Tom O'Connor

Author of Historical Fiction and Children's Books

Welcome to the official website of Tom O’Connor, author of Steel and Honor: From Cadets to Captains and Brooks’ Bubble Adventure: Wonder, Discovery and Sibling Fun.

Tom writes stories that explore courage, curiosity, and the bonds that connect us—whether through the lives of soldiers shaped by history or the imaginative adventures of childhood.

Before the nation was divided, they stood together as cadets—learning discipline, courage, and the meaning of honor. At West Point, young officers forged friendships that would shape their lives forever. They trained side by side, shared ambitions, and believed their futures would be united in service.

But history would test those bonds. As tensions grew and the country moved toward war, the same men who once marched together would face impossible choices. Loyalty to friends, loyalty to duty, and loyalty to country would soon collide.

Steel and Honor tells the story of a generation shaped by discipline and tradition, whose lives were forever changed by the coming storm.

Available now on Amazon.

Antietam: Secession to the Bloodiest Day.

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How Two Apps and a Battle Index Are Bringing Civil War Ancestors Back to Life

A reader once typed her own last name into a search box on my website. Thirty seconds later she read six words that changed how she saw her family. Her great-great-grandfather earn

Tom O'Connor

How Two Apps and a Battle Index Are Bringing Civil War Ancestors Back to Life

A reader once typed her own last name into a search box on my website. Thirty seconds later she read six words that changed how she saw her family. Her great-great-grandfather earn

Tom O'Connor

Antietam: Secession to the Bloodiest Day

By nightfall on September 17, 1862, the guns fell silent along a Maryland creek. Nearly 23,000 men lay dead, wounded, or missing. No day in American history cost more. Anyone who w

Tom O'Connor

Beyond the Muster Roll: Every Battle, Every Soldier

Readers write to me the same way, again and again. They find an ancestor in the Muster Roll search. A private in a Pennsylvania regiment. A cavalryman from Mississippi. Once they s

Tom O'Connor

Find Your Family in the Civil War. Free.

By Tom O’Connor | Steel and Honor Series A name on a muster roll is not just ink on paper. It is a man who marched, fought, and came home, or did not. For years, that name sa

Tom O'Connor

Weapons Revolution Coming. It Chose to look away.

He aimed perfectly. The man still stood. The soldier raised his rifle and trusted his training. He lifted the barrel for the old arc. He squeezed the trigger. Smoke swallowed

Tom O'Connor

The Man Who Ran the Union’s Lifeline

By Tom O’Connor | Steel and Honor Series Lincoln stood on the bank of Potomac Creek in late May 1862 and looked up. Above him, four hundred feet of railroad trestle crossed o

Tom O'Connor

When West Point Broke in Two

By Tom O’Connor | Steel and Honor SeriesRobert E. Lee sat alone upstairs at Arlington House on April 20, 1861.Outside, spring had come to Virginia. Inside, the old Union was

Tom O'Connor

The Man Who Armed the South

On a cold April afternoon in 1865, a bearded Confederate colonel walked to a tall flagpole outside his mill. He looked up at the garrison banner. It snapped in the wind above the A

Biography

Tom O'Connor is an author who enjoys writing stories that inspire curiosity, imagination, and reflection. He is the author of Steel and Honor: From Cadets to Captains, a historical narrative that explores the lives of young officers who trained together at West Point before the American Civil War, and Brooks’ Bubble Adventure: Wonder, Discovery and Sibling Fun, a heartwarming children’s picture book for ages 3–9.

Through his work, Tom brings together two different worlds—historical storytelling and imaginative children’s literature—while focusing on themes of friendship, learning, and discovery. He enjoys connecting with readers and sharing stories that encourage both curiosity and a love of reading.

When he is not writing, Tom spends time pursuing other interests and creative passions.

Antietam

Andrew McAllister wears Union blue. James Tanner rides for the Confederacy. West Point made them brothers. Secession turns them into enemies. Follow both families through secession, First Manassas, and the road north to Maryland. Then stand with Andrew at Antietam Creek on September 17, 1862, the bloodiest single day in American history.

Cadets to Captains : 1848-1860

Before brother fought brother, they trained together.

A historical story following young officers from their years at West Point through the growing tensions that led to the American Civil War. Steel and Honor explores friendship, duty, rivalry, and the difficult choices that shaped a generation.

Brooks’ Bubble Adventure

Wonder, Discovery and Sibling Fun

A delightful children’s picture book for ages 3–9 that follows Brooks and his big sister Olivia as a simple bubble wand sparks a day of imagination, curiosity, and playful discovery, celebrating science, creativity, and the special bond between siblings.

THE MUSTER ROLL

Search 6.2 million Union and Confederate service records. Free.

Type a name. Get the soldier’s regiment, rank, and the battles his unit fought. The data comes from the National Park Service’s official Civil War records.

CIVIL WAR BATTLES GUIDE

Explore 382 Civil War battles through official National Park Service records.

Search any battle by name, state, or campaign. Each battle page shows the story of the fight, the units on both sides, the technology that shaped it, maps, and further reading. Battles from the Steel and Honor novels carry an “In the series” badge.