TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Month: April 2013

  • Civil War Book Review: Kennesaw Mountain: Sherman, Johnston, and the Atlanta Campaign

    Hess, Earl J. Kennesaw Mountain: Sherman, Johnston, and the Atlanta Campaign. (The University of North Carolina Press, April 22, 2013). 344 pages, 25 illustrations, 21 maps, 1 table, appendices, notes, bibliography, index. ISBN: 978-1-4696-0211-0 $35.00 (Cloth). Why did William T. Sherman decide to attack one of the most strongly fortified and imposing positions the Confederates held […]

  • Reader Challenge: Prove Rosecrans was Panicked at Chickamauga

    As I slowly work my way to the end of General Grant and the Rewriting of History: How the Destruction of General William S. Rosecrans Influenced Our Understanding of the Civil War, I continue to find interesting questions raised.  My goal today is to explore one of those questions, with your help. The Question: First, […]

  • Burnside Expedition Part 6

    Siege and Defeat of Fort Macon The movement of the artillery for the siege of the fort was a masterpiece of ingenuity and hard work. First the weight of the guns required the repair of the railroad bridge at Newport. The 5th RI Bn, under the command of Major John Wright, was detailed to this […]

  • Was Grant A Liar?

    I suppose I could have titled this one “New Book Challenges Honesty of Grant’s Memoirs,” but then some of you might not be here now.  I’ll admit that my first two thoughts when I first heard of Frank P. Varney’s new book General Grant and the Rewriting of History: How the Destruction of General William […]

  • The Great Escape: Taylor at Irish Bend

    April 1863 did not go well for Confederate General Richard Taylor.  At the beginning of the month he had hoped to take the initiative against US forces in lower Louisiana; but by end of the month he was struggling to hold together his broken army after having lost the initiative, lost half his fleet, and […]

  • Flag of the “Bloody Sixth” Restored

    The flag of the 6th NC, lost at Sailor’s Creek in 1865 has been restored (at the tune of $6500) and is now on display at the NC Museum of History. More than 100 people from across the state came to the dedication Saturday to see the flag and share stories about the N.C. 6th […]

  • Burnside Expedition Part 5

    Battle of New Berne – Aftermath The collapse of the defense ay Fort Thompson left only implanted piles and the threat of torpedoes to prevent the advance of the Union fleet to New Berne. The barriers consisted of “a series of piling, driven securely into the bottom” and cut off just below the waterline, a […]