On October 13, 250 years ago, the Continental Congress authorized the establishment of the Continental Navy, marking the birth of what would become the United States Navy. Over a week ago, in Norfolk, with President Trump in attendance, the Navy showcased its impressive, combined arms capabilities. But on this semiquincentennial, the U.S. Navy, the most powerful in the world, had humble beginnings—a single fishing boat.
This week marks the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the start of the Revolutionary War. Farmers, tradesmen, laborers, and mariners–Americans of all stripes–came together to defend themselves against the most professional army in the world.
Countless times, the fate of the nascent American nation depended on the right person being in the right place at the right time–like the gallant 26-year-old Marblehead captain James Mugford Jr. who captured the largest single prize of the Revolutionary War, the Hope.
April 19, 1775, marked the beginning of an epic journey for a band of brothers who risked EVERYTHING for a nation yet to be born.
The terms “disinformation” and “Information warfare” were not coined until long after 1775, but America’s Founding Fathers absolutely understood the importance of them and controlling the narrative.
On Christmas Eve, General George Washington sat in his tent on the banks of the Delaware River and methodically wrote the same three words over and over on several small pieces of paper. He had decided on a daring plan: crossing the ice-choked Delaware River and mounting a surprise attack on the Hessian garrison at Trenton.
Two hundred and forty-six years ago this week the fate of Washington’s army—in fact, the fate of the entire Revolution—lay on the muscled shoulders of the fishermen and sailors of the Marblehead Regiment.
This elite unit of Marylanders, known as “Washington’s Immortals” or the “Bayonets of the Revolution” for their Thermopylae-like charge against a British stronghold, bought with their blood “an hour, more precious to American liberty than any other in its history.”
Two hundred and forty-six years ago, a little-known plot was hatched to assassinate Commander in Chief General George Washington that could have potentially altered the course of history.
“Defend the bridge to the last extremity!” Washington shouted to his officers and men 245 years ago as he stared at the massive British army coiling in front of the stone arched bridge that stood between his men and their destruction.
In the fall of 1776, the United States faced complete collapse. In those dark days, Americans reached deep within, through their agency, to change the course of history.
One of the most poignant and meaningful of these ceremonies will take place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery. During this year’s Veteran’s Day memorial celebration, Arlington Cemetery will recreate a portion of the ceremony that took place 100 years ago.
For those on the ground in Europe the last twenty-four hours before the cessation of hostilities on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, that day was nothing less than hell on earth.
The Founders boldly threw down a nonimportation and exportation agreement against the greatest economic power on earth.
Most Americans think of General George S. Patton as the great commander of U.S. forces in North Africa and Europe in World War II, but fewer know that the colorful and charismatic officer also played a key role in World War I — and here he learned to command.
Two hundred and forty-five years ago, in a forgotten battle that saved Washington’s Army, a handful of American soldiers accomplished a feat exceptionally rare in history. They successfully prevented an amphibious landing by thousands of British soldiers.
At several crucial inflection points in American history, the exceptional bravery of our troops and bold leadership of their officers enabled them to execute remarkable, seemingly impossible, retreats that saved lives, resources, and even the future of the nation.
Two hundred and forty-six years ago this year, in one of America’s most sacred battles, the Battle of Bunker Hill, Americans showed themselves to be not merely a rebellious rabble of colonists but a formidable force to be reckoned with.
General George Washington, was guarded by an elite unit of trusted soldiers, known as his Life Guard, who protected the commander in chief as well as performed special missions and engaged in battle.
The spark that ignited the Revolutionary War in 1775 had a long fuse that British General Thomas Gage unintentionally lit when he first seized colonial gunpowder and artillery in 1774.
The true story of America’s founding and the incredible sacrifice of those who signed the Declaration of Independence and the Americans who made its iconic words a reality is epic.
A Son of Liberty and close friend of Patriots like Samuel Adams and Doctor Joseph Warren, the doctor made great pains to disguise his true loyalties to the British Crown.
Two hundred and forty-six years ago this week, in one of America’s most sacred battles, hundreds of American patriots fought and died for their yet-to-be-born country. America suffered many losses in the Battle of Bunker Hill, but one of the greatest was the life of Patriot leader, Doctor Joseph Warren.
Both the British and the Americans wanted control of Bunker Hill, the highest point on the Charlestown peninsula north of Boston, for strategic reasons. On June 17, 1775, some of the most ferocious fighting of the Revolutionary War would determine who would keep it.
He furtively lowered the fort’s flag, which proclaimed “Don’t Tread on Me,” and passed the colors to another soldier rather than hand them over to the enemy.
The gallant 26-year-old Marblehead captain James Mugford Jr. captured the largest single prize of the Revolutionary War, the Hope.
