McFarland Book of the Week: The Union Cavalry and the Chickamauga Campaign

by Brett Schulte September 1, 2018

The Union Cavalry and the Chickamauga Campaign by Dennis W. Belcher TOCWOC’s Take: Dennis Belcher is rapidly becoming known as an expert on the cavalry organizations and actions in Tennessee and Georgia.  In addition to an overview of the Army of the Cumberland’s cavalry throughout the war, he has also produced looks at the mounted men […]

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Silent Sam Falls to Vandals

by Fred Ray August 21, 2018

Silent Sam, the memorial on the UNC campus to the Confederate common soldier, fell to vandals yesterday. I’ve mentioned earlier that it has drawn protests but this time the mostly white mob was serious. In an action carried out with paramilitary precision masked thugs shrouded the statue with banners, tied ropes on it, and pulled it […]

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Civil War Magazine Review: Civil War Navy: The Magazine

by Brett Schulte August 15, 2018

McQuarrie, Gary & Williams, Charles (eds.). Civil War Navy: The Magazine. (CSA Media, LLC). 64 pages, images, maps, notes.  ISSN: 978-1-61121-216-7. 1 year (4 issues): $24.99; 2 years (8 issues): $45.99 Fans of the naval portion of the American Civil War have a solid alternative to the many Civil War magazines out on the market […]

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Civil War Book Review: Challenges of Command in the Civil War, Volume 1: Generals and Generalship

by Brett Schulte August 11, 2018

Sommers, Richard. Challenges of Command in the Civil War: Generalship, Leadership, and Strategy at Gettysburg, Petersburg, and Beyond: Volume 1: Generals and Generalship. (Savas Beatie: May 2018). 288 pages, 80 images, 7 maps, 7 tables, notes, bibliography, index.  ISBN: 978-1-61121-432-1. $29.95 (Cloth) Richard Sommers returns to Savas Beatie, this time releasing the first of a […]

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Her Majesty Takes a Shot

by Fred Ray August 4, 2018

It is the summer of 1860. The British government, rattled by a French invasion scare, seeks to train a sizable corps of volunteers armed with the new rifles, much as the Americans had done to them eight-five years earlier. To properly kick things off the queen herself pulls a silken cord and fires the first […]

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James Burton and Firearms Design and Development

by Fred Ray July 27, 2018

Nice article on James Burton, who, as it says, was one of the most important and influential men in firearms design and development, especially regarding manufacture. An American, he also figures prominently in the Civil War. In April 1844, Burton took a job as a machinist at the Harpers Ferry Armory. Coincidentally, the B&O Railroad […]

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Happy 4th (and a couple of new books)

by Fred Ray July 4, 2018

Hope everyone is having a bang-up (so to speak) 4th of July. It was not such a great day for the Confederacy in 1863, when the news came that Vicksburg had fallen and Lee had been defeated at Gettysburg. Picked up a couple of books recently, which I will try to review in due course. […]

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