Early Modern | War History

As Spring Takes Hold, Volunteers Come Out In Force To Prepare Antietam Battlefield For The Tourist Season

Preparing Antietam National Battlefield and the Antietam National Cemetery for spring and the tourist season, a few dozen volunteers came out on a cold, windy…

8 Ways Medieval Crusaders Might Have Thought And Felt About Their Wars

Andrew Knighton

A knight stands on the walls of Jerusalem, staring out at the parched land beyond the city. He is weary from weeks of travel and…

Nine Things the Movie ‘Braveheart’ Got Wrong… And One Thing It Got Right

Andrew Knighton

Mel Gibson’s film Braveheart is both one of the most celebrated and one of the most reviled pieces of historical filmmaking ever. A heart-stirring and…

The Longbow: Its Rise and Dominance

Andrew Knighton

The growing effectiveness of metal armor created a challenge for medieval soldiers. While the elite of knights and men-at-arms were now well protected, the majority…

Building Armies in the Harsh World of Medieval England

Andrew Knighton

Recruiting an army could be a difficult business in the Middle Ages. Most people’s lives consisted of farming small patches of land. When people didn’t…

The Five Flaws of the Brilliant Civil War General “Stonewall” Jackson

General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson is widely regarded as one of the greatest tactical commanders in American military history. While his solid determination to hold…

The Battle of Stoney Creek – A Minor Fight That Changed History

In the early 1800s, two US generals tried to invade Canada. They might have succeeded, too, except for a peculiar handicap – their inability to…

7 Famous Medieval Knights – Warriors, Leaders, And Scholars

Medieval knights were among the celebrities of their day – warriors, leaders, and scholars. They became figures of romance and inspiration, giving them a special…

Top 5 Battles Where Fighting Spirit Overcame The Odds

Battles can be lost for a hundred different reasons. Poor numbers, unwise strategy, inferior weapons, the list goes on. But just occasionally, a fighting force…

Civil War Trails – Connecting Visitors To History On The Civil War

A sign was dedicated in Floyd, Virginia, as part of the Virginia Civil War Trails system. John Graham of the Floyd County Historical Society (FCHS)…

New Book Throws Light On Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant is well known as the commanding general of the Union forces during the American civil war, but outside of that little is…

Punishing the Enemy, Feeding his Men: How General Ulysses S. Grant Changed the Course of the Civil War

General Ulysses S. Grant transformed the way the American Civil War was fought. By shifting to a strategy of “baseless” campaigning he freed himself from…