TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Military History

  • Were Confederate Soldiers Terrorists?

    Rarely does one get to read something that is both vile and silly, but Roland Martin, a CNN political commentator, manages to prove in one column that he knows nothing about the Civil War, history, military history, or terrorism, which is quite an intellectual tour de farce. His column “Were Confederate Soldiers Terrorists” is a […]

  • The Real Ghosts of Gettysburg

    By Mark Acres Visitors to Gettysburg quickly learn about the battlefield’s ghosts. Every tourist shop and book store carries a goodly and growing number of books and pamphlets about various hauntings on the hallowed ground. The ghost business became the principal profession of one former Gettysburg park ranger in the past decade, and more than […]

  • What Did Mr. Lincoln Know? (Conclusion)

    I several previous posts I looked at President Lincoln’s relationship to the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid to get some idea of his culpability in the assassination attempt on Jefferson Davis and the Confederate leadership. In the first, I looked at the military and political situation in the winter of 1863-64, how Lincoln’s hopes of ending the war […]

  • Short Takes

    I am happy to report that Lt. Alonzo Cushing, USA, will almost certainly receive a long-overdue Medal of Honor. Cushing died defending his guns at the climax of one of the most memorable events of American history—the Confederate attack on Cemetery ridge on July 3 at Gettysburg. Before Gettysburg, Cushing fought at Antietam, Fredericksburg and […]

  • White Death

    A quick look at the world’s most successful sniper, Simo Häyhä of Finland. During the brief Russo-Finnish “Winter War” of 1939-40, Häyhä was credited with killing an astounding 500 Russian soldiers before he was wounded. In spite of being hit in the jaw with an explosive round he survived the war and lived into his […]

  • Short Takes

    States Rights—it’s not just for George Wallace any more. Whether it’s correctly called a movement, a backlash or political theater, state declarations of their rights – or in some cases denunciations of federal authority, amounting to the same thing – are on a roll. After 230 years the Army is dropping bayonet training. Lt. Gen. […]

  • Those Rainbow Trajectories

    Commentators on the rifle musket have made much of its so-called “rainbow” trajectory that made the rifle ball travel in a much higher arc than than today’s rifles due to its slow muzzle velocity. However, a lot of misunderstandings have also crept in. Most pundits seem to have looked at the illustration in Jack Coggins’ […]