Washington has been a military city since its founding, from the Civil War forts that ringed the capital to the Pentagon across the river. These posts cover the soldiers, bases, battles, and defense history that have shaped the DC area over more than two centuries.
The Army and Navy Club has held the corner of 17th and I Streets NW since 1891, in a building that opened in 1912. In 1987 Shalom Baranes gutted everything behind that facade. The facade survived. Almost nothing else did.
On June 8, 1991, 800,000 people watched 9,000 Desert Storm veterans march down Constitution Avenue in the biggest parade since WWII.
Dive into the captivating tale of Japan’s 1860 leap from centuries of isolation to forging ties with the U.S. Uncover their daring voyage, America’s samurai intrigue, and the birth of a legendary alliance.
The story of Allen L. Adams, a soldier who dropped out of high school in 1965 to join the Army and was stationed at Ft. Myer in 1967. He disappeared one night, and it wasn’t until 1996 that his body was found in an abandoned building. This unsolved mystery still remains.
A waterspout rose from the Potomac below Alexandria, came ashore, and tore a 15-mile path across Washington in under half an hour.
Remember Major Archibald Butt, who perished in the 1912 Titanic disaster. Read this guest post to learn more about the Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain and the Women’s Titanic Memorial in DC. See photos, maps and learn more!
A spectacular sight from 1917: French, U.S., and British flags flying from the State, War, and Navy Building. View the photo and read more here!
Lincoln signed off on a naval hospital in 1864. By the time it opened on Capitol Hill in 1866, the war it was built for was already over.
Explore these amazing engravings of the President’s House and the Capitol Building following the Burning of Washington on August 24, 1814. The engravings were done by William Strickland and depict the destruction caused by the British attack and subsequent tornado.
