War has played a key role in the history of the United States, from the nation's founding

right down to the present. War made the U.S. independent, kept it together, increased its

size, and established it as a global superpower. Understanding America's wars is essential for understanding American history.

Welcome to Key Battles of American History,

a podcast in which we discuss American history through the lens of the most important battles of America's wars.

Here is your host, James Early.

Thank you.

As you, no doubt, recall, over the last few months, I have shared with you special episodes, usually on

Saturdays, that are clips from other podcasts in the Parthenon podcast network, of which this

podcast is a member. For example, recently, you've had a sample from Steve Guerra's great

podcast beyond the big screen. You've gotten a sample from

history of the papacy, also by Steve. You've gotten a sample of Richard Lim's terrific podcast,

This American President, and you've also very recently gotten a sample of the newest podcast in the

network, and that is Josh Cohen's eyewitness history. Well, today I have a

special treat for you. You're getting a sample from the granddaddy of the mall. This is a podcast

that I like very, very much. It's a legendary podcast, very popular, very well received and

widely listened to. It's the flagship podcast of

the Parthenon Podcast Network, and that is, of course, Scott ranks History Unplugged. Scott covers a

wide variety of topics, everything from modern history to, say, World War II, to the Civil

War, to the French Revolution, to the Greeks and

the Romans, and all kinds of things, you name it, the Crusades. He is not restricted to just one

area, and he doesn't just talk about military history. He talks about politics. He talks about

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