Selasa, 31 Januari 2017

April 2017 Table of Contents

The April 2017 issue features a cover story about Lakota warrior Rain-in-the-Face and his feud with the Custer brothers The post April 2017 Table of Contents appeared first on HistoryNet....

Larry Edgar

The painter depicts well-known figures such as Tom Horn but also honors overlooked Wyomingites The post Larry Edgar appeared first on HistoryNet....

April 2017 Readers’ Letters

Readers share dispatches about Indian life painter George de Forest Brush, Doc Holliday, "Liver-Eating" Johnson, Johnse Hatfield and a mystery deputy The post April 2017 Readers’ Letters appeared first on HistoryNet....

TV Series Review: Westworld

Based on Michael Crichton's campy 1973 Western sci-fi thriller, Westworld is HBO's latest foray into bid-budget TV drama The post TV Series Review: Westworld appeared first on HistoryNet....

The Truth About Facial Recognition Technology

If a historical image lacks provenance, the ‘eyes’ don’t have it The post The Truth About Facial Recognition Technology appeared first on HistoryNet....

Daily Quiz for February 1, 2017

On July 24, 1897, twenty-one men of the 25th Infantry arrived in St. Louis after a 1400 mile, 40 day ride on these. The post Daily Quiz for February 1, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

February 01, 1884: Oxford Dictionary debuts

On this day in 1884, the first portion, or fascicle, of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), considered the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary of the English language, is published. Today, the OED is the definitive authority on the meaning, pronunciation and history of over half a million words, past and present Plans for the dictionary began in 1857 when members of London’s Philological Society, who believed there were no up-to-date, error-free...

Bikes Honor Vets of All Branches & Wars

American Tribute Tour to take specially made bikes across the nation. The American motorcycles representing the four branches of the armed Tribute Tour, with services, is roaring across the United States and will make a stop at Rolling Thunder XXVIII in Washington, D.C. Scheduled to start at a Florida motorcycle rally in March and end … The post Bikes Honor Vets of All Branches & Wars appeared first on HistoryNet....

4 Stars and 6 Rides: NATO general and Rolling Thunder a perfect match

In May 2014, General Philip Breedlove completed a nearly 2,000-mile, seven-day ride through the Alps on a motorcycle. That trek, with a group of military colleagues, neatly encapsulates two of his biggest interests: Europe and bikes. Breedlove is commander of the U.S. European Command, in charge of U.S. military operations in Europe and parts of … The post 4 Stars and 6 Rides: NATO general and Rolling Thunder a perfect match appeared first on Hi...

Defenders Lodge a Comfort for Patients

Hotel at Palo Alto Veterans Affairs hospital offers free rooms. Billy Bryels was drafted in August 1966 and severely wounded in March 1968 while serving in Vietnam as an infantryman with the 2nd Battalion of the 327th Infantry Regiment in the 101st Airborne Division. The California native came home with three dozen fragment punctures in … The post Defenders Lodge a Comfort for Patients appeared first on HistoryNet....

Welcome to Rolling Thunder XXVIII: How Rolling Thunder Began

It takes a special breed of people to defend freedom. Those individuals are called veterans. It takes craziness, a little stupidity and a lot of courage to be one of the few. Most Americans have no idea of the hardships that veterans endure: poor pay, mediocre housing (especially on the battlefield) and, the most difficult … The post Welcome to Rolling Thunder XXVIII: How Rolling Thunder Began appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: F-104 Starfighter Units in Combat

F-104 Starfighter Units in Combat  By Peter E. Davies, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, England, 2014 One of the more overlooked participants in the air war over Vietnam, the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was a Mach 2 interceptor forced to adapt its sleek, lean airframe to a variety of tasks for which it was not designed. In entry … The post Book Review: F-104 Starfighter Units in Combat appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: The Pro-War Movement

The Pro-War Movement: Domestic Support for the Vietnam War and the Making of Modern American Conservatism By Sandra Scanlon, University of Massachusetts Press, 2013 The military conflict in Vietnam set off a political, social and cultural war in America that is still being fought. The deep divisions prominent in the United States today had begun … The post Book Review: The Pro-War Movement appeared first on HistoryNet....

The Hunt for Missing POWs

The untold story of the CIA’s bungled recon mission to track down prisoners in Laos six years after the Vietnam War. In 2002, during a research trip to the National Archives to search the records of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs (1991-93), author Lynn O’Shea found a box containing declassified documents detailing the … The post The Hunt for Missing POWs appeared first on HistoryNet....

Shadows Over Cambodia: The Battle of Prey Totung

Relentless firepower from U.S. planes bolsters the Cambodian army in a fight against North Vietnamese forces at the Battle of Prey Totung. T he Vietnam War moved west into Cambodia beginning May 1, 1970, after President Richard Nixon authorized an incursion to destroy sanctuaries used by the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong to plan and … The post Shadows Over Cambodia: The Battle of Prey Totung appeared first on HistoryNet....

Monument in the Mountains: Soldierstone

High in the Rockies, Soldierstone fulfills an Army officer’s dream of a memorial to the men of many nationalities who fought in Indochina. Stuart Allen Beckley, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, was dying of cancer. The pain was agonizing. But before night fell forever, he had one last mission. Beckley wanted to fulfill “a promise … The post Monument in the Mountains: Soldierstone appeared first on HistoryNet....

In the Beginning, There was the Hump

The 173rd Airborne’s fight with the Viet Cong in November 1965 was the Army’s first major battle of the Vietnam War. My breath came in short gasps. I tried to bur- row into the ground and crawl inside my helmet at the same time. Other men were spread out in groups of two or three. … The post In the Beginning, There was the Hump appeared first on HistoryNet....

Powerful Memorials Take Myriad Forms

The approach of Memorial Day weekend reminds us that there are many—often poignant and sometimes surprising—ways to remember, honor and memorialize the service of Vietnam War veterans. This issue of Vietnam shows how varied the range of possibilities is. In what has become an annual tradition, the June issue includes the official guide to activities … The post Powerful Memorials Take Myriad Forms appeared first on HistoryNet....

Powerful Memorials Take Myriad Forms

The approach of Memorial Day weekend reminds us that there are many—often poignant and sometimes surprising—ways to remember, honor and memorialize the service of Vietnam War veterans. This issue of Vietnam shows how varied the range of possibilities is. In what has become an annual tradition, the June issue includes the official guide to activities … The post Powerful Memorials Take Myriad Forms appeared first on HistoryNet....

My War: Coast Guarding the DMZ

In January 1966, I enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. Everyone was going to Vietnam; it was just the thing to do. I finished high school in Amsterdam, New York, did 1½ years at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica and spent another two years at GE making $1.55 an hour, which was good money. … The post My War: Coast Guarding the DMZ appeared first on HistoryNet....

Voices: Tony Orlando

Tony Orlando rocked to the top of the pop charts in the early 1970s with hits such as “Candida” and “Knock Three Times.” In February 1973 the group Tony Orlando and Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson) released “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree,” which opens with “I’m comin’ home, I’ve … The post Voices: Tony Orlando appeared first on HistoryNet....

Intel- Vietnam magazine June 2015

Russian Submarines Shoring Up Vietnam’s Navy To bolster its military muscle in territorial disputes with China over oil and fishing rights in the South China Sea, Vietnam has been expanding its naval forces through an unprecedented acquisition of newly built warships. Over the past year, for example, it has cut deals to buy coastal patrol … The post Intel- Vietnam magazine June 2015 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Letters from Readers- Vietnam magazine June 2015

Cavalry Briefing—in Detail  On page 53 of “Howard Breedlove’s Vietnam,” (April 2015) there is a photo captioned, “1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) platoon leader briefs squad leaders.” This  is a picture of Captain William Taylor,commanding officer of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, on or around June 22, 1966. We were in mountains near Kontum, … The post Letters from Readers- Vietnam magazine June 2015 appeared first...

Senin, 30 Januari 2017

January 31, 1950: Truman announces development of H-bomb

U.S. President Harry S. Truman publicly announces his decision to support the development of the hydrogen bomb, a weapon theorized to be hundreds of times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II. Five months earlier, the United States had lost its nuclear supremacy when the Soviet Union successfully detonated an atomic bomb at their test site in Kazakhstan. Then, several weeks after that, British and U.S. intelligence...

Daily Quiz for January 31, 2017

This was the first purpose-built and deployed fighter plane. The post Daily Quiz for January 31, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Questions Regarding The Electoral College

In the late 1700s and the early 1800s, during the presidential elections, did the names of the presidential candidates always appear on the ballots in all the states? In which year did the ballots in all the states finally show the names of the presidential candidates? If there were some presidential elections early in our … The post Questions Regarding The Electoral College appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Marching Masters

Marching Masters: Slavery, Race, and the Confederate Army During the Civil War  By Colin Edward Woodward The History Press 2014, $19.99 In September 1863, Confederate Private William Nugent tried to explain to his wife at home in Georgia why he was fighting to preserve slavery for others even though he didn’t own any. “We can … The post Book Review: Marching Masters appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Reviews: The Last to Join the Fight

The Last to Join the Fight: The 66th Georgia Infantry  By Daniel Cone, Mercer University Press 2014, $29 Daniel Cone’s the Fight: The 66th Georgia Infantry is an excellent addition The Last to Join to Civil War regimental historiography, a revealing look at a little-known Confederate unit formed straight out of the Georgia heartland in … The post Book Reviews: The Last to Join the Fight appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Reviews: ’Death Does Seem to Have All He Can Attend to’

’Death Does Seem to Have All He Can Attend to’: The Civil War Diary of an Andersonville Survivor  By Colin Edward Woodward, University of Virginia Nearly 56,000 Union and Confederate soldiers died in captivity during the Civil War, but— miraculously—more than 350,000 soldiers survived imprisonment. Among the survivors was Union Private George Alfred Hitchcock, who … The post Book Reviews: ’Death Does Seem to Have All He Can Attend to’ appeared...

Book Reviews: On a Great Battlefield By Jennifer M. Murray

On a Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933-2013 By Jennifer M. Murray, University of Tennessee Press, 2014, $49 Gettysburg stands out among Civil War battlefields not only because of the great battle fought there in July 1863, but also because it is where Abraham Lincoln powerfully articulated the … The post Book Reviews: On a Great Battlefield By Jennifer M. Murray appeared first on His...

Book Review: Bloody Autumn

Bloody Autumn: The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864  By Daniel T. Davis and Phillip S. Greenwalt Savas Beatie, 2014, $12.95   Thumbnail accounts of important battles and campaigns go a long way in helping novice battlefield  trampers understand the significance of  each of these sites. In Bloody Autumn, National Park Service historians Daniel T. Davis … The post Book Review: Bloody Autumn appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Lincoln and the Power of the Press

Lincoln and the Power of the Press: The War for Public Opinion  By Harold Holzer Simon & Schuster 2014, $37.50 Abraham Lincoln understood the power of the press. From early in his career, he subscribed to multiple papers, courted editors and tracked reports of his remarks. Following the debates with Stephen Douglas in 1858, he … The post Book Review: Lincoln and the Power of the Press appeared first on HistoryNet....

Reality Check: Not a Quick Civil War

After the first year, any illusions that the war would be quick and dirty were gone. Winfield Scott, general in chief of the U.S. Army, – had identified the Mississippi River as an offensive  opportunity. He came up with  a plan, popularly called the  Anaconda, which envisioned  first encircling the Confederacy with a naval blockade … The post Reality Check: Not a Quick Civil War appeared first on HistoryNet....

Wreck the Weldon Railroad

Grant sent them to destroy one of the Confederates’ few remaining supply lines; would they succeed? Threatening clouds presaged soggy weather on the morning of December 7, 1864, as the 97th New York Infantry joined a long column of Union troops on a road leading from Petersburg, Va. However dull the skies, the soldiers, commanded … The post Wreck the Weldon Railroad appeared first on HistoryNet....

Misfire at Mine Run

Major General George Meade’s options were limited as he worked to fill voids in the Army of the Potomac’s command hierarchy after the Battle of Gettysburg. His two biggest losses at Gettysburg came atop the I and II corps, with the death of Maj. Gen. John Reynolds early in the battle and the near-fatal wounding … The post Misfire at Mine Run appeared first on HistoryNet....

Haunt of the High Seas: The Jefferson Davis

During the summer of ’61, Northern shippers trembled at the mention of Confederate raider Jefferson Davis. The Naval Historical Center calls the voyage of the Confederate privateer  Jefferson Davis “the last truly classic  cruise in the history of private-armed sea  power.” Indeed, the Jefferson Davis was the single most successful maritime raider  of the Civil … The post Haunt of the High Seas: The Jefferson Davis appeared first...

Grant’s Secret Weapon: Himself

What exactly was it that gave this general the power to succeed when so many before him had failed? I grew up hating Ulysses S. Grant, if only because he was the one most responsible for vanquishing my childhood hero, Robert E. Lee. In our household, Lee came next to God and cleanliness, a paragon … The post Grant’s Secret Weapon: Himself appeared first on HistoryNet....

Dèjá Vu: Of Scales and Thumbs

img alt="Sticks & Stones An 1857 vote had partisans and pooches beefing in the street." class="attachment-small wp-post-image" height="577" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uxH3-2IsHc1Hb_Ml46uVL5Xkxz52otVKlZNKy6gaCqhhQZFhAfZH90PjW6BujOT-NbCsYCpkR4zQ=s0-d" style="margin-bottom:10px;" width="2000">The homestretch of the 2016 election resounded with Donald Trump’s charge...

Déjà Vu: Organ Recital

After Hillary Clinton abruptly left a 9/11 commemoration at the Ground Zero memorial, smartphone videos by onlookers showed the candidate stumbling off a curb and sinking into Secret Service agents’ arms before being thrust into a campaign van. Ninety minutes later, Clinton emerged from daughter Chelsea’s Manhattan apartment, waving and declaring she was “feeling great.” … The post Déjà Vu: Organ...

Petition of the Twenty Thousand: Women Help the War Effort

In late July 1864, 800 Philadelphia seamstresses put their names on a petition addressed to the Honorable Edwin M. Stanton, U.S. secretary of war. Titled “Twenty Thousand Working Women of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania”—so clearly speaking for more than themselves—it protested their abysmally low wages at the Schuylkill Arsenal and the outsourcing of work on government contracts … The post Petition of the Twenty Thousand: Women Help the War Effort appeared...

Field Notes- America’s Civil War January 2015

Harrisburg mayor attacks civil war museum Calling the National Civil War Museum a “failed experiment” and a “money pit,” Harrisburg, Pa., Mayor Eric Papenfuse has laid siege to the museum’s funding mechanisms in an attempt to make it pay for itself or close it down. Papenfuse says the 13-year-old institution is improperly spending $290,000 in … The post Field Notes- America’s Civil War January 2015 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Letters from Readers- America’s Civil War January 2015

Put the flags back I think Washington and Lee University President Kenneth Ruscio and his administration were wrong to take down the battle fags around Robert  E. Lee’s tomb (“Field Notes”; November 2014). Did these students not tour the campus before applying to study there? Did they not know the school’s name was changed from … The post Letters from Readers- America’s Civil War January 2015 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Minggu, 29 Januari 2017

January 30, 1948: Gandhi assassinated

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, is assassinated in New Delhi by a Hindu fanatic. Born the son of an Indian official in 1869, Gandhi’s Vaishnava mother was deeply religious and early on exposed her son to Jainism, a morally rigorous Indian religion that advocated nonviolence. Gandhi was an unremarkable student but in 1888 was given an opportunity to study law in England. In 1891,...

Daily Quiz for January 30, 2017

She was the first woman nominated for a Best Director Academy Award. The post Daily Quiz for January 30, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Sabtu, 28 Januari 2017

January 29, 1936: U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame elects first members

On January 29, 1936, the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame elects its first members in Cooperstown, New York: Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson. The Hall of Fame actually had its beginnings in 1935, when plans were made to build a museum devoted to baseball and its 100-year history. A private organization based in Cooperstown called the Clark Foundation thought that establishing the Baseball Hall of Fame in their city...

Daily Quiz for January 29, 2017

This was the first coffeehouse to open in Europe. The post Daily Quiz for January 29, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Jumat, 27 Januari 2017

January 28, 1986: Challenger disaster

At 11:38 a.m. EST, on January 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and Christa McAuliffe is on her way to becoming the first ordinary U.S. civilian to travel into space. McAuliffe, a 37-year-old high school social studies teacher from New Hampshire, won a competition that earned her a place among the seven-member crew of the Challenger. She underwent months of shuttle training but then, beginning January...

Daily Quiz for January 28, 2017

In 1896, J. P. Morgan, Joseph Pulitzer, William Vanderbilt and others formed this organization. The post Daily Quiz for January 28, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Through the Heart of Dixie

Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory By Anne Sarah Rubin, University of North Carolina Press 2014, $35 Few events have stirred as powerful a response from historically minded Americans as the marches William Tecumseh Sherman’s Union forces made from Atlanta to the Atlantic Ocean in late 1864, and through South Carolina … The post Book Review: Through the Heart of Dixie appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Persuading John Bull

Persuading John Bull: Union and Confederate Propaganda in Britain, 1860-1865 By Thomas E. Sebrell II Lexington Books 2014, $35 The Civil War was a propaganda war as well as a shooting war. Nowhere was this more evident than in Great Britain, where two journals—one Union and one Confederate—waged a spirited contest for the opinions of … The post Book Review: Persuading John Bull appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: ‘We Fought Desperate’

‘We Fought Desperate’: A History of the 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment By Jeffery D. Stocker, Self-Published, 2014, $44.95 Regimental histories appeared steadily through the postwar decades of the 19th century—especially for Northern units, whose survivors had far more money and leisure to spare than their late foes. As the last veterans died, unit histories … The post Book Review: ‘We Fought Desperate’ appeared first on HistoryN...

Book Review: Founders’ Son- A Life of Abraham Lincoln

Founders’ Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln By Richard Brookhiser, Basic Books 2014, $27.99 Richard Brookhiser, a senior editor at the has written extensively about National Review, our nation’s Founders. His many books include works on George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, as well as a volume that asks “What Would the Founders Do?” … The post Book Review: Founders’ Son- A Life of Abraham Lincoln appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: A Gunner in Lee’s Army

A Gunner in Lee’s Army: The Civil War Letters of Thomas Henry Carter  Edited by Graham T. Dozier, University of North Carolina Press 2014, $35.16 Each year a number of collections of Civil War soldier letters, diaries or memoirs are published. Though all contribute something to our understanding of the war, most cast only a … The post Book Review: A Gunner in Lee’s Army appeared first on HistoryNet....

Johnston Comes Out Swinging at Bentonville

Outmanned, disorganized and disheartened, the Confederates could do little more than harass Gen. William T. Sherman’s Federals as they swarmed through the Carolinas in February and March of 1865. But as he met with his commanders on March 18 just southwest of Bentonville, N.C., Sherman conceded he wasn’t ready to count out his familiar old … The post Johnston Comes Out Swinging at Bentonville appeared first on HistoryNet....

‘I Heard a Pistol Shot': Eyewitness to the Assassination of Lincoln

A soldier who rarely went to the theater witnessed the drama of the century on April 14, 1865. Captain Roeliff Brinkerhoff was sitting across from the president’s box during the performance at Ford’s Theatre the night President Lincoln was assassinated. He was one of the few present to notice John Wilkes Booth approach the presidential … The post ‘I Heard a Pistol Shot': Eyewitness to the Assassination of Lincoln appeared first on HistoryNet....

Lincoln’s Final Appeal: The Last Speech of Abraham Lincoln

The president’s last speech reached beyond the war to a peace he wouldn’t experience. Despite the misty Washington weather, the White House was bathed in light on April 11, 1865, as thousands assembled to hear the president speak. Throughout the city, bonfires blazed and celebratory rockets whistled. Crowds had gathered here the day before, expecting … The post Lincoln’s Final Appeal: The Last Speech of Abraham Lincoln appeared first on HistoryN...

Charleston Harbor Hijinks

Nearly a century after young Edwin Halsey’s prank almost sparked a civil war, gunpowder and mischief mingled again in Charleston Harbor on January 9, 1961. The occasion was the reenactment of the firing on the Federal steamship Star of the West. One hundred years earlier, Citadel cadets had skillfully directed more than a dozen rounds … The post Charleston Harbor Hijinks appeared first on HistoryNet....

First Round at Fort Sumter

Everybody knows what happened at Charleston in April 1861, but the war was nearly started a month earlier—by mistake. Long jets of fame and billows of smoke erupted from two 8-inch Columbiads on Cummings Point, at the tip of Morris Island, S.C. The crash of heavy artillery from the Confederate “Iron-clad Battery” rolled across the … The post First Round at Fort Sumter appeared first on HistoryNet....

Lee’s Last Ditch Effort

His army was crumbling and the Yankees were everywhere. Could one more gamble work? All around him, his soldiers were ragged and hungry. Desperate attempts in the last week to feed, clothe and arm them had been thwarted at every turn. Half his troops had been captured, killed or wounded—or had just left. Enemy armies … The post Lee’s Last Ditch Effort appeared first on HistoryNet....

Cease Fire: Lincoln On Death

Abraham Lincoln might not have believed in ghosts and spirits, or even known of the ancient legend of vampires (as a filmmaker vividly suggested recently). But long before he presided over the bloodiest war in American history—which cost the lives of more than 700,000 young men in their prime—Lincoln was indisputably a melancholy, mystical man … The post Cease Fire: Lincoln On Death appeared first on HistoryNet....

Field Notes- America’s Civil War March 2015

Cushing’s Medal of Honor awarded More than 151 years after his heroic actions during Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg, 1st Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing was awarded the Medal of Honor at the White House by President Barack Obama. The November ceremony was the culmination of a four-decades-long struggle by Cushing supporters to recognize … The post Field Notes- America’s Civil War March 2015 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Letters from Readers- America’s Civil War March 2015

Columbia’s culprit In response to your query on p. 27 of the January 2015 issue (“Who Burned Columbia, S.C.?”), William Sherman provided an answer. “In my official  report of this conflagration in Columbia,” he wrote in his memoirs, “I distinctly charged it to Confederate General Wade Hampton and confess I did  so pointedly to shake … The post Letters from Readers- America’s Civil War March 2015 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Kamis, 26 Januari 2017

January 27, 1888: National Geographic Society founded

On January 27, 1888, the National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., for “the increase and diffusion of geographical knowledge.” The 33 men who originally met and formed the National Geographic Society were a diverse group of geographers, explorers, teachers, lawyers, cartographers, military officers and financiers. All shared an interest in scientific and geographical knowledge, as well as an opinion that in a time of discovery,...

Daily Quiz for January 27, 2017

Famed gunfighter John Henry "Doc" Holliday killed this many men during his career. The post Daily Quiz for January 27, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Embattled Capital- Frankfort Kentucky in the Civil War

Embattled Capital: Frankfort Kentucky in the Civil War By James M. Prichard Frankfort Heritage Press 2014, $39.95 Until recently, Kentucky’s role during the Civil War and Reconstruction had not received the level of scholarly attention it justly deserves. Fortunately, the void is gradually getting filled  in recent years by the works of a number of … The post Book Review: Embattled Capital- Frankfort Kentucky in the Civil War appeared first...

Book Review: ‘Stand to It and Give Them Hell’

‘Stand to It and Give Them Hell’: Gettysburg as the Soldiers Experienced It From Cemetery Ridge to Little Round Top, July 2, 1863  By John Michael Priest Savas Beatie, 2014, $32.95 Many say the three-day Battle of Gettysburg was decided on July 2, 1863, even though the fighting didn’t end until the following  evening. Rather … The post Book Review: ‘Stand to It and Give Them Hell’ appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: A Broken Regiment- The 16th Connecticut’s Civil War

A Broken Regiment: The 16th Connecticut’s Civil War  By Lesley J. Gordon Louisiana State University Press, 2014, $49.95 John Otto’s cornfield near Sharpsburg, Md., was a bad place for any Union regiment to be the afternoon of September 17, 1862—let alone one that had formally mustered into service less than a month earlier. But that … The post Book Review: A Broken Regiment- The 16th Connecticut’s Civil War appeared first on HistoryNet....

Author Lesley Poling-Kempes

The New Mexico transplant writes about four women who slipped the shackles of Victorian convention The post Author Lesley Poling-Kempes appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Fortune’s Fool- The Life of John Wilkes Booth

Fortune’s Fool: The Life of John Wilkes Booth  By Terry Alford Oxford University Press 2015, $29.95 he name John Wilkes Booth is synonymous with infamy. In the popular view, he has remained frozen in the same gruesome tableau for 150 years, lurking in the shadows of President Lincoln’s box at Ford’s Theatre. In one hand … The post Book Review: Fortune’s Fool- The Life of John Wilkes Booth appeared first on HistoryNet....

‘Lick ’em to-morrow, though’: First Day at the Battle of Shiloh

Soldiers on both sides expected the Federals to retreat after the first day at Shiloh; Grant had other ideas. Elements of three of General Buell’s five divisions were at Pittsburg Landing by dawn April 7, and the placement of those Army of the Ohio brigades on the left allowed Grant to squeeze his army’s line … The post ‘Lick ’em to-morrow, though’: First Day at the Battle of Shiloh appeared first on HistoryNet....

Everybody Loves a Parade: Grand Review of the Civil War

With the fighting finished, Washington pulls out all the stops for a Grand Review. THE CONCLUSION OF FOUR YEARS of grueling civil war called for a celebration, according to The New York Times. “This war has been singularly wanting in pomp and pride and circumstance,” the paper opined on May 4, 1865, expressing its hope … The post Everybody Loves a Parade: Grand Review of the Civil War appeared first on HistoryNet....

It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Civil War

The National Park Service used the sesquicentennial to shed new light on an old story. AS THE NATION PREPARED TO commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Civil War in 1961, the remarkable Robert Smalls was not part of the conversation. Born into slavery in Beaufort, S.C., Smalls worked the docks of Charleston Harbor, acquitting himself … The post It’s Not Your Grandfather’s Civil War appeared first on HistoryNet....

Texas two-step at Palmito Ranch

Colonel John S. “Rip” Ford didn’t like what he saw.  A line of blue was spread before him over a rolling coastal plain studded with chaparral. The shrub-like plants provided an ideal cover for his skirmishers, who kept up a brisk fire to stall the Union advance. The force he faced was twice the size … The post Texas two-step at Palmito Ranch appeared first on HistoryNet....

War’s Bitter End

After a four-year bloodbath, the guns finally fell silent. Now what? The Civil War ended with what amounted to a whimper compared with all the bloody bangs during the years preceding the surrender. The principal contestants, Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Potomac, concluded their contretemps at … The post War’s Bitter End appeared first on HistoryNet....

Southern women and their new normal

On the afternoon of April 9, 1865, Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee sat down in the parlor of Wilmer McLean’s house in Appomattox Court House, Va., and negotiated the terms of Lee’s surrender. A few days later, in a ceremony that lasted seven hours, about 20,000 Confederate soldiers in the Army of … The post Southern women and their new normal appeared first on HistoryNet....

Letter From Wild West – April 2017

The unlikely friendship of soft-spoken frontiersman Tom Jeffords and imposing Apache Chief Cochise fascinated generations of Americans The post Letter From Wild West – April 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Field Notes- America’s Civil War May 2015

Federal legislation protects land at Gettysburg, Vicksburg Two separate pieces of federal legislation passed late last year are set to add parkland to Civil War battlefields in  Pennsylvania and Mississippi. At Gettysburg, the government expanded park boundaries to allow the Gettysburg Foundation to proceed with plans to donate the Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad Station and a … The post Field Notes- America’s Civil War May 2015 appeared first on...

Letters from Readers- America’s Civil War May 2015

Nasty Yankee prison camps I usually attempt to maintain a neutral position concerning North vs. South, even though I am a Southerner from Virginia, But I could not restrain myself from responding after reading another letter condemning the Southern treatment of Yankee prisoners of war as if Northern prison camps were country clubs (January 2015). … The post Letters from Readers- America’s Civil War May 2015 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Rip Ford’s Risky Ranger Raid

Flouting Texas’ jurisdiction, John Salmon ‘Rip’ Ford’s Rangers and their Indian allies rode into the heart of Comancheria in the spring of 1858 The post Rip Ford’s Risky Ranger Raid appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: American Endurance

Richard Serrano recounts the Great Cowboy Race of 1893—a 1,000-mile horseback odyssey from small-town Nebraska to big-city Chicago The post Book Review: American Endurance appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: The Earth Is Weeping

Peter Cozzens seeks to restore historical balance in his sweeping narrative of the 19th century Indian wars The post Book Review: The Earth Is Weeping appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: The Terrible Indian Wars of the West

Jerry Keenan presents a single-volume chronological and geographical accounting of the trans-Mississippi Indian wars The post Book Review: The Terrible Indian Wars of the West appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Apache Warrior Versus U.S. Cavalryman, 1846–86

Sean McLachlan compares the combat readiness of 19th century U.S. cavalrymen and Apache warriors across three battles The post Book Review: Apache Warrior Versus U.S. Cavalryman, 1846–86 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Forging the Star

U.S. Marshals Service historian David Turk reviews the recent history of the nation's oldest law enforcement agency The post Book Review: Forging the Star appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Sign Talker

Editor R. Eli Paul presents the abridged, annotated autobiography of storied frontier soldier Hugh Lenox Scott The post Book Review: Sign Talker appeared first on HistoryNet....

Rabu, 25 Januari 2017

January 26, 1788: Australia Day

On January 26, 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip guides a fleet of 11 British ships carrying convicts to the colony of New South Wales, effectively founding Australia. After overcoming a period of hardship, the fledgling colony began to celebrate the anniversary of this date with great fanfare. Australia, once known as New South Wales, was originally planned as a penal colony. In October 1786, the British government appointed Arthur Phillip captain of...

Daily Quiz for January 26, 2017

In 1898 this writer was convicted of criminal libel and fled France. The post Daily Quiz for January 26, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Hallowed Ground: Camp de Beugy, Sainte-Suzanne, France

King William I of England is better known to history as William the Conqueror. He won consistently on the battlefield, conducting five campaigns, fighting some nine major battles and directing at least 17 sieges during his 40-year military career. From his first conflict in 1047 as William II, Duke of Normandy, he triumphed every time … The post Hallowed Ground: Camp de Beugy, Sainte-Suzanne, France appeared first on HistoryNet....

Christmas Truce: The Western Front in 1914

In the lead-up to Christmas 1914 soldiers on either side of the Western Front no man’s land set aside fear and their weapons to exchange surreal holiday greetings. By late December 1914 World War I had been raging for nearly five months. Had anyone really believed it would be “all over by Christmas,” then it … The post Christmas Truce: The Western Front in 1914 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Funston of the Philippines

In 1901 Brigadier General Frederick Funston masterminded a ‘desperate undertaking’ to quash the guerrilla insurrection that flared up after the Spanish-American War. In the spring of 1901 Frederick Funston, a young and bold brigadier general of volunteers, approached U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Arthur MacArthur Jr., military governor of the recently occupied Philippines, with an audacious … The post Funston of the Philippines appeared first on HistoryN...

Empire Vs. Tribe: The Roman Empire and the Celts

For five centuries the Roman and Celtic armies and cultures clashed, pitting the most highly organized state of the ancient world against fierce individualists. War horns brayed eerily, swords thudded against shields with a dull menace, and a jeering, terrifying howl went up from the roughly 12,000 Celtic warriors arrayed along the Allia River less … The post Empire Vs. Tribe: The Roman Empire and the Celts appeared first on HistoryNet....

The War That Wasn’t

The news account is fictional, of course, but there were times when it could have been all too real. For more than four decades, from 1945 to 1991, the world could have awakened on any day to read it, or something like it, on the front page of almost certainly had some boilerplate version of … The post The War That Wasn’t appeared first on HistoryNet....

What We Learned From the Highway of Death

It was a nasty fight with grandiose operational names (Desert Shield and Desert Storm), but the 1990–91 Gulf War was America’s post-Vietnam catharsis—the first large-scale conflict the nation had won since evacuating Saigon. It was also a demonstration of General Colin Powell’s doctrine of having a clear objective, assessing the risks, ensuring widespread support, and … The post What We Learned From the Highway of Death appeared first on History...

A Happy Hero: Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart

In many respects Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart’s military escapades played out like fiction. With action in three major wars, numerous battle in- juries and multiple plane crashes on the one-eyed, one-handed war hero’s service record, it seems that receiving a Victoria Cross was but a footnote to his military career, as he failed to … The post A Happy Hero: Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart appeared first on HistoryNet....

Letters from Readers- Military History January 2015

No ‘Parade-Ground Soldiers’ This is in response to a letter from Gerhardt B. Thamm November regarding Task Force Smith, in which Thamm refers to the men who made up Task Force Smith as “parade-ground soldiers.” I take exception to this insulting characterization. None of the soldiers who came from Japan at the beginning of the … The post Letters from Readers- Military History January 2015 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Hallowed Ground: Oradour-sur-Glane, France

When the Allies landed in France on June 6, 1944, the 2nd SS Panzer Division— Das Reich —under the command of SS-Brigade–führer Heinz Lammerding was reconstituting and re-equipping around the southern French town of Valence, nearly 60 miles northeast of Toulouse. In reaction to the D-Day landings the German High Command ordered Das Reich to … The post Hallowed Ground: Oradour-sur-Glane, France appeared first on HistoryNet....

The Myth of Masada

The 2,000-year-old hilltop fortress stands as a revered symbol of Jewish nationalism— but does the historic record support the myth or a very different reality? In 1963 Yigael Yadin, famed archeologist and former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, began excavating an ancient mountaintop fortress overlooking the Dead Sea. Known as Masada, the … The post The Myth of Masada appeared first on HistoryNet....

Battle of Jaffa: Lionheart’s Greatest Victory

When Saladin seized the key Crusader-held port in the Holy Land, Richard I clawed his way back and forced the sultan to the negotiating table. By the summer of 1192 the Third Crusade had ground to a bitter halt. After a string of early successes King Richard I of England, popularly known as “the Lionheart,” … The post Battle of Jaffa: Lionheart’s Greatest Victory appeared first on HistoryNet....

Greek Tragedy: Civil War During World War II

In 1944, though their country lay shattered after years of Axis occupation, Greek partisan forces engaged in a bitter civil war with far-reaching consequences. On a Friday in mid-September 1944, after a fierce three-day battle outside the Greek town of Meligalas, the victors marched 50 captive soldiers and more than 1,000 civilians into the main … The post Greek Tragedy: Civil War During World War II appeared first on HistoryNet....

Australia’s Pearl Harbor: Darwin

Ten weeks after its sneak attack on Oahu the same Japanese carrier group hit the port city of Darwin—and caught the Aussies napping. The morning of Feb. 19, 1942, dawned hot and humid in Australia’s Northern Territory. Some 50 miles north across Beagle Gulf from Darwin—the region’s sparsely populated seaside capital—Roman Catholic Father John McGrath … The post Australia’s Pearl Harbor: Darwin appeared first on HistoryNet....

What We Learned From the Battle of New Orleans

With the formal signing of the Treaty of Ghent on Dec. 24, 1814, the War of 1812 drew to a close —or at least it should have, if only there had been a faster means than sailing ship of spreading the word. One day after the signing, on Christmas Day, Maj. Gen. Sir Edward Pakenham … The post What We Learned From the Battle of New Orleans appeared first on HistoryNet....

Valor: Into the Breach, William Edward Hall

The Victoria Cross, Britain’s highest military honor, is awarded only to those who have demonstrated valor in the face of the enemy. An unsurpassed 24 British servicemen displayed such heroics at the relief of Lucknow, India, on Nov. 16, 1857, during that year’s massive sepoy uprising. Among the recipients was Able Seaman William Edward Hall, … The post Valor: Into the Breach, William Edward Hall appeared first on HistoryNet....

Letters from Readers- Military History March 2015

What I Learned From Desert Storm Re. “What We Learned From the Highway of Death, by Stephan Wilkinson, January: Wilkinson is quick to fault the Allies for not “finishing the job” in Kuwait, but it was impossible to do with the assembled coalition and impractical to do based on the international situation. I know. I … The post Letters from Readers- Military History March 2015 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Daily Quiz for January 25, 2017

The only recorded mass-suicide of African slaves brought to America happened in this state. The post Daily Quiz for January 25, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Selasa, 24 Januari 2017

January 25, 1905: World’s largest diamond found

On January 25, 1905, at the Premier Mine in Pretoria, South Africa, a 3,106-carat diamond is discovered during a routine inspection by the mine’s superintendent. Weighing 1.33 pounds, and christened the “Cullinan,” it was the largest diamond ever found. Frederick Wells was 18 feet below the earth’s surface when he spotted a flash of starlight embedded in the wall just above him. His discovery was presented that same afternoon to Sir Thomas Cullinan,...

Hallowed Ground: Trentino, Italy

With the signing of the Treaty of London on April 26, 1915, Italy entered World War I on the Allied side. The Triple Entente (Britain, France and Russia) publicly welcomed Italy but privately besmirched it for the grasping territorial terms it demanded upon victory; Britain’s First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill disparaged it as … The post Hallowed Ground: Trentino, Italy appeared first on HistoryNet....

The Last Imperial German: Hermann Ehrhardt

Hermann Ehrhardt fought for his country in World War I, fought to save it from communists in the interwar years, fought to save it from Nazis, then left it for keeps after World War II. Once upon a time in Germany a disgruntled World War I veteran organized his own private army, waged a successful … The post The Last Imperial German: Hermann Ehrhardt appeared first on HistoryNet....

Paris Under the Gun

When a large explosion rocked the Quai de la Seine in northeast Paris at 7:18 on the morning of March 23, 1918, no one at first knew what had caused it. No German air- craft were visible, and although Germany had initiated its great Spring Offensive of 1918 just two days earlier, enemy ground forces … The post Paris Under the Gun appeared first on HistoryNet....

The Lion’s Last Roar: Marshal Michel Ney

Napoléon’s beloved Marshal Michel Ney went down swinging a broken sword for France—only to face a firing squad of his countrymen. Napoléon Bonaparte called him “a lion” and amid an army of heroes singled him out as “the bravest of the brave.” One of his fellow French marshals perhaps said it best: “We are soldiers, … The post The Lion’s Last Roar: Marshal Michel Ney appeared first on HistoryNet....

Crags of Tumbledown

Thirty-three years ago this spring Argentina and Britain waged war over a contested patch of tundra in the bitter South Atlantic—and many still wonder why. For weeks the soldiers of Britain’s famed Scots Guards regiment had snatched sleep amid bone-chilling winds in holes that repeatedly filled with freezing water. Men were suffering from frostbite and … The post Crags of Tumbledown appeared first on HistoryNet....

From Crac des Chevaliers

Crac des Chevaliers (in present-day Syria) remains a standout among surviving Crusader castles. In 1142 the Knights Hospitaller occupied the hilltop fortress, which protected the southeastern frontier of the County of Tripoli. In the early 13th century the Hospitallers added a 30-foothigh outer wall with projecting towers. At the time the military order was strong, … The post From Crac des Chevaliers appeared first on HistoryNet....

Honors for Mercy

During World War II the war- ring air arms generally used women in auxiliary roles, in their most active roles serving as test or ferry pilots. A notable exception was the Soviet air force, which fielded three all-female combat regiments: one of fighters, one of dive-bombers and, perhaps best known, one of night bombers, 23 … The post Honors for Mercy appeared first on HistoryNet....

Letters from Readers- Military History May 2015

The War That Wasn’t There are a few things I would add to the article “The War That Wasn’t” by Robert M. Citino, January. When I was a captain in 1981–82, I was assigned the G3 section of the 8th Infantry Division in West Germany. The NCO in charge of the vault containing the general … The post Letters from Readers- Military History May 2015 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Airpower

Airpower by Major Al Williams  Major Alford J. Williams is most often remembered as a dashing U.S. Navy and Marine aviator, a pioneering test pilot and record-setting racer who enlivened airshows during the Golden Age and beyond with performances in his bright-orange Curtiss and Grumman Gulfhawks. Yet his talents were not limited to showmanship in … The post Book Review: Airpower appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: The Fight in the Clouds

 The Fight in the Clouds: The Extraordinary Combat Experience of P-51 Mustang Pilots During World War II  by James P. Busha, Zenith Press, Minneapolis, Minn., 2014, $30  Heading home from battle in WWII, air ace Pierce W. “Mac” McKennon had a favorite prank: He would position a wingtip under his wingman’s and bang it up … The post Book Review: The Fight in the Clouds appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Spitfire, Merlin Variant

Spitfire, Merlin Variant  by Ron Mackay, Squadron Signal, Carrollton, Texas, 2013, $18.95  There is a little of the aeronautical engineer in nearly all of us who have caught the “aviation bug.” We marvel at the design, the details and the elegant mechanics involved in these flying machines. British designer R.J. Mitchell was no exception; his … The post Book Review: Spitfire, Merlin Variant appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: F9F Panther Units of the Korean War

 F9F Panther Units of the Korean War  by Warren Thompson, Osprey Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2014, $22.95  The acknowledged guru of Korean War aviation, author Warren Thompson, “has done it again.” The phrase would be a cliché if it didn’t translate directly as “distilled enormous research into a well-written history,” for that’s Thompson’s ethic, style and … The post Book Review: F9F Panther Units of the Korean War appeared first on ...

Book Review: Flight 232- A Story of Disaster and Survival

 Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival  by Laurence Gonzales, W.W. Norton & Co., New York, 2014, $27.95  Twenty-five years ago, a United Airlines DC-10 crashed in a cartwheeling fireball in the most spectacular way possible: right in front of a TV news camera at Sioux City, Iowa. Though 111 people died, 185 survived … The post Book Review: Flight 232- A Story of Disaster and Survival appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Lords of the Sky

Lords of the Sky: Fighter Pilots and Air Combat, From the Red Baron to the F-16  by Dan Hampton, William Morrow, New York, 2014, $29.99  The title of this massive tome says it all: Fighter pilots have commanded the battlefield’s third dimension from World War I to the present. In making his case, Dan Hampton … The post Book Review: Lords of the Sky appeared first on HistoryNet....

Hoosier Hero: Bud Miller from the Doolittle Raid

Bombardier Bud Miller survived the Doolittle Tokyo Raid, but his luck ran out in North Africa. Skimming low above Tokyo’s roof- tops, the crew of B-25B No. 40-2292 didn’t have time to climb to 1,500 feet, the minimum distance considered safe for bombing. First Lieutenant Travis Hoover leveled off at 900 feet, and bombardier 1st … The post Hoosier Hero: Bud Miller from the Doolittle Raid appeared first on HistoryNet....

A Newsman’s Frozen Odyssey

Eddie Jackson sat at Mitchel Field on Long Island, impatiently waiting for the airplane to arrive. It was now more than four hours overdue. There was no one on the flight he particularly wanted to see, just the end of the flight itself. Jackson was a press photographer for the New York Daily News,assigned to … The post A Newsman’s Frozen Odyssey appeared first on HistoryNet....

Senin, 23 Januari 2017

January 24, 1935: First canned beer goes on sale

Canned beer makes its debut on this day in 1935. In partnership with the American Can Company, the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company delivered 2,000 cans of Krueger’s Finest Beer and Krueger’s Cream Ale to faithful Krueger drinkers in Richmond, Virginia. Ninety-one percent of the drinkers approved of the canned beer, driving Krueger to give the green light to further production. By the late 19th century, cans were instrumental in the mass distribution...

Cold Warrior

The North Korean MiG-17 pilots charged their guns and rolled in behind their target over international waters in the Sea of Japan. They believed they were attacking a P2V Neptune, but the subtle beauty and supple grace of the Lockheed patrol plane were missing in the sturdy hunk of blue iron that was cruising along … The post Cold Warrior appeared first on HistoryNet....

Target Berlin: The First Air-Raid on the German Capital

As the French auxiliary bomber Verne night on June 7, 1940, the crew approached Berlin at mid- Jules was amazed to see the capital of the Third Reich fully illuminated. The aircraft commander, naval Captain Henri Daillière, instructed pilot Henri Yonnet to act as though they were landing at Berlin’s Tempelhof Airport, but then to … The post Target Berlin: The First Air-Raid on the German Capital appeared first on HistoryNet....

Daily Quiz for January 24, 2017

This was the largest and most expensive fort built by the English in North America. The post Daily Quiz for January 24, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

When Did Cousin Marriage Become Unacceptable?

I’m writing a novel set in the 1860s-90s (haven’t quite settled on the exact decade), and have been unsuccessfully trying to research this question.  I know that there was first cousin marriage in the early Victorian period, including Queen Victoria herself, Charles Darwin, and so on. Sources tend to emphasize that this was perfectly normal … The post When Did Cousin Marriage Become Unacceptable? appeared first on HistoryNet....

Build a Lockheed U-2

Models of the Lockheed U-2 spy plane are as scarce as available details of the actual aircraft. In 1962 Hawk Model Company produced a 1/48th-scale U-2 kit that was crude by today’s standards. During the 1970s Testors acquired the Hawk molds and updated the kit, adding extra parts and new markings. In 1980 Airfix of … The post Build a Lockheed U-2 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Heinemann’s Hot Rod

In a world where the focus seems to shift daily from one technological wonder to another, the value of solid engineering—a design well thought-out and well executed—is too often overlooked. This is as true in jet aviation as it is anywhere else. Today more than ever it’s important to reflect on the work of pioneering … The post Heinemann’s Hot Rod appeared first on HistoryNet....

The Lost Squadron: VMF-422

On January 25, 1944, 23 young men faced the most perilous fight of their lives. They were from towns and cities all over the United States. A few were combat veterans; most were fresh out of training. Before the war they had little in common, but in 1944 they were all naval aviators eager to … The post The Lost Squadron: VMF-422 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Lawson’s Leviathan: L-4 passenger biplane

The innovative L-4 passenger biplane turned out to be too underpowered to fulfill its eccentric inventor’s ambitious plans. Alfred W. Lawson was a dreamer, an aviation visionary whose ideas about passenger-carrying trans- ports were clearly ahead of their time. As early as 1908, Lawson established a reputation in America’s infant aeronautical community as a proponent … The post Lawson’s Leviathan: L-4 passenger biplane appeared first on HistoryN...

Rescued From the Weeds: Lockheed Vega

Once a ground-looped wreck, the sole surviving metal-fuselage Lockheed Vega is back in the air after a meticulous restoration. The Lockheed Vega was the single-engine superplane of the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Learjet of its day. Had there indeed been a jet set back then, its members would have traveled by Vega. The … The post Rescued From the Weeds: Lockheed Vega appeared first on HistoryNet....

Letters from Readers- Aviation History January 2015

A Hog By Any Other Name  Great article on the Fairchild Republic A-10in the November issue. As a former employee of Fairchild Republic in Hagerstown, Md., and a manufacturing engineer who helped produce the A-10, I thought I would pass on a brief history of the Thunderbolt II’s designation. The P-47 as stated was a … The post Letters from Readers- Aviation History January 2015 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Minggu, 22 Januari 2017

January 23, 1957: Toy company Wham-O produces first Frisbees

On this day in 1957, machines at the Wham-O toy company roll out the first batch of their aerodynamic plastic discs–now known to millions of fans all over the world as Frisbees. The story of the Frisbee began in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where William Frisbie opened the Frisbie Pie Company in 1871. Students from nearby universities would throw the empty pie tins to each other, yelling “Frisbie!” as they let go. In 1948, Walter Frederick Morrison and...

Daily Quiz for January 23, 2017

The US President was the first to send military advisors to Vietnam. The post Daily Quiz for January 23, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Sabtu, 21 Januari 2017

January 22, 1998: Ted Kaczynski pleads guilty to bombings

On this day in 1998, in a Sacramento, California, courtroom, Theodore J. Kaczynski pleads guilty to all federal charges against him, acknowledging his responsibility for a 17-year campaign of package bombings attributed to the “Unabomber.” Born in 1942, Kaczynski attended Harvard University and received a PhD in mathematics from the University of Michigan. He worked as an assistant mathematics professor at the University of California at Berkeley,...

Daily Quiz for January 22, 2017

The “Joker” playing card was first printed in this year. The post Daily Quiz for January 22, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Jumat, 20 Januari 2017

January 21, 1977: President Carter pardons draft dodgers

On this day in 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter grants an unconditional pardon to hundreds of thousands of men who evaded the draft during the Vietnam War. In total, some 100,000 young Americans went abroad in the late 1960s and early 70s to avoid serving in the war. Ninety percent went to Canada, where after some initial controversy they were eventually welcomed as immigrants. Still others hid inside the United States. In addition to those who...

Review: Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager

Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager  Slitherine.com, $30  Simulations about life outside the cockpit are rare. Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager is a plucky independent effort that takes players into the control rooms and boardrooms of NASA and beyond. It’s heavily inspired by Buzz Aldrin’s Race Into Space, a 1993 sim about the race to the … The post Review: Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager appeared first on HistoryNet....

Daily Quiz for January 21, 2017

In 1968 this well-known rock band recorded a song written by mass murderer, Charles Manson The post Daily Quiz for January 21, 2017 appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: The Air Campaign- Planning for Combat

 The Air Campaign: Planning for Combat  by John A. Warden III  In August 1990, the first wave of American airmen arrived in the Middle East to shield allies in the region from the territorial ambitions of Iraq’s Saddam Hussein. Kuwait had been overrun, and back home little-known U.S. Air Force Colonel John Warden briefed the … The post Book Review: The Air Campaign- Planning for Combat appeared first on HistoryNet....

Book Review: Curtiss Ascender XP-55

Curtiss Ascender XP-55  by Gerry Balzer, Ginter Books, Simi Valley, Calif., 2014, $24.95  War is urgent. Yet amid history’s ghastliest conflict both sides found the leisure to evaluate unorthodox flying machines, in full knowledge that they would contribute nothing to the outcome. The weird Curtiss XP-55 Ascender was one of three pusher-propeller aircraft that underwent … The post Book Review: Curtiss Ascender XP-55 appeared first on H...