History lessons is a grouping of historical stories and tidbits. The topics range from the American Civil War through interesting items from around the world. Please use the comments area to ask questions and make suggestions for future topics.
Tourists who make the long bus journey up a mountain near the Pacific Ocean in San Simeon, California, expect to see marvelous sights when they reach the Hearst Castle at the peak. Among those sights, they will be wowed by a room full of flags. Not new American flags, but ancient flags from Siena, a… continue
The 100th anniversary of World War I is being observed in Europe, as is the 75th anniversary of the first full year of the Second World War. For Americans, 2015 brings the bicentennial of the end of the War of 1812, a good time to recall how U.S. prisoners proudly waved American flags in a… continue
George Washington, it is said, never told a lie. But some fibs have been told about him, and one of them might involve an early American flag that was hoisted – or was it? – 239 years ago on the first day of the year. On January 1, 1776, Washington lifted a flag at his… continue
It happened 100 years ago on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Soldiers from England, France and Germany, who had been killing one another in the trenches of World War I, stopped for a brief time. Hoisting white truce flags, they crawled over the tops of their trenches. The spontaneous event is known as the Christmas… continue
In late 1864, the Civil War was nearing its end. For nearly four years, American flags and Confederate banners had been flying above frays fought mainly on the East Coast. Another battle, which occurred in the Far West, involved flags that were ignored. Unrelated to the war, Federal troops descended on hundreds of Cheyenne and… continue