Browsing: Military

A Brief History On August 2, 1943, US Navy torpedo boat PT-109 commanded by a young John F. Kennedy was rammed by a Japanese destroyer, cutting the boat in half and sinking it.  Lt. Kennedy later became President Kennedy in January of 1961.  Although we have pointed out the lily-livered chicken hawks that either dodged the draft or merely failed to enlist in the military, today we honor those politicians that also served in the US Armed Forces.  (See our May 22 article 10 Celebrities that Fought in a War and our March 24 article 10 “Patriots” that Dodged the…

A Brief History On July 28, 1935, the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress made its initial flight.  Called the Flying Fortress because of its unprecedented heavy armament of 12 (later13) .50 caliber machine guns, this mighty bomber would be eclipsed by other planes in future years.  Here we list 10 of the Most Heavily Armed Warplanes, meaning armed with machine guns and cannons.  (No significance to the order listed.)  Obviously, World War II was the golden age of gun armament, with modern fighters using missiles as primary armament.  Still, some modern planes have impressive guns nonetheless. Digging Deeper 1. Convair B-36 Peacemaker…

A Brief History On July 27, 1816, US gunboat #154 fired a cannon shot regarded as the deadliest single cannonball ever fired by the US Navy.  The so-called Battle of Negro Fort touched off what became General Andrew Jackson’s conquest of Florida, and was the first big battle of the First Seminole War. Digging Deeper During the War of 1812, the British had garrisoned a fort at Prospect Bluffs on the Apalachicola River of what was then Spanish Florida.  With British Marines (1000 total British fighters) and several hundred Africans (free men and runaway slaves) the British had recruited as…

A Brief History On July 26, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Major General George McClellan as Commanding General of the Army of the Potomac, answering to the elderly General Winfield Scott.  (See out article about The 4 Commanding Generals of the Union Army in the Civil War on July 23.)  Today, we again address the bloodiest war in US history, and tell you about 10 things you may not know about this horrible period in American History. Digging Deeper 1. Was Abraham Lincoln a racist? Not only did Lincoln publicly state that he had no intention of trying to eliminate…

A Brief History On July 23, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln finally found a replacement for General George B. McClellan as General-in-Chief of the Union Army when he appointed General Henry W. Halleck.  Lincoln had spent the previous 4 months as de facto head of the Army himself until he found another commander, having earlier relieved McClellan of such duty. Digging Deeper During the Civil War the US Army (or Union Army if you prefer) had a total of 4 men assigned as General-in-Chief, more or less akin to today’s designation as Chief of Staff of the Army as the top…