Remembering James “Paddy” Graydon
Few Civil War officers were more colorful than Captain James (Paddy) Graydon. He was a hard drinking, daring and unconventional Union captain with a short fuse, particularly remembered for his...
The Battle of Point Pleasant
On this day in 1774, The Battle of Point Pleasant, also known as the Battle of Kanawha, was fought. It was a pivotal clash between colonial militia and Native American forces during Lord Dunmore’s...
Remembering Nathaniel Bacon
Americans sometimes forget—or never were taught—that the first permanent English settlement in North America was not in New England—it was Jamestown Colony in Virginia. During the 17th Century,...
Remembering Samuel Colt: Inventor, Industrialist, and Architect of the Revolver Era
Samuel Colt, born on this day, July 19, 1814, in Hartford, Connecticut, was a visionary inventor and industrialist whose name became synonymous with the revolver—a repeating firearm that forever...
Remembering Billy the Kid
The legend of few characters of the old west has endured more than Henry McCarty, aka William H. Bonney, and better known as Billy the Kid. He was an...
Remembering William Bradford
The history of the Mayflower voyage and the establishment of the first permanent English settlement in New England in 1620 has largely derived from the writings of one person—Governor William...
Remembering George Somers
A forgotten man in the history of Jamestown and early Virginia is George Somers, who was born this day on April 24, 1554—a long, long time ago—but who during his lifetime was a celebrated...
“Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death”
“Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death”: The 250th Anniversary of Patrick Henry’s Immortal Speech to the Second Virginia Convention As Americans commemorate the 250th anniversary of the start of...
Remembering Pocahontas
She has been memorialized in many ways by many generations. She’s been the main character in a Disney animated film. She was the very first Native-American to appear on a U.S. stamp. These and...
