TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Best of TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

  • Thoughts on The Hard Hand of War: Union Military Policy Toward Southern Civilians, 1861-1865 by Mark Grimsley

    Mark Grimsley. The Hard Hand of War: Union Military Policy Toward Southern Civilians, 1861-1865. New York: Cambridge University Press; First Edition (November 26, 1995). 244 pp., 3 maps, notes, index. ISBN: 0-521-46257-6 $75.00 (Hardcover w/DJ). I wanted to quickly explain the price listed above. I realize $75 is a LOT of money for most of […]

  • My Top Five Most Influential Civil War Books of the Past Twenty Years

    Update: Welcome to TOCWOC for those of you who have found this page through a Google Search! TOCWOC is the place to go to find the best new Civil War Books. If you enjoy what you’re about to read below, feel free to Subscribe to TOCWOC’s RSS feed.  Be sure to check out the Civil […]

  • Review In Brief: Mine Run: A Campaign of Lost Opportunities

    Why Does Brett Review Older Books? Review In Brief: Mine Run: A Campaign Of Lost Opportunities Books on Bristoe Station & Mine Run Mine Run: A Campaign of Lost Opportunities October 21, 1863-May 1, 1864. Martin F. Graham & George Skoch. Lynchburg, VA: H.E. Howard, Inc., June 1987. 130 pp. 6 maps, including 1 large […]

  • Why did Everton Conger burn down Richard Garrett’s tobacco barn?

    Of all the stories regarding Everton J. Conger and his successful capture of John Wilkes Booth, one that has always intrigued me is why did Conger decide it was time to fire Richard Garrett’s tobacco barn after hours of making what seemed empty threats to do so? From Conger’s own testimony all we get is […]

  • The General’s Priest

    Most serious students of the Civil War may recognize the name of Fr. Jeremiah Trecy, the Catholic priest who Major-General William S. Rosecrans recruited to join the chaplin corps of the Army of the Cumberland. Trecy is more commonly referred to as “Rosecrans’s confessor” and, in truth, he personally did look after the general’s spiritual […]

  • Review: “What this Cruel War was Over”

    In the great debate of Slavery Vs. State’s rights, there is a new recruit on the field. One who immensely researched letters, diaries, and journals from soldiers on the front line to get, straight from their own mouths, what they as individuals were fighting over. Chandra Manning’s What This Cruel War was Over: Soldiers, Slavery, […]

  • New to the Civil War? What do I tell “newbies” to read?

    This is a question, that I think is a good one. And in a way its a tough one to answer. When I got started, there was a far greater emphasis on reading then there is today. And there were well less things to do. Also I sense that people in their teens don’t enjoy […]