TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

With the Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Gettysburg almost on us I thought I’d post a couple of contemporary views of the town. As most of you know the Confederates swept through the town on July 1, driving the Federals before them and capturing large numbers of them. The Federals, however, held Cemetery Hill just […]

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I just wanted to alert TOCWOC readers quickly of the next American Experience episode (or in this case three episodes), The Abolitionists.  The first part debuts on Tuesday, January 8, 2013 in most markets, to be followed by parts 2 and 3 in succeeding weeks.  I hope to have a short review up on the  […]

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It starts with a fake article in a minor newspaper. The dollar drops, gold surges, and the administration panics. In the shadows someone who’s bought gold makes a bundle. Perhaps you’re thinking of a story earlier this week, when an article by Middle Eastern correspondent Robert Fisk in the British newspaper The Independent sent the […]

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The “In the Review Queue” series provides TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog readers with a brief look at books Brett Schulte is planning to review here on the blog.  These will be very similar to Drew Wagenhoffer’s “Booknotes” series at Civil War Books and Authors. I received three new Civil War books to review […]

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Trudeau, Noah Andre. Southern Storm: Sherman’s March to the Sea. Harper (August 5, 2008). 688 pages, maps, illustrations, index. ISBN: 978-0060598679 $35.00 (Hardcover). What event in Civil War history excites more emotions and is the subject of more misconceptions than any other?  The answer is probably Sherman’s famous (or infamous depending on your home’s direction […]

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I’ve subscribed to Footnote.com, which I’ve found to be a great resource even though it’s not cheap (tip: keep checking for sale rate). There is a wealth of Civil War primary documentation there, with more being added daily, including most of the Confederate service records. Accessing these online sure beats having to travel to Washington […]

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John Fabian Witt, a professor of legal history at Columbia University, pens an article in Slate about Lincoln’s Laws of War, and how the Bush administration supposedly attempted to destroy them. This is amusing, since when it comes to prosecuting a war George Bush is a pantywaist compared to the Great Emancipator. Witt wraps the […]

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