Free Republic

A small town lawyer from West Virginia was in for an extraordinary surprise when he discovered a 253-year-old pre-Revolutionary War fort hidden inside the walls of his Monroe County plantation home. John Bryan, 43, a self-described history buff and amateur archeologist, purchased the property in 2019 with a hunch that the large white clapboard farmhouse was built around an old log fort known as Byrnside's Fort. 'We had to buy the property first before being able to take a crowbar to it to see if the logs were inside the walls.' It was originally built in 1770 by an early...

A poignant image of a bald eagle perched atop a US soldier's gravestone has become an internet hit after it was posted online on Memorial weekend. The giant bird of prey, America's national emblem, was photographed after flying down and landing in the Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minnesota. The powerful image was tweeted by the Department of Veterans Affairs on Sunday as the nation paid tribute to men and women killed at war.

After a long mission in Europe, a soldier returned to his Fort Stewart barracks only to discover mold had completely consumed his room. The infestation wasn't only on the walls; his bags and bed turned black and green, encrusted in mold. Most of his belongings were ruined. Broken air conditioners in the sweltering, humid Georgia heat; poor ventilation; and little to no barracks maintenance have created a decades-long breeding ground for mold, which soldiers repeatedly try to clean to no avail. "This is the reason a lot of us are getting out," the soldier who found his room blanketed in...

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Sources tell WRAL News a proposed new name for Fort Bragg will be announced on Tuesday. (5/24/22) The Naming Commission is expected to make the announcement at 2 p.m. and answer questions. Fort Bragg is named for Gen. Braxton Bragg, who served in the Confederate army and owned a plantation where people were enslaved. Last year, Congress voted to mandate that military installations named after Confederate figures or sympathizers be renamed by 2023. The other bases that will be renamed include: Fort Benning, Ga. Fort Gordon, Ga. Fort Hood, Texas Fort A.P. Hill, Va. Fort Lee,...

The walls stand up to 20 feet tall. It was built at the start of the 4th century AD, as part of defensive works for a limes Arabicus, and held a cavalry unit of perhaps 120-150 men. The building inscription survives:Optimis maximisque principibus nostris Caio AurelioValerio Diocletiano Pio Felici Invicto Augusto etMarco Aurelio Valerio Maximiano Pio Felici Invicto Augusto etFlavio Valerio Constantio et Galerio Valerio Maximianonobilissimis Caesaribus Castra Praetorii Mobeni fossamentisAurelius Asclepiades praeses provinciae Arabiaeperfici curavit.Which tells us that the fort was called Mobene, and was constructed by the Praeses of the province of Arabia, a chap named Aurelius Asclepiades,...

A historic island fort is being sold for less than the price of a one-bedroom flat in London. Stack Rock Fort, off the coast of Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire, was built to defend Britain from an invasion from France's Napoleon III. Made up of three floors with spiral staircases leading to each one, with cannon rooms, former sleeping quarters, the island provides a 360-degree view of the Haven waterway. The average cost of buying a home in London is £471,944 and the average cost in Wales is £152,999, according to the UK Land Registry.

HEREFORD — On Sunday, Oct. 1, at 1:30 p.m, Friends of the Huachuca Mountains will introduce a little-known Spanish outpost along the San Pedro River. Perrie Barnes will present information about Presidio de Terrenate de Santa Cruz, a Spanish fort established in 1775 and abandoned in 1780, high on the bluffs above the San Pedro River. The site is a monument to three cultures: Spanish, Apache, and Sobiapuri — each the embodiment of romance and legend. For safety reasons occupancy in Carr House is limited to 49 people. In the past, the audiences for some popular programs have exceeded that...

A new collection of transportation agencies and universities is taking one small step toward transforming the Rust Belt into a place associated with the future instead of the past. Eleven agencies and institutions located in Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have formed the Smart Belt Coalition, which will spur joint efforts on the testing and deployment of autonomous and connected cars. The collaboration comes on the heels of a legislative overhaul of Michigan regulations last month, which have been relaxed to spur the testing of self-driving technology on the state’s public roads. Ohio and Pennsylvania do not have laws on the...

Always wanted to see this, finally had me a look... This particular section of France's 1930s-era defensive Maginot Line fortifications -a marvel of engineering at the time- has been extensively restored by enthusiast groups in the area, some of whom I was able to meet with on the visit. This entrance is known as 'Fort de Shoenenbourg', located in a hilltop forest near the German frontier (the Rhein) in the Alsace region of France, about 40 minutes north of Strasbourg. They did a great job keeping it authentic, really takes you back in time as you wander the 4-5...

Shots are believed to have been fired after as many as six people entered the Fort Benning Army base without authorization on Thursday afternoon. The base is located in Columbus, Georgia, near the Alabama line. Fort Benning police are searching for three to five males who may be armed and are believed to be hiding in the woods on the base, according to a Facebook post from Fort Benning. One person who discharged a firearm has been taken into custody, the Facebook post said. The men entered the base in two vehicles, police said. Weapons were recovered from both vehicles....

FORT HUACHUCA — Following the issuance of new orders pertaining to access to Army installations last year, Fort Huachuca officials are preparing to implement a new series of criteria that will affect a majority of people wanting to go onto the post. Beginning Aug. 3, visitors, contractors and anyone else 18 years old or older who want access to Fort Huachuca and do not already have a Department of Defense identification card will be subject to a background check before being allowed access to the post. Military retirees, military family members, Gold Star ID holders and those with a Common...

Jeremy Trentelman’s cardboard fort for his kids came with windows, trap doors and a green slide. Then the city of Ogden, Utah, gave him 15 days to take it down. With the help of their kids Max, 3, and Story, 2, Trentelman and his wife, Dee, cut and taped the cardboard to build two towers, trap doors, tunnels, and a slide. They built the whole thing last week with the help of their friend, Byron Owens, and his two kids Satoria and Oliver in Ogden, Utah. His friend’s daughter also wrote a sign on the door of the fort reading,...

A warning bulletin was issued Friday to federal law enforcement, intelligence and other sources on an imminent terror attack on the border.Breitbart.com obtained a copy of the leaked document. The document shows James O’Keefe crossing the border in a Osama bin Laden mask.(photo from Breitbart.com) El Paso, Texas media is reporting Fort Bliss announced enhanced security measures on Sunday. The announcement came after the conservative government watchdog group Judicial Watch issued an urgent report on Friday based on government sources who warned of possible Islamist terrorist attacks on the Texas-Mexico border. Included in the Judicial Watch report was word from...

It takes a lot to make me angry. But one thing that will do it every time is the occasional college administrator who hides behind a university spokesperson or public relations firm. Last week, Bryan College made the serious mistake of attempting to contact me through a hired public relations firm. They made the additional error of having their public relations specialist ask me questions about the “substance” (that means accuracy) of my reporting about Bryan. To be as clear as possible, I am the reporter in this situation. That means I am the one asking the questions. After Bryan’s...

by Gina Cassini | Top Right News Outrageous. Reckless. Senseless. That is what many military families are calling the continuing ban on concealed carry for servicemembers on U.S. military bases. Bases like Ft. Hood, where 3 brave members of our military were gunned down by an apparently mentally-compromised Spc. Ivan Lopez. And the outrage will only grow in light of a new shocking report that Lopez was able to remain free for 15 to 20 minutes -- more than enough time for him to kill 3 and wound 16 -- before finally being confronted by a military policewoman, whereupon he took...

U.S. military families the world over celebrated when news got out that Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan had his beard forcibly shaved when he reported to prison back in August of 2013, to be housed until he is executed. Due to political correctness and the fear of offending his Islamic beliefs, Hasan was allowed to wear his beard, an act in and of itself which made a mockery of the U.S. legal system, after he murdered 13 soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009. The act would be the largest terrorist attack on a U.S. base, had Hasan’s actions...

FORT HUACHUCA — The post commissary will reopen at 9 a.m. this morning after being closed due to employees being furloughed as a result of the federal government shutdown during the past week. When the recall of most of the furloughed Army civil service employees on post was announced on Sunday, some of the store’s employees were called to work that day to prepare for the Tuesday reopening of the facility, post spokeswoman Tanja Linton said Monday. Western Region of the Defense Commissary Agency spokeswoman Nancy O’Nell said about 11,000 of the agency’s 16,000 employees were furloughed, of which 62...

During CNN's live coverage of Monday's shooting at the Washington Navy Yard, anchor Carol Costello asked when the last time was that a gunman wreaked "havoc at a U.S. military facility." In 2009, a jihadist killed 13 in a mass-shooting at Fort Hood in Texas. "I used to work in Washington, live in Washington. This seems so unusual to me that a gunman could create this kind of havoc at a U.S. military facility," Costello stated. "Have you ever heard of it happening before, Brian?" she asked correspondent Brian Todd, reporting live from the vicinity of the shooting.

Maj. Nidal Hasan appears to be stoically slouching toward martyrdom at his court-martial – instead of using the trial as a soapbox to spout jihadist ideology, as have others in a similar position. Inside a heavily fortified compound at Fort Hood, Texas, a court-martial expected to take months is moving quickly ahead of schedule. The Army psychiatrist, accused of murdering 13 fellow soldiers and injuring more than 30 in an attack on Nov. 5, 2009, has remained cool, collected, and businesslike, even amid riveting and horrific testimony. To be sure, he could still let loose invective on the courtroom, particularly...

The trial of the Fort Hood gunman, who is acting as his own attorney, took a surreal turn as the former Army psychiatrist accused of killing 13 in the November 2009 attack grilled witnesses -- including his former boss in the military and a fellow Muslim who spoke to him the day of the shooting.. After a short opening statement in which ex-Army Maj. Nidal Hasan called himself a "mujahedeen," admitted to the rampage and said "the dead bodies will show that war is an ugly thing," Hassan cross-examined prosecution witnesses, including retired Lt. Col Ben Kirk Phillips, his former...