TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Arms & Armament

  • Short Takes

    The Wall Street Journal has a very interesting article that covers several Civil War topics – primarily that the bills for a war keep coming in long after the guns go silent, but also that there are still widows from that conflict drawing pensions right here in NC, not to mention theirs was a real […]

  • The Killing of Uncle John Sedgwick – 150 years ago today

    One hundred and fifty years ago today the bloody battle of the Wilderness was over and the even bloodier battle of Spotsylvania Court House just beginning. One of those who fell this day was was the commander of the Union Sixth Corps, Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick. Here’s an article that I wrote about the incident […]

  • Sharpshooter Glasses – Or Sighting for Sore Eyes?

    Quite a number of books and articles mention sharpshooters (presumably Union & Confederate) using special glasses to gain clearer vision of their intended targets, and at any given time you can find several for sale on Ebay and other outlets, and at Civil War shows. Usually these are nickeled steel frame spectacles with orange lenses […]

  • Short Takes

    It’s Black History Month, so let’s take a look at the African-American volunteers from Connecticut. It shows the two views of black soldiery. One legislator opined that the authorizing legislation was the most disgraceful bill ever introduced into the Connecticut Legislature,” Democratic Rep. William W. Eaton of Hartford said he “would rather let loose the wild […]

  • Origins of “Sharpshooter”

    Some time ago I did a post on the origin of the word “sharpshooter” – that it came into the English language by way of the German mercenary riflemen hired by the British crown in the late 18th Century. A couple of commenters, however, took issue with that analysis and insisted that it came from […]

  • From Around the Web

    Better late than, you know…. the Pennsylvania Patriot & Union retracts an 1863 editorial panning the Gettysburg Address. Most of us would love to own a real Civil War cannon, but it’s probably still ill-advised to fire it at your neighbor, even if it’s only loaded with wadding. Dr. Howard Markel at PBS takes a […]

  • You Can See the One That Gets You!

    So they said during  the Late Unpleasantness, meaning that if you could see a cannon or Minié ball you were in trouble because it was probably the one that would take you out. So why would that be? Normally a projectile travels too fast for the eye to see, but if it’s headed straight at […]