TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Update: I’ve added another Top 10 Civil War Blogs list, this time focusing on blogs which just missed the cut for the initial list below.

Since I’ve been on a Top 10 kick here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog recently, I thought it might be fun to do a Top 10 Civil War Blogs list to highlight the best Civil War blogs out there.  As long time readers here know, I keep a list of ALL Civil War Blogs in my Civil War blogroll in the right sidebar.  I also plan to link to the blogs in this Top 10 Civil War blogs list and share the link juice with these very deserving candidates.  In that vein, I encourage ALL Civil War bloggers to do their own Top 10 Civil War Blog lists and share the wealth.  This is a very friendly community for the most part.  So, in looking over every Civil War blog in the blogroll, here are, in my humble opinion, the ten best Civil War blogs out there.

Top 10 Civil War Blogs

1. Civil War Books and Authors: Drew Wagenhoffer’s site focuses almost exclusively on book reviews.  Luckily for all of us, he is far and away the best book reviewer in the Civil War blogosphere.  I have learned of more new, old, and in between books at Drew’s site than anywhere else

2. Bull Runnings: Harry Smeltzer’s Bull Runnings is an effort to digitize a battle, and one which all others who hope to do the same should study carefully before beginning their own.

3. My year of living Rangerously: Mannie Gentile’s use of video and pictures  makes his efforts to relay the life of an Antietam Park Ranger and miniature wargamer somewhat unique in the Civil War blogosphere.

4. Civil War Bookshelf: The granddaddy of Civil War blogs, Dimitri Rotov’s Civil War Bookshelf was in operation before many of us knew what a blog was!  Dimitri regularly challenges the work of “Centennial” historians and asks readers to read their Civil War books carefully and with a healthy dose of skepticism.

5. Rantings of a Civil War Historian: Eric Wittenberg started blogging several years back around the same time I did.  Eric is one of the most respected non-Academic authors in the Civil War community, and he publishes books on battles and campaigns which I (and most of the public) find very interesting.

6. Civil Warriors: The trio of Mark Grimsley, Brooks Simpson, and Ethan Rafuse form the academic version to TOCWOC’s group of amateurs.  Group blogs are a great idea because they give you different perspectives.  Brooks is a U.S. Grant expert, Ethan knows a TON about George McClellan, and Mark has written one of the most important Civil War books to come out in quite some time.

7. Elektratig: Although Elektratig’s blog is more about the antebellum years, reading his blog gives one a great idea of what happened in the tumultuous years leading up to the Civil War.

8. The 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry/ Civil War Musings: John Hoptak, a Park Ranger at Antietam, provides numerous insights into the 48th Pennsylvania, the battle of Antietam, and much more at his excellent Civil War blog.

9. A Publisher’s Perspective: Even in these poor economic times, Civil War book publisher Ted Savas gets it.  Read his blog for some interesting looks into the sometimes difficult and always interesting world of Civil War publishing.

10. Draw the Sword…: Jenny Goellnitz currently covers monuments at the Gettysburg battlefield.  She also runs the web’s premier site on Confederate General A.P. Hill.

UPDATE: I completely forgot to add Rene Tyree’s excellent Wig-Wags blog as well.  It definitely deserves a spot in any Civil War Top 10 list.  I’m not going to bump anyone from this list but I will encourage TOCWOC’s readers to visit Rene daily.  You’ll learn a lot!

UPDATE 2: Elektratig was kind enough to add additions to my Civil War Top 10, and included TOCWOC in his own list.  Thanks Elektratig!  Your views are always appreciated here.  I will also include other Civil War Top 10 lists in this space if others want to join in on the fun with their own picks.

• Don at Crossed Sabers has joined the fun and posted his own Top 10 Civil War blogs list, with TOCWOC coming in at #7.  Thanks Don!

So there you have it.  This is my list of Top 10 Civil War blogs currently in business, and the ones I go back to again and again for insightful, entertaining reading.  In compiling this list I tried to make sure this was a well rounded group of blogs rather than one tailored to subjects of limited interest to most students of the Civil War.

So, how did I do?  What are your favorites?

Check out the entire list of Civil War blogs I currently know of here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog.

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