TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Military History

  • Sad Day in Blighty

    In an end to three centuries of small arms leadership, Britain has announced that it will no longer make its own rifles. England has long been a leader in small arms development, both by the government Enfield factory and private manufacturers, with a storied past going back to the Brown Bess and including Civil War […]

  • In The Review Queue: Death in the Trenches, Border War, and Civil War Guerrillas

    The “In the Review Queue” series provides TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog readers with a brief look at books Brett Schulte is planning to review here on the blog.  These will be very similar to Drew Wagenhoffer’s “Booknotes” series at Civil War Books and Authors. I received three new Civil War books to review […]

  • Civil War “sniper” training

    I received a request for comment on Civil War “sniper” training as compared to WWI: We’re trying to piece together a longitudinal picture of civil war sniper training and contrast that with U.S. sniper training during WW I.   Our focus is on what is learned; then lost over given periods of time. The short answer […]

  • Review: Southern Storm: Sherman’s March to the Sea

    Trudeau, Noah Andre. Southern Storm: Sherman’s March to the Sea. Harper (August 5, 2008). 688 pages, maps, illustrations, index. ISBN: 978-0060598679 $35.00 (Hardcover). What event in Civil War history excites more emotions and is the subject of more misconceptions than any other?  The answer is probably Sherman’s famous (or infamous depending on your home’s direction […]

  • Review: The H.L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy

    Chaffin, Tom. The H.L. Hunley: The Secret Hope of the Confederacy. Hill and Wang (September 30, 2008). 352 pages, maps, illustrations, index. ISBN: 978-0-8090-9512-4 $26.00 (Hardcover). What was the name of the first underwater craft to sink an enemy warship in action?  Many Civil War buffs probably know the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is the […]

  • Thoughts on Struggle for the Shenandoah as The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 Goes to Paperback

    Drew Wagenhoffer’s review of the paperback version of The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 yesterday led me to go back and read my own multi part summary of the *other* Gary Gallagher produced 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign book Struggle for the Shenandoah , including a review and a bibliography of the campaign.  Before Gallagher was […]

  • Bryce A. Suderow on the Petersburg Campaign

    Longtime student of the Petersburg Campaign and author of an unpublished manuscript on First and Second Deep Bottom Bryce A. Suderow was kind enough to offer up his opinions on the campaign in a recent comment here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog.  Bryce is not a fan of Ulysses S. Grant, as you […]