HistoryNet

09/22/2021

"What a week, huh?"

"Lemon, it's Wednesday."

"What a week, huh?"

"Lemon, it's Wednesday."

09/21/2021

The Boeing Century

#OTD in 1942: The Boeing B-29 makes its first flight.

During its 100-year history, William Boeing’s company has developed many of the most iconic airplanes ever to take to the sky. The world’s largest

09/20/2021

Famed Buffalo Soldiers Honored at West Point With Statue

From 1907 until 1947 Buffalo Soldiers, known for their exceptional horsemanship, taught classes of all-white cadets riding skills and tactics at the West Point Military Academy. Yet their contributions were little more than a footnote in the history of the academy until recently.

From 1907 until 1947 Buffalo Soldiers, known for their exceptional horsemanship, taught white cadets riding skills and tactics at the West Point Military Academy

09/20/2021

How Doc Martens Went from WWII Discards to Everyone’s Favorite Grunge Boot

Grunge is back!

The original black Dr. Marten boot traces its roots back to World War II, when Klaus Märtens, then a 25-year-old doctor in the German army, injured his ankle skiing.

The original black Dr. Marten boot traces its roots back to World War II, when Klaus Märtens, then a 25-year-old doctor in the German army, injured his ankle skiing

09/20/2021

McNamara's Boys

#Fromthearchives: In 1966 the U.S. military desperately needed more troops in Vietnam. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara had a plan to get them.

In 1966 the U.S. military desperately needed more troops in Vietnam. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara had a plan to get them

09/20/2021

'When in doubt, lash out': The 82nd Airborne's Crossing of the Waal River, 77 Years Later

The largest airborne assault the world has ever seen collides with the bloody realities on the ground.

The largest airborne assault the world has ever seen collides with the bloody realities on the ground.

09/20/2021

Did Furious Forrest Really Threaten Bragg's Life After Chickamauga ?

#OTD in 1863: The Battle of Chickamauga ends in a Pyrrhic tactical victory for General Braxton Bragg’s Confederate Army of Tennessee.

Closer look at historical sources sheds doubt on whether infamous Chattanooga confrontation ever occurred

09/17/2021

Antietam’s Deadly Harvest

#OTD in 1862: Holding the high ground outside of Sharpsville, Maryland, Confederate General Robert E. Lee decides to give battle with his just-reunited Army of Northern Virginia against Major General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac in the Battle of Antietam –– the single bloodiest day in American history.

New revelations from a recently discovered map

09/17/2021

The Legacy of Harriet Tubman: Freedom Fighter and Spy

#OTD in 1849: Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery.

Harriet Tubman helped plan a South Carolina river raid that freed hundreds of slaves. hen the Civil War began, Harriet Tubman had already been a freedom

09/16/2021

Siege of Savannah During the American Revolutionary War

#OTD in 1779: The Americans and French lay siege to British-held Savannah, Georgia.

In some of the bloodiest fighting of the Revolutionary War, American and French troops failed to take Savannah.

09/16/2021

Avalanche: How Both Sides Lost at Salerno

#OTD in 1943: The German Tenth Army declares that it can no longer contain the Allied beachhead at Salerno, Italy.

Sometimes it's not whether you win or lose, but whether you wind up in a long, protracted struggle.

09/15/2021

How the Plane Crash Scene in '1917' Set Me on the Trail of My Grandfather

A dramatic scene in 1917, the film directed by Sam Mendes, set this author on the trail of his grandfather in World War I.

A dramatic scene in 1917, the film directed by Sam Mendes, set the author on the trail of his grandfather in World War I

09/14/2021

Uncloaking the Jeff Davis Myth

The defeated Confederate President’s dramatic capture—in fact and fiction.

The defeated Confederate President’s dramatic capture—in fact and fiction

09/13/2021

This WWII Vet Kept a 'Thank You for Your Service' Letter for Over 10 Years. This Summer He Finally Met Its Author

Written in 2009 by then-third grader Dashauna Priest, the letter addressed to the veteran was simple yet profound.

“Thank you for saving us from Hitler,” she wrote. “If it wasn’t for you we would never have freedom… I’m so happy you made sacrifices.”

“Before I close my eyes I have to find her. I have to find her," Frank Grasberger repeatedly told his wife

09/13/2021

Oldest Living WWII Veteran Celebrates 112th Birthday

Happy birthday, Mr. Lawrence Brooks!

A veteran of the 91st Engineer Battalion, a primarily African-American unit, Brooks served in New Guinea and the Philippines during World War II as a servant to three white officers

09/13/2021

'The Roar and Rattle': McClellan's Missed Opportunities at Antietam

#OTD in 1862: Union soldiers outside of Frederick, Maryland discover General Robert E. Lee’s Orders No.191 wrapped in ci**rs. Union Gen. George McClellan famously hesitates.

The Battle of Antietam resulted in more pivotal changes, across a broader spectrum of events—military, political, diplomatic, societal—than any other battle of the war. Yet if evaluated in purely military terms, it was not decisive at all.

09/11/2021

This Daring F-16 Pilot Went on a Kamikaze Mission on 9/11

On September 11, 2001, Air Force pilot Heather “Lucky” Penney was asked to do the unthinkable –– find the airliner and take it down by any means necessary.

On September 11, 2001, Air Force pilot Heather "Lucky" Penney was asked to do the unthinkable.

09/11/2021

9.11.2001

(Fred George, "Ash Wednesday, Dusk," New-York Historical Society).

9.11.2001

(Fred George, "Ash Wednesday, Dusk," New-York Historical Society).

09/10/2021

'Not something you should ever really see’: Veterans Reflect on 9/11

'Not something you should ever really see’: Veterans Reflect on 9/11

“The initial reasons to go in after 9/11, were right and true,” Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath said. “They had attacked our country, and they needed to be ousted."

09/09/2021

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09/09/2021

How Pioneering Entrepreneurs Helped 19th-Century America Keep Cool

Until the 19th century, ice fit for human consumption was scarce, hacked and sawn by hand, and available only locally in limited, highly prized quantities.

Until the 19th century, ice fit for human consumption was scarce, hacked and sawn by hand, and available only locally in limited, highly prized quantities

09/08/2021

Unforgiven: Robert E. Lee's Conflicted Legacy

For some a secular saint, for others a symbol of oppression.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his conflicted legacy. For some, he was a secular saint, for others a symbol of oppression.

09/08/2021

Leningrad Symphony: A Symphony of War

#OTD in 1941: German forces begin their siege of Leningrad –– one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history.

During the dark days of the Wehrmacht's long siege of Leningrad, the spirits of the Russian city's citizens and defenders were lifted by a musical masterpiece.

09/07/2021

Gen. Robert E. Lee Statue — Nation’s Largest Remaining Confederate Tribute — To Be Removed

“The statue was installed in 1890, a generation after the Civil War, during the historical movement that sought to undo the results by other means."

On Wednesday, the nation’s largest remaining Confederate statue will be removed from the famed Monument Avenue in Richmond. In June 2020, amid growing

09/07/2021

How a World War I Jazz-Playing Marine Gave Us the Best Weapon Name Ever

How a strange instrument became the namesake for a devastating weapon.

A strange instrument became the namesake for a devastating weapon

09/07/2021

Shadows of the Blitz in Today's London

#OTD in 1940: The Luftwaffe begins bombing London. The Blitz has begun.

The signs of the Blitz's devastation in London are hard to find, but a walk through central London can still reveal the scars of those days; you just need to know where to look.

09/03/2021

#OTD in 1783: The signing of the Treaty of Paris formally ends the Revolutionary War, with Britain recognizing the sovereignty of the United States.

#OTD in 1783: The signing of the Treaty of Paris formally ends the Revolutionary War, with Britain recognizing the sovereignty of the United States.

09/02/2021

Jubilation and Reflection: V-J Day 76 Years On

#OTD in 1945: The Japanese surrender at Tokyo Bay, officially concluding the bloodiest war in recorded history.

Marked both by jubilation and somber reflection, the Japanese surrender at Tokyo Bay officially concluding the bloodiest war in recorded history.  In

09/01/2021

Honor Before Glory: Pat Tillman in Afghanistan

NFL standout Pat Tillman wasn’t out to win recognition or stir up controversy when he enlisted and deployed to the Middle East.

NFL standout Pat Tillman wasn’t out to win recognition or stir up controversy when he enlisted and deployed to the Middle East

09/01/2021

The Man Who Started World War II

#OTD in 1939: Germany invades Poland in an unprovoked attack –– precipitating the start of #WWII in Europe.

Alfred Naujocks was an SS expert in dirty deeds done well, charged with making Poland appear a villain. And he did just that in the small town of Gleiwitz.

09/01/2021

Generous Americans ‘clogging’ military mail network with donations for Afghan evacuees at Al Udeid

“The increased volume by well-intentioned individuals has created a challenge for the Military Postal Service to effectively and legally process mail,” said Army Lt. Col. Matt Fontaine, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Human Resources Command.

Donate elsewhere to help other Afghan evacuees, as this base has plenty.

08/31/2021

From the Big House to the Battlefield: Heisman Winner Tom Harmon's War

College football is back this week and what better way to kick it off than with the storied life of Heisman winner and WWII veteran Tom Harmon?

“I went through the most physically painful experience of my life,” Harmon later wrote

08/31/2021

Why the Royal Thai Air Force Both Fought and Supported America During World War II

The RTF was a service with a double life—flying on behalf of the Japanese, while also working against Japan as a secret collaborator of the OSS.

The RTF was a service with a double life—flying on behalf of the Japanese, while also working against Japan as a secret collaborator of the OSS.

08/31/2021

No Room on the Chopper: The Plight of the Military Working Dogs in Vietnam

The mantra “no man left behind” was not amended to include the dogs who fought alongside the men.

The plight of the military working dogs in Vietnam

08/30/2021

Elizabeth Freeman: The Enslaved Woman who Sued for Freedom in 1780—and Won

Using language in Massachusetts' state constitution, Freeman, known as 'Mum Bett,' successfully challenged her enslavement in court.

Using language in Massachusett's state constitution, Freeman, known as 'Mum Bett,' successfully challenged her enslavement in court