The Flag Is Still There I’ve written in the past about the controversy over the huge Confederate battle flag that flies in a prominent place just off the exit from US460 to the east of the Virginia town of Farmville. The flag was erected on private property by a non-profit called Virginia Flaggers in an arrangement…
Category: Historical Study
Lest We Forget
Appomattox: Lest We Forget This afternoon I attended a ceremony marking the 160th anniversary of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia (which I often sardonically refer to as “the Confederate Nakba”). It was organized by the Appomattox chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and took place at the Confederate…
Dead In The Water: The Attack on the USS Liberty
Know Your Military History: Night Jump into Dien Bien Phu
Night Jump into Dien Bien Phu: An Eyewitness Account From A French Paratrooper Captured by the Viet Minh Pierre Fauroux was born in 1921. He graduated from the French Military Academy at St. Cyr in 1942, when France’s Vichy government was dominated by Germany. In 1943 he escaped from France via Spain and joined the…
History of the MACV/SOG Knife
Conrad “Ben” Baker was a problem solver. When special operations troops during the Vietnam War needed a “non-attributable,” or sterile, knife for cross-border reconnaissance and irregular warfare, Baker was uniquely positioned to design and procure their plausibly deniable piece of kit. From this request were born the rare and legendary MACV-SOG knives. Background In…
189 Years Ago Today The Republic of Texas was Born!
Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836 On March 2, 1836, Texas formally declared its independence from Mexico. The Texas Declaration of Independence was signed at Washington-on-the-Brazos, now commonly referred to as the “birthplace of Texas.” Similar to the United States Declaration of Independence, this document focused on the rights of citizens to “life” and “liberty”…
On This Day in History: February 23, 1836
Battle of the Alamo In 1835, Texas, which was then under the control of the Mexican Republic, rebelled against its overlords. Though there was a fierce debate among Texians as to whether they wanted to declare independence or simply force a return to the freer Mexican constitution of 1824, eventually the rebels did declare…
Guerilla Warfare History: PIRA Launches Mortar Attack on Downing Street (2/7/91)
Downing Street Mortar Attack The Downing Street mortar attack was carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 7 February 1991. The IRA launched three homemade mortar shells at 10 Downing Street, London, the headquarters of the British government, in an attempt to assassinate Prime Minister John Major and his war cabinet, who were meeting to discuss the Gulf War. One of the 140 pound (64 kg)…
The Nature of Guerilla Warfare in the Heart of ‘Mosby’s Confederacy’
The Nature of Guerilla Warfare in the Heart of ‘Mosby’s Confederacy’ I happened upon this 106 page theses paper submitted in 2015 to Clemson University by Brett D. Zeggil while doing research for an upcoming short story. For all you serious students of both Southern History and Guerilla Warfare, I urge you to read…
On This Day in History: February 1, 1968
1968 Saigon police chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executes Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém with a pistol shot to the head.