TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Author: Fred Ray

  • Thirty Years War

    I’m going a bit afield here to look at a war most people have never heard of—the Thirty Years War. Bear with me, because I’m going to tie it in with the Civil War. Right now I’m working on reviews of several books dealing with guerilla warfare and the treatment of civilians, and as we’ll […]

  • Gary Yee’s Sharpshooter Book

    Generalissimo Gary Yee has informed me that his long-awaited book Sharpshooters (1750-1900), The Men, Their Guns, Their Story will be out shortly. Can’t tell you much more than that since the web site isn’t up yet, but it promises to be the most complete work on the subject yet. I’ve never met Gary but we’ve […]

  • Mr. Lincoln’s Forts reissue & signing

    Frank Cooling and Wally Owen’s book on the ring of forts around Washington has been reissued. At $75 for the hardback the price is steep but it’s the definitive reference work on the 68 forts that protected the capitol during the war. If you’re DC area on the evening of Nov. 14 (between 6-8pm) you […]

  • Review: The Second United States Sharpshooters in the Civil War by Gerald L. Early

    The Second United States Sharpshooters in the Civil War A History and Roster Gerald L. Earley ISBN 978-0-7864-3925-6 32 photos, 4 maps, appendix, notes, bibliography, index 253pp. hardcover (7 x 10) 2009 Price: $55.00 Gerald Early’s book on the 2nd U.S.S.S. adds yet another volume to the growing literature about Berdan’s Sharpshooters. These two regiments, […]

  • Horatio Nelson Taft Diary

    The Library of Congress continues to digitize its collection and make it available online. One of the latest is the diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, who worked in the patent office. Taft was also unusually close to the Lincolns, since their children often played together. Washington during the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson […]

  • Currency and the Press

    It starts with a fake article in a minor newspaper. The dollar drops, gold surges, and the administration panics. In the shadows someone who’s bought gold makes a bundle. Perhaps you’re thinking of a story earlier this week, when an article by Middle Eastern correspondent Robert Fisk in the British newspaper The Independent sent the […]

  • Lee-Jackson Henry

    Another beautiful repro at a charity auction—this one is a Henry in .44-40 themed with Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, artwork by Mort Kunstler. Nice if you can afford it. It’s only money.