Today in Military History 1 Apr - 30 Jun

20 Jun

1779 American Revolution: Battle of Stone Ferry
1782 Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States
1813 War of 1812: U.S. gunboats engage three British ships at Hampton Roads, Va
1815 USN accepts the steam battery 'Fulton', at New York
1841 Texas Pres. Lamar sends 321 men on ill-fated expedition to capture Santa Fe
1867 US buys Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million
1940 The USS 'Vincennes' (CA 44) arrives at New York with 200 tons of French and Belgian gold thoughtfully shipped via North Africa to avoid capture by the advancing Germans
1941 The U.S. Army Air Corps is reorganized as the Army Air Forces
1943 Two days of race riots begin in Detroit, 30 die
1963 Cold War: Washington-Moscow "hot line" established

BORN
1823 Jesse Lee Reno, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1862
1824 John Tyler Morgan, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1907
1876 Henry Root Hill, businessman, National Guardsman, kia 1918 -- Learn More
1892 Guy R. Chamberlain, USMA 1917, 1st Lt, Coy C, 345th Tank Battalion, kia 1918, the first American armor officer to die in combat, Meuse-Argonne
1899 Jean Moulin, hero of the French Resistance, executed 1943
1909 Errol Flynn, actor ("Objective Burma"), d. 1959
1924 Audie Murphy, most decorated American soldier of World War II, d. 1971
1947 The CIA

DIED
1913 Ens William D. Billingsley, 25, the first naval aviation fatality, crash of a Navy-Wright B-2, Annapolis
1923 "Pancho Villa" - Doroteo Arango, 55, assassinated
2010 Edith Shain, 91, bielived to be the nurse kissed by the sailor in Times Square on VJ-Day, in Alfred Eisenstaedt's iconic photo Learn More

 

21 Jun

1776 A conspiracy to assassinate George Washington uncovered in King's County
1876 Brig. Gen. Alfred Terry orders Lt. Col. George Custer's 7th Cav to scout the Little Bighorn River
1898 Skirmish at Santiago, Cuba: US ships and Spanish batteries exchange fire
1942 Rommel takes Tobruk
1943 New Georgia: Marine 4th Raider Bn lands at Segi Point
1943 New Guinea: 112th Cavalry (dsmtd) lands on Woodlark Island
1948 Berlin Airlift begins
1962 USAF Maj Robert M White takes X-15 to 75,190 m

BORN
1736 Enoch Poor, Continental brigadier, d. 1780
1774 Daniel D. Tompkins, War Governor of New York (1807-1817), Vice President (1817-1825), d. 1825 -- Learn More
1817 James Brewerton Ricketts, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1887
1818 Joseph Abel Haskin, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1874
1823 Edward Elmer Potter, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1889
1839 John Decatur Barry, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1867
1851 Daniel Carter Beard, first American Boy Scout leader, d. 1941

DIED
1631 Captain John Smith, of Virginia fame, c. 50
1862 Col. Charles Ellet, US, of wounds received at Memphis, June 6th, 42
1891 Albert Gallatin Blanchard, Brig Gen, C.S.A., 80
1964 Civil Rights workers Andrew Goodman, James Cheney, & Michael Schwerner murdered by racists in Mississippi
2003 Leon Uris, marine, novelist ("Battle Cry"), 78
2006 Sgt. 1st Class Jared C. Monti, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry, kia, Afghanistan, earning a Medal of Honor

 

22 Jun

1611 Henry Hudson set adrift by mutineers in Hudson's Bay
1807 HMS 'Leopard' makes unprovoked attack on USS 'Chesapeake'
1898 Naval Skirmish off San Juan: US blockaders vs Spanish warships.
1898 Action at Santiago: US ships and Spanish batteries exchange fire
1898 As US warships bombard Aguadores, the V Corps commences landing at Siboney and Daiquiri, Cuba
1938 Joe "the Brown Bomber" Louis KOs Max "Hitler's Heavyweight" Schmeling at 2:04 into their rematch, in Yankee Stadium
1942 The US introduces "V-Mail" for military personnel
1942 The heaviest single day’s loss of life in Australian military history; 845 soldiers and 208 civilians aboard the Japanese prisoner-of-war ship 'Montevideo Maru' was sunk by the American submarine 'Sturgeon' (SS 187) in the South China Sea
1944 FDR signs the "Servicemen's Readjustment Act", betterknown as "the GI Bill of Rights" -- Learn More
1945 Okinawa secured: 110,000 Japanese troops, 100,000 civilians, 17,520 US troops died
1955 Soviets shoot down US patrol plane over the Bering Sea

BORN
1898 Erich Remarque, Frontsoldat, novelist ("All Quiet on the Western Front"), d. 1970
1922 Bill Blass, ETO deception specialist, fashion designer, d. 2002

DIED
1945 Lt.Gen. Mitsuri Ushijima, 57, Commanding, 32nd Army, Okinawa, hara-kiri
1962 Henry G. Grant, formerly Hugo Gutman, German Jewish businessman and army officer, at 81 - Learn More

 

23 Jun

1784 Edward Warrern, 13, took the first balloon flight in the US, at Baltimore
1865 Stand Watie surrenders the last Confederate force still in the field
1898 Spanish blockade runners escape US ships off Havana
1933 USS 'Macon' (ZRS-5) commissioned, the last Navy rigid airship, crashes 1935
1960 US-Japan security treaty signed
1961 Antarctic Treaty goes into effect
1961 USAF Maj Robert M White takes X-15 to 32,830 m
1964 Maxwell Taylor appointed ambassador to South Vietnam

BORN
1801 Daniel Smith Donelson, Maj Gen, C.S.A., d. 1863
1822 Young Marshall Moody, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1866
1838 Edwin Henry Stoughton, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1868
1924 Prince Bayezid Effendi -- Osman Bayezid Osmanoglu, U.S. soldier, Heir to the Ottoman Throne (2009-17)
1938 The U.S. Maritime Service

DIED
2009 Ed McMahon, Marine with 85 combat air missions, WW II & Korea, TV personality, at 86

 

24 Jun
1861 Tennessee becomes 11th state to secede from the Union
1863 Gettysburg Campaign: Lee crosses the Potomac
1863 William Rosecrans initiates the Tullahoma Campaign, TN
1898 Naval Action off San Juan: US blockaders skirmish with Spanish warships
1898 Battle of Las Guasimas, Cuba: US loses 16 kia, Spanish 12
1942 Japanese submarine 'I-25' shells Port Stevens, Oregon.
1966 Period of European Great Power peace following WW II exceeds that which followed WW I

BORN
1753 William Hull, inept American general in 1812, d. 1825
1771 Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours, American gunpowder manufacturer, d. 1834
1820 Henry Rootes Jackson, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1898
1822 Birkett Davenport Fry, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1891
1832 Edward Harland, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1915
1842 Ambrose Bierce, veteran, satirist ("The Devil's Dictionary"), vanished 1914
1939 Henry Lawrence Garett III, SecNav (1989-92)

DIED
1908 Grover Cleveland, 71, sometime hangman, governor of New York (1883-1885), president (1885-1889, 1893-1897) -- Learn More

 

25 Jun

1862 Battle of Oak Grove, Va
1863 George Meade replaces Joe Hooker as CG, Army of the Potomac
1864 Petersburg: Union troops begin a tunnel under Confederate lines
1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn: Crazy Horse does in Custer -- Learn More
1940 Hitler tours Paris: Eiffel Tower, Napoleon's Tomb, the Opera
1941 FDR bars racial discrimination in war industries
1942 Eisenhower takes command of U.S. forces in Europe
1942 USS 'Nautilus" (SS-168) sinks Japanese DD 'Yamakaze', off Tokyo Bay
1943 Race riots in Detroit
1943 US submariners finally convince the Navy that its torpedoes suck
1948 Truman signs Displaced Persons Act: 205,000 refugees enter the US
1950 North Korea invades South Korea, claiming "self defense" -- Learn More
1981 Supreme Court holds male-only draft registration constitutional
1991 Ticker tape parade up Broadway to honor Korean War veterans
1996 Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: Islamists bomb Khobar Towers, 19 Americans die, c. 500 Saudis & Americans injured

BORN
1813 William Hugh Keim, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1862
1823 James Dunwody Bulloch, naval officer, C.S.N., d. 1901
1870 Robert Erskine Childers, author, soldier, naval airman, Irish patriot, executed 1922 -- Learn More
1886 General of the Air Force Henry "Hap" Arnold, d. 1950
1896 Alfred Anderson, WW I veteran of the Black Watch, the last survivor of the Christmas Truce of 1914, the last Scottish veteran of the war, and the oldest man in Scotland, d. 2005

DIED
1876 Lame White Man and c. 50 other Indians, KIA
1876 Lt Col George A Custer (36), his brothers Thomas W (31) & Boston (27), his nephew Harry A Reed (18), his brother-in-law James Calhoun (30), black Quartermaster employee Isaiah Dorman (c. 55), & c. 250 other members of the 7th Cavalry, KIA
1956 Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King, at 77 -- Learn More
2015 Patrick Macnee, 93, sometime Lt, Coastal Forces, actor ("The Avengers")

 

26 Jun

1775 Washington visits NY en route to assume command of the army at Boston.
1847 Col. Ethan Allen Hitchcock recruited the" Mexican Spy Company" at Puebla -- Learn More
1861 Skirmish at Patterson's Ford/Kelly's Island, Va
1862 Day 2 of the Seven Days: Battle of Mechanicsville
1876 Battle of the Little Big Horn: Crazy Horse defeated George A. Custer -- Learn More (scroll down)
1898 Action near Santiago: US and Spanish troops skirmish at Sevilla
1898 Action off Santiago: US ships & Spanish batteries exchange fire
1917 First American combat troops arrive in France
1924 US Marines leave the Dominican Republic, after 8 years of occupation
1943 Since Dec 7, 1941, Japan has lost 2 million g.r.t. of shipping
1944 Japanese capture U.S. airbase at Hengyang, China
1963 Berlin: Kennedy's "Ich bin ein Berliner" is wildly applauded

BORN
1742 Arthur Middleton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence, d. 1787
1810 Joseph-Michel Montgolfier, 69, with his brother, co-inventor of the hot air balloon
1819 Abner Doubleday, Maj. Gen, U.S., who didn't invent baseball, d. 1893
1837 Martin Davis Hardin II, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1923
1837 Victor Jean Baptiste Girardey, Brig Gen, C.S.A., kia 1864
1898 Lewis "Chesty" Puller, iconic US Marine with 5 awards of the Navy Cross, plus a DSC, d. 1971
1901 Stuart Symington, WW I veteran, first Secretary of the Air Force (1947-1950), liberal politician, d. 1988

DIED

1922 Prince Albert I of Monaco (1889-1922), French naval officer, oceanographer, at 73
1943 Brigadier Claude Nicholson, 44, who held Calais (May 22-26, 1940), in a German P/W camp -- Learn More

 

27 Jun

1861 Battle of Mathia's Point, VA: USN attacks Confederate batteries
1861 Rutherford B. Hayes was commissioned a major in the 23rd Ohio -- Learn More
1862 Day 3 of the Seven Days: Battle of Gaines' Mill
1864 Atlanta Campaign: Battle of Kenesaw Mountain/Big Shanty/Pine Mt/Pine Knob/Golgotha, GA
1874 Second Battle of Adobe Walls, Texas: Hunters beat off Indian attack
1918 First use of parachutes to escape an aircraft in combat: two German airmen jump
1926 Office of the Assistant SecNav for Aeronautics created
1927 The USMC adopts "Sgt Jiggs," an English bulldog, as its mascot
1942 FBI captures 8 Nazi saboteurs, landed by u-boat on Long Island
1944 American troops liberate Cherbourg from the Germans
1950 North Korean troops reach Seoul, as the Security Council calls on UN members to aid South Korea and Truman orders USAF & USN into action
1950 US sends 35 military advisers to South Vietnam
1954 CIA-sponsored rebels overthrow government of Guatemala
1962 Joseph Walker takes the X-15 to 6,606 kph and 37,700 m
1976 First women cadets enter the Air Force Academy

BORN
1828 Junius Daniel, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1864
1872 Paul Lawrence Dunbar, poet ("The Unsung Heroes"), d. 1906
1936 John Shalikashvili, in Warsaw, Poland, American soldier, rose from draftee to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1993-1997), the first foreign born officer and the first draftee to hold the post, d. 2011

DIED

1844 Joseph Smith (38), Mormon prophet, and his bother Hyman Smith, lynched in Carthage, Ill.
1861 Cdr James H. Ward, 60 -- the first naval officer kia during in the Civil War, Mathias Point
1932 Fr. Francis P. Duffy, 61, chaplain to the 'Fighting 69th' and the 'Great White Way' -- Learn More
1952 Elmo Lincoln, the first Tarzan, 64
1980 Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, deposed Shah of Iran (1941-1979), 60
2003 Strom Thurmond, D-Day veteran, Dixiecrat, segregationist senator who reformed, at 100.
2005 Shelby Foote, good novelist, poor historian ("The Civil War: A Narrative"), at 88
2008 Field Marshal Sam H.F.J. Maneksaw -- "Sam the Brave", Indian soldier, Liberator of Bangladesh, at 94

 

28 Jun

1767 British pass Townshend Acts, levying taxes on American colonies
1835 Battle of Anahuac: Texians capture Mexican garrison
1863 Lee orders his forces to concentrate near Gettysburg
1864 Wilson's Raid: Battle of Ream's Station, Va
1898 Rio San Juan, P.R: US landing party driven off, 1 killed
1940 US passes Alien Registration Act
1945 Operation Olympic: President Truman set the invasion of Japan for Nov 1st
1945 Typhoon off Okinawa damages many U.S. ships
1949 US troops withdraw from Korea after WW II
1952 USS 'Oriskany'(CV-34) becomes the first aircraft carrier to round Cape Horn
1965 USAF Capt Joseph Henry Engle reaches 85,530 m in X-15
1966 North Vietnam: US bombs fuel storage facilities
1970 US/ARVN end two month military offensive into Cambodia

BORN
1831 William Thomas Clark, Brig Gen, US, d. 1905
1858 George Washington Goethals, military engineer (Panama Canal), d. 1928
1920 Raymond Frederick "Ray" Harryhausen, sometime U.S. Army filmmaker, animator ("Jason and the Argonauts", etc), d. 2013

DIED
1992 President Mohammad Boudiaf of Algeria, assassinated at 73

 

29 Jun

1767 British pass Townshend Acts, levying taxes on American colonies
1835 Battle of Anahuac: Texians capture Mexican garrison
1862 Day 4 of the Seven Days: Battle of Savage's Station
1863 Lee orders his forces to concentrate near Gettysburg
1864 Wilson's Raid: Battle of Ream's Station, Va
1898 Rio San Juan, P.R: US landing party driven off, 1 killed
1940 US passes Alien Registration Act
1945 Operation Olympic: President Truman set the invasion of Japan for Nov 1st
1945 Typhoon off Okinawa damages many U.S. ships
1949 US troops withdraw from Korea after WW II
1952 USS 'Oriskany'(CV-34) becomes the first aircraft carrier to round Cape Horn
1965 USAF Capt Joseph Henry Engle reaches 85,530 m in X-15
1966 North Vietnam: US bombs fuel storage facilities
1970 US/ARVN end two month military offensive into Cambodia

BORN
1831 William Thomas Clark, Brig Gen, US, d. 1905
1858 George Washington Goethals, military engineer (Panama Canal), d. 1928
1920 Raymond Frederick "Ray" Harryhausen, sometime U.S. Army filmmaker, animator ("Jason and the Argonauts", etc), d. 2013

DIED
1992 President Mohammad Boudiaf of Algeria, assassinated at 73

 

30 Jun
1794 Little Turtle and the Ohio Indians are defeated at Fort Recovery, Ohio Territory -- Learn More
1815 USS 'Peacock' takes HMS 'Nautilus', 6 months after the War of 1812
1861 CSS 'Sumter' slips past USS 'Brooklyn', on blockade at the Head of Passes, Mississippi R.
1863 Chambersburg: CSA troops destroy large stores of whiskey -- Learn More
1865 Eight are convicted in the assassination of Lincoln
1898 Manzanillo, Cuba: USN raids harbor, sinks several vessels
1898 Tayabacoa, Cuba: US landing party driven off
1936 Publication of Margaret Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind"
1942 Congress votes $42 billion (c. $650 billion today) for defense.
1967 Maj Robert H Lawrence Jr named an astronaut
1997 Hong Kong reverts to China, ending 150 years of British rule

BORN
1837 Stephen D Ramseur, Maj Gen, C.S.A., kia 1864

DIED
1868 Manuel Dominguez, Mexican bandit and U.S. Army scout, at c. 51 -- Learn More
1882 Charles Guiteau, 40, assassin of President Garfield, hanged
1938 Caroline Poulder King, b. 1850, last War of 1812 veteran's pensioner, having wed veteran Darius King, 70, in 1870.
1942 Mary C. Kimbro, 64, 1st American woman merchant mariner to die in WW II, City of Birmingham, torpedoed, North Atlantic