TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Military History

  • Camp Life and Target Practice in 1862

    Bill Adams sends along a clipping from the Northampton Gazette & Courier, dated February 11, 1862, which gives a very good look a camp life in the Union army just prior to McClellan’s Peninsular campaign. It should also help dispel one of the most persistent CW myths—that many soldiers went into battle without ever even […]

  • William Holden, Second Iowa

    I have some letters from William Holden, a soldier with the Second Iowa. An ardent abolitionist who lived in Ottumwa, the 22-year-old Holden signed up at the beginning of the conflict and stayed on until the end, re-enlisting in December, 1863. Serving in the Western armies, he fought in almost all the major battles of […]

  • Exploring Fort Donelson in Civil War Books and Games

    Editor’s Note: I originally meant for this post to go out yesterday, the 150th anniversary of the Confederate surrender at Fort Donelson, but spending time with two very small boys and a busy work schedule caused me to post a day late.  I beg forgiveness and hope you still find this post useful. Confederate Surrender […]

  • Using Confederate Compiled Service Records (CSRs) at Fold3.com

    I am currently working my way through the First Offensive Order of Battle (June 15-18, 1864) and Second Offensive Order of Battle (June 21-24, 1864) for the Siege of Petersburg.  One of the items which has come up again and again is who exactly commanded various Confederate regiments, batteries, and even brigades in June and […]

  • Indian Sharpshooters at Olustee?

    Fought just west of Jacksonville on February 20, 1864, Olustee was another one of those pull-it-out-by-the-skin-of-the-teeth Confederate victories that staved off defeat just a little longer. I recently came into possession of a letter by a member of a New York regiment about the battle, where he describes Confederate Indians shooting white officers leading back […]

  • Short Takes

    I was fortunate to do some research at the Rubenstein Rare Books and Manuscript Library at Duke recently. Nice place, friendly and knowledgeable staff. They have a huge collection of Civil War primary sources and manuscripts, including supposedly the largest collection of unpublished Confederate manuscripts in the world. Well worth visiting (certainly was for me). […]

  • What If YOU Could Interview Key Players at Gettysburg?

    What questions would YOU ask them?  Publisher Wild River Press wants to know, and they’ll be using those questions in an upcoming book which puts a unique new spin on the often overdone Battle of Gettysburg.  Tom Pero, the founder of Wild River Press, explains: Wild River Press (a small publisher of high-quality fishing and […]