TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Military History

  • In the Review Queue: The Battle of the Crater: A Complete History

    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. After having recently finished several other reviews of McFarland […]

  • Blowin’ In The Wind at Petersburg

    As a followup to my previous post on Bob Dylan, the Times blog has posted some thoughts on what he might have been reading. They put in a quote from a Times correspondent comparing Northern and Southern forces in mid-1864 (not 1863 as stated). The rolls of company after company exhibit not a single name […]

  • Bull of the West Wood

    Thanks to Brett for his pointer to Jim Buchanan’s Walking in the West Woods. And thanks to Jim for the pointer to Gen. Sumner’s papers at the Archives and for publishing his post-battle letter. Sumner’s letter would seem to support those of us who criticize his performance in the West Wood by showing pretty conclusively […]

  • Modest Heroes

    Eric Wittenberg has a couple of posts on David F. Day, a brave man who won a Medal of Honor but who had an unfortunate habit of boasting about himself and shamelessly embellishing his deeds. The Southern equivalent would be Lamar Fontaine, who I will write about at some point, and of course Hiram Berdan. […]

  • Joseph R. Reinhart Responds to Chancellorsville and the Germans Review

    I recently received a long and interesting email from TOCWOC reader Joseph R. Reinhart about my review of Christian Keller’s book Chancellorsville and the Germans: Nativism, Ethnicity, and Civil War Memory.  Mr. Reinhart has been researching German-American involvement in the Civil War for over 15 years.  He is the editor of August Willich’s Gallant Dutchmen: […]

  • An Interview With Author Jim Parrish

    UPDATE: Drew Wagenhoffer has a complimentary review of Parrish’s book on Civil War Books and Authors. John Fox, the man behind Angle Valley Press, passed along this interview with Jim Parrish, author of the recently-released Wiregrass to Appomattox, a history of the 50th Georgia. I have a copy but have not yet had a chance […]

  • War Without Violence (even pretended)

    In a move sure to please pacifists everywhere, the Appleton, WI, schools have banned the mock battle from their day-long Civil War program. The battle segment was scratched after a group of parents raised concerns it conflicts with violence-prevention efforts and a district policy banning look-alike weapons at schools. If you don’t like history, just […]