William Tecumseh Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio, on 8 February 1820. When his father died, Thomas Ewing adopted him. Sherman attended the United States Military Academy, graduating in 1840. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to the 3d Cavalry in Florida. In 1841, he was promoted to first lieutenant. During the Mexican …
Ulysses Simpson Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on 27 April 1822. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1843 and commissioned in the infantry. After graduation, he served with the 4th Infantry and participated in the occupation of Texas from 1843 to 1846. Grant fought under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott in the Mexican …
Philip Henry Sheridan was born in Albany, New York on 6 March 1831. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1853. Before the Civil War, he served with the 1st Infantry and the 4th Infantry. In 1861, he was promoted to first lieutenant and then captain. He became the quartermaster of Major General Henry W. Halleck’s headquarters until …
By Command Sergeant Major James Clifford, USA-Ret. On 19 April 1861, just seven days after the bombardment of Fort Sumter, a showman determined to be the first balloonist to fly over the Atlantic Ocean took off on a test flight from Cincinnati, Ohio. Professor Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe aimed to test the westerly winds in …
By the summer of 1864, the future of the Confederate States of America was looking dim. During the previous year, the Army of Northern Virginia, under the command of GEN Robert E. Lee, had suffered a decisive defeat at Gettysburg. A day after that battle, Vicksburg, the Confederates’ last bastion on the Mississippi River, fell …
One of the more intriguing characters of the Civil War was BG Charles Pomeroy Stone. On 20 October 1861, MG George B. McClellan, commander of the Army of the Potomac, ordered Stone to “conduct a slight demonstration” from his position near Poolesville, Maryland. During late September and into October, McClellan’s forces received information that the …
The Army Historical Foundation is the designated official fundraising organization for the National Museum of the United States Army.
We were established in 1983 as a member-based, charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. We seek to educate future Americans to fully appreciate the sacrifices that generations of American Soldiers have made to safeguard the freedoms of this Nation. Our funding helps to acquire and conserve Army historical art and artifacts, support Army history educational programs, research, and publication of historical materials on the American Soldier, and provide support and counsel to private and governmental organizations committed to the same goals.
