TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Category: Controversies of a Campaign

  • The Ewell Contribution

    A few days ago I wrote about the ‘Ewell Option ‘ — a plan for General Richard Ewell to strike at US forces in northern Virginia in April or May 1862 — and how instead Ewell decided to stick with Stonewall Jackson and support his efforts in the Shenandoah Valley. The resulting campaign became famous and […]

  • The Ewell Option

    We have a tendency to view history as if through a rear view mirror, looking back along the path taken and framing what happened by how it turned out.  Since we know that in May and June of 1862 General Thomas Stonewall Jackson led a famous campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, the events leading up […]

  • 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, […]

  • From the Engineer Depot – The James River Bridge debate

    Bridging the James River was a monumental task and its successful completion led to much disagreement over who was responsible for it. Both the Regular Battalion and the volunteers sought to claim the bulk of the work. LTC Spaulding, reporting for the volunteers, claims that he arrived at 8:00 a.m. on June 14, 1864 to […]

  • How Sherman Won Lookout Mountain

    Yes, you read the title right.  I am going to put forth an alternative argument about the capture of Lookout Mountain. While the dramatic story of Hooker’s advance around the face of the mountain might be well known, I think the cause and effect is not. On the morning of November 23rd the Confederates had […]

  • The Confederate Defense of Resaca – May 9, 1864

    In a pair of recent posts I wrote about the movement of the Army of the Tennessee through Snake Creek Gap to Resaca on May 9th 1864.   Let’s take a look at the other side — who was defending Resaca that day? The Official Records make no mention of this, but in his book ‘Four […]

  • Further thoughts on the move through Snake Creek Gap

    In a previous post I wrote about the impact of movement on the organization and strength of a force and used the advance of the Army of the Tennessee through Snake Creek Gap and to Resaca Georgia on May 9, 1864 as an example.  There is another aspect of that movement I wish to explore.  […]