TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Author: Fred Ray

  • Passing of Dr. Richard Iobst

    The Civil War community here in Western NC has been saddened by the passing of Dr. Richard Iobst, a long-time member of the Western North Carolina Civil War Round Table. Although best known for his history of the Sixth North Carolina, The Bloody Sixth, he was also an authority on Will Thomas, the commander of […]

  • Lincoln in 1863-64

    At the end of the last post we looked at Lincoln at the end of 1863 and the disappointments he faced. Even though he’s got the hard-fighting (and drinking) US Grant coming in for the 1864 spring campaign, the overall situation seems as gloomy as the Washington weather. No more could be expected from the […]

  • Lincoln in 1863

    I’m taking a look at Abe Lincoln as president—not as angel or devil—in an attempt to determine what his real war policies were, especially in relation to the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren raid and toward civilians (i.e. “hard war”). It isn’t that easy, since Mistah Linkum was a consummate (and slippery) politician in his time and a revered […]

  • Short Takes

    Following up on my post about the recent Dahlgren bio, an excellent dissection on HistoryNet about the authenticity of the papers found on that officer’s body: It can be accepted then that the authenticity of the Dahlgren papers is established beyond a doubt. There is not the least scrap of credible evidence for their forgery. […]

  • Review: Like a Meteor Blazing Brightly: The Short but Controversial Life of Colonel Ulric Dahlgren

    Like a Meteor Blazing Brightly: The Short but Controversial Life of Colonel Ulric Dahlgren by Eric Wittenberg Edinborough Press, Roseville, MN ISBN-10: 1889020338 ISBN-13: 978-1889020334 August 1, 2009 Hardcover, 6×9”, 288 pages, $29.95 The Kilpatrick-Dahlgren cavalry raid, aimed at Richmond in the early months of 1864, continues to fascinate historians and provoke controversy. Although ostensibly […]

  • Short Takes

    Our local bookmeister, Dale Neal, report a new Civil War book by a local author. James Rumley’s orderly world was changed forever when Union soldiers attacked New Bern in 1862 and occupied his hometown in nearby Beaufort for the following three years. Rumley recorded his thoughts about Union occupation, secession, slave ownership and other topics […]

  • Gary Yee’s Sharpshooter Page Up

    Gary Yee finally has the web site for his sharpshooter book up and running and tells me via email that he has received books and is shipping them. I’m eagerly awaiting mine.