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Christmas 1776. The Revolution was not going well. The previous months had brought news that New York, Rhode Island and most of New Jersey had fallen to the British. Operational and intelligence blunders committed by Washington and his generals during these campaigns could have resulted in his dismissal as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Washington knew he needed to make a bold move in order to galvanize the Continental Army and rally the American people to his cause.

But before he could make that decisive move, Washington had to overcome a series of problems. Among these was the dwindling strength of the Continental Army. Many soldiers only enlisted for months at a time. Their enlistments were often up just as key campaigns were about to get underway. More importantly, though, poor sanitary conditions and lack of medical care resulted in extraordinarily high deaths from diseases like dysentery and malaria.

PotomacLocal.com ranked the area’s top local restaurants and compiled a easy-to-read list so you can see what’s good, what to try, and know what to tell your friends when they ask “is there any place good around here to eat?” Because no matter what the economy is doing, people, no matter what, still go out to eat!

These eateries were chosen for a number of factors like quality, service, location, uniqueness to the community, as well as being a darn good place to feast.

Last week we marked the end of the Iraq War, a long and arduous conflict that cost almost 4,500 American lives, over 32,200 wounded and cost approximately $1 Trillion. The war also deposed a brutal dictator and planted the seeds for a democratic Iraq – if, to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, the country can keep it.

Historians will debate the outcome of the Iraq War and whether or not the U.S. achieved its strategic goals, but what is clear is that the Iraq War changed the way our country conducts intelligence and operations in wartime.

Woodbridge, Va. — The grand court at Potomac Mills mall has come a long way since the days of large plastic apples sitting in an oversized cereal bowl filled with water. While the decorative bowl of apples has been missing from the mall for years, Potomac Mills on Thursday unveiled a new children’s play place in the grand court modeled after landmarks in Virginia.

It includes a 17th century ship, cardinals depicting the state bird, Chesapeake blue crabs, George Washington and his fabled cherry tree.