TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Strategy & Tactics

  • Battle Ranges

    The range at which an enemy soldier can be engaged on the battlefield is a factor that has occupied both soldiers and pundits since the invention of firearms. In Civil War circles much of the recent controversy has centered around Paddy Griffith’s revisionist work Battle Tactics of the Civil War, in which he argued that […]

  • The Impact of Railroads on Warfare During the American Civil War

    Editor’s Note: Dave Hollis is a guest poster with an avid interest in military history.  He is a member of the the U.S. Army Reserve and has been published several times.  Dave’s first (but hopefully not last) post here at TOCWOC concerns the impact of railroads on the American Civil War. The American Civil war […]

  • Second Bull Run

    Second Bull Run By James W. Durney After the battle of Brawner’s Farm or Groveton, Pope had “bagged” Jackson and all he needed to do was beat him in battle.  Pope possessed unlimited confidence in his ability to do this with his army of 63,000 assembled from multiple independent sources.  Franz Sigel commands the I […]

  • Gary Yee’s Sharpshooter Book

    Generalissimo Gary Yee has informed me that his long-awaited book Sharpshooters (1750-1900), The Men, Their Guns, Their Story will be out shortly. Can’t tell you much more than that since the web site isn’t up yet, but it promises to be the most complete work on the subject yet. I’ve never met Gary but we’ve […]

  • Review: The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat: Reality and Myth

    Hess, Earl J. The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat: Reality and Myth. University Press of Kansas (September 9, 2008). 288 pages, tables, notes, bibliography, index. ISBN: 978-0700616077 $29.95 (Hardcover). Did the widespread use of the rifle musket for the first time in the American Civil War lead to increased average combat ranges, increasingly destructive […]

  • An Infantry Assault

    I came across this reminiscence of an infantry attack and thought I’d post it as it’s one of the best descriptions I’ve seen not only of the tactics but of the feelings of the men making it. The attack appears to be part of the battle of Hatcher’s Run (5-7 February, 1865). I’ve been unable […]

  • 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 […]