In 1864, Gen. Grant’s campaign to capture Richmond and destroy Lee’s Army of North Virginia ran into a brick wall at Petersburg. Both sides dug in and if you think trench warfare began in WWI, think again. There was even a no man’s land between the front lines. In Read more…
July 28 is National Buffalo Soldier Day. July 28 was chosen because on that day in 1866, Congress passed the Army Organization Act. Four black (colored was the term used at the time) regiments – the 9th and 10th Cavalries and the 24th and 25th Infantries. Although all the Read more…
The first month of the Korean War was chaotic and full of military failures for the South Korean army and its allied U.S. Army. The invasion came as a complete surprise and the North Korean army quickly captured Seoul and rolled southward with little opposition. American forces had been Read more…
Colonial New England had an interesting custom known as “bundling” (also called tarrying). It was used for courting The practice originated in either Holland or Great Britain and was brought over to the colonies where it was especially popular in Pennsylvania with the Dutch settlers.. A young couple would Read more…
You may have heard the creepy children’s story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The most common version comes from the Brothers Grimm. The city of Hamelin in Germany was having a rat problem when a man dressed in multi-colored clothing (“pied”) offered to remove them. The city fathers Read more…
Frank Clara Folsom was born July 21, 1864 in Buffalo. She was named after an uncle, but changed the name to Francis when she got older. Her father was a lawyer and good friends with his partner Grover Cleveland. “Uncle Cleve” bought Frank, daughter of his partner, her first baby Read more…
On July 20, 1917, Eugene Bullard became a pilot in the Lafayette Flying Corps. Eugene Bullard was the grandson of a slave. He was the seventh child of a poor family in the American South. At age ten, he witnessed the near lynching of his father. Determined to escape racism, Read more…
This is the third anniversary of this site. In honor of that, I am posting one of my favorite anecdotes. It’s a Civil War story and makes light of the fact that many underage boys enlisted. It is estimated that between 260,000 – 420,000 under age teenagers enlisted in the Read more…
The Chicago White Sox were the best team in baseball in 1919. They were the clear favorites to win the World Series. But they didn’t. Because some of the players cheated. It all started when infielder Chick Gandil contacted some gamblers and offered to fix the games. Gamblers slipping underpaid Read more…
Archimedes was one of the greatest minds of the Ancient World. He lived in Syracuse on the island of Sicily. In 215 BCE, Roman general Marcellus laid siege to the city. Being a patriot, Archimedes aided the defense of the city with some amazing weapons. He designed large catapults Read more…