TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Author: Fred Ray

  • Citadel Cadets Fire on Star of the West

    Not really, although they did 150 years ago. CHARLESTON, S.C. – Gray-clad cadets from South Carolina’s historic military college fired cannons Saturday on a barren, wind-swept island on Charleston Harbor to re-enact the 150th anniversary of a key episode leading up to the Civil War. The event recalled what some consider the first shots of […]

  • Civil War Book Review: The Rashness of That Hour by Robert Wynstra

    The Rashness of That Hour: Politics, Gettysburg, and the Downfall of Confederate Brigadier General Alfred Iverson by Robert J. Wynstra 6×9, 360 pages, hardback, $32.95 32 photos, 6 maps ISBN 9781932714883 Savas Beatie, December 2010 The “banners and bugles” regimental history has fallen out of favor lately in favor of a more socially oriented narrative […]

  • Was it Really John Wilkes Booth?

    Just watched part of a History Channel show that taps into the article I posted on previously about whether it was really John Wilkes Booth who was shot by Union cavalry. I will summarize it so you won’t have to watch. The man , so ’tis said, was actually James William Boyd, a former Confederate […]

  • Short Takes

    I’ve been extremely busy with several projects which hasn’t left much time to blog, even though I have a lot of material. Thanks to co-bloggers for keeping the flame burning here at TOCWOC. Talked to an FSU history professor at a party over the holidays, a woman of about thirty. What was most interesting was […]

  • Infantry Hand Weapon Study Available

    Earlier this year I posted some excerpts from an Army study (once classified Secret) from the early sixties, “Operational Requirements for an Infantry Hand Weapon,” which was instrumental in the military’s decision to adopt the smaller caliber M-16 rifle. Other militaries did essentially the same study and came to the same conclusions, adopting reduced power […]

  • Miscellaneous Ramblings

    In spite of having a lot of Civil War related material I have been missing in action for the last few weeks or so writing an article on the battle of Fort Mahone and updating a rescue book. However, I hope to have a bit more time to blog. Some time ago I posted on […]

  • The Fate of Guerrillas and Their Sympathizers

    Guerrillas posed a major problem for Union occupiers, who resorted to harsh (but ultimately ineffective) measures to suppress them. Here is a circular letter from Maj. Gen. David “Black Dave” Hunter that was delivered to suspected sympathizers in the Shenandoah. Just how they were to refute these charges or stop guerrilla activities is unspecified. IN […]