TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

Reorganizing the Confederate Valley Ordnance Department After the Disaster at Waynesboro Lt. Col. Briscoe G. Baldwin, Chief of Ordnance, Army of Northern Virginia Briscoe Baldwin isn’t a name that gets much attention outside of Lee’s staff studies, but by the last winter of the war he was about as embedded in the Army of Northern […]

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There was gallantry during the conflict and the larger armies generally observed the rules of war. However, in smaller actions the conduct of both sides was often extremely brutal. Here’s a letter from Thomas J. Bond of the 2nd Ohio, who describes how some suspected guerillas were summarily dealt with. The letter is up for […]

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Johnston continued to retreat until he was literally under the spires of Richmond. On May 31 he finally made his move at Seven Pines. The flooded Chickahominy River had split the Union army, leaving two corps isolated south of the river, which Johnston planned to strike with nearly his entire force. While the plan was […]

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McClellan continued to bring up his heavy siege guns to the Yorktown line, and on the night of May 3, 1862, Johnston withdrew toward Richmond rather than risk a battle. Blackford wrote his mother: At 8 o’clock the whole Army moved quickly out of the works. I, with my company, was left to support the […]

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Johnston’s army arrived on the Virginia Peninsula and established a line at the Warwick River to block McClellan’s advance. Blackford and his men scrambled to adjust to the novelty of a continuous contact with the Federals. On April 22nd Blackford wrote his parents from “Curtain to Redoubt No. ‘4’ near Yorktown, Va.”, first apologizing for […]

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The excitement of battle quickly died down, to be followed by the unending drudgery of drill, picket, and fatigue details of all sorts. Blackford was taken ill and went home to recuperate, then returned, still very weak, when he heard a battle might be imminent. There was an action at Ball’s Bluff on October 20th […]

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Sharpshooter: The Selected Letters and Papers of Maj. Eugene Blackford, C.S.A. Fred L. Ray, Ed. ISBN-13 978-0-9882435-1-4 / ISBN-10 0988243512 6×9 inch hardback / 230 Pages 10 Maps 30 Illustrations Footnoted / Indexed / Complete Bibliography Publication date: March 2016 Price after publication $39.95 I am nearly finished with the first phase of the biggest […]

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