TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Civil War Research

  • Footnotes to History

    I’ve subscribed to Footnote.com, which I’ve found to be a great resource even though it’s not cheap (tip: keep checking for sale rate). There is a wealth of Civil War primary documentation there, with more being added daily, including most of the Confederate service records. Accessing these online sure beats having to travel to Washington […]

  • An Interview With Author Jim Parrish

    UPDATE: Drew Wagenhoffer has a complimentary review of Parrish’s book on Civil War Books and Authors. John Fox, the man behind Angle Valley Press, passed along this interview with Jim Parrish, author of the recently-released Wiregrass to Appomattox, a history of the 50th Georgia. I have a copy but have not yet had a chance […]

  • Lincoln Tales and Photos

    A hidden message in Abe Lincoln’s pocket watch? Or so watchmaker Jonathan Dillon told his descendants. Truth or fable? Today they opened the watch to see… U.S. Grant’s descendant looks in great-grandpa’s photo album and finds a previously unknown photo of Lincoln in front of the White House. UPDATE: More here with a look at […]

  • How the Union Cavalry Transformed into a Viable Force

    The many problems faced by the Union cavalry before it became a viable force have long been debated. Even Winfield Scott felt that cavalry would not play a major role in the battle between the states. His feeling was that the hilly and woody terrain in the east, and the accuracy improvements in side arms and […]

  • Dominating the Skirmish Line

    I see that Brett is offering a free copy of Earl Hess’s book on the rifle musket, so it might be a good time to revisit a controversy raised therein, namely did the ANV’s sharpshooter battalions punch above their weight in Virginia? I would say they did, and base this as much as anything on […]

  • The South Carolina Regimental-Roster Set

    Many TOCWOC readers are familiar with the increasingly hard to find Virginia Regimental Histories Series published by H.E. Howard.  Broadfoot Publishing, which also offers the Official Records, has started a similar line of books for South Carolina regiments during the Civil War.  The South Carolina Regimental-Roster Set saw four books released in its launch in […]

  • War and Landscape

    I’ve been reading Matthew Spring’s new book on the British Army in the Revolutionary War, With Zeal and Bayonets Only. It’s an excellent look at how the British actually fought during that conflict, and I may do a full review in the future. One thing that Spring does very well is to analyze how the […]