TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Month: February 2014

  • Mississippi Marine Brigade-Intro

    The Mississippi Marine Brigade – Introduction Guerilla and partisan warfare played a significant role in the Civil War. While much of this type of conflict was between the Union and Confederate sympathizers of the Border States there was also a concentrated effort made against standard Union military operations in areas controlled by Federal forces as […]

  • Can YOU Identify This Signature?

    Another historical mystery found its way into my little corner of Civil War cyberspace recently.  Gary Skinner sent along a beautifully preserved letter recently for use on my Siege of Petersburg site.  The letter, written on August 4, 1864 and describing the Battle of the Crater, is a lengthy one.  The mystery concerns exactly WHO […]

  • The Top 13 Controversies at Franklin: Part 11

    Editor’s Note: After I’d posted my recent comments on Lee’s possible endorsement of John Bell Hood for army command in 1864, I started going back over a lengthy nine or ten part series I did on Eric Jacobson’s book For Cause & for Country: A Study of the Affair at Spring Hill and the Battle of Franklin.  I had totally […]

  • Civil War Book Review: Allegany to Appomattox: The Life and Letters of Private William Whitlock of the 188th New York Volunteers

    Dunham, Valgene. Allegany to Appomattox: The Life and Letters of Private William Whitlock of the 188th New York Volunteers (Syracuse University Press, 2013). 264 pages, maps, illustrations, appendices, notes, bibliography, index. ISBN: 978-0-8156-1011-3 $29.95 (Cloth). Note: Also available in Kindle format. Many soldiers answered the call to war in the heady days of 1861 and […]

  • Chickasaw Bayou (13)

    Conclusion and Assessment The Confederate defense of Chickasaw Bayou was ultimately successful for a number of reasons: 1. The choice of landing area for the Federal forces was poor, probably as a result of inadequate terrain knowledge. The rush to depart left little time to conduct a thorough reconnaissance. Dependence on the naval reports after […]

  • The Top 13 Controversies at Franklin: Part 10

    Editor’s Note: After I’d posted my recent comments on Lee’s possible endorsement of John Bell Hood for army command in 1864, I started going back over a lengthy nine or ten part series I did on Eric Jacobson’s book For Cause & for Country: A Study of the Affair at Spring Hill and the Battle of Franklin.  I had totally […]

  • Two Weeks Left in the Free Civil War Book Contest

    There are only two weeks left to enter for a chance to win one of the books in Earl Hess’ Field Fortifications trilogy.  Click here for details.