The next Military History meeting is scheduled for MONDAY JANUARY 26, 2026 at 2:00pm in the Church Auditorium.

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This month, we begin a new chapter in our exploration of the American Way of War, and I think it may be one of the most fascinating comparisons we have taken on together.

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We will be looking closely at two sieges separated by only twelve years but standing at opposite ends of two extraordinary military lives: George Washington at Yorktown (1781) and Napoleon Bonaparte at Toulon (1793).

At Yorktown, Washington is at the zenith of his power. It is his final battle, and it reveals the full maturity of his command—his patience, his ability to integrate allied forces, his understanding of logistics, siege warfare, and political consequence. Nothing is experimental here. Yorktown is Washington operating with complete confidence in his judgment and in the system he helped build.

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At Toulon, by contrast, we encounter Napoleon at the very beginning. This is his first real battlefield, long before the great campaigns across Europe. Yet even here, we can glimpse the traits that will later define him: an instinctive grasp of decisive terrain, the centrality of artillery, and an ability to see the whole battlefield as a single problem to be solved rather than a collection of isolated parts.

Placed side by side, these two sieges offer a remarkable study in contrast and continuity—maturity versus emergence, culmination versus potential. Together, they illuminate not only two commanders but two different moments in the evolution of modern warfare.

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I very much look forward to exploring this with you and hearing your thoughts as we move through this comparison.

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Tom Heed
Military History Club

P.S. We will have a Zoom session. If you are interested, please let me know, and I will send you the invitation.