December 20, 2004 by Alan Chan (joylock@hotmail.com)
Note: There were a few mission objectives I couldn't figure out how to complete. Being a perfectionist, I'd really appreciate it if anybody who's figured them out would email me (joylock@hotmail.com) and let me know. Thanks. They are: Creek Bed Skirmish - Avoid early detection Supper Time Surprise - Prevent soldiers from fleeing, arming, and resisting - Check camp for stragglers Camp Clearing - Clear camp of stragglers
***************************************************** *Version History: * * * *June 20, 2004: Initial Release * * * *Dec 20, 2004: William Russell's Field Chest located* * (thanks to Gabriel Casey) * *****************************************************
The latest version of this FAQ can be found at www.gamefaqs.com
CONTENTS: - Weapons - 1851 Colt Revolver - Infantry Officer's Combat Sword - Musket - Scoped Musket - Bowie Knives - Ketchum Grenades - Skills - Stealth - Stamina - Marksmanship - Carrying - Armor - Proficiency - Missions - THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN - Bull Run Recon - Rebel Yell - Jackson's Stand - THE BATTLE OF FREDRICKSBERG - Fredericksburg - THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE - Silent Approach - Creek Bed Skirmish - Supper Time Surprise - Camp Clearing - The Wilderness
********** *Weapons:* **********
1851 Colt Revolver: Ammo Type: Starting Ammo Capacity: 18 Maximum Ammo Capacity: 72
The Colt Revolver is your default weapon, and will be the weapon you use most often throughout the game (due to all the other weapons' low ammo capacity). The revolver has a slower rate of fire than other First-Person-Shooter pistols, and you'll have to wait a second between each shot. The revolver also doesn't fire instantly, there's a split second delay between when you press the fire button and when the gun actually fires. You'll have to keep that in mind when tracking a moving target. The revolver also takes a long time to reload, so it's best to find a good place to take cover behind before engaging in any extended gun battles. The revolver has somewhat decent accuracy but the projectiles do tend to stray with distance, so you won't be able to snipe enemies that are too far away with it (you generally won't be able to hit enemies if they're smaller than the crosshair itself). If you do end up facing far-off enemies and don't have any musket ammo, you can try to aim at an enemy and fire several shots, some of your bullets will miss but a couple might land.
Infantry Officer's Combat Sword: Ammo Type: N/A Starting Ammo Capacity: N/A Maximum Ammo Capacity: N/A
You won't use this decorative saber much in combat. It's a pretty lousy weapon, and if you run out of ammo for everything else you're much better off retreating than trying to make a stand with the sword. The sword barely does any damage, and it takes more than a dozen hits to kill an enemy soldier. Plus, while you're whacking at them with the sword, the enemy has plenty of opportunity to shoot or stab you, and stabs from a musket bayonet do as much damage as the musket bullets themselves (i.e. it only takes a few hits to kill you). The only possible way you could use the sword and survive is to duel enemy infantry officers with it, since their own swords are also pretty harmless (one hit only takes 2 or 3 points off your armor). The only good thing about the sword is that you can just hold the fire button down to swing it around, you don't need to keep pressing the fire button for each swing.
NOTE: One annoying thing about the game is that, when you run out of ammo for the muskets, bowie knives, or grenades, you'll automatically switch to the sword rather than the pistol if you have a sword in your inventory. This forces you to manually switch to the pistol if you've just shot someone with a musket and need to finish him off with the pistol.
Musket: Ammo Type: Starting Ammo Capacity: 1 Maximum Ammo Capacity: 4
The musket is more accurate than the pistol at long range, but it still becomes inaccurate as range increases. You'll still generally be able to hit enemies even if they're only the size of the crosshair. One body shot from the musket usually kills, but not always (especially in the later levels). The big problem with the musket is that you're only able to carry one at a time, and need to get another off the body of a dead soldier once you've used up your one shot. If you raise your Carrying skill to 4th or 5th level, however, you'll be able to carry a couple more musket shots. If you can carry multiple musket shots, you don't even have to reload the musket, and can fire it one shot after another like the pistol (historically inaccurate, but useful).
Scoped Musket: Ammo Type: Starting Ammo Capacity: 1 Maximum Ammo Capacity: 4
A musket with a sniper scope attached to it, allowing you to zoom in and snipe distant targets. This can be very useful, and the scope can actually zoom pretty far. Unfortunately, like the pistol and musket, it still suffers from some inaccuracy as range increases. Generally, if the enemy's head is smaller than a penny in the scope, you aren't guaranteed a clean hit. Try to aim for the neck rather than the center of the head to improve your chances of scoring a fatal shot. Like the musket, you can only carry one at a time (unless you have 4th or 5th level Carrying skill), but in later levels many enemies will carry one and thus it will be easy to replenish.
Bowie Knives: Ammo Type: Starting Ammo Capacity: 2 Maximum Ammo Capacity: 8
These throwing knives are best used for silent takedowns. If you hit an unaware enemy in the back with one, it's usually an instant kill. Additionally, since gunfire alerts nearby enemies to your presence, bowie knives can be used to kill enemies one by one rather than have all of them charge at you at once. Unfortunately, bowie knives aren't as useful for fighting enemies that are aware of you, because enemies that are facing you have a good chance of deflecting the bowie knife and sending it flying off harmlessly in another direction. You can't carry many bowie knives at one time, but they're reusable since you can retrieve them off the bodies of enemies you kill with them. However, if a bowie knife is deflected or misses, it will only remain in the ground for a few seconds before disappearing. So try not to miss with them if you want to keep them.
Ketchum Grenades: Ammo Type: Starting Ammo Capacity: 5 Maximum Ammo Capacity: 20
Grenades have a limited range, but make a decent bang. One good hit is enough to kill an enemy. Grenades are the only weapon that can be used to kill multiple enemies at once. However the splash damage radius is only a few feet, so the enemies need to be pretty close to each other to kill them all. Unfortunately, their limited range makes them a bit difficult to use in combat, since by the time you're close enough to use them, the enemy will be close enough to have a pretty good shot at you. You can increase their range by arching them upwards, but it takes practice to throw them accurately this way. Grenades are necessary to accomplish certain mission objectives (such as destroying cannons), and at first you'll only be given about as many as you need to do the job, so in the first few levels you should save them for accomplishing objectives rather than using them up for killing enemies. In the later levels grenades become more plentiful, however, so you can start using them as weapons.
NOTE: When you throw a grenade, be sure to tap the fire button instead of holding it down. There's a bug in the game where if you hold the fire button down, you'll only throw 1 grenade BUT will use up all the grenades you're holding all at once.
********* *Skills:* *********
You'll get skill points for accomplishing mission objectives, which you can use to improve your skills. It costs 1000 points to raise a skill to level 2, 2000 points to raise it to level 3, 3000 points to raise it to level 4, and 4000 points to raise it to level 5. Therefore, it takes a total of 6000 points to raise a skill to level 4, and a grand total of 10,000 points to raise a skill to the maximum of level 5.
Accomplishing all the game objectives I could (which was all but 5 of them), I managed to raise a total of 16,700 skill points. This means you can only raise one skill up to level 5, and if you do you'll only have enough skill points left to raise just one other skill to level 3. Alternatively, you can raise one skill to level 4 and two skills to level 3. Or, you can raise four skills to level 3. Bear in mind that the benefits of a skill increase exponentially (level 2 Marksmanship only increases your aim to 125%, but level 4 increases it to 400% and level 5 increases it to 1000%), so you'll see more benefits to raising one or two skills very high, rather than distributing your points equally among them.
Personally, I focused on raising my Marksmanship and Armor. Concentrating on these two skills will make the game much easier than concentrating on any of the other skills.
If you want to carry more than one musket shot at a time, you can try saving up 6000 or 10,000 points and raising Carrying to level 4 or 5, but personally I don't think its worth it.
Here are the six different skills you can put points into:
STEALTH: This affects how easy it is for enemies to detect you, and how far away you have to run before they lose sight of you. Personally, I found this skill to be basically worthless, because the game's A.I. is pretty dull and it's already pretty easy to sneak up on enemies or escape from them without any points in Stealth.
STAMINA: This affects how much health you have, as well as how quickly you lose it. If you want to increase your durability, you're actually better off improving your Armor skill instead. Armor is much better at absorbing damage than Health (without Armor you can only survive about 2 shots before dying), your Armor meter comes before your health meter when you take damage anyway, and armor refills are almost as common as health refills.
MARKSMANSHIP: The higher your marksmanship, the more accurate your shots. A reasonably useful skill, although you won't notice any dramatic change until you raise it to the 3rd or 4th level.
CARRYING: Basically, carrying determines how much ammo you can carry for your weapons (it also affects how quickly you can walk while carrying a body, but you're never required to drag bodies around in the game). It has the biggest effect on your pistol, moderate effect on grenades, and minor effect on bowie knives. You have to raise this skill all the way up to the 4th level before it begins to have any effect on muskets (4th level allows you to carry 2 musket shots instead of just one, and 5th level allows you to carry 4 musket shots). It's a useful enough skill, but it's extremely expensive to raise it to the point where it begins to positively effect on your game.
ARMOR: Armor increases your armor bar. Very useful. Each level of this skill allows you to survive an additional shot or two. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it can make all the difference during some of the game's tougher sections.
WEAPONS: This skill increases the damage you do with your weapons, as well as how quickly you can reload them. Like stealth, I've never found any real use for it. Your weapons already are pretty powerful (most kill with just one or two shots), and the only weapon you actually need to reload is the pistol. You'd be better off spending your points on other skills.
*********** *Missions:* ***********
******************************************************************************* THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN: *******************************************************************************
Bull Run Recon:
Mission Objectives:
- Take out the scouts along the railroad
You begin the mission in front of the railroad line. Two Union scouts patrol up and down this line, one should be to your left and one should be to your right when the mission begins. The scouts start out moving away from you, which gives you a good opportunity to run up behind one of them and kill him with a surprise pistol shot to the back of the head. Unfortunately, this will attract the attention of all the enemies in the nearby area, forcing you into a battle against several riflemen in open ground where they will have the advantage. Also, there are no armor refills in this level, so minimizing the damage you take will help you to make it through alive.
Alternatively, you can do as the game intends and take out the two scouts silently. To the right (East) of your starting position should be several log piles, behind one of them should be an ammo box containing bowie knives. Killing a scout with a thrown knife to the back is a silent takedown and won't attract the attention of everyone else.
In either case, killing both scouts will earn your the mission objective.
If you took the silent approach, several enemies will be patrolling the field to the Northeast of the railroad. To avoid them, make your way around the very edge of the map, moving right (East) then forward (North) as you make your way towards the house, where you can make your stand against the enemies in the field by using the walls as cover. If you took the messy approach and survived, most of the aforementioned enemies will be dead, but a couple will still be camped on top of the front and back hills. You'll still need to make your way to the house, as inside you'll find a couple rifles that will make seizing the hills much easier.
- Defeat the Union Captain and retrieve his orders
The house is guarded by a sniper firing from a hole in the top floor, and the Union captain firing from a window in the bottom floor. Try to use cover to get close enough to kill the sniper, than make your way around to the door of the house to ambush the captain. The captain's tougher than the average soldier and will require three pistol shots to the head to kill. Be sure to search his body to find the orders and accomplish the objective. If you wait too long, his body will vanish and the objective can't be finished.
The captain's carrying a musket, and in the corner of the ground floor of the house you should find a scoped musket that allows you to kill at a distance. The top floor of the house isn't accessible yet, first you need to go back outside and take the two hills. If the enemies in the field aren't dead yet, the gunfire from your fight with the sniper and the captain should attract them to the house. Kill them with your pistol when they get close enough. There's an ammo box with pistol ammo inside the house if you run out.
- Move to the hill to survey the enemy's forces
The front hill should contain a single cannon as well as a Union sniper. Use your scoped musket to snipe him from a distance (you know you're in the proper range when his head is about the size of your thumb in the scope). For best results, aim at his neck rather than the middle of his head, this compensates for the innate inaccuracy of the musket. Run up to the top of the hill when the coast is clear. You'll accomplish the objective when you reach the top, and will be able to snatch another scoped musket off the sniper's dead body.
- Get a better view of the enemy's forces
Now it's time to take the back hill. This hill is much more heavily populated, containing a total of 5 cannons, two riflemen, and an infantry officer with a sword. The two riflemen are your main targets, the officer is almost harmless since he won't move and can't hurt you unless you're standing right next to him. Approach the hill from the left or right, sniping one of the riflemen with your scoped musket. Then charge up the hill, keeping one of the cannons between you and the other rifleman to prevent him from shooting you. When you get close enough, take him and the officer out with your pistol. Once you get to the top of the hill, you'll accomplish the mission objective. Be sure to grab the infantry officer's sword off of his corpse. If you wait too long, his body will disappear and you'll be screwed.
- Gather additional surveillance
Go back to the house, and chop the hanging rope with the sword. This will cause a wooden stairway to drop down from the ceiling, allowing you access to the top floor. On the top floor, you'll find two boxes of Ketchum grenades (8 grenades in total) as well as a small pile of scoped muskets. You'll also be rewarded the mission objective.
- Stop advancing troops along the railroad
Approach the hole in the top floor's wall, and a cutscene will play of several Union troops marching down the railroad line. Press the spacebar to end the cutscene, or else it will continue playing forever. Use the scoped muskets to snipe the Union troops from the house's top floor. The distance is extreme, so expect to miss quite a bit. Don't worry if they run away down the railroad line, they can't escape. Once they reach the edge of the map they'll just turn around and come back. You don't have to kill all of them, just several of them to achieve the mission objective. If you run out of scoped muskets, you can run up to them and engage them with your pistol (be sure to use cover to avoid getting shot).
Although most will run up and down the rail-line, some will run into the field in an attempt to find you. Be sure to look in the field if you can't find any soldiers running near the railroad.
- Destroy the Union ammunition stockpile
When you're done with the top floor, go back to the staircase. Chuck a grenade at one of the ammunition boxes, then run like hell down the stairs. The top floor of the house will explode and catch fire, and you'll accomplish the objective. You can still go back upstairs to get more grenades, but don't approach the flames or you'll take damage.
- Destroy all Union cannons in the area
There are a total of six cannons in the level, one on top of the front kill and five on top of the back hill. You can usually destroy the cannons with one grenade, but sometimes it takes two grenades. The problem is you'll only have 7 grenades to do the job (since you used one up to blow the house). Save before you start destroying the cannons, and reload if you run out of grenades before running out of cannons. Since you can only carry 5 grenades at a time, you'll need to go back to the house and get more halfway through the job.
Once you've accomplished all the objectives, return to the spot where you started the level to end the level.
The mission begins with you in the middle of a full scale battle, as you and several other Confederate troops rush ahead to face a line of several Union riflemen in the middle of an open field under heavy artillery fire. Don't worry about the cannonball explosions, they're harmless to you. Unfortunately, the Union riflemen can do serious damage to you, and since you're in the middle of an open field there's nowhere to take cover. To make matters worse, every time a Union soldier dies, one will immedietely spawn at one of two spawn points on the left and right sides of the battlefield. Additionally, the Union troops will concentrate their attacks on you and mostly ignore your Confederate allies. This is one of the toughest moments in the game.
The battlefield is littered with ammo boxes containing pistol ammo, and in the center near the Union line is a single plate of armor. There's also a health kit on the left side of the battlefield and an armor plate and health kit on the right side, but they're right next to the enemy spawn points and thus extremely dangerous to go after.
Two tactics here will increase your odds of survive. First, always keep moving, it will be harder for the Union soldiers to hit a moving target. Secondly, stay in the middle of the group of Confederate soldiers, using them as human shields. The Union soldiers will tend to aim for you, but your Confederate buddies can end up taking shots meant for you if you keep them between you and the Union troops. Be sure to kill any Union soldiers that get near you, as they will have the easiest time hitting you.
You'll only be able to progress forward after killing a certain number of Union troops. You must make the kills, deaths caused by your allies won't count. If you try to run past the battlefield before being ordered to, you'll immediately fail the mission.
Once you've killed enough Union soldiers (the entire starting lineup as well as 3 or 4 of the troops that respawn at the sides) you'll receive orders to move forward and take out the cannon battery. This is the cue that tells you its safe to leave the battlefield (I suggest you save as soon as this happens, or else you'll have to do it all over again if you get killed advancing across the battlefield). Run forward to the cannon battery ahead, zig-zagging to avoid the many pot-shots the Union troops will take at your retreating backside. Try to make your way to the right-most (Eastern) part of the cannon battery, there's a pile of scoped muskets there with an armor plate and health kit next to it (which you'll probably be needing).
- Take out the nearby cannon battery
For now, ignore the rear cannon battery at the very Northern part of the map. It's no threat to you. Your task is to take out the nearby cannon battery in the middle of the map. There's no need for you to destroy the actual cannons, all you need to do is kill all the Union soldiers manning the cannons. Make your way from the right (East) end of the cannon battery to the left (West) end, killing the soldiers as you go (I recommend the pistol or regular musket. You can use one or two of the scoped muskets, but you MUST save the majority of them because you'll need them for the next objectives). Duck behind the cannons as you advance to reduce your risk of getting shot. Kill the sword-wielding officers last, they're immobile and no threat to you. There's a health kit and armor plate behind a pair of ammo wagons on the left (Western) side of the cannon battery if you get injured.
- Destroy the cannon ammo
A box containing Ketchum grenades can be found just in front of the right-most (Eastern) cannon in the battery. Use these grenades to blow up the pile of cannonballs that are sitting right next to each cannon. One grenade per pile should do the trick.
- Take out the rear cannons
If you approach the rear cannons, you'll automatically be killed by an explosion about half-way across the field that separates the two cannon batteries. Instead, you need to snipe the large powderkegs that are conveniently located right next to the cannons. The best vantage-point to do this is near the pile of scoped muskets. The powderkegs are near enough so that you can actually snipe several of them with your pistol, conserving the scoped muskets. However, a couple of the kegs in the Northwest corner of the map are too far away and need to be sniped using the scoped muskets. Once you blow up all the kegs, you'll accomplish this mission objective.
While you're doing all this, be sure not to stand right NEXT to the scoped musket pile. Occasionally a cannonball will land right on top of the pile, which will kill you if you're standing there.
- Pick off the troops advancing from the rear
Look to the South, back to the battlefield where you originally started the level. Your Confederate buddies will have been overwhelmed by the constantly respawning Union troops by now, and the battlefield should be crawling with Union soldiers. Don't worry, you don't need to go back there or kill any of them. I'm just mentioning them because on my first play-through I mistakenly thought that they were the rear-guard I was supposed to kill. They're not. The Union Captain isn't with them either.
At the very Northern point of the map, behind the middle cannons in the rear cannon battery, you should see a cluster of several Union soldiers just standing around. This is the rear-guard, and you need to kill them. Use the scoped muskets. It's ok to move forward a little bit to make hitting them easier, just be sure not to get too close to the rear cannons or else you'll be blown up. Due to the range, they can be difficult to hit, but if you've been conserving scoped muskets you should have enough to get the job done.
Just like when you were sniping the powderkegs, be sure not to stand right next to the scoped musket pile unless you want to be blown up by the occasional cannonball.
- Retreat, defeat the Union Captain and retrieve his orders
Once all of the rear-guard troops have been killed, look to the left- most end of the near cannon battery (to the West) and you should see a lone Union soldier standing out in the open. This is the Union captain, and he only appears after the other objectives have been accomplished. He's a bit tougher than a regular soldier, two sniper shots to the head should work if you still have scoped muskets left, otherwise you'll have to engage him with your pistol. He'll drop a letter next to his body when killed, you need to pick this up.
Past the Union Captain should be an open field free of enemy soldiers. Look to the Southwest corner of the map, and you should see a path between two big trees. This is the exit from the level.
The mission starts with you and 2 lines of Confederate riflemen behind a wooden barricade, and Union soldiers will emerge from the woods in front of you and attack. Conveniently, you're standing on a health kit, a large box of pistol ammo, and a big pile of armor plates, allowing you to easily refill your ammo and armor as the fight goes on. Unfortunately, the Confederate soldiers behind you don't seem to appreciate the concept of friendly fire, and will often shoot you in the back of the head if you stay in formation. You need to back up a little so that you're behind the Confederate troops, but if you back up too much you'll automatically fail the mission because you didn't stay in the line. Try to back up such that you're standing on top of the ammo box, this should get you mostly out of your allies' line of fire while still being within the acceptable zone of movement. To further reduce getting shot by your own guys, stay crouched. From this position, use your pistol to kill the Union troops as they appear, being sure to reload and refill your armor as needed. At first the Union soldiers will only attack in ones and twos, but they'll show up in larger groups as the battle progresses. Your allies should do most of the work for you, and you should concentrate on killing the Union troops that try to attack you personally. Unlike the Bull Run battle, it doesn't matter how many troops you personally kill, the mission objective will be completed after a certain number have died.
After a couple of minutes of fighting, you'll be order to retreat backwards into the woods. Do so IMMEDIETELY, stopping only to quickly grab armor and ammo if you need any. As soon as the order is given, a very large force of Union troops will emerge in front of you, and the Union will begin bombarding the Confederate line with cannon fire. This will kill you quickly if you try to stick around and help your Confederate allies. Don't worry, they'll usually be able to kill off the Union force without you. South of the Confederate line should be a health kit and a box of pistol ammo, consider this your starting point and use it to orient yourself.
- Retreat and help groups pinned down in the woods - Retreat and help groups pinned down in the woods - Retreat and help groups pinned down in the woods - Retreat and help groups pinned down in the woods
There are four groups of Confederate soldiers within the woods, each of these groups will be attacked by a few Union soldiers when you approach them. Kill all the Union soldiers attacking a Confederate group to achieve the mission objective for that group. The groups are located approximately in the very Northwest, Northeast, Eastern, and Southwest parts of the woods. Ammo, health, and armor can be found scattered in the woods, usually near a Confederate group.
- Defeat the Union Captain and retrieve his orders
The Union captain is hidden in a cluster of trees near the center of the map. He should be visible through the trees near a box of pistol ammo in the middle of the map, Northeast of the Southwestern Confederate group. Search carefully nearby and you should be able to find an opening in the trees that will allow you to get near him. Shoot him 3 times in the head with your pistol to kill him, and pick up the letter he drops.
- Retreat to the Confederate stronghold
The Confederate stronghold is in a clearing in the Southeastern corner of the map, and consists of several Confederate soldiers behind a stone barricade, and a Confederate cannon crew behind them. You need to approach the stronghold from the barricade end, and not the cannon end. If you approach the cannon end you'll fail the mission because you won't be able to reach the barricade before the battle begins, and the game will accuse you of breaking formation.
Anyway, to trigger the mission objective, you need to run between the two trees that are just in front of the empty stone barricade (the one that's several yards in front of the stone barricade the soldiers are standing behind). If you run around the trees instead of between them, the mission objective won't be accomplished. As soon as you approach the 2nd barricade the big fight will start. Take your position behind the barricade alongside the other Confederate troops.
- Hold back the Union attack for supporting cannons
This fight is similar to the one at the beginning of the level. You'll be standing in the center of 2 lines of Confederate riflemen. Nearby you'll find two boxes of pistol ammo, two health kits, several steel armor plates, and a pile of muskets. Union soldiers will emerge from the woods in front of you and attack your formation. Use the muskets and your pistol to kill them. As before, back up a little so that you're not standing directly in front of your Confederate allies (so they won't shoot you in the back). If the Union troops seem to be stuck in the woods outside shooting range, move forward until you're right up against the barricade. This should cause them to move towards you.
After several Union troops have been killed, you'll accomplish the objective. The Confederate cannons will begin bombarding the advancing Union soldiers, and if you're lucky you might see a few get blown into the sky. After a few more Union troops die, the Union will begin to attack en-mass, and you'll receive orders to charge the Union line.
- Fallback, then press final attack
As soon as the orders are given, your Confederate allies will all charge over the barricade at the Union soldiers. Additionally, further Confederate reinforcements will begin to appear from behind you. Instead of following your allies, you're better off staying behind the barricade where the health, armor, and ammo pickups are within easy reach. At this point in the fight there are two dangers to you: 1) the Union troops will charge you in force, and a few may make it over the barricade and get into position to shoot you at point-blank range, and 2) the Confederate reinforcements coming up behind you will tend to shoot you in the back. To survive, be sure to quickly kill any Union troops that get near you with headshots, and move of to the side a little to the right to get out of the way of the Confederate line of fire.
After most of the Union troops have died, you'll accomplish the mission objective. You can either stick around and help finish off the remaining Union troops, or you can exit the level by turning around and running up the slope just behind the Confederate cannon battery.
NOTE: Your health, armor, ammo, and inventory will carry over into the next mission, even though you'll be playing a different character. Try to exit the level with full health, ammo, armor, and a musket and bowie knives. This is the only time in the game this happens.
******************************************************************************* THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG: *******************************************************************************
Fredericksburg:
Mission Objectives:
- Get to the shore
You begin the level in the river, accompanied by a squad of 5 Union troops. The river ahead of you splits into two canyons. The canyon on the left contains a single Confederate soldier, and a box of pistol ammo on the left bank. The canyon on the right contains a box of 5 grenades near a smashed rowboat. Both canyons join at the beach that leads up to the Confederate barricade. The left canyon also contains a generous share of armor plates sitting on the left bank, near the various crashed rowboats.
I recommend ignoring the right canyon, as you really don't need the grenades. Run down the left canyon, taking out the two Confederate snipers above you on the hills to the left with your pistol. A third Confederate sniper is on the left hill just above the pistol ammo box, and the slope near the box is actually low enough for you to run up the hill and shoot the sniper. When you kill the Confederate soldier who's actually in the river with you, be sure to scoop up his scoped musket.
To accomplish the "get to the shore" objective, you need to run up the shore in front of the Confederate barricade.
- Secure the river bank
To achieve this objective, you need to kill all the Confederate snipers who are stationed behind the stone barricade.
To defeat the Confederate snipers camping behind the barricade, use the wrecked rowboat on the shore's slope as cover. Lean from around it, and shoot the snipers in the head with your pistol. If you're still taking fire even though you're behind the rowboat, check the left hill to see if any snipers are firing at you from there.
Alternatively, you can rush the barricade and pelt the soldiers behind it with grenades from the right river canyon. This is usually less successful, however, since you'll be exposing yourself to much more enemy fire.
Once you reach the shore, you can pretty much forget about your Union buddies. They almost never follow you up, and tend to stay in the river for the rest of the mission.
- Retrieve the grenades
Behind the Confederate barricade is an ammo box containing 5 grenades. You need to pick up ALL 5 grenades from this specific box to accomplish the mission objective. If you're holding grenades from another ammo box, you'll need to throw some away so that you can pick up all 5 grenades from this box.
- Move up the hill
You'll face heavy sniper opposition once you reach the barricade. On the left side of the map is a line of boulders running from South to North, and stationed along it at regular intervals are Confederate snipers. Several Confederate snipers are also stationed along the hill itself and will attack you as you attempt to climb it.
Take the scoped muskets off the bodies of the Confederate soldiers who were behind the barricade, and use them to pick off the snipers to your left near the boulder line. You need to act quickly here, because a) there isn't any good cover, so you'll be exposed, and b) you need to use the muskets before the bodies carrying them disappear. There are a few armor plates behind the barricade if you take any damage while doing this.
Once you use up all the dead soldiers' scoped muskets, run over to the boulder line and start using scoped muskets off the bodies of the soldiers you just killed. Take out as many snipers as you can, both further up the boulder line as well as up the central hill path. Once you've cleared as much of the area as possible, go back to the barricade and run up the hill. Armor and health pick-ups can be found behind the various boulders as you make your way up the hill. Once you get far enough up the hill, you'll accomplish the objective.
- Overrun Confederate perimeter positions
At the top of the hill are two piles of scoped muskets, each one behind a large boulder (these boulders also contain one armor plate and one health kit each). Take cover behind these boulders, and use the scoped muskets to take out the Confederate perimeter snipers. These are not the snipers in the balconies of the town houses, but rather the snipers behind the two barricades just in front of the top of the hill (one in front of the cannon battery, and one in front of a large stone house that serves as the Confederate garrison). Use the scoped muskets in front of the left boulder to take out the barricade snipers in front of the cannon battery, and the scoped muskets in front of the right boulder to take out the barricade snipers in front of the garrison. Only when all the perimeter snipers are dead will you accomplish the objective. Be sure to kill them all, to reduce the chances you'll get shot once you move onto killing the balcony snipers.
NOTE: If you're getting shot even after taking cover behind the boulders, check the left side of the map (the boulder line) to see if there are any remaining snipers there shooting at you.
Now comes the really hard part. Once all the perimeter snipers have been dealt with, you'll still have to deal with all the rear snipers on the town balconies. They're at such a range that your scoped musket shots won't always hit them, but you can improve the odds by running partially up the hill to get closer. Don't run all the way up the hill, or else they'll all begin shooting you and you'll die quickly. Stop near the top, and take your shot. Aim at the neck to improve your odds of scoring a hit.
Unfortunately, after killing the perimeter snipers you'll only have at most about 5 or 6 scoped muskets left, and there are more than a dozen rear snipers in the balconies. Since you don't have enough muskets to kill them all, you should concentrate on thinning their ranks. If there are two snipers next to each other on the same balcony, kill one of them. When you're done, the remaining snipers should be as far apart from each other as possible. This will make the remaining combat easier.
Once you're down to just one scoped musket, pick it up and retreat back down the hill. Keep running until the snipers no longer shoot at you, and be sure to move quickly to avoid getting hit. When you're in the clear, make your way to the very leftmost (Western) edge of the map, past the boulder line (go back to the river and pick up more pistol ammo if you need it).
Here's what you need to do. Once you've reach the Northwestern corner of the map, approach the town from the very left side and move down it from left (West) to right (East). As you go down, use the buildings and trees as cover and kill the remaining building snipers with your pistol. This is very tough, since they'll have the advantage due to their higher positions and superior weapons, but you can manage it. If you run low on armor or ammo, you can either retreat back down the hill to restock, or if you're feeling daring you can run to the cannon batteries. There are two armor plates and a box of pistol ammo just behind the cannons. The Infantry Officers barely do any damage and you can run right past them, but you'll also be in the line of fire of several of the snipers.
- Destroy Confederate cannons
Once all the building snipers have finally been taken care of, you can turn your attention to the 5 Infantry officers manning the cannons. As usual, they won't move and can't hit you with their swords unless you walk right up to them. Drop them with 2 headshots each, picking up more ammo from the ammo box next to the cannons if you run low. Once all of the officers are dead, you can begin blowing up the 5 cannons with grenades. It takes 2 or 3 grenades per cannons to do the job. If you need more grenades, you can find some in a box next to the garrison building, just left of the door. If you still need more grenades, there's a box of them behind a rock immediately to the left (west) of the left-most scoped-musket-pile rock.
- Defeat the last Confederate garrison
The garrison building is divided into four rooms, the entry room contains a box of pistol ammo and a steel armor plate, and the other three rooms contain one Union soldier each. Kill all three Union soldiers to accomplish the objective. BE SURE to do a complete search of each soldier's body, because one of them is carrying a key you will need (it's the soldier in the Northeastern room). This is important, the first time I played the level I didn't search the bodies, which eventually disappeared, making it impossible for me to accomplish the final objective.
- Pillage the Confederate Treasury
In the Southeastern room of the garrison building (right of the entryway) is a steel door that only opens if you're carrying the key. Inside is a small closet containing a grey box, this is the Confederate treasury. Pick up the box to accomplish the final objective.
When you're done with all your objectives, go to the Northeastern corner of the map (the right-most part of the town) to finish the level.
******************************************************************************* THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE: *******************************************************************************
Silent Approach:
Mission Objectives:
- Find the knives
As soon as you start the level (solo, without backup), you should see about four trees in front of you to the West. Behind one of the trees is an ammo box containing 2 bowie knives. Pick up the knives to accomplish the objective.
NOTE: There are NO health, armor or ammo pickups in this level, so all you'll have is what you start out with. There aren't many enemy soldiers patrolling this level (less than ten), but they'll all come running towards you if they hear gunfire. Because of this, it's best to try to silently kill as many as you can one by one before starting a big fight with the rest. Once the shooting does start, use some trees or rocks as cover. Every enemy in this level carries some pistol ammo with them if you do a complete search of their bodies, and you can use the muskets and scoped muskets you pick up from defeated enemies to kill the rest of them.
- Disrupt Union communication scout
There are 3 Union signaling towers in this level. They're easy to spot, being large wooden boxes perched on top of trees and emitting a bright signaling light. Each signaling tower is manned by a Union scout who stands on top of it. Killing the scouts at all 3 of the towers will accomplish the objective. Try to maneuver behind the scouts and take them out with a thrown bowie knife to the back. When killed, the scouts will drop to the ground and you'll be able to retrieve the knife from their corpse. The towers are located near the Northwest, Northeast, and Southern tips of the map. Be sure to do a complete search of the bodies of all of the scouts, because...
- Find and retrieve Morse code message
Be sure to do a complete search of each communication scout's body after you kill them, because one of them is carrying a Morse code message. From my experience, it's always the scout in the Northwest signaling tower.
- identify location of artillery batteries
There are three hidden cannons in this level. One's behind a large boulder near the Northern tip of the map (within sight of where you start the level, just forward and to the left). One's behind a pile of logs and next to a wagon in the Southeastern part of the map. One's behind a pile of boulders along the Western part of the map. When you get close enough to each cannon, you'll receive a message that you've found a hidden artillery battery. When you've found all three cannons, you'll be able to talk to the telegrapher. You won't accomplish this objective until you actually find and talk to the telegrapher.
- Get the gunner's fuses
Near the Southern tip of the map is a wooden barricade flanked by a pair of cannons, and (if you haven't alerted them) guarded by three Union riflemen. Sitting next to this barricade is a small paper package, these are the gunner's fuses (check the Historical Background menu to see what they look like). Pick up the package to accomplish this mission. You'll have to get in a shootout with the three guards to get the package, there's no way to kill one of them silently without alerting the other two.
- Find the telegrapher and send back intelligence data
Behind the signaling tower at the Southern tip of the map, there's a suspicious-looking ring of bushes. Behind these bushes is the Confederate telegrapher. Go behind the bushes after you've located the cannon batteries, and you accomplish both this objective and the objective that tells you to identify the location of the artillery batteries.
NOTE: The Confederate telegrapher is unarmed, and if anywhere in the level the enemy soldiers are alerted to your presence by gunfire, they'll usually find him and kill him. This is OK, you'll still accomplish the mission objectives by going behind the bushes, even if the telegrapher himself is dead.
In the Southwestern corner of the map are a bunch of brown poles (I think they're supposed to be dead trees) and a Confederate scout. This is the exit to the level. Go here when you've finished with you mission objectives. This Confederate scout is NOT the telegrapher, so don't try to give the intelligence to him or else you'll finish the level prematurely without accomplishing the two telegrapher objectives.
NOTE: I have absolutely no idea how to achieve this objective. The game tells you to kill the 3 soldiers in the creek silently and make it to enemy camp without alerting the snipers, but this just doesn't seem possible. Even if I killed the scouts in the creek using only the knives and sword, and even if I hid the bodies like the hint screen told me to, I always got spotted by the first sniper before I could make it to the enemy camp.
Anyway, you'll begin the level solo in the Western end of a dried-out creek bed. The creek zig-zags Eastward, and you'll follow it all the way to the end of the level. Stick to the bed and don't take the paths that run up into the hills, or else you'll end up in the line of fire of the two Union snipers.
When the level begins, you'll notice the creek path in front of you to the left and a bunch of brown boulders in front of you to the right. First, look behind the boulders to find an ammo box with some bowie knives inside. Then, take the creek path on the left. You eventually come up behind a Union rifleman with his back to you. Take him out by either throwing a bowie knife at his back or whacking him in the head with your sword (one hit from either will kill him). Continue following the creek, and you'll soon receive orders to fight the Union soldier.
- Defeat the Union soldier
Up ahead you'll see a Union Infantry Officer armed with a sword, with his back towards you. You can kill him with a single bowie knife to the back of the head, but if you miss and hit his body he'll only be slightly injured (not to mention alerted to your presence). If you run out of knives, you'll have to duel him with your own sword. This officer is slightly smarter than the ones you saw before, he's not immobile and can roll and sidestep left and right as he fights you. Still, he should be easy enough to kill. You'll accomplish the objective as soon as he dies, and you'll be ordered to use your knife and steal the Union body armor.
NOTE: If you don't care about stealth (and I don't since I can't seem to accomplish the stealth objective no matter what) you can simply kill this guy with headshots from your pistol. He's carrying some pistol ammo on his body if you do a complete search.
- Steal the Union body armor
Up ahead, the creek curves to the right. Down this path is another Union rifleman, again with his back towards you. Like the Infantry Officer, he can be killed by a single knife to the back of the head, but if you hit his body he'll only be somewhat injured. If he notices you, you'll have to finish him with your pistol, since your knives won't be enough to kill him and it's tough to fight a guy with a gun using only your sword.
Before you reach the aforementioned Union soldier, you should see a pile of logs next to a fallen tree branch. The Union armor is hidden behind these logs, pick it up to accomplish this objective. If your armor is still full, you can leave it there and pick it up later after fighting the 2 snipers and 2 soldiers at the Union camp.
NOTE: Once you reach the aforementioned Union soldier, you'll be within sight of the first Union sniper, who's camped out in a tree.
- Take out the Union soldiers - Quickly take out the Union snipers and charge into the camp
Up ahead is the Union camp. There are two paths you can take, the left path goes through the creek bed and the right path goes through the hills. If you take the left path, you'll be in the line of fire of the Union snipers in the trees, but will be able to sneak up on the 2 soldiers in the camp from behind and take them by surprise. If you take the right path the hills will obscure you from the snipers' line of sight, but when you emerge you'll be in front of the 2 soldiers, and they'll spot you and begin shooting.
Here's what I usually do. As soon as you kill the Union soldier that's near the armor, run up the hill to the left, using the hill and the tree to stay out of the sniper's line of fire. When you near the top of the hill, you should be close enough to the first sniper to kill him with your pistol. Run forward a little until the second sniper is within view. He should be close enough for you to kill him with a shot from the musket you picked off the dead Union soldiers in the creek. After killing the 2 snipers, the 2 soldiers in the camp should still be unaware of your presence. Come up behind them, and kill them with your pistol while using the tree directly behind them as cover. These two soldiers are pretty tough and take 3 headshots from the pistol to kill. Fortunately, they're also pretty dumb, and you can shoot at one and the other will be blissfully unaware until you shoot him too.
Past the Union camp is a slope that leads to the edge of the map. On the slope, directly behind the Union camp, should be a fallen log. The exit to the level is just above the left side of the fallen log, run around there and you should eventually find it.
- Stop the soldiers from fleeing, arming and resisting (???)
NOTE: I can't seem to achieve this objective either. Even if I kill all of the Union soldiers and prevent any of them from getting to the weapons cache, this objective remains incomplete.
As the level begins you'll see the Union camp in front of you, and a small squad of Confederate troops behind you. About a dozen unarmed Union soldiers are sitting in front of a big stone chimney. When they see you, they'll all run off and try to get to a weapons cache ahead of you on the far left (North) side of the camp. If they reach this cache, they'll arm themselves with rifles and come after you. Additionally, a small squad of Union soldiers is already armed, behind a wood barricade just past the chimney, and will attack you as soon as the commotion starts. There are two things you can do here. First, you use the chimney as cover and pick off the Union soldiers with your pistol as they come to attack you (there's a box of pistol ammo conveniently situated there).
Secondly, you can run to the weapons cache yourself, sticking to the far left side of the map to avoid the Union riflemen. Shoot any unarmed Union soldiers ahead of you. Once you reach the cache, all the unarmed Union soldiers should try to approach it from the South. Just stand between them and the weapons cache and point your pistol directly at them, and they'll cower in fear instead of running forward. Use this opportunity to pick them off with headshots from your pistol. While you're doing this, your Confederate allies should be engaging the Union riflemen line. As soon as you're done mowing down the unarmed soldiers, go and help your teammates finish off the Union line. A couple unarmed Union soldiers will still be hanging around, but they won't move at all and will simply cower in one spot until you shoot them.
- Take out the firing lines
You'll be rewarded with this objective as soon as all 5 Union soldiers in the forward line are dead. In the unlikely event you've lost health, there's a health kit on the right (South) side of the camp among the ammunition crates that form the forward barricade. There's also pistol ammo in a box on the left (North) side of the barricade. Slightly forward (East) of the weapons cache is a large stack of ammunition supplies, among which you can find an ammo box containing a single Ketchum grenade.
You now need to engage the Union riflemen inside the camp itself. Use the tents for cover and pick them off with your pistol and the muskets you get off their dead bodies. Take out all the Union soldiers in the first couple of tent rows first, don't advance forward until you're ready for the next objective.
If you need armor, there's an armor plate behind a pile of boxes in the center of the camp's tent rows.
- Stop the wagons from escaping
As soon as you move past the second row of tents, off in the distance you'll see a horse-drawn wagon running from the left (North) side of the map to the right (South) side. If it manages to go all the way to the right side of the map and escape, you'll fail the objective (you won't lose the game, but you won't be rewarded with the objective). To stop the wagons, simply run forward (East) quickly. Before you reach the last row of tents, you'll be told the wagons have been stopped and be rewarded with the objective. Be sure to retreat a little as soon as you complete the objective, or else you'll attract the attention of a large group of Union soldiers standing just ahead.
- Secure the supply lines
Forward (East) past the tents is an open area with some tables and a couple of wagons. Standing in the middle of this open area is a group of several Union riflemen armed with scoped muskets. Using the tents as cover, lean out and shoot these guys with muskets and your pistol. Once all of the Union soldiers in this group are dead, you'll complete the objective.
The two stationary wagons at the far end of the camp contain supplies if you need any, the left wagon has an armor plate in the driver seat and some pistol ammo and bowie knives in the back. The right wagon has a health kit in the back.
- Check camp for stragglers (???)
Again, I have no idea how to accomplish this mission objective. After you kill the group of Union soldiers guarding the supply lines, several more Union soldiers will respawn back at the camp. There are a couple among the tents in the Northwest corner of the camp, a couple near the weapons cache, and a couple in the middle of the camp. I killed them all, but still couldn't receive this objective.
Anyway, when you're done with the level approach the Southeast corner of the map (the far right end where all the wagons were running to) to end the level.
You begin the level on a narrow dirt road that runs along the left (North) side of the camp, accompanied by a squad of Confederate riflemen. Ahead of you on the road you should see a line of four Union riflemen armed with muskets. To your right (South) in front of you is a small group of tents within which you can find a health kit, armor plate, and box of pistol ammo. Take cover within the tents and take out the Union soldiers from their. Your men will assist with the first line, but don't be too reliant on them because they sometimes stay where they are instead of following you into the first clearing. Anyway, follow the dirt road past the line of trees to reach the first clearing.
- Take out Union communications
On the right (South) side of the first clearing is a very large tent guarded by a few Union soldiers. Inside the tent, besides some ammo and a health kit, you should see two wooden boxes that give off an extremely, painfully bright glow. These are the Union communications devices. Smash them both (any weapon works) to accomplish the objective (oddly enough, the painfully bright glow remains even after you destroy the equipment).
- Secure intelligence papers
On the left (North) side of the first clearing are a group of four long tents, two of which are big enough to enter. On a table in the South- eastern tent is a plate of armor and a note. Pick up the note to accomplish the objective. This tent also contains a couple Union soldiers, and more soldiers will spawn nearby and attack you as soon as you pick up the note, so prepare for a fight. You can also find some grenades in a box under the table if you need any.
- Stop soldiers from fleeing, arming and resisting
Continue following the dirt road on the left (North) past the row of trees that separate the first clearing from the second clearing. In the second clearing, in the distance ahead of you on the dirt road, you should see a Union rifleman kneeling in the middle of the road. Snipe this guy to achieve the objective.
- Find and free Confederate P.O.W.'s
In the far right (Southeast) corner of the second clearing is a series of tents, the furthest of which is large enough to enter. This tent is guarded by a few Union troops, and inside are three unarmed Confederate soldiers sitting around in chairs. Kill all the Union troops and the Confederates will run for it, and you'll accomplish the objective.
- Dismantle cannon armory
At the eastern end of the second clearing is the cannon battery, guarded by several Union snipers. To complete the objective, destroy the cannons with grenades until you receive a message telling you that you're done. You don't need to destroy all the cannons, just enough to trigger the success message. Be careful, though, because the cannon area is being bombarded by cannon blasts from your own side, and you may take damage if you get caught by a stray explosion. Grenades to destroy the cannons can be found in the ammunition stockpiles (large wooden barricades) that are at the center of each of the two clearings.
- Clear camp area of all stragglers (???)
Again, I can't figure out how to accomplish this final objective. I killed everyone I could find, and still wasn't rewarded. Anyway, even without accomplishing this objective, you can still finish the level. The exit is the big opening at the end of the left dirt road, in the Northeastern corner of the map.
Mission Objectives: - Eliminate Union firing lines
The Wilderness is a winding path through the forest that curves and zig-zags. The path is relatively narrow and straightforward.
You begin the mission accompanied by a squad of 5 Confederate riflemen. Just ahead of you is the first Union firing line, consisting of 5 Union troops armed with muskets. Also ahead of you is a crashed wagon which you can take cover behind, and near which you can find a health kit, an armor plate, and a box of pistol ammo.
As you engage the first Union firing line, a few of them may run off and attempt to hide in the woods to the left of the road. This area is a small clearing inside the woods, and the surviving Union soldiers will attempt to hide in the darkness near the back. Hunt them down and kill them. Be sure you kill all 5 Union soldiers. Don't rely on your Confederate allies, even though they chase the fleeing Union troops into the woods, they often fail to find them in the dark.
Past the first Union firing line is a cart filled with ammo crates, behind which you'll find a box of ammo. Also past the first Union firing line is another section of road, at the end of which you'll find the second Union firing line (armed with scoped muskets), as well as another smashed wagon with health, armor, and ammo next to it.
A few members of the second Union firing line will probably approach you during the fight with the first firing line to see what all the commotion is all about. They'll retreat back to the second firing line as soon as you start shooting them. Kill them all. The members of the second firing line don't seem to try and hide, but you should make sure you kill all 5 of them anyway.
Past the second firing line is a short section of road, to the left of which is a stone barricade and a small grass field. Do NOT go straight down the road, instead go around it through the grass field. If you were to go straight down the road, you'd be blown up by a cannonball blast.
Anyway, continue following the road, and you should eventually see a long stone wall to your right with some pistol ammo next to it. At the end of the stone wall is the third and final Union firing line. As usual, there are 5 of them, and like the second firing line they're armed with scoped muskets. Most will charge right at you, but some may somehow manage to get into a sniping perch in the branches of the nearby trees. If you see a Union soldier suddenly vanish from the road, look up at the tree he was standing next to. They can be hard to see in the dark, but your crosshair should give them away. Once you kill all 5 soldiers, you'll achieve the objective (you won't receive a message, but a chime will play and it will be marked on your mission menu). If you aren't given the objective, it means you didn't kill all 15 Union firing line soldiers.
Just before you reach the third Union firing line, there's a clearing to the left of the road with some health and armor behind a tree if you need it.
Moving past the third Union firing line, look to your left off the road. You should see a clearing through the woods that turns into a hill sloping upwards. Make a note of this location, you'll be coming back later. For now, continue down the main road.
- Repluse the ambush (yes, that's how they spelled it)
Past the 3rd and final Union firing line, keep following the winding road and you should eventually see a pair of Union riflemen off in the distance, next to a cart filled with ammo crates. If you look closely, you should see that the trees to the right of the cart are extremely thin (like the bars of a grate), and behind them a large ground of Union troops is clearly visible. These guys will open fire on you as soon as you step into their line of sight. To deal with them, use one of the real trees as cover, and lean out and shoot them through the gaps in the ambush grate. Once you've killed several of them, you'll accomplish the objective. Go ahead and kill the rest of the so they won't shoot you when you walk past.
Next to the ammo cart is a box containing a single Ketchum grenade. I have absolutely no idea what it's for, but it's there.
Anyway, if you want, you can continue following the road. It terminates at the base of a slope that leads upward to a wall of trees that form the edge of the map. Continue going forward and you'll end the level and beat the game. However, there's one more task that you can perform, if you want to get some real closure in the game. Turn around and head back to the spot I told you about earlier, the clearing ahead and to the left of where you fought the 3rd Union firing line.
- Find and capture the Union hiding place
The clearing is an upward sloping hill, at the top of which is a cleverly concealed cabin not visible from the main road. This house is guarded by several Union troops, and is the site of the final fight. Massacre the Union troops guarding the house however you see fit, finishing off the final trooper in the cabin's entryway to accomplish the objective. Then enter the cabin for the climactic endgame.
- Help your friend William Russell
In the back room of the cabin, you'll find a health kit, an armor plate, an ammo box containing many bowie knives, two doors that apparently cannot be opened, and a dead Union officer facedown on the floor. "It's William!" the game will exclaim, telling you the fate of the poor schmo who you played way back in Fredericksburg and whose friendly letters you've been receiving throughout the entire game. Search his body to find one last letter and get a clue as to the nature of your final objective.
As soon as you read the letter, a count-down will start on the screen, giving you 2 minutes to accomplish your final task, to locate William Russell's field chest and deliver it to his widow and their newborn son.
Unfortunately, I was never able to locate old Will's field chest, which made finishing this objective, the game's climactic task, a complete wash.
However, Gabriel Casey writes that:
I noticed on your faq that you said you couldnt find williams chest. All you have to do is go in the direction that the ambush was and stay on that road. Right up towards the exit to the left right off the road there will be a chest that looks just like one of the ammo boxes, but its williams chest. Hope this helps.
And indeed, the field chest is where he says it is. Past the ambush and before the exit, the dirt road makes a little S shaped curve. The field chest is a small metal box lying on the ground at the very tip of the bump in the curve. It's on the left of the road, at the point where the grass meets the bare dirt road.
By startling coincidence, the field chest also seems to double as General Howard's treasury as well as General Howard's intelligence officer (or at least that's what the game tells you. Must be one heck of a field chest.)
Anyway, pick the chest up to accomplish the game's final objective. You won't get anything special other than the warm fuzzy feeling obsessive-complusives like me get from finishing everything there is to finish, but hey that's better than nothing.
NOTE: You actually don't have to wait until after finding William's body to pick up the field chest. In fact, you can do it at any point in the mission. The countdown also doesn't seem to do anything either, as the chest will still be there even after time runs out.
In any case, head to the end of the dirth road once all your objectives have been accomplished to end the game. Enjoy the ending. Well, actually, there is no ending. Nothing. Nada. Even Medal of Honor: Allied Assault had a five second cutscene of stuff blowing up. Oh well. At least you've beaten the game.
NOTE: Beating the game lets you play any mission from the beginning. However, you'll start with 0 skill points and no skills. So if you want to keep those hard-earned skill points and helpful skills you pick up as you play the game, I suggest you save at the beginning of each level on your first play-through, and load from those.