Staff Sergeant Jimmie Howard knew the fight was coming. His 18-man Marine reconnaissance unit was on top of Hill 488 in Vietnam as over 200 enemy soldiers began probing their position. Howard had enlisted in 1950, had a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts for his actions in the Korean War, so he knew what […]
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Molly Pitcher is described as a patriot who carried pitchers of water to soldiers and helped with cannon duty during the Battle of Monmouth in the American Revolution. “Molly Pitcher” may be a combination folk hero inspired by the actions of many women who served in this role on the battlefield, and became known by this […]
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America has had its share of pirates. One could even say that the Boston Tea Party was a sort of piracy. It’s likely that a some of those tea leaves found their way into a patriot’s teapot instead of landing at the bottom of Boston Harbor. It was normal for a nation at war to […]
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Sergeant Alvin York is one of America’s most famous soldiers. Son of a blacksmith, York was raised on a small farm in Tennessee. In his own words: “I used to drink a lot of moonshine. I used to gamble my wages away week after week. I used to stay out late at night. I had […]
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Until modern times, the great killer of soldiers in all armies was an invisible one. It was not bullets, cannons or bayonets, but the disease called smallpox. In 1775, smallpox had so devastated the American army in Canada that John Adams bemoaned that “…smallpox is ten times more terrible than the British, Canadians and Indians […]
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George Washington was known for keeping his cool, so it was rare that anyone saw him lose his temper. But at the Revolutionary War Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey, Washington exploded in rage when his second in command disobeyed orders and retreated from an engagement. Washington had sent General Charles Lee ahead to […]
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The British had tens of thousands of troops in America throughout the war, but still found it necessary to increase their numbers by hiring foreign troops. German rulers hired out some of their regular army units to Great Britain to fight against the Patriots in the American Revolution. By 1776 thousands of soldiers called “Hessians” […]
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Last of the great Pirates of the Gulf, the legend of Jean Laffite is well known in Louisiana. We know little about his first 20 years, but by 21 we know that he had survived two duels. Ever been to the Court of Two Sisters Restaurant in New Orleans? That’s where Laffite fought 3 more […]
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“First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” These famous eloquent words about George Washington come from a eulogy written by Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee. Light Horse Harry was a highly-decorated officer in the Continental Army, member of the Continental Congress, Governor of Virginia, father of the famous […]
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There were plenty of fierce battles in the American Revolution, but few were as violent as six hours of hand-to-hand fighting that took place 100 miles from the Canadian border. Patriot General Herkimer and 800 militiamen were marching through a forest and bog so dense that you could not see a man 30 feet away. […]
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