Military Leaders

A forlorn station sign recalls the days when Terowie was a vital railway stop between the towns of Adelaide and Alice Springs.

General MacArthur's Dramatic WWII Comeback Began in Australia. Trace His Journey From the Outback to the Queensland Coast

After a harrowing escape from the Philippines, the prickly American famously vowed "I shall return" from a remote train station before marshaling Allied forces to victory

“Paris must not fall into the hands of the enemy,” Adolf Hitler told his top general in Paris, “or if it does, he must find there nothing but a field of ruins.”

During World War II, the Liberation of Paris Saved the French Capital From Destruction

Adolf Hitler wanted Paris razed. Dwight D. Eisenhower wanted his troops to stay out of the city. In August 1944, an uprising by French resistance fighters forced the Allies to intervene

The weapons are adorned with gold and silver designs and an engraved image of Napoleon.

Napoleon's Elaborately Decorated Pistols Sell for $1.8 Million at Auction

The French government has declared the artifacts national treasures, which means they can only leave the country temporarily

The fateful tent on display at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.

From These Modest Wartime Quarters, George Washington Kept the Revolution Alive

The general's war tent, an iconic part of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, carries as much symbolism now as it did then

At the beginning of the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant wasn’t an abolitionist, admitting that his beliefs were “not even what could be called antislavery.” By August 1863, he had changed his mind, writing, “Slavery is already dead and cannot be resurrected.”

Unraveling Ulysses S. Grant's Complex Relationship With Slavery

The Union general directly benefited from the brutal institution before and during the Civil War

A still from the upcoming film Napoleon, which dramatizes the ambitious military commander and emperor's rise and fall

The Trailer for Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon' Is Here

The new film stars Joaquin Phoenix and follows the ambitious French ruler's rise to power

On a June morning in 1864, Meade expelled Edward Crapsey from camp, ordering his men to seat the reporter backward on a mule, with a sign around his neck that read “Libeler of the Press.”

After Winning the Battle of Gettysburg, George Meade Fought With—and Lost to—the Press

The Civil War general's reputation was shaped by partisan politics, editorial whims and his own personal failings

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Mary Sears' Pioneering Ocean Research Saved Countless Lives in WWII

Allied victory in the Pacific depended on strategy, bravery and military might. It also depended on a brilliant marine scientist from Massachusetts

The 15 freed hostages and their rescuers arrive at San José del Guaviare airport in July 2008.

The Daring Rescue Mission That Freed 15 Hostages Held in the Colombian Jungle for Years

A new exhibition at the International Spy Museum revisits Operación Jaque, a covert 2008 plot led by the Colombian military

Black soldiers during World War II

Nine Army Bases Honoring Confederate Leaders Could Soon Have New Names

Proposed by a government panel, the suggested title changes honor several women and people of color

The $11 million listing features a post office, a gas station, residences and more.

You Could Own a Former Military Town in New Mexico

In its heyday, Fort Wingate housed Buffalo Soldiers, Navajo code talkers and a future general

Detail of Ronald N. Sherr's General Colin Powell, 2012, oil on canvas

Colin Powell, First Black Secretary of State, Dies of Covid-19 at 84

The decorated general broke racial barriers in the U.S. military but attracted criticism for his part in paving the way for the Iraq War

Clockwise from top left: Charity Adams Earley, Harriet Tubman, Edith Nourse Rogers, Lori Piestewa and Mary E. Clarke

Five Women Veterans Who Deserve to Have Army Bases Named After Them

The U.S. Army has 10 installations named after Confederate generals. Zero are named after women

Abraham Lincoln (left) claimed first place, while William Henry Harrison (right) came in 40th.

Who Were the Best and Worst Presidents Ever—and How Do Historians Decide?

C-SPAN's 2021 ranking places Trump near the bottom of the list. Obama, Grant rises higher, while Lincoln holds steady in first

The “Spirit of Tuskegee” hangs from the ceiling at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. The blue and yellow Stearman PT 13-D was used to train Black pilots from 1944 to 1946.

The Legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen Soars on the Wing of This World War II Aircraft

The 80th anniversary of the first Black flying unit is a time to recall the era when military service meant confronting foes both at home and abroad

Aviation pioneer Henry “Hap” Arnold (above: with the Fly Fortress "Memphis Bell") lead the Army Air Force to victory in World War II and later establish the U.S. Air Force as the best in the world.

How Gen. Henry 'Hap' Arnold, the Architect of American Air Power, Overcame His Fear of Flying

Despite his phobia, the five-star general built the U.S. Air Force

The National Museum of the United States Army opened on Veteran's Day, November 11, 2020.

A New Museum Delves Into the Complex History of the U.S. Army

The Fort Belvoir institution is the first museum dedicated to interpreting the story of the nation's oldest military branch

The True History of Netflix's 'The Liberator'

The new animated series tells the story of the U.S. Army's most integrated World War II unit

Today, the figurative field of battle has become a literal one: Israel's Sharon Plain.

Study Identifies Site Where Crusader King Richard the Lionheart Defeated Saladin

In September 1191, the English monarch's forces secured victory over the sultan's army at the Battle of Arsuf

Before Senator Joe McCarthy became infamous for his grandstanding against alleged Communists, he came to the defense of former German soldiers convicted during the Malmedy war crimes trial.

When Senator Joe McCarthy Defended Nazis

In a nearly forgotten episode, the Wisconsin firebrand sided with the Germany military in a war crimes trial, raising questions about his anti-Semitism

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