TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Enlisted Men

  • Can YOU Identify This Signature?

    Another historical mystery found its way into my little corner of Civil War cyberspace recently.  Gary Skinner sent along a beautifully preserved letter recently for use on my Siege of Petersburg site.  The letter, written on August 4, 1864 and describing the Battle of the Crater, is a lengthy one.  The mystery concerns exactly WHO […]

  • New 1864 Diary of 148th Pennsylvania Soldier Published

    Editor’s Note: This blog entry was cross-posted at The Siege of Petersburg Online. I recently received a care package from Bill Black, who has been hard at work with Carolee Michener in editing the diary of Ithiel B. Snyder of Co. G, 148th Pennsylvania Infantry.  The 148th belonged to the 4th Brigade, 1st Division, II […]

  • The Claims of the Negro (September 5, 1864 Richmond Examiner)

    As I was copying newspaper articles from the Richmond Examiner from September 1864 for my Siege of Petersburg site, I came across the following interesting article in the September 5, 1864 Richmond Examiner: The Claims of the Negro.–One Benjamin Ruff, claiming to be a member of the Sixth Virginia cavalry, was committed to the Castle […]

  • Riot at Grand Junction

    In 1861, Grand Junction, Tennessee (my home town) was of great importance to the Confederacy and a target for the Union. Although a small place, it was the intersection of two railroads making it a transportation hub for troops, supplies, etc. The Confederacy placed a supply depot there. When the fighting started in Virginia during […]

  • Civil War Book Review: Dear Friend Amelia: The Civil War Letters of Private John Tidd

    Editor’s Note: This review originally appeared at The Siege of Petersburg Online: Beyond the Crater earlier today. Jordan, Mary & Hatch, Joyce. Dear Friend Amelia: The Civil War Letters of Private John Tidd. Six Mile Creek Press (January 2011). 176 pp., 100+ illustrations, notes. ISBN: 978-1-57003-922-5 $34.95 (Cloth). Reading a collection of wartime soldier letters […]

  • War, Perception, and Social History

    J. D. Petruzzi has a thoughtful and perceptive post about how historical events are perceived by authors and readers. I would add that it’s all to easy to substitute opinion for fact, and deplore that many modern authors feel the need to put themselves on a higher moral plane so as to pass judgment on […]

  • A Soldier’s Remains

    Some men never came home from the war, and many were simply listed as “missing.” One such unfortunate soul came to light recently at Antietam, where a hiker in the Cornfield found what he thought were human remains. Most of those who died there (and the Cornfield changed hands numerous times) were hastily buried, then […]