11 MARCH-25 MAY 1885 COLOMBIAN INTERVENTION As Prestan’s fires left 8,000 homeless in Colon, the rebellious Azipuru was stirring again on the Pacific side. Having initially been chased into the hills, Azipuru regained Panama City when Colombian troops crossed the isthmus Read More
16-31 MARCH 1885 PRESTAN’S UPRISING In the nineteenth century Panama was a province of Colombia. And in 1885, the Colombian populace became divided over the election of a conservative, Rafael Nunez, to the Presidency in Bogota. Localized political insurrections broke out, Read More
25-28 FEBRUARY 1814 ESCAPE OF ENTERPRISE Part of our Navy’s upsizing for the War of 1812 was the strengthening of several schooners then in service. Extra guns and extra crewmen were added, but at the cost of making the spritely schooners Read More
TODAY IN NAVAL HISTORY 25 SEPTEMBER 1899 THE CAPTURE OF URDANETA The autumn of 1898 saw the end of the Spanish-American war and the ceding of the Philippine Islands from Spain to the United States. Militant Filipinos who had been Read More
22 AUGUST 1863 NOT ABOVE MAKING A BUCK! Blockade running during our Civil War was a profitable enterprise for those who were successful. The running of war materials brought a handsome price, but even higher profit margins accompanied “luxury” items, such Read More
22 MAY 1966 “CHARLIE’s AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE” The Rung Sat is a 400-square mile mangrove swamp between Saigon and the Vietnamese coastline. Four major rivers course through the otherwise impassable area, including the Long Tau shipping channel leading to Saigon. The Read More
22 APRIL 1864 THE LOSS OF PETREL To bolster Union naval forces patrolling the Mississippi in the Civil War, our Navy purchased a total of 63 existing sternwheel and sidewheel riverboats. Protection was added to their upper works in the form Read More
12-14 MARCH 1864 EASTPORT BEFORE FORT DE RUSSY The year 1863 had seen a turn in the Civil War in favor of the Union. A Confederate foray into the north had been reversed at Gettysburg and the last Rebel stronghold on Read More
21 FEBRUARY 1900 “THE SAND PEBBLES” Factional turmoil in 1920s China surrounding the emergence of the Nationalist Chinese movement led multiple western nations to protect their citizens and commercial shipping on China’s rivers with naval forces. Richard McKenna’s novel The Sand Read More
31 DECEMBER 1862 THE LOSS OF MONITOR Our Navy first entertained the new technology of armor plating in 1842 when Congress authorized inventor Robert L. Stevens to construct an ironclad steamship for coastal defense. However, delays in construction, funding, and the Read More