TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Arms & Armament

  • Gun Tubes and Types for All Union Artillery at the Siege of Petersburg Now Available

    This is just a quick note to let readers know I have updated the BTC Store with new transcriptions from National Archives Microfilm M1281, Roll 1 containing the gun tubes and types carried by Union batteries at the end of the 1st Quarter (March 31, 1864) and the end of the 2nd Quarter (June 30, […]

  • Shock Troops on Kindle!

    It’s done, finally. I have had Shock Troops of the Confederacy ported over to Kindle format and it’s now ready for download at only $9.99. It’s a big download but I and my conversion guy spent considerable time seeing that everything made the transition correctly. In spite of what you may hear, it’s not a […]

  • Review: The Massachusetts Andrew Sharpshooters: A Civil War History and Roster

    The Massachusetts Andrew Sharpshooters: A Civil War History and Roster by Alden C. Ellis, Jr. Print ISBN: 978-0-7864-6489-0 Ebook ISBN: 978-0-7864-8820-9 76 photos, glossary, notes, bibliography, index 276pp. softcover (7 x 10) 2012 $40.00 Alden Ellis’ book covers the history and organization of two Massachusetts sharpshooter companies, the so-called Andrews Sharpshooters, named for the state’s […]

  • Short Video Takes

    Some videos that might interest TOCWOC readers: Watch an Australian re-enactor of the Napoleonic-era 95th Rifles fire a Baker rifle in sustained fire. He manages quite a respectable rate of fire, especially for a flintlock. It’s easy to see how the 95th established the superiority of the rifle on the skirmish line. The same lads […]

  • Was Justice Scalia wrong About Citizen Militias Having “Cannon” Under the Second Amendment?

    In a recent interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News, Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the Court’s conservative justices (and one known for his support of citizen gun rights), said: Wallace: You wrote in 2008, the opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller, the majority opinion that said the Second Amendment means what it says, […]

  • Guns of the Second Iowa & Hackleman’s Brigade

    Some time ago I put up a post asking about the rifles carried by the Second Iowa, and now I finally have an answer thanks to Bill Adams, who kindly looked it up for the Corinth battle. 52nd Illinois – Enfield Rifle .577 cal. 2nd Iowa – M1842 rifled musket .69 cal. 7th Iowa – […]

  • William Holden at Corinth

    I have posted two of Iowa soldier William Holden letters before, one at the end of the war and one from Atlanta. This one is a detailed description of the Second Battle of Corinth fought on October 3-4, 1862 at Corinth, MS between the Confederates under generals Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price, and the […]