In February, 1863 the Union Navy suffered a stunning setback that threatened to change the course of the war. In response, the Union deployed an entirely new class of vessel, the massive and intimidating Black Terror. Flying the skull and crossbones, the cruise of the mighty Black Terror is another example of history stranger than fiction.
By September of 1944, the Western Allies had broken out of the Normandy beachehead, and suddenly and quickly moved across northern France . By September 7th, the 90th division was stretched across the northern sector on Patton’s Third Army’s left, advancing slowly northeast. As they did so the German defenders made a risky attack in an effort to spoil the allied advance, cutting through Allied lines in a surprise action at the small town of Mairy-Mannville.