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Link to Steven L. Ossad Google+ Profile... photos, research files, archival documents, visits to battlefields, staff ride materials, drawings, collected images, maps ...,
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Finalist, 2011 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award
A hero who faced down Pancho Villa with only a pistol and turned the tide of battle during the Salerno Operation in late 1943, John Lucas discovered at Anzio that his comrades were more dangerous than his enemies.
Brevet Colonel, Commander of the 30th Indiana Volunteers, and recipient of the Medal of Honor - all by the age of 23 - Henry Lawton's career spanned four decades until he fell in battle "bringing democracy to a distant land." Featured on the Center of Military History Civil War Website
When Joseph K.F. Mansfield fell at the Battle of Antietam, he was the ranking casualty on either side, the oldest general and West Point graduate to die in battle.
William and James Terrill of Virginia chose opposing sides in the Civil War, each rose to general and fell in battle. Theirs is a unique story of "brother against brother".
The only American armored division commander to die in battle, Maurice Rose was the son and grandson of rabbis who rose from private to general to lead the premier American armored force to victory over the Nazi empire.
Winner, 2003 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award
Thomas Macdonough faced Arab terrorists with steel and musket - in 1804
Russia's Rommel, General Ivan Chernyakhovsky survived brutal Anti-Semitisim, Stalin's madness, and German tanks to achieve a stunning combat record only to fall with final victory in sight.
Daniel Judson Callaghan's heroic sacrifice off Guadalcanal saved the embattled defenders of Henderson Field at the cost of his life and the destruction of his fleet.
Brigadier General Frederick W. Castle's leadership in and out of the cockpit made him one of the most admired men in the Eighth Air Force and one of the architects of daylight precision bombing.
The only physician ever to rise to Army Chief of Staff, Leonard Wood's path to success produced as many enemies as admirers.
Creator of the modern American Rangers, Darby led his men to great victories and a catastrophic defeat, but was always in the thick of the action.
Martin Blumenson spent his life writing the history of an institution he respected greatly and knew intimately, the United States Army. He inspired generations of his students and successors to the highest standard of excellence.
Described by some pretty eminent art historians as perhaps his greatest work, Leonardo Da Vinci's "Battle of Anghiari" defined for centuries the way artists portray the fury of battle and the anatomy and motion of warriors and horses in combat. The lost work sparked intense and on-going debate, and inspired many other great masters working in a variety of media. But, the battle has disappeared from history. Why?
Historian, biographer, memoirist, "novelist", and companion of Socrates, at the end of his life Xenophon wrote a small book of advice about reforming the Athenian cavalry. A discussion of specific suggestions, Xenophon's Hipparchicus reflects decades of the author's experience as an army commander. The wily survivor offers subtle insights on leadership as well as observations valuable to modern theorists and practioners of the "mounted service" that will always resonate.
The Battle of Kadesh, the greatest chariot clash in all recorded history, pitted the war-hardened Hittites against an untested Pharaoh in a struggle that shaped the destinies of the two dominant empires of the early Iron Age. Recorded as a great Egyptian victory, it is a case study of how a brilliant and well-executed public relations campaign can trump performance - and reality.
Born to greatness, Peirce ended his life in poverty, obscurity, and disappointment. Afflicted by illness, pain, drug-addiction and the suffocating moral intolerance of 19th Century America, the time to tell his story to a broad audience has finally arrived.
More than 3,500 years ago, Abraham, the leader of the Hebrews, led his men on a daring, long-distance, commando raid to rescue hostages. Hidden in a very brief passage of Genesis is the story of the first organized military action and victory of the Jewish people, a tale of courage and inspired leadership, and battle far from their borders. One cannot help but think of Operation THUNDERBALL, the Israel Defense Forces dramatic rescue of Jewish hostages at Entebbe, Uganda on July 4, 1976.
Does it make any sense to talk about a "philosophy of war?" What kinds of things would be discussed in such an academic sub-category? Whose works would make up the canon of study? On that point, why is it that Carl von Clausevitz's early 19th century book "On War" is virtually the only work generally accepted as a work of philosophy? In a world where war is so common, why is there so little systematic examination of its "first principles?" These are only a few of the questions that spark this general inquiry.
A stamp "album" that illustrates the military history of the United States as depicted in postage stamps. From the US first official postage stamp showing George Washington in uniform (1857) to the present day, the nation has remembered its wars and battlefields - both famous and forgotten - and honored its heroes, its weapons, and its victories. |
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Henry Ware Lawton, Major General of Volunteers, Killed in Action, 19 December 1899 (Steven L. Ossad, 2006)
Just over a century ago, Henry Ware Lawton (1843-1899) was the most famous and celebrated soldier in America. His exploits in the Civil War, Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, and the Philippine War read like the most fantastic adventure stories. A brevet colonel and Medal of Honor winner before the age of 23, Lawton first gained fame as the captor of Geronimo.
A decade later during the Spanish-American War, Lawton was the victor at the Battle of El Caney, Cuba (1 July 1898), the largest land battle fought since the Civil War. But the indestructible warrior – never wounded in 40 years of service - was tormented by chronic depression, alcoholism and feelings of inadequacy.
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El Viso, the Stone Fort at El Caney (US Army Signal Corps)
One of the major elements of his policy while serving as Military Governor in Cuba - America’s first experience in “nation-building”, essentially rebuilding the country through economic development, education and better social services. Under the pressures of the job, Lawton ’s demons erupted, threatening a major political crisis. After smashing the interior of a saloon and personally assaulting the local police chief, Lawton quietly returned home. The government fabricated a cover story of tropical illness. His career potentially in ruins, Lawton begged President McKinley for a second chance. Incredibly, that is exactly what happened.
A hard-edged soldier who wrote tender love letters to his wife Mame, Henry Lawton was the only general awarded the Medal of Honor during the Civil War to die in combat, the first serving general killed outside of North America, and the only serving general lost in the Philippine War. He died while trying to bring democracy to a Pacific nation.
"Organizing local government at Las Piñas," Harpers Weekly, Aug 1, 1899 (Lawton at left)
A knowledgeable and sensitive critic of the country’s “democratization” efforts, his advice was ignored in life but embraced enthusiastically in death. Soon after he fell, the U.S. sent more than 100,000 men to the Philippines
Lawton's Death, Harper's Weekly, Feb 24, 1900
The Battle of El Caney, Cuba, 1 July 1898
17th U.S. Infantry Breaks Camp, June 30, 1898 (CMH)
MG Henry W. Lawton, 1899
(Fort Wayne Library Biography of Henry W. Lawton, 1954)
Lawton's Death & Funeral
San Mateo, 19 December 1899, Lawton's position is marked by a star, (Ft Wayne Library Biography of Henry W. Lawton, 1954)
"Lawton Falls in Battle," St. Louis Republic, Dec. 20, 1899, Sketch from Leslie's Magazine, Jan 6, 1900 (culbertsonmansion.com)
Lawton's Funeral, Washington, DC, 9 February 1900
Acknowledgement
The author acknowledges with gratitude the pioneering work of Lawton biographer, Rudy Rau, of Colorado Springs, as well as the excellent Samuel Culbertson Mansion Web-Site, which contains numerous sources and materials, including newspaper and magazine articles, photos, drawings, paintings, original documents and numerous links spanning Henry Lawton's career.
Updated: May 15, 2013
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TEXT AVAILABLE ON LINE
General Lawton & his family (Lawton Papers, Library of Congress)
Medal of Honor
Outside Atlanta, Georgia
3 August 1864
Citation: Led a charge of skirmishers against the enemy's rifle pits and stubbornly and successfully resisted two determined attacks of the enemy to retake the works
Lawton Medal, 1907 Grand Army of the Republic Encampment (culbertsonmansion.com)
Harvard Attendance Record 1866-1867 (Lawton Papers, Library of Congress)
Brevet Major General Ranald Slidell Mackenzie (1840-1889), Commander of the 4th Cavalry and Lawton's mentor (portrait by Hananiah Harari, 1958)
Captain Lawton, 1880 (culbertsonmansion.com)
Captain Lawton on the Trail of Geronimo, Harper's Weekly, (Frederic Remington)
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