In 1864, the U.S. Had the 37 Most Decisive Weeks in American History

55 Folks: "The story of William Tecumseh Sherman, his controversial role in the American Civil War, and the 37 weeks in 1864 that were the turning point for the nation." Gen. Sherman enacted a scorched-earth policy against the Confederates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HliG1HWD320&t=70s

‘The Light of Dawn’: D-Day Documentary, June 6, 1944

The Best Documentaries Channel on YouTube posts "the story of Operation Overlord. It traces one of the largest military operations man has ever conceived." Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt first broached the issue and began to make an initial plan for an invasion in the summer of 1941. "The film recounts this crucial turning point …

Origin of the Disdainful Term, ‘Pig War’, And It’s Importance to Diplomacy

"This will not be a pig war," meaning it won't be insignificant, there's a real danger of prolonged violent confrontation, and we had better take it seriously, we'd better think seriously about diplomacy. The Pig War of 1859 "was a confrontation in 1859 between the US and the British Empire over the British–U.S. border in the San Juan …

How To Make Memorial Day Meaningful

Memorial Day in the US was first commemorated in the years after the Civil War to honor soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the cause of freedom. Recent estimates enlarge the number killed on both sides to be not 650,000 as originally determined, but closer to between 750,000 to 800,000. "The equivalent death toll adjusted …

How Polish General Pulaski Saved George Washington’s Life. He Was Also, Likely, Transgender

Casimir Pulaski (1745-1779 "is remembered as a hero who fought for independence and freedom in Poland and the United States. Numerous places and events are named in his honor." He "was a Polish-American nobleman, soldier and military commander who has been called, together with his counterpart Michael Kovats de Fabriczy, "the father of the American …

Gen. George Patton Had A Genius For War

George Patton (1885-1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France and Germany after the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Wikipedia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbV8Rfiq1Ko&t=33s Biography

Antietam: Bloodiest One-Day Battle in American Military History

On one day in the third week of September, 1862, recalled historian Heather Cox Richardson, "75,000 United States troops and about 38,000 Confederate troops massed along Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. After a successful summer of fighting, Confederate general Robert E. Lee had crossed the Potomac River into Maryland to bring the Civil War to the …

Lord Cornwallis: The Man Who Lost the American Colonies, Won India and Failed to Unify Ireland

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcGwuGvFktU&t=14s If you believe solely in the theory of the great/bad/incompetent man/woman of history, "Charles, Earl Cornwallis (1738–1805) was responsible for the British defeat in the American revolution. He was a military officer who served in the British Army during the American War of Independence. He is best known for surrendering his army after the …

Benedict Arnold: Why Did He Betray His Country?

He was a brilliant Revolutionary War general, yet he defected to England. Why did Benedict Arnold become one of the most notorious military leaders in American if not world history? Even after his defection, he was not honored in England, but shamed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMGYkCItLb4 Smithsonian Channel: "To most Americans, the name Benedict Arnold is synonymous with …

Moments When Time Stands Still and History Changes Dramatically: Just Before Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, 1863

For students of history of almost every generation, there are moments when time stands still, to be relived over and over: what if the central characters had acted differently? What if Gavrilo Princip did not successfully murder Archduke Franz Ferdinand and set off WWI? What if it was raining (as predicted) and the roof went up on …