TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Civil War Memory

  • Statues and Vandals

    A happy 4th of July weekend to everyone, and I hope you are all with family in this holiday and staying healthy. The news keeps on coming faster than I can keep up with it. The city of Richmond, I am sorry to say, has removed the statue of General Stonewall Jackson. At least it […]

  • And Then They Came For Abe Lincoln

    Protesters in Washington now want to remove the Emancipation Memorial in Lincoln Park, which they for some reason find offensive. The statue commemorates the emancipation proclamation. Yesterday they held a peaceful protest but promised to come back tomorrow (Thursday) to tear it down. Since this is on Federal property this would seem to be setting […]

  • Sad Times

    This is a post I wanted never to write. I am sorry to report that a mob has desecrated the Confederate monument at the capitol grounds in Raleigh, NC. It began as a raucous Junteenth celebration and quickly became a riot. The mob brazenly entered the capitol grounds and began attacking the monument, trying to […]

  • Civil War on the Block

    Cowan’s Auctions just completed a massive auction of Civil War items of all kinds. The catalog is fun to look through, even if you can’t afford to buy any of it. Three items I found particularly interesting were: A letter from General Lee to Virginia Senator Andrew Hunter in January 1865 about the enlistment of […]

  • National Monument to Black Soldiers, Indian Citizenship

    President Trump has designated Camp Nelson in Kentucky as a national monument to honor the black volunteers who mustered there for service in the Union army. It also illustrates the limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation. According to the National Park Service, Camp Nelson, which is located just outside Nicholasville, began as supply depot and hospital […]

  • Desecrating The Dead

    The History Vandals are at it again. When all this started I predicted that it would not stop with the Confederate generals and it gives me no pleasure to be right. This time it’s a grave marker. The city council in Madison, Wisconsin, has voted to remove a marker with the names of Confederate prisoners […]

  • Died Of A Broken Heart?

    It’s no uncommon in Civil War literature to see someone’s death ascribed to broken heart after losing or breaking up with a loved one, homesickness, or “melancholia.” There might have been more to it than we might think now. It’s not a heart attack, but so-called “broken heart syndrome” still puts patients at high risk […]