debor044

American interest in ‘Norte’ (North) Mexico, what would become the nation and later American state of Texas, dated back to the Mexican struggle for independence from Spain, which stalled Moses Austin plans for colonization of the fertile Texas river valley. Known as the first empresario (a settler bound by contract to lead other settlers and homesteader parties to the territory), Austin was unable to complete his vision of a new settlement in what would become Texas , dieing in 1821 before he could see the territory himself. Stephen F. Austin It was his son second son Stephen F. Austin (b.1793-1836), who received his fathers’ grant for colonization in Southeastern Texas, though it is long handed down that the younger Austin was reluctant to travel to Texas . The first settlers, the “Old Three Hundred” remain an enduring symbol of the founding of Texas and in a sense represent the spirit of those who still reside there today. Though it is now believed that the beloved ‘Ole Three Hundre...

The Boxer rebellion is a most fascinating conflict to study because of the unique nature of the conflict amongst many other notable conflicts fought at the very end of the 19 th century and into the early 1900's. Many histories written in modern times have highlighted the international diplomatic and military effort's of the Eight Nation Alliance which was arguably the first modern age military coalition force of its kind. Allied armies attack the Peking (Beijing) palace during the Boxer Rebellion 1900 Their enemy, the mystic Chinese ‘Boxer’ rebels (nationalists) of the Society of ‘Righteous Harmonious Fists’, fundamentalists patriots who were fighting to expel "Western" allied influence (Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and Japan) from China. A conflict marked by bloody insurrections, atrocities, and costly sieges, the Boxer Rebellion of 1899-1901 is a critical study in early-modern world diplomacy, war...

The influence of the American Civil War 1861-1865, on all three major aspects of tactical warfare in the 19 th century; land, naval, and logistical strategies, is one of the great studies in warfare from the 16 th -19 th centuries. In popular history and memory, the cavalry of both North and South, fighting from Pennsylvania, to farthest reaches of American territory in the West, have become and almost an unmatched icon of American military history from the period 1800-circa 1900. General Philip Sheridan rallying the Union Army at the Battle of Third Winchester (Opequon), a critical battle in the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1864, which helped Lincoln win re-election Cavalry played an integral role in the Civil War and in many of its battles though their role in pitched battles, on open terrain battlefields was relatively marginalized due to technological breakthroughs in weaponry, the horse soldiers’ role as irregular, raider, pillager, and guerrilla force was one of the most disti...

The Honolulu Rifles regiment was a militia force of predominantly Anglo-American or European descendants living in Hawaii, formed in Honolulu in what was then the Kingdom of Hawaii,  1884. Founded originally as a parade-social club with their own uniforms, weapons, drill manuals, etc. the Honolulu  Rifles regiment became a potent military presence in Hawaii at a critical time in the island nation’s history, which came to be called the Hawaii Rebellions from 1887-1895. Honolulu Rifles regiment The downfall of both the Kingdom of Hawaii and the independent Hawaiian republic in 1893 & 1895 respectively were both directly linked to actions of the Honolulu Rifles brigade. Hawaii ’s annexation as a territory of the United States was in its day a  diplomatic and political hair trigger argument. President Grover Cleveland (b.1837-1908) opposed annexation in both his terms as president and only during President William McKinley's term in 1898 did the machinations...

On this day in 1864 the Union Army under the command of General Ambrose Burnsides, (b.1824-1881) in an attempt to break the Siege of Petersburg, Virginia (June 1864-April 1865), exploded an over 500 foot mine dug under Confederate defense in the weeks before in an attempt to overrun General Robert E. Lee's (b.1807-1870) positions. Battle of the Crater, July 30, 1864 Burnsides, the now iconic namesake of sideburns became infamous for this half-cocked, immensely dangerous and ultimately very costly assault. He became the scapegoat and was truly to blame for the disastrous & pointless attacks that followed the explosion of 320 kegs of black powder in the mine dug weeks before by engineers. The explosion failed to open a significant breach anywhere along the Confederate lines. It succeeded in creating a large and relatively deep crater, a sort of canyon or hole which later cost thousands of Union lives during futile charges and assaults to break t...

On this day in 1898, the 1st Volunteer cavalry known popularly as the Rough Riders, under the command of the future 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt (b.1858-1919), made their famous assault on the Spanish positions at San Juan Hill in Cuba during the Spanish-American War of April-December 1898. Roosevelt's Rough Riders won national and international recognition for their part in the greater American victory in the Spanish-American conflict fought in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam. Roosevelt in his Brooke's Brothers tailored uniform, 1898 The Spanish-American War began in 1898 after the mysterious explosion of the USS Maine in  Havana  harbor. At first the war was Naval clash of arms, between the rising United States of America, fighting together as a whole nation once again, and a declining empire, Spain, who as a result of the war would loose all over their overseas possessions except for Morocco. After the  US  congress pas...

Of the many bloody conflicts to befall the various regions of Africa from 1945-2012, the Civil Wars of the continent have been particularly brutal beacuse of the overwhelming loss of human life, mostly non-combatants caught in the crossfire of modern weaponry and geo-political fervor, which often spills into other nations and regions following social and politcal conflict The Liberian Civil Wars, first from 1989-1996, and then from 1999-2003, are an example of the chaos and bloodshed that can arise from Civil War and internal strife in the developing regions of the World. Recently the events in Liberia which were so brutal and horrible have come into the news feed once again following their former president Charles Taylor's conviction of War crimes  for his role in Sierra Leone's Civil War from 1991-2000. The international tribunal who convicted Taylor was significant because it was the first time since World War II that a head of state has been put on tria...