Introducing Our Summer 2026 Issue
In this special issue honoring America’s 250th birthday, we reflect on the extraordinary journey that has shaped our nation. Explore the hallowed grounds of Revolutionary War battles and secret intelligence networks that helped make victory possible. Celebrate the enduring tradition of American Legion Baseball, and travel to historic lighthouses that still stand sentinel over our Southern shores. Plus, we share Revolutionary-era recipes and five founding fathers’ views on the Bill of Rights.
Let’s get started!
Three Battles and a Massacre
Victory, stinging defeat, a draw, and ‘Bloody Bill’
By Tom Poland
Old battlefields seem more like parks. They’re quiet. Trying to imagine black powder, cannon, and cries of the wounded? Difficult, but not always. Farmers’ plows unearthed so many Minié balls at Shiloh, the soil turned white. Shiloh was of the Civil War. I’m writing of Revolutionary War sites: Kettle Creek, Camden, Eutaw Springs, and Clouds Creek.
Revolutionary Secrets
Covert Southern missions that helped birth America’s freedom
By Elizabeth Poland Shugg
We Americans often celebrate our hard-won independence from Britain through a familiar set of images: Washington crossing the Delaware, Continental and British army battles, and clandestine northern spy rings.
The South’s role in the war, however, unfolded in a far less orderly way. Across Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia, and beyond, a shifting landscape of local intelligence networks, civilian participation, enslaved resistance, global alliances, and hidden supply chains contributed to the Patriots’ victory. What emerged was not a single war, but multiple conflicts that played out concurrently.
America’s Enduring Pastime
100 years later, American Legion Baseball maintains a proud legacy
By Kurt Dusterberg
Baseball has long been part of our country’s summertime landscape. For more than a century, fans of America’s pastime have filled major league stadiums to watch the greats of the game. In mid-size towns across the country, minor league ballparks have added to the game’s charm with an up-close view of tomorrow’s stars.
But all across America, another brand of the game—one without much fanfare—has endured for a full century. American Legion Baseball claims more than 3,000 teams that play in local communities.
Sentinels of the Shore
Journey to historic lighthouses in Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida
By the Backroad Portfolio staff
Our Summer There and Back Again feature journeys to historic lighthouses. In honor of our nation’s 250th birthday, we start this excursion at the Morris Island Lighthouse, which played a role in the American Revolutionary War. On the return trip, we suggest stops at a Revolutionary War battlefield and fort. We’ve designed this journey to span three days, but you can stretch it out if you’d like. We’ve also suggested accommodations for each location.
Plus:
Revolutionary-era recipes, Founding Fathers’ philosophies, events celebrating our nation’s 250th birthday, patriotic products, and our Summer Portfolio collection.
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Backroad Portfolio is for explorers.
Travel down roads marked by endless fields, immaculate vistas, and small, cozy towns. Discover the history behind how these backroads came to be for future generations. Meet people who breathe life into the landscape, sharing stories, traditions, and artisanal endeavors that make each stop along the way unforgettable. Escape from the busyness of life on the main thoroughfares. Take the long way home.
Spectacular magazine! A keepsake for America's 250th birthday!
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