History buffs! What's your favorite American war?

[CubsFan1982]

I've always loved Civil War history, but I'm also kinda partial to the Revolutionary War, too. Which war do you find yourself utterly fascinated with, or at the least, mildly intrigued by? Revolution to the Vietnam War, only!

[Reverend_Smitty]

1. Revolutionary war...

I think it's because I'm more fascinated with the founding fathers than the war itself

[CubsFan1982]

3. I think that's why the Revolution is second on my list.

More the individuals than the war I find fascinating. Although, some of the individual battles are very interesting to research.

[Clarkie1]

18. Have you read "The Founding Brothers?"

I just finished it. Great read.

[Bok_Tukalo]

2. The War Between the States

No doubt. Gripping. I've read so much on it even to the point of reading an entire book simply on the second day of the Gettysburg battle.

[CubsFan1982]

5. Gettysburg has been popping up on my list of topics...

For my future doctoral thesis. There are so many riveting angles one could look at within that one battle. Although I fear that all the original ideas about Gettysburg are gone!

[Bok_Tukalo]

11. That battle been analyzed alot

You deserve a doctoral if you can come up with a different angle.

I like the Longsteet biography by Jeffry D. Wert portrayal myself.

One of my favorite quotes from that war, or any war, for that matter:

"If he is there, it will be because he is anxious that we should attack him; a good reason, in my judgement, for not doing so."

- General James Longstreet

[kwassa]

12. Gettysburg had been beat to death as a topic

My great-grandfather fought there as a 23-year-old courier for the Pennsylvania Bucktails. He was in the 1st Maine Cavalry.

I was so shocked to see that the pivotal Cemetery Ridge is about 2 feet tall.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. I'm fascinated with World War II, the first modern technological war

that still had the components of the old style wars.

Plus the immensity of its scale and the number of people/countries involved, and especially also the incredible social dynamics taking place in Italy, Germany, Russia, and Japan that led to it all.

Absolutely fascinating time in world history just from a sociology/cultural standpoint, both leading into the war, and also the change it made in America DURING the war ("Was that trip really necessary?", "Buy war bonds!", Rosie the Riveter, victory gardens, etc.).

And fascinating because of the immensity of some of the battles - enormous sea battles, enormous land battles, enormous tank battles, emormous sky battles.

And especially fascinating because of the role that mathematics, physics, crypotology and computers played. Especially the math of the cryptology, and the social dynamics of dealing with cryptology.

And it's also nice in that there's such an incredible amount of film footage and pictures from that war, from all sides, so that it can be studied more easily.

A truly wonderful war to study!

[CubsFan1982]

7. My uncle was a WWII historian.

Not so much academic, as much as an obsessive hobby, really. When I would ask him why that was his particular favorite, he'd say much the same thing. I have some of his pictures from Normandy that are incredible.

[lenidog]

6. I was always fascinated with the War of 1812

especially the naval aspect. Also again it was a war that we lost far more battles than we ever won and still managed to come out in one piece. As to the Civil War I am totally burned out. I was raised a 45 minutes from Gettysburg so everything around here is Civil War oriented. Occasionally I will find something interesting that hasn't been written about before, like a book I am still trying to track down about the Confederate campaign to take over the Southwest.

[libhill]

20. Don't know which book

that would be, but it would be an interesting read. The Confederates actually controlled the New Mexico Territory for a while, which at that time included Arizona. They bit off more than they could chew, as they had troubles with Apache raids and disloyal citizens. They were finally driven back to Texas by California Volunteers.

[CubsFan1982]

27. I always think about what if Napoleon had been sent off to Elba...

Just a few months earlier. That would've freed up a lot of good regular British troops to fight in America, whereas the Canadian militia had been holding off the Americans for two years. We may well be singing "God Save the Queen" instead of "The Star-Spangled Banner" today if Napoleon had been whipped a few months earlier.

[Melynn]

8. I have to go with WWII

For us old timers it's hard to believe that it has been 60 years since that war ended. The sad thing is that we are losing so many veterans from that war. Soon, there won't be any left.

[warrens]

9. When I was a kid

The TV was full of WWII stuff, which I loved. But then a neighbor gave me a nearly complete set of Civil War trading cards from the 50s, which unfortunately have disappeared since, and I was hooked. I will still read anything that has to do with that period, particularly stuff that talks about civilian attitudes. I was fascinated by the battles at first, but now I am much more interested in the fact that a nation went to war over a moral issue. WWII was sort of the same, but not to the same degree.

It's not a great book, but The Dante Club is interesting for some of the insight it gives into how veterans were treated when they came home to New England. I recommend it, despite some lifeless writing.

[Blue-Jay]

10. WWII, only because of the warbirds.

Seriously. What is more beautiful in the air than these?

The P-51 Mustang


The Corsair


Those are some lovely birds.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Blue-Jay]

14. Asthetics, not purpose.

I also have an admiration for well-built knives and swords. That doesn't mean that I have an affinity for stabbing people. Get it?

[delete_bush]

25. I used to watch the TV show

about the Black Sheep Sqaudron in part just to see the Corsairs. An incredibly beautiful aircraft.

And deadly. Corsair pilots destroyed 2,140 Japanese planes over the Pacific at a kill ratio of nearly 11:1, a record unmatched by any other American aircraft.

[libhill]

15. The War of American Independence

That's what it is called in Europe, i.e. the Revolution. It was actually the first truly global war, and that's what I find so fascinating about it. That a squabble that started on Lexington Green, between militia men and Redcoats, had spread world wide by the time of the 1783 Treaty of Paris. France, Spain, and the Netherlands eventually became embroiled in the war, allied with the American Colonies against Britain and her "Hessian" allies. And "Hessian" is just a generic term for troops from numerous German States who sided with England and hired out their soldiers as mercenaries. Fighting spread to Africa, India, the West Indies, and even to Europe and the Mediterranean region. Spain assaulted Gibraltar, John Paul Jones and his squadron raided the British Isles, and there was a major naval action in the Baltic between the British and Dutch fleets (Battle of Dogger Bank, 1781). And Spanish colonial forces attacked Pensacola and raided British posts along the Mississippi River. The Anglo - Dutch aspect of the conflict raged until 1784, after the other parties had agreed to peace. At one point even the Russians could have gotten involved, as King George had petitioned Catherine the Great to hire out her soldiers as mercenaries. Catherine declined. Quite a conflagration, when you consider it began with a minor skirmish in Massachusetts.

[mark414]

16. World War II

just somethin about it

[Huckebein the Raven]

17. WWII

[BikeWriter]

19. Sheeit! I don't have any favorite wars!

[imenja]

21. I hate wars

I find them unbearably boring.

[bobthedrummer]

22. WWII

it explains how the Nazis actually succeeded due to US traitors that brought them here to fight godless communism and then we wound up with BFEE.

The real Nazis found their political home and allies within the Republican Party.

Russ Bellant's work
Old Nazi Networks in US
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/political-science/fascism/bellant/bellant.pt1

[Robeson]

23. Perhaps it should be phrased "What war are you more interested in"...

...instead of "favorite"....:shrug:

[CanuckAmok]

24. The War of 1812, of course...

...where we fledgling Canadians whuped your sorry Yank asses and handed you the charred remains of your original White House on a plate.

I had a high-school job working as a "historical interpretor" at a national historic park. It consisted of wearing a British 1812 uniform and doing drill/firing muskets and cannon/talking to tourists all day. The orientation course for the job was really interesting; I learned lots about Napoleonic warfare. I retain very little of that knowledge, however.

[Anthropologist]

26. The American Revolution

I'm an armature historian on the American Revolution, I tend to read almost any book I can get my hands on just to understand the men and women behind the AR. What really appeals to me about the war is the ideals and the people behind them that "founded" this country as we see it today. As a plus factor it puts the fundie's in their place in their "oh America is a Christian Nation; its founded on Christian principals."

Not! Someone cry me a river while I tell the fundie's to put down the Bible and pick up the Constitution for once. :evilgrin: Besides when your Jewish and you hear someone tell you that you live in a Christian nation you've got to wonder what the hell is wrong with these people. Sheesh!