Evacuation of Long Island

                                     TODAY IN NAVAL HISTORY                                               30-31 AUGUST 1776                                   EVACUATION OF LONG ISLAND Boston, the hotbed of colonial rebellion, became the British Army’s North American headquarters in the mid-1770s.  But after GEN George Washington emplaced cannon in the Dorchester Heights overlooking that Read More

Washington Starts a War (cont.)

                                                   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

Washington Starts a War

                                                   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

The Battle of Great Bridge

                                              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