TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Military History

  • 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 […]

  • Further thoughts on the move through Snake Creek Gap

    In a previous post I wrote about the impact of movement on the organization and strength of a force and used the advance of the Army of the Tennessee through Snake Creek Gap and to Resaca Georgia on May 9, 1864 as an example.  There is another aspect of that movement I wish to explore.  […]

  • Short Takes

    A large group of scholars and enthusiasts are gathering Tuesday at UNC Wilmington for a symposium on the remnants of the blockade runner Modern Greece. Sorry, it’s sold out. From the archives of the Manchester Guardian comes an editorial from 1861 about the impending “war to the knife” in the US. Like most of 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 […]

  • Traffic Management & Snake Creek Gap

    A civil war army on the move uncoils and stretches out like a slinky.  The rougher the road, tighter the terrain and longer the march, the more attenuated the force becomes — “When these marches commenced, the men would be in regular military order, four abreast; but the first half-mile usually broke up all regularity.” […]

  • 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 […]

  • On the Skirmish Line Outside Atlanta With William Holden

    Sorry for the gap in posting—I have been down with a nasty G-I bug most of the week. I’ve been wanting to post parts of another William Holden letter I acquired, one of which I have posted already. Holden, an Iowa farm boy, was by 1864 and experienced soldier and held the rank of first […]