In 1893 a sensational trial in the District of Columbia pitted a young woman against a powerful US Congressman. The salacious allegations captivated the nation, and went to the very heart of the power structure of the Gilded age. The Breckinridge-Pollard affair is nearly forgotten today, but at the time it was, as a contemporary account of the trial explained, “The Most Noted Breach of Promise suit in the history of court records.”
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.