TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Month: February 2011

  • Tom Lowry Vs. the National Archives: Where’s the Email?

    Historian Brooks Simpson at Crossroads today raised some good points here and here regarding Tom Lowry’s denial of National Archives accusations against him.  One key question is whether or not the National Archives tried to contact Dr. Lowry prior to knocking on his door one January morning.  Lowry says they did not at all contact […]

  • Phenomenal Research Resources on CD/DVD from the National Archives, Part 1: Ordnance Returns

    Editor’s Note: This post was cross-posted at The Siege of Petersburg Online: Beyond the Crater. Microfilm Rolls Available for Purchase Online from the National Archives As my Siege of Petersburg site Beyond the Crater continues to expand, my research has often led me to exciting and useful new resources online.  One such recent example was […]

  • McFarland Civil War Book of the Week: Union Casualties at Gettysburg: A Comprehensive Record

    Union Casualties at Gettysburg: A Comprehensive Record (3 vols.) Authors: Travis W. Busey & John W. Busey TOCWOC’s Take: John W. Busey is no stranger to Gettysburg, having previously produced These Honored Dead: The Union Casualties at Gettysburg on his own and the famous (and often updated) Regimental Strengths and Losses at Gettysburg with David […]

  • Richard Sommers’ MASSIVE Thesis on the Fifth Offensive at Petersburg is FREE Online

    I was pleasantly surprised tonight to find Richard Sommer’s massive 1500 page Ph. D. thesis freely available online tonight from Rice University.  Written in 1970 and entitled “GRANT’S FIFTH OFFENSIVE AT PETERSBURG: A STUDY IN STRATEGY, TACTICS, AND GENERALSHIP. THE BATTLE OF CHAFFIN’S BLUFF, THE BATTLE OF POPLAR SPRING CHURCH, THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE […]

  • Civil War Book Review: Rashness of That Hour

    Rashness of That Hour: Politics, Gettysburg, and the Downfall of Confederate Brigadier General Alfred Iverson by Robert Wynstra Product Details Hardcover: 360 pages Publisher: Savas Beatie (November 19, 2010) Language: English ISBN-10: 193271488X ISBN-13: 978-1932714883 Politics over performance? In the 1800s, the Spoils System is in power.  Politics controls Civil Service with elections causing massive […]

  • The Civil War 150 Years Ago: February 1861

    150 years ago February 1861 Lincoln’s inauguration is a month away as President Buchannan struggles to contain secession.  Lincoln refuses to make a public speech on the question maintaining his position is clear. February starts badly, when Texas becomes the seventh state to secede on the first. Two days later, the Louisiana senators leave for […]

  • Tom Lowry’s New Blog Denying Accusations Against Him

    Historian Thomas Lowry was accused of changing the date on a Lincoln pardon from April 15, 1864 to April 15, 1865, the day Lincoln was assassinated.  Fellow TOCWOC blogger Fred Ray wrote a post covering these events and the news cycle surrounding them.  Tom Lowry has since come out with a WordPress Blog describing in […]