TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Military History

  • Civil War Game Review: Campaign Overland by John Tiller Software

    Campaign Overland John Tiller Software John Tiller is a respected name in PC war games.  His Civil War gaming system is well established and enjoyed by many.  New from John Tiller Software is a true giant of a game on the Overland Campaign.  The main game covers May to June 1864, with all the battles […]

  • Best Books on the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg: December 13, 1862

    Best Books on the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg: December 13, 1862 While I typically create “best Civil War books on…” posts for the 150th anniversary of major (and sometimes not so major) battles, I usually come up with brand new things to say about them.  In this case I’ll mostly be letting my prior […]

  • Two Good Books on Prairie Grove…And a Wargame

    For those of us with Civil War interests, December 7 also conjures up images of the greatest single march in the entire Civil War, and it didn’t involve Jackson’s foot cavalry.  Instead, it was Herron’s Union forces trying to reach an overexposed Blunt who marched 120 or so miles in frigid December temperatures.  The result […]

  • Recent McFarland Civil War Books: October-November 2012

    Editor’s Note: I tried to do a series called the “McFarland Book of the Week” awhile ago and I just could not reasonably keep up.  You’ll see these new posts from time to time which update you on the most recent McFarland Civil War books available.  McFarland’s books tend to be on the expensive side, […]

  • “Hunker Doon Boys!”: The 140th Pennsylvania at the Siege of Petersburg

    Last time I introduced a 1902 New Orleans newspaper series on the Donaldsonville LA Artillery at the Siege of Petersburg.  John Hennessy is again responsible for sending along a great newspaper series on a unit at the Siege of Petersburg, this time the 140th Pennsylvania, a Second Corps regiment which saw a lot of action, so […]

  • October 31, 1862: A Counterfactual

    October 31, 1862 The Confederate offensive of 1862 resulted in defeats at Antietam, Perryville and Corinth.  What would happen if the battles of Antietam and Perryville had not taken place?  What if Van Dorn had not risked everything attacking Corinth?  Over estimating the size of armies is endemic in 1862.  Yes, my numbers for Lee, […]

  • How a phantom Longstreet spooked Shields

    When reading about the the Valley Campaign of 1862  I have chuckled at how Gen. James Shields over-reacted to a non-existent threat.  Yet recently I wondered if there was something more to it.  I haven’t been able to find answers to all my questions, but what I have learned seems interesting. On June 7th, 1862 […]