28 DECEMBER 2020 THE PURGE In the first decades of the 21st century, a series of untoward events involving minority citizens led to the assertion that racism is systemic in American society. With the tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Read More
21 DECEMBER 1863 BLOCKADE RUNNING The effect of Lincoln’s naval blockade of the Confederacy was starting to tell by the end of 1861, as cotton and tobacco began piling up on southern wharves. Unable to move their major exports, the agrarian Read More
DECEMBER 1967-MAY 1985 JOHN WALKER SPY RING (cont.) The Soviets were indeed interested in what RMC John Walker had brought! After waiting in a Soviet embassy anteroom while the authenticity of his KL-47 keylist was verified, an official returned to Walker Read More
DECEMBER 1967-MAY 1985 JOHN WALKER SPY RING By the late 1960s, US Navy top-secret operations were routinely shadowed by Russian “trawlers” bristling with antennae. B-52 airstrikes against North Vietnam seemed to be anticipated by the enemy, even when diverted to secondary Read More
9 DECEMBER 1775 THE BATTLE OF GREAT BRIDGE Modern sailors stationed in the Norfolk area may be familiar with Battlefield Boulevard and Great Bridge, whose story follows. GEN George Washington worried that the British might become lodged in Norfolk, Virginia. Then Read More
3 DECEMBER 1941 ISABEL’S SECRET SORTIE The 245-foot USS ISABEL (PY-10) was left over from WWI, built in 1917 to be the personal yacht of millionaire John North Willys (of Willys jeep fame). She had been requisitioned on the ways by Read More
29 NOVEMBER 1838 USS WOODBURY AND THE PASTRY WAR The Mexican Federalist War of 1835-41 pitted the aristocratic Centralist Mexican rulers against the federalist peasantry of the provinces. Foreign businessmen in Mexico who suffered collateral damages from Centralist Mexican Army operations Read More
22 NOVEMBER 1941 HMS DEVONSHIRE vs. ATLANTIS One of the Royal Navy’s early successes in WWII was the effort against German surface raiders. Indeed, KMS ATLANTIS had accumulated some impressive statistics by November 1941. Converted from the former freighter SS Goldenfels, Read More
15-22 NOVEMBER 1856 ACTION AT THE PEARL RIVER FORTS By the mid-19th century, most western nations had established commercial enterprises in China. China was, at the time, internally fractionated and militarily weak, and England, in particular, exploited this situation to compel Read More
8-16 NOVEMBER 1942 THE FRENCH PROBLEM AND OPERATION “TORCH” (cont.) The landing of 84,000 American troops in French North Africa brought the full rage of Vichy President Marshal Philippe Pétain against President Franklin Roosevelt. “It is with stupor and sadness that Read More