An interesting historical story.
Sneaky Frenchmen place dynamite on train tracks on a bridge and blow up a German train causing it to plunge into a river. That’s one image that comes to mind when you hear “French resistance”. Images were created by Ernest Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls” (which was about Read more…
The first woman titled “Miss America” was Edith Macartney. She was crowned on Feb. 1, 1919 in a pageant held in New York City. This pageant did not go on to become the famous Miss America Pageant. Atlantic City was a popular destination for families wanting to enjoy a Read more…
Eddie Slovik was the fifth child of an immigrant family that settled in Michigan. The family was poor and during the Depression his father was often unemployed. At age 12, Eddie took to supplementing the family income by stealing. He was arrested several times as a teenager and joined Read more…
Over 12 million immigrants came through Ellis Island from 1892-1954. Many of them had their names changed so they were more American. Except that did not happen. The inspectors who supposedly on their own changed names did not actually have the power or opportunity to do that. They did Read more…
In the Revolutionary War, many captured soldiers, sailors, and rebellious civilians were held in hellish “prison ships”. These forgotten men were among the most patriotic Americans because almost all turned down British offers of pardon and a bounty in exchange for joining the British navy. Only about 8% were Read more…
The first chapter book I read was about Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys. My 6th grade teacher encouraged us to read that was a competition that I was good at. It was the start of a lifelong love of history books. I have read hundreds of history Read more…
Here is a famous legend passed to us by Livy. In the 6th Century B.C., the Romans expelled their last Etruscan king. Tarquin immediately sought an alliance with King Lars Porsena of Clusium. Tarquin convinced Porsena that overthrowing kings was a trend that needed to be stopped. Porsena agreed Read more…
In military terminology, “Broken Arrow” is an accident involving a nuclear bomb that does not result in detonation. From 1950-1980, there were 21 declassified incidents where nuclear bombs were lost, accidentally dropped, ejected from a plane for safety reasons, or on planes that crashed. One of the most serious Read more…
Today I get to write about one of my favorite battles of the Revolutionary War. A battle that has been largely forgotten, even though it was an almost perfect performance by an American army. In 216 B.C., Hannibal destroyed a Roman army in the Battle of Cannae. He managed to Read more…
In 1860, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was concerned about the possibility of a civil war. Being an abolitionist, Longfellow wanted the North to stand up to the South. He wanted to write an inspiration poem in favor of fighting for the Union. The result was “Paul Revere’s Ride”. He did Read more…