TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Eastern Theater

  • “I’ve Been Ordered Up to Fight!”: Phil Kearny to the Rescue at Williamsburg

    Editor’s Note: This is one of a series of guest posts by Greg Quinion.  In addition to being an avid history reader and world traveler, Greg works as a freelance travel and history writer and Information Analyst in Washington DC.  He holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, […]

  • July 4th Destruction of Lee’s Pontoon Bridge

    As the battered Army of Northern Virginia made its way from Gettysburg another bit of intelligence fell into the hands of someone determined to act on it. Colonel Andrew McReynolds, commanding the cavalry brigade of MG French’s corps at Frederick, Maryland reported on the 3rd that he had; “information, which I deem reliable, that the […]

  • Fredericksburg: The Left

    FREDERICKSBURG: THE LEFT Once the town of Fredericksburg was secured, Burnside inexplicably waited a full day to attack. If he attacked on December 12th instead of the 13th he might have caught Jackson out of position and won the battle. But the troops plundered and vandalized and the union pattern again was one of indecision […]

  • Morale and Willpower – thoughts on the low point of Jackson’s command in the Shenandoah Valley

    Since  it is the 150th anniversary of the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1862, I am going to discuss a particular aspect of the campaign – the condition of Major General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s command at the end of April.  During the preceding weeks Major General Nathaniel Banks had advanced up the Shenandoah Valley as far […]

  • Fredericksburg: The Beginning

    Fredericksburg: the Beginning It was November 15th, 1862 and the Army of the Potomac was on the move. General Ambrose Burnside had taken command of the union army.  He replaced General McClellan after the federal forces failed to put away Robert E. Lee’s Confederates following the bloody battle at Antietam. Under pressure from President Abraham […]

  • Defeat By Detachment – The Missing Men At Cedar Mountain

    After the Battle of Cedar Mountain, General Pope was surprised to learn that General Banks had less than 8,000 men in the battle.  Just 10 days earlier Pope’s staff had compiled the strength report of the Army of Virginia for the month of July and Banks’ Corps was shown as having 14,785 present for duty.  […]

  • The Second Battle of Gettysburg – The Fight for the Monuments

    Gettysburg National Military Park has hundreds of monuments and markers to commemorate the courageous acts and sacrifices of the men who fought so gallantly there. They appear in such a large quantity that in can be quite overwhelming. With every turn of the head, the view of the battlefield is disrupted by a stone structure […]