Veterans Day provides an opportune moment to recall a spring afternoon when President Abraham Lincoln met with disabled vets from Civil War regiments. It wasn’t his only encounter with injured soldiers. In fact, he lived among them for one-fourth of his time as chief executive. Halfway through the Civil War, a chaplain at St. Elizabeth’s… continue
Travelers who take side roads sometimes find themselves driving back in time to a small town bedecked with American flags, like a movie set for “The Music Man.” Such a town in western New York State bears the celestial name of Angelica. It comes complete with a town square, spired churches, antique stores and plenty… continue
On July 23, 1885, Ulysses S. Grant died in a small cottage atop Mount McGregor in upstate New York. He had gone there to complete his memoirs as cancer ravaged him. He succeeded, just as he had in winning the Civil War two decades earlier. In both victories, American flags played major roles. When word… continue
June 14 is Flag Day and June 17 marks the 240th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, one of America’s early steps toward independence from Great Britain. So this is an appropriate time to link the two. Or maybe not. Some scholars think that the American forces had no flag to wave… continue
In 1664, when it was a British colony, Rhode Island quickly came up with a one-word slogan: “Hope.” Then things slowed down. It just squeaked onto the list of the first states in the Union, and it took forever to design a state flag. Even then, R.I. couldn’t make up its mind. Rhode Island became… continue