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Featured Essays
Recent rehabilitation of this important site at the Gettysburg battlefield provides a much improved experience for visitors.
In the Age of Discovery, maps held closely guarded secrets for the kings, adventurers, and merchants who first acquired them.
Since her untimely death in 1963, the legendary country music star—and the first female to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame—continues to inspire new audiences and artists.
A Chinatown cook's fight to re-enter the U.S. in 1895 went up to the Supreme Court, which upheld his claim to birthright citizenship and guaranteed it for all through the 14th Amendment.
America 250!
Drama at the Old North Bridge | Spring 2025, Vol 70, No 2
By Rick Atkinson“Now the war has begun and no one knows when it will end,” said one minuteman after the fight.
John Dickinson: Forgotten Founder | Fall 2025, Vol 70, No 4
By Jane E. CalvertDickinson played a pivotal role in our Nation’s founding, from the Stamp Act to ratifying the Constitution, but his contributions are largely forgotten by history.
Big Guns For Washington | April 1955, Vol 6, No 3
By Clay PerryHow tough Henry Knox hauled a train of cannon over wintry trails to help drive the British away from Boston
"The Sparck of Rebellion" | Winter 2010, Summer 2025, Vol 59, No 4
By Douglas BrinkleyBadly disguised as Indians, a rowdy group of patriotic vandals kicked a revolution into motion.
The Revolution Could Have Started Here | Summer 2024, Vol 69, No 3
By Bob ThompsonAt a curious stone tower in Somerville, Massachusetts, panic in 1774 could have sparked a war seven months before Lexington and Concord entered the history books.
Classic Essays from the Archives
Growing Up Colored | Summer 2012, Summer 2025, Vol 62, No 2
By Henry Louis Gates Jr.The noted writer and educator tells of his boyhood in the West Virginia town of Piedmont, where African Americans were second-class citizens, but family pride ran deep.
“Medic!” | November 1997, Vol 48, No 7
By Stephen E. AmbroseIn a hard war, theirs may have been the hardest job of all. Along with Army doctors and nurses, they worked something very close to a miracle in the European theater.
Range Practice | Februrary 1968, Summer 2025, Vol 19, No 2
By Dean AchesonOur 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.
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