Free Republic

The trouble with many of the past ratings of America's presidents is that the "consensus" has been arrived at by academics who act alike, do alike, and think alike. In the view of many, they are suspect of viewing history exclusively through the prism of Ivy League faculty lounge discourse. Alvin Stephen Felzenberg (Ph.D.) — who has taken a fresh and comprehensive look at the nation's chief executives in his book The Leaders We Deserved (and a Few We Didn't): Rethinking the Presidential Rating Game — does not challenge the credentials of the conventional historians. Rather, as he explains in...

Soldiers stationed in Corpus Christi with Zachary Taylor's army - from August 1845 to March 1846 - found that wild mustangs could be had cheap. Lt. Ulysses S. Grant, who was a fine rider and loved horses, soon had four mustang ponies. A free black man named Valere, whom he and another officer had hired to prepare their meals and keep their tent clean, was taking Grant's horses to water and they got away. Capt. W.W. Bliss, Gen. Taylor's adjutant, joked, "I heard that Grant lost five or six dollars' worth of horses the other day." The men seemed to...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- A cactus-dotted stretch of land that lay forgotten for more than a century is where the National Park Service decided to put its first site dedicated to the U.S.-Mexican War. Appropriately, the 3,400-acre Palo Alto Battlefield is where U.S. and Mexican soldiers began a fight that led to Mexico losing half its territory and the United States gaining claim to the Southwest. However, the visitor's center, which officially opens Saturday, will feature displays reflecting both U.S. and Mexican perspectives on the war -- in English and Spanish -- in hopes of attracting visitors from both sides...