade the suburbs of Washington, DC, though they are defeated.
7-17-64: General Johnston is replaced by General Hood in charge of Confederate troops in Georgia.
7-18-64: Monday. Short of serious Confederate Player action, the Union player unit arrives at Penrose Plantation sometime on or about this day.
8-30-64: Sherman cuts off the rail lines leading to Atlanta
9-1-64: Atlanta evacuated by Confederate authorities.
9-2-64: Sherman's Army enters and occupies Atlanta.
9-7-64: Sherman orders Atlanta evacuated, allowing citizens to go either North or South based upon their preferences. Informs Confederate general Hood of this decision.
9-8-64: George McClellan nominated on the Democratic ticket for president of the United States.
9-19 to 9-30-64: Various battles in Virginia.
10-5-64: Battle in Altoona, GA. North of Atlanta. Thought the month Southern troops conduct partisan-style activity as well as major battles along Sherman's supply lines.
10-19-64: Confederate troops, operating from Canada, raid Vermont.
11-8-64: Lincoln is re-elected President, due in part to Sherman's successes in Georgia.
11-16-64: Sherman begins his March to the Sea. SRP will end on this date if it hasn't earlier.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Slavery

This isn't a scholarly or definative essay, but is a primer on slavery and how to play it in this SRP. From the standpoint of the game, a blend of historical accuracy and sensitivity to modern standards of treatment, and language, is necessary.

First and foremost, slaves are not sex slaves, but chattel. Slavery in the South was an economic system. The social system of slavery existed as a symptom of the economic system: A way to keep slaves in line.

Second, slavery in this period is explicitly racial. African-Americans in this time and place are assumed to be slaves, whether or not they actually are, by others. To be treated as free, they must prove their free status, and if truth be told, even then they would be considered second-class at best.

Slaves were roughly and informally divided into three categories.

1. Field slaves. The basis of the Southern agricultural economy, field slaves worked sunup to sundown in the fields, with only rare and short breaks during the day, and Christmas Week as the only real break during a year. Field slaves sang while they worked, to get through the day, and to communicate secret messages through song. Whites mistakenly believed that this proved that slaves were happy and content as field workers.

2. House slaves. House slaves fulfilled the roles of servents such as maids, butlers, nurses, carriage drivers, etc. They were considered better than field hands. Calling a house slave a field slave is considered a high insult. Generally, lighter skinned, attractive female slaves find themselves brought into the houses as maids or nurses.

3. Tradesmen. Some slaves learnt trades, such as blacksmith, engineer, millworker, etc. Rare, these slaves were considered socially the highest, and often were treated nearly as freemen. They almost always are allowed to keep a portion of their wages, often living apart from their masters during most of the year. They are also the most likely to be able to save enough money to buy their freedom, and also the most likely to be accepted as freemen afterwards.

Freemen: It was always possible, in theory, for any slave to buy their freedom. In practice, this was fairly rare. Highly skilled slaves of all kinds would often be hired out, leased as it were, to masters other than their owners, and it was generally considered appropriate for the slave to keep a portion of his or her wages, with the remainder going to the master.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Characters

I've already gotten some interest in this thread. This post details characters that are needed, and that are signed up. This will be edited as necessary as roles are created and filled. To join, PM me or just simply post. It is fairly open, but I do need to approve all characters specifically before they can post in the IC thread.

Character / Basic information / Player

Confederates and sympathisers:

Emily Penrose / Mistress of Penrose Plantation / shadowoftheheart

Marcus Penrose / Emily's husband, Confederate general killed at Battle of the Wildernessbefore SRP begins / NPC not played except in flashbacks

Lt. Nathaniel Johnson / A young Confderate officer, present at Marcus' death. He was given an artifact that Emily would recognize, and asked to return it to her, with the message that Marcus died doing his duty for his country / Auras3124

Patience Heartwell / Neighbor and friend to Emily Penrose / sharingfantasies

Edgar William Penrose / Very distant English cousin of Marcus Penrose, and agent of the Confederate navy in England. / Blue Dolphin


Slaves:
Shakina / Rose / Emily's personal slave. They have a very close, intimate (think sisters here) relationship. Whether she genuinely loves Emily or is only doing what she needs to survive is unknown. / Aliyahlovinsex

Buck / Field slave who began as a house slave. He is known as a "Runner," due to his frequent escapes from his plantation. / JokerWild

??? / Any number of slaves of any kind can be played. They can be loyal or rebellious, planning on escaping, fugitives from other plantations, etc. / ???

Union Army:
Michael S. Weber / A union Colonel in charge of the Player Regiment. One of the few higher ranked officers from the far west - california specifically, but skill at war, and restraint of his men from going overkill have advanced him quickly. / Tseranc

Jacob Hunsinger / Sgt. Major, in an engineering support batallion in Sherman's army. One of several Union men marching toward the Penrose and Hartwell plantations / OnHarry

??? / Union soldiers. Infantry and or cavalry. Too many players will bog the RP down, so the commander can play one or more soldiers, and we can also have one or two players playing several soldiers / ???

This is not a final list, and other characters, character types, or categories can be added at will.

 

[Tseranc]

Colonel Michael S. Weber – commander of Union regiment headed at the plantation in question. One of the few higher ranked officers from the far west - california specifically, but skill at war, and restraint of his men from going overkill have advanced him quickly. Now he is assigned under general Sherman in his grand campaign.

Age: 30
Height: 5’9”
Weight: A lean 160lbs – too much time in the field to grow a gut.
Blue Eyes
Dusty Brown hair.

Not of a wealthy upbringing, but learned manors well at military academy.

 

[Aliyahlovinsex]

shadow darlin...I dunno about you being my mistress. You're kinda naughty


Name: Shakina (means beautiful one, by the way ) but was given the more "English" name of Rose by her previous Master. Feel free to use either, although she prefers Shakina.
Age:25
Description: Light-skinned, owing to a rape by her previous master to her mother. 5'9 tall and dark brown eyes. She is slowly trying to earn enough money to buy her freedom, and then escape back to Africa. She can read and write, and her healing skills that she learned from her mother are in high demand.
Posistion: The plantation mistress' personal slave.

P.S. I don't think I could have nursed you I don't wanna be an old mum

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Welcome aboard, Aliyahlovinsex! This was the one role I was afraid wasn't going to be filled easily!

No worries, Emily starts out quite loyal to her husband, and sees Shakina / Rose more as a sister than anything.

And I am flexible. No, you wouldn't have been old enough to nurse her, but that detail can change easily enough.

OK, updated the info in the character post. Removed the part of nursnig Emily when she was young.

Note by the way, in Georgia it was illegal to teach a slave to read or write at this time. Rose (which is how she'll be referred to by nearly everyone) will be viewed with suspicion, if not hatred, by most that know of her skills. Not Emily though ... too useful to her.

 

[Aliyahlovinsex]

OK, updated the info in the character post. Removed the part of nursnig Emily when she was young.

Note by the way, in Georgia it was illegal to teach a slave to read or write at this time. Rose (which is how she'll be referred to by nearly everyone) will be viewed with suspicion, if not hatred, by most that know of her skills. Not Emily though ... too useful to her.

Shhhh it's a secret! No one besides Emily knows I can read and write I's a good lil slave. And just Aliyah will do..if I could change my lit name I would but I have too many posts now.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Aliyah works. And your darn right Emily won't tell anyone else! Think she wants to get into trouble?!

BTW, I will post my character info shortly. And to all who posted here, feel free to fine-tune. That's what this thread is for!

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Emily Penrose
Age: 28
Ht: 5'6"
Wt: 130 lb
Hair: Light brown waist length when worn down, but usually elaborately ponied and braided, with no hair hanging below her shoulders.
Eyes: Deep blue

Emily Penrose was born Emily Johnstone in Charleston South Carolina, on November 11, 1835. She grew up on the Johnstone Plantation in South Carolina, and Charleston, until she met Marcus Penrose in 1853. They had a whirlwind courtship, and were married on her birthday in 1854.
In 1855, Marcus attended West Point, graduating in the upper third of his class in 1859. He received a commission as an officer of the artillery in 1860.
He returned home, and he and Emily had a son. He was born November 7, 1860 and named Herschel Penrose after their friend and Northern Democratic candidate for Vice President, Herschel V. Johnson.
Of course, that same day Charleston ran up a Palmetto flag in defiance of Abe Lincoln's election as president.
On January 19, 1861, Georgia seceded from the Union, and Marcus resigned his commision from the US army shortly thereafter. He was made a Colonel of the Georgia Volunteers, and on January 29 once more left home to help organize Georgia's military.
He served the Confederacy throughout the war, joining the Confederate's Army of the Potomac at the battle of First Manassas, was with the Army of Northern Virginia through the Peninsula campaign under Joe Johnston (no relation to Emily), and then Robert E. Lee. He was wounded at Gettysburg, and returned home in mid July 1863 to recover. He spent several blissful months there, before returning to Virginia in January of 1864. In May, he was killed by a Union sniper at the Battle of the Wilderness.

Emily has run Penrose Plantation since 1855, and it has done well considering the rigours of the Southern Economy. She is strong and capable, though very sad at how little time she has really spent with her husband over their 10 years of marriage. She has earned a reputation locally as being very fair to her slaves, and very demanding of her business partners, though exceptionally honest.

It is almost a joke locally, that if you are missing a slave, look on Penrose Plantation. Fugitives who are having some problem on their home plantation, yet don't want to flee North, seem to be drawn to Emily's protection, and she has negotiated the peaceable return of many slaves to their masters, often with changes in their treatment at home. She herself is no stranger to discipline, and personally flogs many disobedient slaves -- to keep herself mindful of what it means to own human property, and to assure that the punishments are not brutal or disfiguring.

Her personal slave Shakina she views as a sister. She has owned her for most of the 10 years of her marriage, and was in fact a marriage gift to her from her father. Over those 10 years, Emily has given her a small allowance of money, which she has been wisely saving rather than using to buy trinkets.

She is stubborn, hard-edged, and difficult to live with, but Emily tries to be fair and honest in her dealings.

 

[Auras3124]

Nathaniel Johnson
Age:18
ht: 5'8"
Wt: 135
Hair: dark brown, short
Eyes: brown

If approved by shodaw, i was going to take the part of the confederate who brings the artifact back.

Nathaniel is young, fresh in the army, but well-liked and got quickly assigned as an assistant to General Penrose. He was at the general's side when he died, given the final order of taking the artifact back to georgia to the wife of the now-late general.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Auras, what rank is your Confederate? If he's new he would probably either be a private, or a lieutenant depending on whether he attended officer's academy or not (No, it couldn't be West Point, because of his age, but there were academys in the South, including one in Virginia, that graduated Confederate officers thru the war).

 

[sharingfantasies]

Patience Heartwell

Age:29 Height: 5'7, 140 lbs
Coloring: black hair, green eyes

Born at Heartwell Plantation which borders the Penrose Plantation, Patience grew up knowing Marcus Penrose. When he brought home his wife Emily, they became best friends.

Patience's paternal great grandfather was among the Highlanders brought to Georgia by General James Oglethorpe in 1736. He worked at the sawmill at Darien for five years. Tiring of taking orders from the foreman, he left the sawmill and moved deeper into the woods living off the land. Meeting a Creek maiden, he decided to remain in the woods with her. When she was killed by smallpox, he took his small son and returned to Darien. Eventually marrying again, he and his wife raised their son as if he was full blooded white. Although questions occasionally rose regarding the black hair green eyed boy, it was generally accepted that the lie told by the parents that young Jack was partially Italian. This lie allowed the dusky skinned boy to grow up free of the growing prejudices of mixed blooded children. Although not fond of the lumberjack life, Jack eventually married the mill owner's daughter and raised four children before dying of old age.

Four generations later all that existed of the Cree maiden was the black hair on Patience's head. Her own father George Heartwell sold the lumber mill and moved to the area of Fort Peachtree in 1821 when the Creek ceded the land to the fairly new state of Georgia. He bought three hundred acres of prime land near the river and built the Heartwell Plantation. Unfortunately for the family line, Patience was the only offspring. Her parents having died when she was 17 during a freak storm when lightning struck a tree causing it to fall on her parent's wing of the house, killing both instantly. Patience, sleeping in the opposite wing, was suddenly on her own. She wrote to her uncle, her sole remaining relative in Darien but he was too sick to make the journey for the funeral.

Several townspeople thought that Patience should sell the plantation and move in with the Penrose family, but Patience had followed her parents and learned all about plantation life. While there had been several suitors over the years, Patience was too used to living her life on her own. She had been engaged twice but broken it off when the men began to discuss their plans for her life. If she were to marry, then Patience would suddenly find herself relegated to the lady's parlor doing embroidery and darning socks. While Patience was quite capable of doing either, she preferred to be out and about overseeing the various industries that took place on plantations. Her workers were faithful to her because of her generous nature and because she had already written letters of freedom for each of them. While two small families had taken their letters and left for the north, the others had remained to keep the plantation going and too "take care of young Missy who was all alone".

It was a common sight to see her riding sidesaddle across the cotton fields or watching the logging at the small lumber mill. She was often spotted among the workers cabins tending to the hurt or ill. Several times a week a small pony cart could be seen making its way down the lane between Heartwell and Penrose Plantations. When she was 25, a spinster no longer of marrying age, she met a man for whom she had been seriously considering giving up control of the plantation. He took her virginity and then died over a poker table, caught between the gunfire of two other players. Patience didn't miss her virginity but she did miss him. As time passed the pain of his loss and the overwhelming sense of abandonment lessened. Now facing her thirtieth birthday, Patience was no longer marriage material and was considered an eccentric by the townspeople. It is only when she is with Emily that she feels like the young southern belle that she is.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

*applause! to sharingfantasies!*

Wonderful character! Love her, love her!

 

[cindythesucker]

Damn...I would love to join this, but I really can't be bothered to read half of american history first...

 

[Tseranc]

BAh! Like most americans know their own history?! We got people here to help you along! I myself feel a bit out of the element in this time period...I'm gonna press on LOL

Dont let little thins like facts scare ya off.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Cindy! Have you read or seen Gone with the Wind? Blue and the Grey? North and South? That's more than enough! I'll worry 'bout the history, hon, you just have to create a good, interesting character and roleplay her!

 

[Tseranc]

Wow, now I REALLY feel like a shumck - i've seen none of those myself!

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Wow, now I REALLY feel like a shumck - i've seen none of those myself!

No worries friend. They aren't my main inspirations, nor are they required reading / watching material. Point is, they're close enough for a person to get the feel of the period to RP in it!

 

[Blue Dolphin]

Before I commit, I need clarification.
Are you say ing that the war was about slavery?