"I'm giving myself a report card - this was the last turn where I have a serious resource crunch. This turn I get to issue bonds and tax and, while I'm still a bit overstretched, the end of that is in sight (you may feel the same way, of course):
I'm still in a lot of trouble in Kentucky. Grant vs Lee in the west is a bit odd for me. Against Athena, Grant gets to win a few battles and improve his stats and seniority before coming east as the most senior man in the Army and an incredible all-rounder. In the current case, I need to bring him a few more corps (which don't exist) and fight Lee where he stands. I thought I was doing better in the West than in Virginia, but now it looks like the opposite is true.
Far West is a disaster but there is some small hope: F+
Missouri is a great success with few concerns right now: B
Mississippi Valley is a stalemate with a lot of concerns: B-
Kentucky is another disaster with little hope in sight: F
West Virginia is a great success: A
Virginia is a mixed bag but generally a success: C
Atlantic Coast is a mixed bag, my naval power is a bit rough on you: C
An early attack on the Gulf Coast did not materialize in favor of a failed march on Richmond from Norfolk: F
River Navy was a mixed bag until my ironclads arrived: B-
Ocean-Coast Navy was going poorly until my ironclads arrived: B
Deepwater Navy (I have no idea how to optimize this and everything seems fine to me): B
Overall it is a solid C+. My goal in the first two years is to be active but not to lose much more (in a relative sense) than I would If I shelled, and I think I've achieved that.
You also have the potential to raid Illinois/Indiana/Ohio. You clearly had reserves in Richmond and Nashville, my hope is those are depleted and you are forced to contract soon in the West and that you are overstretched in Virginia. Here is my grades for you:
Far West is going ok, but you don't have a large force nor the supplies I have out there: B
Missouri is lost but has been a decent drain on my forces: F+
Mississippi Valley is a stalemate with a lot of concerns: C+
Kentucky is on the knife's edge, but your strategy was great: A
West Virginia is lost: F
Virginia a mixed bag but a lot of land has been lost: C-
Atlantic Coast is a mixed bag, but retaking Norfolk was a coup: B+
An early attack on the Gulf Coast did not materialize, I have no idea how much you've garrisoned, presumably not too much as you haven't drained yourself elsewhere: A
River Navy was a mixed bag until my ironclads arrived: B-
Ocean-Coast Navy was going well until my ironclads arrived: B-
Deepwater Navy (I don't think you've been particularly active or innovative): B-
Overall it is a solid B-. You haven't outperformed history, but you haven't lost any armies (no Fort Donelson). I prioritized HF, Missouri, and West Virginia early, so there wasn't much you could do. I got lucky dislodging you from Manassas, we'll see what is next there. Lee out West is gutsy, so you get points for that. And Kentucky was well done. I'm not super weak in Louisville, but I am trapped."
Let me know what grades you'd give me/us and let me know if you have any questions. I don't plan on taking advice, such as Gray Fox's very good advice about artillery divisions which I still haven't had the resources to build but will soon (I planned to build them soon in any case). Feel free to give advice if you like, though. Mostly, this is a midpoint, I think, so what are your midterm grades for me/us? BTW, I use the square brackets to write out of character, the rest attempts to be written as if it was a history, even though it is written more or less in real time. Thanks for reading!]