TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

I am watching The History Channel’s new program, Extreme Marksmen tonite. Lots of amazing shots using everything from bows to artillery, but if you are interested in long-range sniping there is a sequence showing a couple of Army snipers doing a 1000 yard shot using a modern M24 sniper rifle, as well as a short […]

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Delevan Bates was a New Yorker who signed up with the 121st New York in 1861. He served as a lieutenant but later took a commission as colonel of the 30th U.S.C.T. Bates, who lived after the war in Nebraska, nevertheless wrote many articles for the Otsego (New York) Republican. They tend to be rambling […]

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December 2, 1859 – Norton I dismissed Gov. Wise of Virginia for hanging John Brown and appointed John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky to replace him. Who was Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico? Well, he was from San Franciso, which ought to tell you something. To his credit he did […]

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I got to know one of the social workers at the VA hospital at Augusta (where I go for an annual eval every year). He was of Chinese descent himself and was also interested in the Civil War, and so was pleasantly surprised when I told him that yes, there were Chinese in the Late […]

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I came across an interesting web site, Uchronia, devoted books on alternative histories and counterfactuals. “Perhaps the most common themes in alternate history are ‘What if the Nazis won World War II?’ and ‘What if the Confederacy won the Civil War?’” For those old enough to remember, McKinley Cantor (best remembered today for his book […]

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In the past month and a half, I’ve marked the anniversaries of important battles during the Petersburg Campaign (and I apologize for missing the Wilson-Kautz Raid and First Deep Bottom). When Petersburg does manage to get mentioned, arguably the most “popular” battle (you have to include Five Forks as well) is the Crater, fought on […]

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November 10-12, 2006 will be one of the East Coast’s largest wargaming conventions – Fall In! Always entertaining with spectacular layouts and an excellent venue, Fall In! remains one of the cornerstone conventions of the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society. It is held in scenic and historic Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, immediately south of the Gettysburg National Military […]

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