The Loss of a Giant in the Collecting Community
In a 1988 MI interview, Mike McAfee was asked to share any words of wisdom he’d like to pass on to photo collectors. “Speaking as a curator,” Mike began, referencing
Tag: West Point
The Answer Man for American Boundary Questions
When it came to the question of borders, Col. James Duncan Graham was the military’s go-to engineer for answers. For the better part of the first half of the 19th
Ogle’s Ruination: How alcohol ended a West Pointer’s promising military career
By William Gorenfeld Ruination by drink is an unfortunate but common tale in military as well as civilian life. In all ranks and all regiments of the antebellum army or,
Foundation of the Rock
Wise. Calm. Self-poised. Steadfast. These words were used by a comrade and biographer of George Henry Thomas to describe the venerable soldier long after he had been christened with the
Military Schoolboys Fostered ‘Virtuous Citizens’
With no television, internet or any other form of electronic mass entertainment, 19th-century Americans turned to activities that tended to make them more enlightened and productive citizens. One such pursuit
Heydey of Hope
Much has been written about John Pelham’s courage on the battlefield of Fredericksburg and his mortal wounding in the cavalry fight at Kelly’s Ford. Far less has been recorded about
An Early West Point Graduate
Daniel D. Tompkins arrived at the U.S. Military Academy in 1814 with an aptitude for learning and a well-known namesake—his uncle, the governor of New York, who would soon serve
Fighting Scion of Kentucky Noblemen
In the sprawling cavalry fight near Brentwood, Tenn., on March 25, 1863, a beardless Union aide de camp, all of 18 years old, found himself in deep trouble. Lt. Green