Western Carolina Historical Research

Knowing my interest in Carolinas coastal operations, Brett Schulte recommended to me last year a couple monographs he'd purchased on Ebay that were published by an outfit called Western Carolina Historical Research (no link, as they have no website as far as I know). I finally got around to purchasing the two monographs last month and finished reading one a few days ago. The Civil War in Southwestern South Carolina December 1864-January 1865 is a nice little collection of official reports and other first person accounts of military operations in the mass of river systems north of Savannah. The author narrative is used sparingly, mainly as a transition between the various primary accounts. The reading can be a bit dry and repetitive in places but it doesn't detract seriously from the experience. The maps are incredibly detailed (both in terms of terrain depiction and troop movements) and large in number for such a short 43 page booklet. Both period maps and original creations are included. Additionally, the booklet sports some nice unit capsule histories. As WCHR is also a board wargame publisher, it is not surprising that detailed order-of-battle information (including unit strengths and armaments) is emphasized.

This particular volume centers around the battles of Tulifiny Crossroads (Dec. 6-9, 1864), located near the Charleston and Savannah R.R. between Coosawhatchie and Pocotaligo. Sherman's operations in the Savannah area, both before and after the city's fall, are covered here briefly as well. The Pocotaligo Expedition of October 1862 is the subject of the second booklet and apparently a Honey Hill volume is also in the works. Readers won't find polished narrative history with these WCHR publications, but the unique maps and source material gathered together for such an obscure series of military events make them worthy of recommendation for those interested in CW coastal warfare.