A Brief History On March 30, 1855, pro-slavery raiders called “Border Ruffians” poured into Kansas from Missouri to sway elections in Kansas to pro-slavery. Digging Deeper Kansas became a state in 1861 that did not permit slavery. The admission of Kansas as a “free” state was a cause of the US Civil War, a topic that has become political kryptonite during the 2024 election year. Why did the US fight the Civil War? This question still baffles some of our contemporary politicians, and so today, we list some of the reasons. First, slavery was not the only issue, although it…
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A Brief History On March 21, 1801, French forces fought the British outside of Alexandria, Egypt in one of the many epic battles that have taken place at Alexandria over the centuries. Digging Deeper This 1801 battle is one of 13 major engagements fought at or near Alexandria, starting in 169 BC and most recently in 1941. Many cities or locations have been the scene of frequent battles through history, including: Jerusalem is probably the most fought over city in the world, with over 50 attacks on the city starting in 1000 BC when King David captured the place and as…
A Brief History On March 16, 1945, the battle for the island of Iwo Jima supposedly was won by the US, although fighting would continue for another two weeks. Famous as a heroic battle won by US Marines, Iwo Jima has history often overlooked. Digging Deeper While 22 Marines earned the Medal of Honor, another five US Navy sailors also earned this highest honor. Of the Navy Corpsmen that landed on Iwo Jima, 332 were killed and 659 wounded. The aircraft carrier USS Bismarck Sea was sunk, killing 318 of her crew, the last US carrier sunk in World War…
A Brief History On March 7, 2021, the military of Equatorial Guinea experienced one of those “oops moments” leading to disaster when a military base near the port city of Bata suffered a series of massive explosions of stored munitions that devastated the city and left over 100 people dead. Digging Deeper Authorities blamed local farmers and their “slash and burn” farming techniques for starting fires that triggered the explosions, although outside organizations claimed such farming fires had not actually been set anywhere near the military camp. President Obiang did admit that the storage of munitions had been “negligent,” and…
A Brief History On March 1, 1939, the land version of an “Oops moment” happened at Hirakata, Osaka, when a Japanese Army ammunition dump exploded, killing 94 workers and soldiers. Digging Deeper Military operations are dangerous even when not in combat, with a variety of accidents that can cost lives, and dealing with high explosive munitions has caused major explosive accidents throughout military history. Some of these events include: The Delft, Holland explosion of a gunpowder storehouse in 1654 that leveled the city and killed over 100 Dutch citizens. The Birgu, Malta explosion of a gunpowder warehouse in 1806 that…
