Often when politicians take actions to undermine democracy, they loudly proclaim that their actions are necessary to “save democracy.” It reminds me of the Vietnam-era line about destroying a village in order to save it. For example, near the end…
One hundred and sixty years ago in early September 1862, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia, fresh from a stunning victory at Second Bull Run (or Second Manassas), crossed the Potomac River and invaded Maryland,…
We’ll Be Back: The Fall and Rise of America By Kurt Schlichter (Regnery Publishing: 256 pages, $26.99) In February of 1991, young Army officer Kurt Schlichter huddled with his platoon in Iraq, ready to move in on Saddam Hussein’s chemical…
To the Uttermost Ends of the Earth: The Epic Hunt for the South’s Most Feared Ship and the Greatest Sea Battle of the Civil War By Phil Keith with Tom Glavin (Hanover Square Press, 316 pages, $30) The horrendous American…
April 6-7, 2022, marks the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh, a furious struggle fought in southwestern Tennessee. Author Larry J. Daniel called it “the battle that changed the Civil War.” The total American casualties (dead, wounded, captured, and…
I am rapidly racing towards eternity. It’s astounding how fast time has flown by. It seems like yesterday that I was in elementary school planting bushes and trees and pledging allegiance and feeling unbelievably blessed that I was in the…
The ludicrous 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia did more than any other recent event to discredit white supremacists. The media suggested a national movement threatening to use President Donald Trump’s victory to grab a share of political…
When you walk the Fredericksburg battlefield, especially near the stone wall at the base of Mayre’s Heights (which is just beyond the National Park’s visitor’s center), there is an eerie feeling of tragedy mixed with bewilderment and awe. The battle…
Robert E. Lee: A Life Allen C. Guelzo (Knopf, 608 pages, $35) “Who’s that man on the horse?” I asked my father at a young age. “That’s Lee — he led the South in the Civil War.” He gave me…
