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Military Leaders

Watercolor painting of the Battle of Texel by painter Léon Morel-Fatio.

The Only Time in History When Men on Horseback Captured a Fleet of Ships

A Dutch fleet stuck in the ice. A group of French soldiers sent to capture it. What could go wrong?

Spc. Crisma Albarran volunteered for the U.S. Army. In the future, other women could be required to serve.

Women Won’t Register for the Draft After All

They’re gaining parity within the U.S. military—but women won’t yet be required to register for compulsory service in case of war

Korda captured this iconic image of the Cuban revolutionary by chance.

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Cuba

The Story Behind Che’s Iconic Photo

Fashion photographer Alberto Korda took Che Guevara’s pictures hundreds of times in the 1960s. One stuck

A new Smithsonian Book by Gus Lee tells the untold story of Norman Schwarzkopf's work with young cadets at West Point.

How the Unflinching Norman Schwarzkopf Became One Man’s Guiding Light

In a new book, the general who successfully commanded one of the largest military operations in the Middle East is remembered by a man he mentored

Secrets of American History

That Time When Custer Stole a Horse

The theft of a prize-winning stallion gave the famous general a glimpse of a future that could have been

Why We’d Be Better Off if Napoleon Never Lost at Waterloo

On the bicentennial of the most famous battle in world history, a distinguished historian looks at what could have been

General Robinson, right, is handed the Pacific Air Forces flag during a ceremony yesterday.

Trending Today

General Lori Robinson Takes Charge of the Pacific as Air Force’s First Female Major Command Leader

Robinson joins the short list of female four-star generals

Egg nog has not always been such a refined holiday quaff.

Eggnog: It’s All Fun and Games Until Someone Starts a Holiday Riot

When four gallons of whiskey were smuggled into a West Point Christmas party, a third of the academy erupted into chaos

Scores of high-spirited civilians carried picnic baskets and champagne to the battlefield to watch what would turn out to be the first major land engagement of the Civil War. Shown here is the battlefield as it appears today.

The Civil War

The Battle of Bull Run: The End of Illusions

Both North and South expected victory to be glorious and quick, but the first major battle signaled the long and deadly war to come

After Union troops refused to evacuate Fort Sumter, today a National Monument, Confederates opened fire.

The Civil War

Fort Sumter: The Civil War Begins

Nearly a century of discord between North and South finally exploded in April 1861 with the bombardment of Fort Sumter

On the day of the battle, 6,000 to 7,000 Indians were camped on the flats beside the Little Bighorn River.

How the Battle of Little Bighorn Was Won

Accounts of the 1876 battle have focused on Custer’s ill-fated cavalry. But a new book offers a take from the Indian’s point of view

Starting in 1864, Arlington National Cemetery was transformed into a military cemetery.

How Arlington National Cemetery Came to Be

The fight over Robert E. Lee’s beloved home—seized by the U.S. government during the Civil War—went on for decades

John Brown and many of his followers holed up in the fire engine house awaiting reinforcements by a swarm of "bees"—slaves from the surrounding area. But only a handful showed up.

John Brown’s Day of Reckoning

The abolitionist’s bloody raid on a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry 150 years ago set the stage for the Civil War

Benjamin W. Patton stands with his father, Gen. George Patton in 1978 at the North Africa American Cemetery in Tunisia. His grandfather, Gen. George S. Patton commanded the U.S. II Corps in 1943.

For General Patton’s Family, Recovered Ground

Famed World War II Gen. George S. Patton’s grandson finds his calling in the ashes of his fathers journals

Against the British, both Washington and Lafayette (left and right, at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78) had to learn how to lead citizen-soldiers rather than mercenaries, motivating their men through affection and idealism rather than through fear.

Washington & Lafayette

Almost inseparable in wartime, the two generals split over a vital question: Should revolutionary ideals be imposed on others?

General Marion Inviting a British Officer to Share His Meal

The Swamp Fox

Elusive and crafty, Francis Marion outwitted British troops during the American Revolution

On March 15, 1781, American forces inflicted heavy losses on the British Army at Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina. The redcoats had seemed invincible only a few months before.

100 Days That Shook the World

The all-but-forgotten story of the unlikely hero who ensured victory in the American Revolution

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The Forgotten General

Historians’ perspectives on George H. Thomas

The Amazon loses 8,800 acres a day to "This army does not retreat," Gen. George H. Thomas famously asserted. Later in 1863, he rallied Union troops in the Battle of Chickamauga, in Georgia. His equanimity shows in a Civil War portrait, as it did in the heat of combat.

The Civil War

Catching Up With “Old Slow Trot”

Stubborn and deliberate, General George Henry Thomas was one of the Union’s most brilliant strategists. So why was he cheated by history?

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Lord Nelson: Hero and…Cad!

A cache of recently discovered letters darkens the British naval warrior’s honor and enhances that of his long-suffering wife, Frances

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