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United States Army
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United States Army flag of the U.S. Army Washington, George George Washington
Understand how Washington organized the Continental Army while besieging the British forces in Boston
George Washington: resigning commission Battle of the Thames A Little More Grape, Capt. Bragg
Examine African American soldiers' involvement in the American Civil War
American Civil War
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United States Army summary
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A soldier standing guard in a Washington, D.C. street with the ruins of buildings that were destroyed during the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., April 8, 1968.
By All Military Meanings Necessary: Vocab Quiz
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Parsons Weems' Fable, oil on canvas by Grant Wood, 1939; in the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Catalog entry: The historian Mason Locke Weems, commonly known by his clerical title, Parson Weems, pulls back a curtain to point at 6-year-old George Washington. Bearing an adult head and holding an axe, George gazes blankly up at his father, Augustine, who questions his son while holding a partially cut cherry tree. All of this takes place in front of a 20th-century brick building, which Wood modeled after his own home in Iowa. The scene illustrates the fable of Washington and the cherry tree, which Weems invented in 1806 for the first president's biography. Wood playfully suggests the artifice of the tale here, presenting the story in the manner of a costumed stage play rather than a real event. Amid the action, two Black figures pick cherries in the background, a reference to Washington' slaveholding past and a reminder of of what often gets left out in historical mythmaking.
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"George Washington before the Battle of Trenton" oil on canvas by John Trumbull, c. 1792-94; in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
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United States Army: Facts & Related Content

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News •

Fort Benning takes back its old name, but to honor a different soldier • Apr. 16, 2025, 1:43 PM ET (AP)
Army and Air Force libraries are ordered to review books for DEI material • Apr. 16, 2025, 12:15 PM ET (AP)
West Point graduate becomes the first woman to compete in the grueling Army Ranger contest • Apr. 15, 2025, 12:02 PM ET (AP)
US Army to control land on Mexico border as part of base, migrants could be detained, officials say • Apr. 14, 2025, 5:45 PM ET (AP)
Who are the Americans still in Russian custody? • Apr. 10, 2025, 1:35 PM ET (AP)

Facts

Date 1783 - present
Areas Of Involvement Did Elvis Presley Join the Army? • defense • land warfare
Related People George Washington • Andrew Jackson • Dwight D. Eisenhower • Ulysses S. Grant • James Monroe • George Patton • James A. Garfield • George Armstrong Custer • Tadeusz Kościuszko • William Henry Harrison • Jesse Lee Reno • Isaac Stevens • Gordon Gray • Walter Campbell Short • Buffalo Bill

Photos and Videos

United States Army
flag of the U.S. Army
Washington, George
George Washington
George Washington: resigning commission
Battle of the Thames
A Little More Grape, Capt. Bragg
American Civil War
Storming Fort Wagner
American Civil War: Union troops
Understand how Washington organized the Continental Army while besieging the British forces in Boston
Examine African American soldiers' involvement in the American Civil War
Listen Joe Biden introducing Barack Obama before the signing into law the repeal of “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” December 22, 2010
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Quiz
A soldier standing guard in a Washington, D.C. street with the ruins of buildings that were destroyed during the riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., April 8, 1968.
By All Military Meanings Necessary: Vocab Quiz