Washington's Farewell Address: Warnings for America
In 1796, George Washington's farewell address warned against division, partisanship, and foreign entanglements. He urged
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Military
Battles, regiments, and strategy from the Revolution through the 20th century, tied to documented accounts. This hub currently includes 20 documented stories, including The Burning of the White House in 1814: Why the British Torched Washington; The Gulf of Tonkin Incident: The Murky Night That Escalated Vietnam; Apollo 1: The Capsule Fire That Almost Ended the Moon Program.
Readers search for: U.S. military history facts · American war stories documented.
20 stories with citations. All stories · Watch videos · Shorts
The Burning of the White House in 1814: Why the British Torched Washington
British troops occupied Washington in August 1814 and set fire to the White House and the Capitol — then a storm helped stop the blaze.
The Gulf of Tonkin Incident: The Murky Night That Escalated Vietnam
Congress nearly unanimously authorized war after reported attacks — including one that almost certainly never happened. (Gulf of Tonkin incident)
Apollo 1: The Capsule Fire That Almost Ended the Moon Program
Three astronauts died on the launch pad in a pure-oxygen cabin — and NASA redesigns began before anyone walked on the Moon. (Apollo 1 fire)
The Challenger Disaster: Why NASA Launched Despite Ice and Warnings
Seventy-three seconds after liftoff, the shuttle broke apart on live television — and the investigation exposed ignored O-ring warnings.
Three Mile Island: The Partial Meltdown That Terrified America in 1979
A stuck valve and confused operators turned a Pennsylvania nuclear plant into a national panic — and stalled U.S. nuclear power for decades.
Castle Bravo: When America’s Biggest H-Bomb Test Poisoned Pacific Islanders and Japanese Fishermen
The 1954 Bikini test was twice as powerful as predicted — radioactive ash rained on Rongelap and the Lucky Dragon.
The Sultana: America’s Worst Maritime Disaster — and Almost Nobody Remembers It
An overcrowded Mississippi steamboat boiler exploded, killing 1,100+ — mostly freed Union POWs.
The Oregon Balloon Bomb: When WWII Reached the Continental U.S. and Killed Civilians
Japan launched thousands of fire balloons; one killed a pastor’s wife and five children on a church picnic.
Operation Paperclip: How Nazi Scientists Became American Cold War Heroes
The U.S. brought V-2 engineers to Huntsville — sanitizing records and overlooking war crimes.
Operation Northwoods: The Pentagon Plan to Stage Attacks on Americans
Declassified proposals included sinking refugee boats and faking hijackings to justify war with Cuba.
Wounded Knee 1973: The 71-Day Siege That Put Native Rights on National TV
AIM activists seized a town; the FBI surrounded them; and two federal agents died in the standoff’s aftermath.
America’s Minuteman Missiles: The Accidents That Almost Started Nuclear War
False alarms, dropped tools, and fire in silos — how the U.S. came close to launching by mistake.
The Titan II Missile Explosion: When a Wrench Dropped on Arkansas
A maintenance mishap vented fuel, exploded a nuclear missile silo, and killed one airman in 1980.
The Bonus Army: When Hoover Ordered Tanks Against WWI Veterans
Thousands of unemployed veterans camped in Washington — until the Army drove them out with tear gas.
The Night German Spies Blew Up New York Harbor
In 1916, German saboteurs detonated a massive munitions depot in Jersey City — the blast shattered windows in Manhattan and damaged the Statue of Liberty.
The Battle of Los Angeles: When America Fired 1,400 Shells at Nothing
In February 1942, anti-aircraft guns lit up the Los Angeles sky for an hour — but there was no enemy. Five civilians died in the panic.
The Night Two Hydrogen Bombs Fell on North Carolina
In 1961, a B-52 broke apart over Goldsboro and dropped two 3.8-megaton hydrogen bombs. One came within a single switch of detonating.
The Ghost Army: How 1,100 Artists Fooled Hitler with Inflatable Tanks
A secret U.S. Army unit of artists, designers, and audio engineers used rubber tanks, fake radio chatter, and speakers blasting tank sounds to deceive the Nazis across Europe.
Port Chicago: The Explosion That Launched the Civil Rights Movement in the Military
In 1944, a massive ammunition explosion killed 320 sailors — two-thirds of them Black. When survivors refused to return to the same deadly conditions, 50 were court-martialed for mutiny.
USS Indianapolis: The Navy's Worst Disaster and the Captain They Blamed for It
After delivering the Hiroshima bomb's uranium core, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed. 900 men went into the water. Only 316 survived — and the Navy court-martialed the captain.
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Black Tom Island Explosion: WWI Sabotage in NYC
In 1916, German agents detonated Black Tom Island, an act of sabotage that shook NYC with a 5.5 magnitude blast, damagin
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Operation Paul Bunyan: The Tree That Sparked a Showdown
In 1976, a routine tree-trimming operation in the Korean Demilitarized Zone escalated into a tense military showdown. Di
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The Devastating Halifax Explosion of 1917
On December 6, 1917, two ships collided in Halifax Harbor, triggering the largest man-made explosion in history before t
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Black Tom Explosion: Forgotten Attack That Damaged Statue of Liberty
Before Pearl Harbor, a massive explosion rocked New York Harbor. German sabotage on Black Tom Island in 1916 unleashed c
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The Uncomfortable Truth of the Bonus Army
In 1932, WWI veterans marched on Washington for early bonus payments—the Bonus Army. Removed by force, their story revea
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