The insanely simple reason Lord Nelson revolutionized naval warfare
For centuries, the British Empire was as close as any nation could come to global superpower status in the age of sail. The biggest reason for that was the Royal…
A navy of privately owned ships helped win the American Revolution
It’s no secret that the early American revolutionists were up against a serious enemy when it came to the British Navy. Not only was the British Navy, one of the…
This British marksman could have killed George Washington
It’s difficult to imagine how history would have been altered if George Washington had been killed during the Revolutionary War. Without the father of our country leading its fight for freedom, the war might have been lost and America might still b…
Why George Washington was nearly impossible to kill
Despite having two horses shot out from under him, history would have been much different if George Washington …
How the British Army trolled the colonists after leaving New York
Before the Civil War, the major holiday that came at the end of November wasn’t Thanksgiving. It has nothing to do with turkey, pilgrims or pumpkin pie. Instead, it had…
3 foreign generals who became honorary U.S. citizens
For many Americans, military service was their pathway to citizenship. For their service during the Revolutionary War, three foreign generals have been declared honorary citizens of the United States. Citizenship…
Why this French nobleman’s Paris gravesite is filled with dirt from Massachusetts
The United States owes its success in the Revolutionary War to help from France. The chief architect of that help was Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette. In America,…
This was the Marine Corps’ first amphibious landing
In 1775, Captains Samuel Nicholas and Robert Mullan recruited men in a popular Philadelphia bar, promising them beer and adventure on the high seas. Just a few months after that November gathering at Tun Tavern, some five companies of the finest Mar…
Why a free Vermont was the first to distrust Benedict Arnold
This may come as a surprise to anyone who is not a Vermont native: Back during the Revolutionary War, Vermont was its own free country, similar to how Texas, California, and Hawaii once governed themselves before eventually joining the Union. During…
The ‘Virginia Hercules’ was the one-man army of the American Revolution
One day in 1765, a 5-year-old boy wearing fine clothes and speaking no English was found on the docks of City Point, Virginia. No one knew where he came from,…