AMERICAN HERITAGE

Featured Articles

Friends of American Heritage gathered to celebrate 75 years of great writing and education about our nation's history.

Discovered: First Maps of the American Revolution

by Edwin S. Grosvenor

Previously unknown, a map drawn by Lord Percy, the British commander at Lexington, sheds new light on the perilous retreat to Boston 250 years ago this month.

The Shots Heard Round the World

by John Ferling

What began as a civil war within the British Empire continued until it became a wider conflict affecting peoples and countries across Europe and North America.

The Forgotten Battle of Menotomy

by Michael Ruderman

Overshadowed in memory by Lexington and Concord, the Massachusetts town of Menotomy saw the most violent and deadly fighting on April 19, 1775.

Drama at the Old North Bridge

by Rick Atkinson

“Now the war has begun and no one knows when it will end,” said one minuteman after the fight.

Classic Essays from Our Archives

“Perdicaris Alive or Raisuli Dead” | August 1959, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

By Barbara W. Tuchman

John Hay’s ringing phrase helped nominate T. R., but it covered an embarrassing secret that remained concealed for thirty years.

Herbert Hoover Describes the Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson | June 1958, Vol 9, No 4

By Herbert Hoover

The great tragedy of the twenty-eighth President as witnessed by his loyal lieutenant, the thirty-first.

Lincoln As Commander in Chief | Winter 2009, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

By James M. McPherson

Even though he had no military training, Lincoln quickly rose to become one of America’s most talented commanders.

Range Practice | Februrary 1968, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

By Dean Acheson

Our former Secretary of State recalls his service fifty years ago in the Connecticut National Guard—asthmatic horses, a ubiquitous major, and a memorable shooting practice.

Two Intimate Enemies | September 2000, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

By Joseph J. Ellis

When John Adams was elected president, and Thomas Jefferson as vice president, each came to see the other as a traitor. Out of their enmity grew our modern political system.

Alice Paul: “I Was Arrested, Of Course…” | February 1974, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

By Robert S. Gallagher

An interview with the famed suffragette, Alice Paul

Today in History

Osama bin Laden killed

Al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden is killed during a CIA operation carried out by United States Navy SEAL Team 6. The operation, code-named Operation Neptune Spear, infiltrated Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, and killed Bin Laden, along with four other residents, after 1:00 am local time.
Stonewall Jackson wounded

Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson is severely wounded by friendly fire on the second day of the Battle of Chancellorsville. Jackson, who led a daring flanking attack on that day, would die of pneumonia eight days later after Confederate medics amputated his left arm.
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