History
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This Primitive Rifle Won the Southwest for Spain
Debate about which guns actually “won the West” will probably go on indefinitely. The Colt, Winchester, Sharps, Springfield and other arms all have their advocates. But one firearm played a critical role in the West more than two centuries before Samuel Colt or Oliver Winchester saw the light of day. In the hands of Spanish frontiersmen—frontiersmen no less than Jim…
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Bombs Burst in Air Over This Famed War of 1812 Fort
I shall sup tonight in Baltimore—or in Hell!” Thus spoke British Maj. Gen. Robert Ross, who commanded His Majesty George III’s land forces opposite the nascent United States’ third largest city on Sept. 12, 1814. It was no mere boast, as just three weeks earlier the redoubtable Irish warrior, supported by Rear Adm. George Cockburn, had routed the American army…
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The Complicated Vietnam War Legacy of Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger, U.S. national security adviser and later secretary of state at the height of the Vietnam War, died on Nov. 29 at the age of 100. His polarizing career saw him serve every president from John F. Kennedy to Joe Biden, with achievements that included masterminding a new relationship with communist China, softening the Cold War friction with the…
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At Rorke’s Drift, 150 Men Were Left Behind To Face Thousands Of Warriors
A lone Zulu warrior suddenly sprang out of nowhere and fired off a shot at the red-coated British soldiers. The warrior then ran off in a desperate scramble to escape. A furious barrage of rifle fire followed him—yet somehow, he managed to evade the bullets. Lt. John Chard, the officer commanding, remarked in admiration of the Zulu that he was…
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Did the Nazis treat German or Austrian Jews who were veterans of the First World War any better than other Jews?
Did the Nazis treat German or Austrian Jews who were veterans of the First World War any better than other Jews? —Jeremy Joyner, Houston, Texas Yes, many Jews who were veterans of World War I were initially spared deportation to camps and ghettos in the East. It should be remembered that Hitler and many of his closest…
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This North Carolina Factory Town Kept Busy Supplying Boots to the Confederate Army
The train still rolls through Thomasville, N.C., several times a day. When it approaches, the howl of its horn is met with bells and flashing red lights. The streets rattle briefly, and it’s not hard to imagine the small railroad town bustling with excitement in its heyday. A large chair sculpture stands sentinel next to the tracks. It’s the centerpiece…
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Sugar, a Mild Laxative, and a Dollop of Alcohol
“Texas Charlie” Bigelow, a U.S. Army scout, was patrolling Indian Territory when he contracted a fever that left him so weak he could barely open his eyelids. An Indian chief took pity on Bigelow and nursed him back to health using a mysterious medicine he called sagwa. When Bigelow begged for the recipe of this wonder drug, the chief sent…
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A Closer Look at the U.S. Navy’s ‘Mighty Midget’
.image-13794931 { max-height: 100%; –left: 50.00%; –top: 50.00%; } Specifications Propulsion: Eight Gray Marine 6-71 or two General Motors 6051 Series 71 diesel engines totaling 1,600 hp and driving twin variable-pitch propellers Length: 158 feet 6 inches Beam: 23 feet 3 inches Maximum draft: 5 feet 8 inches Displacement (unladen): 250 tons Displacement (fully loaded): 387 tons Complement: Six officers,…
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A Forgotten ‘Trail of Tears’
.image-13793819 { max-height: 100%; –left: 47.63%; –top: 33.91%; } At times American history—and especially American Indian history—takes a dive down the rabbit hole with its twists and contradictions. The 1842 Cherokee Slave Revolt is one of those rabbit holes. The idea the Cherokee, or any tribe, owned slaves is not that alien a concept. For centuries before the arrival of…
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Her Great-uncle Died on D-day. We Found out What Happened
My great-uncle, Captain Everal Anthony Guimond, was a bombardier in the 566th Bombardment Squadron, 389th Bombardment Group, Heavy, of the U.S. Army Air Forces. He was killed on D-Day and his military records were destroyed in the 1973 St. Louis Archives fire. What can you tell me about my great-uncle’s service and his unit’s history? —Laura Guimond, Henderson, Nevada The…
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