TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

The Order of Civil War Obsessively Compulsed - Informed Amateurs Blog the American Civil War

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Grant Finally Underestimates the South

October 16th, 2007 · 1 Comment

I never quite grasped where such strong feelings towards the Confederacy come from. Some southerners (certainly not all) pine for and bemoan a government that barely existed 150 years ago- a country founded in war and never tested for its mettle outside that war. As a “northerner” born and [...]

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Categories: Miscellaneous

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Supermen

October 1st, 2007 · 3 Comments

I think that sometimes as we are looking back on the war we tend to get lost in the research and in the controversy. We look at things from a detached view. We see the general, or the army, or the campaign. THE CAUSE! Every so often I think it is important [...]

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Categories: Enlisted Men

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A Small Lesson in Tactics Part II

September 24th, 2007 · 2 Comments

2. Buying Time
One of the reasons there were only 300 Spartan’s at the battle of Thermopylae was that the king could not win support of his constituents to go to war, and so took his own “bodyguard” of 300 off for a stroll. Apart from winning support for the war at home, Leonidis’ actions gave [...]

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Categories: Military History · Strategy & Tactics

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A Small Lesson in Tactics Part 1

September 21st, 2007 · 2 Comments

Lessons of Thermopylae
The battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC has long stood as the premier example of defending against a force that largely outnumbers the defenders. Fought in a small pass in the northern province of Greece, Analyzing this battle can teach many aspects of tactical planning and development that can be used even in [...]

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Categories: Military History · Strategy & Tactics

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Review: “What this Cruel War was Over”

September 19th, 2007 · No Comments

In the great debate of Slavery Vs. State’s rights, there is a new recruit on the field. One who immensely researched letters, diaries, and journals from soldiers on the front line to get, straight from their own mouths, what they as individuals were fighting over.
Chandra Manning’s What This Cruel War was Over: Soldiers, Slavery, and [...]

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Categories: Books - New · Books - Reviews · Social History

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The Ground is Red… My Induction into This Great Conflict

September 14th, 2007 · No Comments

They say you are a green troop, a rookie if you will, until your baptism by fire. “See the elephant” and you will truly be inducted into the great armies of the world. My first glimpse at this elephant was when I was about 7 or 8 years old.
My [...]

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Categories: Introduction

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