Leading the Way on D-Day

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was the only General officer to come ashore during the early hours of the D-Day landings. Crippled by arthritis and battling heart disease, Roosevelt overcame his physical obstacles to lead the troops onto Utah beach. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, though did not live to receive it, he succumbed to

Blood and Sand: “The Longest Day” (1962)

Originally posted on CHANDLER SWAIN REVIEWS:
    Darryl F. Zanuck’s monumental war epic depicting the events of the D-Day invasion of World War 2 has the disadvantage of not only following dozens of characters over dozens of different locations, but also the input of three different credited directors working to patch a cohesive picture…

Historical Revision in Perspective

At the heart of historical revisionism is distrust… a lack of faith in previous interpretations of the historical record.  This blog has bitterly observed the crass consumerism and intellectual vanity that often drive outlandish revisions in our history.  But, a closer examination reveals the true divide between revisionist and traditionalist- trust. As historians rush to

Martha Washington’s Speckled Apron

Originally posted on Presidential History Blog:
Mrs. Washington had a big house to manage. Mistress Custis, Mistress Washington Martha Dandridge (1731-1802) was not born to wealth per se. She was born, very much like George Washington, to a family of gentry. Her father, John Dandridge, owned several hundred acres. This entitled him to a comfortable…

Buchanan Did Nothing, but Meant Well…

In his fourth annual message to Congress, President James Buchanan addressed the crisis of Secession and how he intended to handle it… the results were underwhelming and have forever relegated him to the “worst Presidents” list.   “The course of events is so rapidly hastening forward that the emergency may soon arise when you may

April 12, 1864: Fort Pillow

Originally posted on Almost Chosen People:
? ?  Northern casualties were more than 63 percent, and the number of black soldiers killed was disproportionately high. There is no doubt there was a massacre of some kind. But I think he (Forrest) did everything he could to stop it. Next day, when the Federals came in and shelled…

Civil War Grub: Feeding Billy Yank and Johnny Reb

Originally posted on Presidential History Blog:
“An army travels on its belly.” – Napoleon Bonaparte First…Some Numbers and Perspectives Sometimes it is difficult to comprehend plain-old numbers.  Like …more than 1,000,000 Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War – and more than 600,000 Rebels. Jiggling it into a more comprehensible picture: New York City,…

Jefferson’s Birthday

  Further proof that the trend of combining different commemorations into banker’s holidays… is truly foolish, look no further than Thomas Jefferson. Upon entering the executive mansion… citizens began petitioning him for the use of his birthday as a holiday, he gently reminded them, ‘The only birthday I ever commemorate, is that of our Independence,

Truman and Civil Rights

Harry Truman announced a bold plan to guarantee civil rights to all Americans regardless of race. He made the declaration to a special session of Congress on February 2, 1948. His plan divided his party’s convention that summer. “Today, the American people enjoy more freedom and opportunity than ever before. Never in our history has

March 20, 1917: Lansing Memorandum

Originally posted on Almost Chosen People:
? On March 17, 1917, President Wilson met with his Cabinet to consider the question of whether the US should enter the Great War.  Fortunately for historians of this period, Secretary of State Robert Lansing drafted a detailed memorandum of the meeting: ? ? The Cabinet Meeting of today…