TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Military History

  • A Feast of Colts

    One of the most significant collections of CW-era Colts is up on the block, and worth a look for anyone interested in period weapons. Many of these firearms disappear into collections where they are seldom if ever seen. Field & Stream magazine has a a nice slide show with commentary on each gun and the […]

  • The Crazy Delawares at the Battle of Antietam

    Editor’s Note: 2nd Delaware researcher and reenactor Sean Protas has generously agreed to do a series of guest posts focusing on the colorfully nicknamed ‘Crazy Delawares’.  Look for Sean’s posts to appear periodically here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog.  For more information on the modern day 2nd Delaware Volunteer Infantry reenactment group, check […]

  • Some Old Guns

    Rock Island Auctions has some Civil War guns up for their September auction. As usual I can’t afford any of them but it’s nice to look. Of particular interest are: A contract Henry rifle for the 1st D.C. Cavalry. This rifle is one of approximately 1000 Henry rifles purchased by the Ordnance Department in late […]

  • The Volcanic Carbine

    I mentioned Volcanic arms in an earlier post about Smith & Wesson. Although probably not many were used in the war, the Volcanic is very important in firearms history. Take a look at this Volcanic carbine—it’s the same basic design as the Henry and the later Winchesters. Loaded with the anemic .41 cal. “rocket ball”, […]

  • GIS at Civil War Battles

    The New York Times has an interesting article on the use of GIS (Geographical Information Service) in analyzing history, including Civil War battles like Gettysburg. Personally I have always felt that the 2-D maps we see in books are inadequate for conveying the flow of the battle. Things that look obvious on a flat surface […]

  • Civil War on the Web

    A day or two late, but here’s something about Tarheels at Manassas. About 300 Forsyth County men gathered 150 years ago today to fight in the Battle of Bull Run, when Confederate forces defeated Union troops in the first major engagement of the Civil War. But most of those local soldiers didn’t see much action, […]

  • Sharpshooting in the the War of 1812

    Since we’ve had some comments on the War of 1812 I thought I’d take the opportunity to post an excerpt from my sharpshooter book on the US Rifle Regiment—one of the few first-class US units. Virtually the only book on this important and nearly forgotten unit is John Fredricksen’s Green Coats and Glory: The United […]