28 MAY 1754 WASHINGTON STARTS A WAR (cont.) (Now) LTC George Washington had no authority to do what he was about to do. There had been no declaration of war between France and England, nor did Washington’s orders require him to Read More
28 MAY 1754 WASHINGTON STARTS A WAR We know it as the French and Indian War, in Europe it was the Seven Years War between England and France. The war ignited in western Pennsylvania with control of North America as the Read More
25 APRIL 1914 1ST OPERATIONAL SORTIE Though the Navy and Marine Corps had been experimenting with the new-fangled flying machines of the early 20th century, their operational role was still being defined. Aerial reconnaissance seemed a logical task, as such technology Read More
7-8 FEBRUARY 1862 CAPTURE OF ROANOKE ISLAND Fortress Monroe, situated at the entrance to Hampton Roads, was one of three forts south of the Mason-Dixon Line that remained in Union hands throughout the Civil War. Confederate lines of communication were thus 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
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
16-18 OCTOBER 1859 JOHN BROWN’S RAID From the 1830s, the American public became increasingly polarized over the issue of slavery. Violence erupted for the first time in Alton, Illinois, in November 1837, when an angry mob raided the home of Elijah Read More
13 SEPTEMBER 1847 “FROM THE HALLS OF MONTEZUMA…” (cont.) Meanwhile, a diversion created by Quitman’s troops allowed a second Army division under MGEN Gideon J. Pillow to carry the lower walls of Chapultepec from the west. And, to the south, Quitman’s Read More
13 SEPTEMBER 1847 “FROM THE HALLS OF MONTEZUMA…” By this date in the 17-month-old war with Mexico, the United States had gained control of California from San Francisco to Los Cabos in southern Baja. But complete victory in the war required Read More
19 JULY-17 AUGUST 1779 SALTONSTALL AT PENOBSCOT Four hundred Continental and colonial Marines led the numerically superior American assault, clamoring up the cliff to within 600 yards of the fort. But here they came within range of the three small Read More