TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

150 Years Ago May 1863 The quick bloodless war that men afraid they would miss is entering its’ third summer.  Both sides are showing signs of strain.  Black wreaths hang on many doors and the streets are full of maimed men.  Some historians think the dead were deliberately undercounted.  Both sides sent badly wounded and […]

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Repercussions and Retreat For the Union soldiers at Fort Huger the expected attack to regain the fort never materialized. Only a barely perceptible probe by the 55th North Carolina tested their resolve to hold their prize. The attention of the Confederate command shifted to the blame game. Longstreet called the event “a serious disaster” and […]

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Hill’s Point – First Effort While the two sides probed and skirmished along the siege lines the Confederate battery at Hill’s Point continued to harass the Union boats on the river. Incidents on the 17th and 18th concerned LT Cushing enough about the safety of his flotilla that he proposed a solution. Lt Lamson also […]

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Union Guns Strike Back The day long duel between the Union boats and the Confederate gunners did not escape the attention of the Union army commander on the scene. Observing the fight from the east shore, BG George W. Getty decided to place some batteries of his own. He “immediately sent for guns and troops” […]

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Faceoff at Suffolk The object of operations for both sides became the transportation hub city of Suffolk, Virginia. The city fell into Union hands when the Confederates evacuated Norfolk in May of 1862 but it had remained a military backwater until September of that year. As McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign played itself out the area became […]

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Suffolk – Introduction Following the overwhelming Confederate victory at Fredericksburg in December of 1862 the primary Union army, the Army of the Potomac, fell into disarray and ceased to pose an immediate threat. Robert E. Lee took advantage of this respite to address another challenge by Federal forces. The growing number of Union troops and […]

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