TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog

I’ve been sifting through Union and Confederate regimental histories for my Siege of Petersburg Online site, and I came across this candid observation, in 1909, from John Day Smith of the 19th Maine1: The Confederates had begun their preparations for arming the negroes in February and March, 1865. It was a measure adopted in their […]

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A day or two late, but here’s something about Tarheels at Manassas. About 300 Forsyth County men gathered 150 years ago today to fight in the Battle of Bull Run, when Confederate forces defeated Union troops in the first major engagement of the Civil War. But most of those local soldiers didn’t see much action, […]

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Rebel or loyalist? Sometimes it was hard to tell. On the surface, wealthy Lincolnton businessman and slaveholder John Phifer may have appeared loyal to Dixie. His textile mill on the South Fork River cranked out products much needed in the embattled South. His three sons were officers in the Confederate Army, and two died fighting […]

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Henry Louis Gates, perhaps better known for his role in the “beer summit,” pens an excellent article on the slavery “blame game.” While we are all familiar with the role played by the United States and the European colonial powers like Britain, France, Holland, Portugal and Spain, there is very little discussion of the role […]

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Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited from Slavery by Anne Farrow, Joel Lang, Jenifer Frank Product Details Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Ballantine Books (August 15, 2006) Language: English ISBN-10: 0345467833 ISBN-13: 978-0345467836 Over stated, simplified and questionable This is history for people who do not read history and have little intention to change.  […]

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Air Date: 061209 Subject: Charles B. Dew, Civil War Author Books: Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War & Bond of Iron: Master and Slave at Buffalo Forge & Ironmaker to the Confederacy : Joseph Reid Anderson and the Tredegar Iron Works Guest: Professor Charles B. Dew, Williams College […]

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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. UPDATE: Elektratig has a fascinating post about the book…on […]

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