12 books found
Fort Adams has a rich and illustrious history as defender of Narragansett Bay. On the shores of Newport, Rhode Island, the fort was named for the nation's second president, John Adams. Humbly beginning as an earthwork in 1776, it remained an active fort until its permanent closure in 1950. Fort Adams stood guard during the American Revolutionary War, Mexican-American War, Civil War and Spanish-American War, as well as World Wars I and II. Now a state park, Fort Adams is fully restored to its former glory of days past. Authors John T. Duchesneau and Kathleen Troost-Cramer explore the history of the most notable commanding officers of the fort, the changing role of women within the Fort Adams community and the legacy left behind by the families who called the fort home.
Few American military figures are more revered than General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing (1860–1948), who is most famous for leading the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The only soldier besides George Washington to be promoted to the highest rank in the U.S. Army (General of the Armies), Pershing was a mentor to the generation of generals who led America's forces during the Second World War. Though Pershing published a two-volume memoir, My Experiences in the World War, and has been the subject of numerous biographies, few know that he spent many years drafting a memoir of his experiences prior to the First World War. In My Life Before the World War, 1860–1917, John T. Greenwood rescues this vital resource from obscurity, making Pershing's valuable insights into key events in history widely available for the first time. Pershing performed frontier duty against the Apaches and Sioux from 1886–1891, fought in Cuba in 1898, served three tours of duty in the Philippines, and was an observer with the Japanese Army in 1905 during the Russo-Japanese War. He also commanded the Mexican Punitive Expedition to capture Pancho Villa in 1916–1917. My Life Before the World War provides a rich personal account of events, people, and places as told by an observer at the center of the action. Carefully edited and annotated, this memoir is a significant contribution to our understanding of a legendary American soldier and the historic events in which he participated.
This cultural and historical study of the coast draws from a variety of sources to illuminate both the landscape of the shore and its place in American life. The work scrutinizes the fishing boats, lighthouses, wharfs, resorts, shipwrecks and people, to evoke the culture of the coast.