King Frederick William I, circa 1733

An army of giants may seem like a story straight out of a fantasy novel, but in early 18th century Prussia, such a force really existed.

The Potsdamer Riesengarde (Giant Guard of Potsdam), or the Lange Kerls (Long Guys) as they were colloquially known, were a regiment gathered by the height-obsessed King Frederick William I, who once remarked, “The most beautiful girl or woman in the world would be a matter of indifference to me, but tall soldiers—they are my weakness.” And he was telling the truth. None of the Potsdam Giants was shorter than 6’2″ (towering over the average height back then), and some, like the Irishman James Kirkland, reached almost 7 feet.

James Kirkland (artwork by Johann Christof Merk, circa 1718)

Frederick William would go to any lengths to get tall men for his regiment. Some were conscripted, some were gleaned from other regiments in the army, and some were gifts from foreign rulers, who were aware of the king’s obsession. Other giants were kidnapped right out of their homes or off the streets. Once, the king’s men attempted to kidnap a tall man in Hanover, only to discover that he was actually an Austrian diplomat. The king even went so far as to try to “grow” tall soldiers by demanding that his giants marry tall women in order to produce over-sized children.

The Potsdam Giants were Frederick William’s own toy regiment, and he never sent them into battle for fear of casualties. But he would order them to parade for him whenever he needed cheering up or when he wanted to show them off to foreign leaders. He once asked the English ambassador if he thought an equal number of English soldiers would be willing to fight the giants. The ambassador replied, “I can not affirm that an equal number of my countrymen would beat them, but I think that I may safely say that half the number would try.”

Not surprisingly, morale was low among the Potsdam Giants, and the regiment had a higher than average rate of desertion and suicide. After Frederick William died in 1740, his son Frederick the Great, not sharing his father’s obsession, disbanded the regiment.

Read more about the Potsdam Giants here or here. Or find mentions of the giant army in Fold3′s historical Newspapers collection. Not interested in Prussian history? Learn about America’s own 18th-century history in Fold3′s Revolutionary War collection.

First Battle of Bull Run, where Gen. Jackson received his famous nickname

General Thomas Jackson is one of those historical figures who’s probably best known by his iconic nickname: “Stonewall” Jackson. But do you know how he got his nickname?

It was 21 July 1861, at the First Battle of Bull Run, also called First Manassas. There is some contention about what exactly was said and how it was intended, because the person who inadvertently gave Jackson the name—General Bernard Bee—died in the battle and thus couldn’t clear up the matter. But apparently, during the battle, Bee’s troops began to give way to the Federals, while Jackson’s men stood in reserve to provide reinforcements.  In an attempt get his soldiers to reform the line, Bee yelled, “Look, men! There is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer!” (Other common versions include “Look at Jackson’s brigade standing like a stone wall! Rally on the Virginians!” and “There stands Jackson like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!”)

Stonewall Jackson, 1863

It is unclear to history whether Bee meant the comparison to a stone wall as a compliment or critique. Was he telling his men to stand strong in the face of battle just like Jackson and his men? Or was he criticizing Jackson for not rushing to his aid? Either way, the analogy stuck, and the story immediately began circulating in newspapers, and Jackson became known by it even within his own short lifespan (he would die 2 years later at the Battle of Chancellorsville).

The London Times uses Jackson’s nickname in their paper within a year of the First Battle of Bull Run

Read more about Stonewall Jackson’s acquisition of the nickname here, here, or here. Or discover more about famous Civil War figures, including Jackson, in Fold3’s Civil War collection.

The USS Constitution fighting the HMS Guerriere (artwork by Anton Otto Fischer)

On August 2, 1812, the USS Constitution set out north from Boston in search of British merchant ships to raid. Instead they found the HMS Guerriere, a frigate in the British Navy, on its way to Nova Scotia for repairs. The ships spotted each other at about 5 p.m. on the 19th. The Guerriere, firing broadsides, shot first, and the Constitution, shooting from its forward guns, soon followed, although both ships were relatively ineffective. By an hour later, the Constitution had closed the distance, and both ships began firing broadsides. The Guerriere sustained much heavier damage, due to the Constitution’s superior guns and thicker hull and to the fact that the Guerriere was already in poor condition and needed repairs.

As a result of these broadsides, the Guerriere’s mizzenmast fell overboard, dragging in the water and preventing the ship from maneuvering. This allowed the Constitution to fire a raking broadside that did even more damage. But as the Constitution came around to rake again, the rigging of its mizzenmast got tangled with the Guerriere’s bowsprit. Both ships prepared boarding parties, but the sea was too rough for either to cross, so they began firing muskets at each other.

Account of the musket fight, from a 1912 article in the Washington Post celebrating the centennial of the battle (click image to read the full article)

Eventually, the two ships broke apart, but the Guerriere’s foremast and mainmast snapped off; not long after, its bowsprit broke too, rendering the ship completely useless. The Guerriere fired a shot in the opposite direction from the Constitution, signaling its surrender. The captain of the Constitution brought the survivors of the Guerriere onto his ship then sank the Guerriere, as it was too destroyed to bring back.

From the fight, the Constitution suffered 7 killed and 7 wounded, compared to the Guerriere’s 15 killed and 78 wounded. As the British Navy was unrivaled at that point, the Constitution’s victory proved to be an important morale booster for the Americans. In fact, the Constitution later became the inspiration for Oliver Wendell Holmes’s famous 1830 poem “Old Ironsides.”

Read more about the battle between the Constitution and the Guerriere here or here, or view the Constitution‘s casualty report on Fold3. You can also find other stories from the war in Fold3′s War of 1812 collection.

Audie Murphy being awarded for his heroism

Audie Murphy is one of the most famous soldiers of American history due to his amazing skill and courage that earned him more honors in WWII than any other soldier; his accomplishments include the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, and three Purple Hearts. All in all, he earned nearly forty decorations and medals for his service.

Murphy was born on 20 June 1924 to a poor farming family in Kingston, Texas. His father abandoned them when he was in elementary school, so Murphy dropped out to help earn money for his family. Murphy’s mother died when he was 16, leaving behind ten children. It was at this trying time that Murphy wanted to join the military. After lying about his age and enrolling his younger siblings in an orphanage, Murphy tried to enlist in the Marines, then the Army paratroopers, and then the Navy. He was rejected by all three for being too small but was finally accepted by the Army.

Murphy wasn’t an immediate star in basic training though. He passed out during a drill and was almost sent to be a cook, but Murphy fought against the recommendation and went on to become a combat soldier. Each mission provided Murphy a chance to prove himself, which he did continually. One of his most known contributions, however, was the deed performed that earned him the Medal of Honor.

On 26 January 1945, Murphy and his company were located near Holtzwihr, France where they were being heavily attacked by the Germans. Murphy ordered his men to retreat into the “woods, while he remained forward at his command post and continued to give fire directions to the artillery by telephone.” After successfully guiding artillery fire, Murphy climbed upon a U.S. tank that had recently been hit and abandoned. At the danger of the tank exploding at any moment, Murphy used the machine gun aboard the tank and held his company’s position for more than an hour. “He received a leg wound, but ignored it and continued his single-handed fight until his ammunition was exhausted. He then made his way back to his company, refused medical attention, and organized the company in a counterattack, which forced the Germans to withdraw.” (Read the full Medal of Honor citation here.) When Murphy was asked what compelled him to commit such a dangerous act, he replied, “They were killing my friends.”

Murphy in uniform with his many medals

When Murphy returned from the war in 1945, he reclaimed his orphaned siblings. He also headed out to Hollywood by invitation from famous actor James Cagney. Murphy’s cover photo on Life magazine was quite a seller, and Cagney thought he could be great on the big screen. Murphy did do well, but not at first. He struggled for a few years to get attention, and his finances dwindled. But westerns and other films such as The Kid from Texas, The Red Badge of Courage, and To Hell and Back, kept him afloat and launched him to fame. To Hell and Back was based on Murphy’s autobiography and was very popular when released. Murphy was hesitant to play himself in the role, feeling that it would seem that he wanted to make money off his experience and dead comrades.

Murphy was able to keep a calm and collected appearance after the war, but like many other returned soldiers, he deeply suffered from PTSD.

Record of Audie Murhpy’s post-war life

Murphy spoke out about his mental condition, something not many did at the time. He did what he could to make others aware of it, particularly the government, which could offer assistance to veterans. In talking about the war, Murphy said, “The combat soldier always paid the price one way or another, either on the battlefield or later.” Murphy may have been one to live, but that didn’t mean he was free of suffering.

Murphy died in a private plane crash in 1971 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was survived by his second wife, Pamela, and their two sons.

Read more about Audie Murphy here and find more documents regarding him and his comrades in the war in Fold3′s 63rd Infantry Division Records.

Article on William Patrick Henry from the Victoria Advocate

In 1939, a young German man fled from Britain to New York and within a year tried to join the ranks of the United States. He was denied, but not because he was German. It was because the young man wasn’t just any German—he was Adolf Hitler’s nephew, and his name was William.

William Patrick Hitler lived in Britain with his parents, his father being Adolf’s half-brother. The family was never wealthy, and his father, Alois, eventually abandoned him and his mother. As the famous uncle rose to power, it became difficult for William to succeed in Britain. Once people learned of his name, they didn’t want much to do with him. So William went to Germany for help from his uncle.

It was easier for William to find a job in Germany, but they were never very good ones. Adolf didn’t reach out to help his nephew much. He said, “I didn’t become Chancellor for the benefit of my family…No one is going to climb on my back.” Despite not getting special treatment from his uncle, William seemed to get it from everyone else and was often invited to parties and dinners. But he wasn’t satisfied living for only lavish social gatherings.

William moved back to Britain and offered to do interviews on the subject of his uncle. Adolf didn’t take kindly to that and offered William a job in the regime if he renounced his British citizenship. William didn’t want to be involved, and instead threatened to reveal Adolf’s Jewish ancestry (a pretty strong rumor that had recently been circling). That certainly didn’t go over well, and William fled to the United States, where he gave lectures about his uncle.

But shortly afterward he wrote a letter to the president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, requesting a position in the armed forces (since he was already rejected).

“More than anything else I would like to see active combat as soon as possible and thereby be accepted by my friends and comrades as one of them in this great struggle for liberty.”

William was investigated and then cleared for service in the US Navy in 1944. After the war, however, William disappeared. He moved to Long Island, changed his last name to Stuart-Houston, and had four sons with his wife, Phyllis Jean-Jacques, who was also German. They were married in 1947 soon after William was discharged.

William and his family lived the rest of their lives in privacy, keeping to themselves but always friendly. William died in 1987 and his wife in 2004. Three of his four sons are still living.

Read more about William’s life here and here.

Sailors enjoying bottles of Coca-Cola in a newspaper ad

On 21 June 1945, Virginia’s Halifax Gazette reported on how the sugar rationing would affect production of many people’s favorite beverage:

Halifax Gazette, 21 June 1945

Because Coca-Cola didn’t want to compromise the integrity of their drink by using other sweeteners, they decided to decrease production instead. But while the company’s stateside plants had to deal with rationing, their overseas plants that made Coca-Cola for the soldiers were allowed bigger sugar rations because the beverage was considered important for the morale of the troops. In fact, in June 1943, General Eisenhower requested that Coca-Cola send over 3 million bottles of the soda, as well as the necessary supplies to refill and reuse the millions of bottles twice a month.

About 150 Coca-Cola employees, called “Technical Observers,” were given the rank of Army officer and sent overseas to develop bottling plants to satisfy the troops’ craving for the soda. The “64 complete bottling plants […] distributed over 5 billion bottles of Coca-Cola to servicemen and women.” In places where it was too hard to get bottles of Coca-Cola to the troops, portable soda fountains were sent instead.

Coca-Cola was well aware of the marketing power that came with being a favorite drink of the military and capitalized on it in their advertising. Their wartime ads showed soldiers abroad using Coke to bond with residents of other countries, and returning soldiers back in the states being welcomed home with a refreshing soda. Below are a few examples of such ads from the Halifax Gazette:

31 August 1944

28 September 1944

20 July 1944

Find many more WWII Coca-Cola ads in Fold3’s Newspapers collection. Or read more about Coca-Cola during the war here, here, or here.

Women Airforce Service Pilots Frances Green, Margaret R. Kirchner, Ann Currier, and Blanche V. Osborn walking away from their aircraft, “Pistol Packin’ Mama.”

Before 1941, two famous female pilots named Jacqueline “Jackie” Cochran and Nancy Harkness Love had individually proposed plans to the U.S. Army Air Forces. The proposals asked that women be allowed to fly planes in non-combat missions, such as ferrying aircraft or towing drones and aerial targets, in order to free male pilots for combat. Though both proposals were initially turned down, minds began to change after the U.S. became more directly involved in the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor and it became clear that more pilots were needed.

In September 1942, while Jackie Cochran was in Britain flying for the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) program—which had been using female pilots since 1920—General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, commander of the Army Air Forces, approved a plan for a Womens Auxilliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS) under the Direction of Nancy Love. Cochran returned to the U.S., insisting that women could do more for the USAAF than just ferrying. So another program was instituted—the Women’s Flying Training Detachment (WFTD), headed by Cochran herself. In the Summer of 1943, the WAFS and WFTD were combined into one single women pilot group, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs).

Elizabeth L. Gardner of Rockford, Illinois, WASP

More than 25,000 women applied for the WASP program, but fewer than 1,900 were accepted. After four months of military flight training, 1,074 of them became the first women to fly American military aircraft. Though not trained in combat, the women were given much the same instruction as aviation cadets, learning how to recover from any position. They flew newly manufactured planes to military bases, towed targets, and transported cargo. By December 1944, the WASP had delivered 12,650 aircraft to their destinations.

Since the WASP program was considered a civil service, the WASPs were not given military benefits. The 38 women who perished in accidents during training and on active duty were sent home at the family’s expense and weren’t allowed to have an American flag over their coffin. In September 1943, the first bill for militarization of the WASP was introduced in the House of Representatives. Cochran and Arnold both wanted a seperate corps headed by a female colonel. But the bill was defeated, as were the subsequent attempts to give the WASPs military status. In the end, Cochran essentially asked that the question be resolved by either granting military status or by disbanding the program. So it was announced that the program was to be disbanded by December 20, 1944.

In 1977, the previously classified, sealed documents explaining the WASPs services to the country were unsealed, following the incorrect statement that the Air Force was then training the first women pilots ever to fly American military aircraft. With the support of Senator Barry Goldwater, the WASPs lobbied again for recognition, which was granted to them in legislation signed by President Jimmy Carter in the form of a World War II Victory Medal for each WASP. An American Theater Ribbon/American Campaign Medal was also granted to those WASPs who had served for more than one year. Then on May 10, 2010, President Barack Obama and the United States Congress granted the WASP program the Congressional Medal of Honor for its service to the nation, and the 300 surviving WASPs came to the U.S. Capitol to receive the medal.

For more on how the WASP was started, their wartime efforts, and a list of members, check out this Wikipedia page. You can also check out this page on Fold3 for facts and photos of Elizabeth M Magid, a WASP. And there is more to see on Fold3 regarding the WASPs; you can use this search to find more photos and stories. This page on pbs.org is also a great resource for first-hand accounts of the WASP.

Henry Wirz at the gallows right after the door was dropped

Henry Wirz was a Swiss-born man trying to escape the persecutions of his country and ended up moving to Louisiana just in time for the Civil War where he fought as a private for the Confederacy. In 1862 he was wounded by a bullet to the right arm in the Battle of Seven Pines. The injury prevented him from further participation in combat, and he was afterward promoted to captain for his bravery.

For the next two years, Wirz was on assignment for Jefferson Davis in Europe. When he returned in 1864, he began working for the prison department where he took charge of one of the most famous prison camps: Andersonville.

Andersonville was a prison camp for captured Union soldiers and was known for its cruel tactics, deplorable food, medicine, and water, and severe living quarters. Once the war ended, Wirz was put on trial for his actions and found guilty. He was hanged on 10 November 1865.

The first charge of which Henry Wirz was found guilty at his trial

“Maliciously, willfully and traitorously, and in aid of the then existing armed rebellion against the United States of America…combining, confederating and conspiring together with Jefferson Davis…at Andersonville…to injure the health and destroy the lives of soldiers in the military service of the United States, then held and having prisoners of war within the lines of the so-called Confederate States and in the military prisons thereof, to the end that the armies of the United States might be weakened and impaired: in violation of the laws and customs of war.”

The execution of Wirz is still a debated topic due to the situation he had to deal with. Medical supplies from the Union to the Confederacy were cut off, and everyone in the South received strict food rations. In other words, the prisoners weren’t the only ones suffering. However, the testimonies of the witnesses were damning, even if many of them couldn’t be verified.

Read more of Henry Wirz’s trial records here and find out about additional Civil War executions here.

Clara Barton, ca. 1865

Clara Barton is well-known for her relief work on Civil War battlefields and for founding the American Red Cross, but did you know that right after the war, she created an organization to locate and identify missing soldiers?

About 365,000 Union soldiers died during the war, but more than 40 percent of those were never identified, leaving their families to wonder about the fate of their husbands, sons, and brothers. Clara Barton, already famous for her war work, began to receive letters from these families, asking her if she had any information on their soldiers who hadn’t made it back home.

In March 1865 she got permission from President Lincoln to start the Office of Correspondence with Friends of the Missing Men of the United States Army, which she ran out of her third-floor boardinghouse rooms in Washington DC. A letter signed by the president was placed in newspapers throughout the country, informing the readers that they should send any inquiries about missing soldiers to Clara Barton. Letters began pouring in, and soon Barton was receiving 150 letters a day. She and her team of 12 clerks (whom she paid out of her own pocket until she was reimbursed by Congress in 1866 for $15,000) worked tirelessly to respond to the inquiries.

One of the ways Barton gathered information on missing soldiers was to collect their names, regiments, and companies from the letters of inquiry that she was sent. She then compiled the names into huge lists, divided by state, which were publicly posted and included in newspapers, in hopes that a veteran or someone else would read the list, see a name they recognized, and write to Barton with the information they had on the missing soldier. By 1868, when the office closed, Barton and her team had received over 63,000 letters—two-thirds of which they sent responses to—and found information on 22,000 missing Union soldiers.

During the same time that she was running the Missing Soldiers Office, Barton was contacted by Dorence Atwater, who, while imprisoned at Andersonville, Georgia, had kept a list of 13,000 men who had died there. Barton and Atwater traveled to Andersonville and together worked to identify and mark the graves of the thousands of soldiers, and Barton helped raise the flag when the Andersonville National Cemetery was dedicated in August 1865.

Read more about the Missing Soldiers Office here, here, or here. Or learn about the rediscovery of the office in 1996. You can also search Fold3’s collection of historical newspapers for contemporary and later articles about Clara Barton.

P. T. Barnum

Though Phineas Taylor Barnum held many different titles in his life — businessman, legislator, mayor, author, and scam artist — he is best remembered for his circus. “P. T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome” was the name of his first foray in the business, a traveling circus that involved “freaks” on display and a menagerie, along with typical circus events. His group would go through many more names before his death.

Barnum’s career as a showman began in 1835 with his purchase of Joice Heth, a blind, elderly slave woman who was almost completely paralyzed. Barnum showcased her as having nursed George Washington, making her over 160 years old. She died the next year, not more than 80. He followed this up by purchasing Scudder’s American Museum, renaming it after himself and improving and adding exhibits until it became quite the popular attraction.

In 1942 Barnum began scamming the public with his first big hoax, a fake “monkey-fish” corpse he called the “Feejee” Mermaid. He also began touring with Charles Stratton, a dwarf he named “General Tom Thumb.”

Note from the files for P. T. Barnum’s passport application — “Gen’l Tom Thumb is the Celebrated Dwarf of the American Museum.”

During this time, Barnum experienced considerable success, and by 1865 his museum was bringing in 400,000 visitors a year. But Barnum’s biggest step into the world of entertainment was his sponsorship of a tour by Jenny Lind in 1850. Jenny was a crystal-clear soprano with a heart of gold, who gave most of her profits to charities. Even with her cut taken out, Barnum still made the big bucks, netting at least $500,000. Most of this was used in an effort to change the public’s opinion on the theater—notorious for being seedy and crude—with fairly good success.

The following years took Barnum on a roller coaster of successes and failures, scams, exhibitions, and bad investments. It wasn’t until 1871, when Barnum was 61 and had lost his museum businesses to fires, that he entered into his defining role as a circus king. His traveling circus and menagerie of “freaks” began as “P. T. Barnum’s Grand Traveling Museum, Menagerie, Caravan & Hippodrome,” changed later to ”P.T. Barnum’s Travelling World’s Fair, Great Roman Hippodrome and Greatest Show On Earth,” and after joining with James Bailey and James L. Hutchinson became “P.T. Barnum’s Greatest Show On Earth, And The Great London Circus, Sanger’s Royal British Menagerie and The Grand International Allied Shows United.” This mouthful was eventually shortened to just “Barnum & Bailey’s.”

Barnum & Bailey’s was the first circus to use three rings, making it a huge production. Jumbo the elephant was a big attraction, along with Barnum’s typical acrobats, freak shows, and, of course, General Tom Thumb. After a split from 1885 to 1889, Barnum and Bailey came back together as “Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show on Earth” which then later became “Barnum & Bailey Circus.” Their circus was one of the first to move by train, which ended up being very profitable for them since there were few comparable ways to efficiently travel across the country.

It was during one of their performances in 1890 that Barnum suffered a stroke and died. He was buried in Connecticut in a cemetery of his own design, Mountain Grove Cemetery. In 1919 the circus was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus, becoming the well-known Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

Three performers from Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus talk to a Vietnamese Refugee. A small group of the circus toured the Marine Corps camps there.

Go here to see Barnum’s passport application files. Or you can read about Barnum’s life in detail on this Wikipedia page. You can also use this search to find more mentions of the Barnum & Bailey circus on Fold3.