Browsing: Military

A Brief History On January 18, 1671, Welsh privateer and later the namesake of Captain Morgan Rum, Henry Morgan, began his expedition to Panama, also known historically as “The Sack of Panama.” Digging Deeper The assault on the Spanish city of Panama on the Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Panama took place overland, with Morgan and his buccaneers marching from the Atlantic side cross country to seize the important Central American city.  Morgan first took over the Spanish Fort San Lorenzo on the East Coast before setting off for Panama City. With a total of about 1,800 men and…

A Brief History On January 17, 1977, an otherwise unremarkable murderer, Gary Gilmore, became famous when he was executed by firing squad by the State of Utah.  Gilmore, born Faye Robert Coffman, was the first person executed in the United States after nearly a decade long hiatus mandated by the US Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia in 1972 that held capital punishment as practiced in the US was “cruel and unusual.” Digging Deeper Gilmore was notable for insisting on being executed, and for demanding that he face a firing squad of five police officers armed with 30-30 caliber…

A Brief History On January 16, 2020, the US Senate confirmed a new trade agreement between the US, Canada, and Mexico, aptly called the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. This new trade treaty was the promised replacement of the previous agreement, called NAFTA, or North American Free Trade Agreement, an agreement reviled by President Trump who had promised to renegotiate the agreement and replace it with a pact more beneficial to the US. Digging Deeper Although then President Trump was the impetus behind the USMCA, as a presidential candidate and as president elect in 2024, Trump has turned against his own agreement…

A Brief History On January 11, 1962, the Soviet Navy suffered an embarrassing loss of a submarine when their Foxtrot Class sub, B-37, caught fire while tied up at dock at Polarny naval base, resulting in the total loss of the sub. Digging Deeper B-37 had been undergoing routine maintenance when the fire broke out, possibly due to hydrogen gas set off by an electrical spark.  With all the watertight doors open, the fire spread and reached the torpedoes, setting off the explosives contained within those weapons and destroying the submarine. Sadly, 59 of the 61 crewmen aboard B-37 were…

A Brief History On January 10, 1920, The Treaty of Versailles went into effect, marking the official end of World War I, although the United States did not endorse the treaty.  While some called World War I “The War to end all wars,” we know too well the false optimism of that epithet as only two decades later the world would be wracked by a much bigger and more deadly war. Digging Deeper The tremendous cost of World War I in lives and national resources led participants to insist on a clear winner/loser outcome and any thought of a negotiated…