Bartholomew Sharp — Meet the Unlucky Pirate Who Threw Away a Fortune in Silver
“With the men of the expedition once more on the verge of mutiny, a lookout finally spotted a large galleon flying Spanish colours. Could it be the treasure fleet? Sharp’s vessels closed for battle.” HISTORY…
Final Notes — ‘Taps,’ ‘The Last Post’ and Other Songs for the Fallen
“Both the Last Post and Taps share a common lineage. Each are derivatives of a Dutch tune from the 1600s called the Taptoe.” (Originally published on July 11, 2012) TAPS, THE SONG THAT’S BEEN PLAYED AT…
The Chinchas War – Inside the Little-Known Conflict Between Peru and Spain Over Animal Turds
“The resulting two-year naval conflict would see ships captured, cities bombarded, ports blockaded, economies destroyed, and governments toppled.” WHEN IN 1864, a hotheaded Spanish admiral wanted to punish Peru for a perceived diplomatic insult, he…
The Forgotten Role of Indigenous Americans in the U.S. Civil War
“Some Indian factions taking up arms for both the Union and the Confederacy.” THE U.S. CIVIL WAR wasn’t just an internecine struggle between white Americans from the north and south. Native tribes throughout the United States…
The Sawbones Will See You Now – A History of Battlefield Medicine
“There have been a number of leaders in the long history of military medicine that helped improve and modernize patient care. Here are a few of them.” “A PHYSICIAN is worth more than several other…
How Not To Be Seen — The Art, Science and History of Camouflage
THE UNITED STATES military is abandoning its recently-adopted pixelated camouflage uniforms, according to the army newspaper Stars and Stripes. The drab grey digital scheme, known as the Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP), will be discarded after only eight…
