The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell, December 1925

What was once dubbed as “the trial of the century,” ended on December 17, 1925, with the conviction of Colonel William “Billy” Mitchell on charges of insubordination. A pioneer in military aviation—some called him a prophet—he was a brigadier general; a commander of the American aerial combat units during World War I just as they were edging into military use; nobody really understood their potential, but Mitchell insisted they would emerge as a decisive weapon. During the 1918 battles of St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne, he utilized bombers strategically, to strike the Germans far behind the front lines—a novel and- even shocking—notion for the time.

After World War I—convinced that the American military bureaucracy was hidebound—he deployed warplanes to sink derelict target battleships from 1921-1923, proved the dominance of air power over sea strength, and foresaw Japan’s surprise blitz on Pearl Harbor.

Although the press loved Mitchell, the U.S. Army put him on trial for denouncing their senior brass for its “official stupidity.” In December of 1925 he was court-marshaled and downgraded to a colonel. Two months later he resigned—rather than accept—a five-year suspension without pay. He died in 1936 as a hero—because many of his predictions came true. Posthumously, he was recognized as the “Father of the U.S. Air Force.”

For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends Douglas Waller’s A Question of Loyalty: Gen. Billy Mitchell and the Court-Martial that Gripped the Nation (2004).

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William “Boss” Tweed’s Prison Escape, December 1875

Even now, William Tweed is remembered as a corrupt politician. As a member of the House of Representatives, and a New York State Senator from the 1850s to the 1870s, his liftoff to power and influence emerged as he commandeered control over Tammany Hall, the Democrats’ political machine in New York.

Tweed selected friends for high positions in exchange for loyalty; with his allies he clenched control of voting process and extracted large cuts from the City’s contracts that benefitted him and his circle of cronies. “Boss” Tweed, as he came to be known—gobbled up enough wealth to own a railway, a bank, a printing company, and hotel. He also became the third largest landowner in the state of New York. Eventually he was exposed for embezzling $45M- $200M ($5 billion in 2025 dollars) from the city’s funds; convicted on various counts of fraud, extortion, and graft, and sent to Ludlow Street Jail in New York. The authorities, however, permitted him to keep his velvet sofa in his cell, and to continue unsupervised visits to his home. In December of 1875—Tweed escaped—despite a flurry of publicity around it—and a $10,000 reward. He was discovered in Cuba, recaptured a year later, and re-incarcerated. He died in 1878.

For more information about “Boss” Tweed and Tammany Hall, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends Kenneth D. Ackerman’s Boss Tweed: The Rise and Fall of the Corrupt Pol Who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York (2005.)

Ed Lengel is an author, a speaker, and a storyteller.

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History Matters is a feature courtesy of the Grateful American Book Prize, an annual award for high quality, 7th to 9th grade-level books dealing with important events and personalities in American history.