On This Day. 1862: Abraham Lincoln put Gen. George McClellan back in command of the Army of the Potomac. The president had previously demoted him for failing to capture the Confederate capital, Richmond—accusing him of having a "case of the slows.” /1
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But Gen. McClellan hadn't changed and would disappoint Lincoln again. The president would fire his general for a second and final time. McClellan went on to win the Democratic nomination for president in 1864, only to get crushed by Lincoln in the general election
But Gen. McClellan hadn't changed and would disappoint Lincoln again. The president would fire his general for a second and final time. McClellan went on to win the Democratic nomination for president in 1864, only to get crushed by Lincoln in the general election
Franklin Roosevelt, fearing the collapse of Britain in its life-and-death struggle with Nazi Germany, gave it 50 mothballed U.S. Navy destroyers - On This Day in 1940. A German invasion seemed imminent - and Britain was desperate for help /1
In the Fall of 1940, the Nazis were so close to England they could almost touch it. Here: officers look across the English Channel to the white cliffs of Dover. Extensive plans had been drawn up for the occupation of England, including the roundup of 300,000 British Jews 
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Britain had no money to buy arms, food or other goods that only America - the "Arsenal of Democracy" - could provide. FDR's solution: the “Destroyers for Bases” agreement giving Britain destroyers, in return for 99-year U.S. leases to bases in Newfoundland and the Caribbean
Britain had no money to buy arms, food or other goods that only America - the "Arsenal of Democracy" - could provide. FDR's solution: the “Destroyers for Bases” agreement giving Britain destroyers, in return for 99-year U.S. leases to bases in Newfoundland and the Caribbean
