Today in Military History 1 Aug - 30 Sep

20 Aug

1781 Washington marches from NY to fight Cornwallis at Yorktown -- Learn More
1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers: Maj Gen "Mad" Anthony Wayne routs the Ohio Indian Confederacy -- Learn More
1847 Battle of Contreras: Brig Gen (and future president) Franklin Pierce breaks the Mexican front -- Learn More
1861 Skirmish at Hawk's Nest, WVa
1861 Skirmish at Jonesboro, Ms
1866 Pres Andrew Johnson formally declares the Slaveholders' Rebellion over
1914 German troops massacre 211 Belgian civilians at Andenne.
1940 Winston Churchill says, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" -- Learn More
1942 31 Marine aircraft off USS 'Long Island' (CVE-1) land on Guadalcanal
1942 Japanese order landing of 1500 troops at Milne Bay, southeastern Papua
1943 Marines take Baanga I, at a cost of 52 killed and 110 wounded
1944 Charles de Gaulle returns to Paris
1955 USAF Col. Horace A. Hanes' SuperSaber reaches 40,000 feet and 822.135 mph
1982 US Marines land in Beirut


BORN

1802 Cadwalader Ringgold, naval officer, U.S., d. 1867
1811 Gilman Marston, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1890
1824 Absalom Baird, Brig Gen, U.S, d. 1905
1832 Thaddeus Sobieski Constantine Lowe, Civil War balloonist, d. 1913
1833 Benjamin Harrison, sometime colonel, 70th Indiana, President (1889-1893), d. 1901 -- Learn More

DIED

1804 SGT Charles Floyd, c. 22, of "bilious cholic" - the only fatality on the Lewis & Clark Expedition
2006 Joe Rosenthal, 91, photographer - Learn More

 

1800 First public concert by the U.S. Marine Corps Band, Washington, DC
1861 James A. Garfield was commissioned Lt Col of the 42nd Ohio -- Learn More
1863 Despite Jefferson Davis having declared the day one of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, Quantrill's Confederate brigands raid Lawrence, Ks
1864 Battle of Summit Point, Va
1938 Italy bars Jewish teachers in public education
1943 Japanese a/c raid shipping off Vella Lavella, with little effect.
1944 B-29s from Ceylon begin raids on Japanese installations on Sumatra.
1945 Pres Truman ends the Lend-Lease program
1983 South Korean 747 airliner is shot down by Russian aircraft after straying into Soviet airspace, 269 die
1987 Marine Sgt Clayton Lonetree convicted of spying for the KGB while an embassy guard in Moscow


BORN

1754 Banastre Tarleton, brutal British general in the American Revolution, d. 1833
1810 Thomas Jefferson McKean, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1870
1821 William Barksdale, Brig Gen, C.S.A., kia 1863
1824 John Sanford Mason, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1897


DIED

 

22 August

1862 Santee Sioux Indians attack Fort Ridgely.
1914 Cavalry skirmish near Mons: First Anglo-German engagement of World War I
1942 Army P-400s land at Henderson field from New Caledonia.
1942 Savo: Japanese DD 'Kawakaze' torpedoes USS 'Blue' (DD-387), which is towed to Tulagi.
1943 Marines occupy undefended Nukufetau in the Ellice Islands.
1962 Charles De Gaulle evades an assassination attempt, an incident treated in the novel "Day of the Jackal"

BORN

1818 William Selby Harney, feisty American cavalryman, Mexico, Civil War, d. 1889
1822 George Stoneman, Maj Gen, US, cavalryman, d. 1894
1827 Joseph Anthony Mower, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1870
1834 Nathaniel Harrison Harris, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1900
1836 Archibald M Willard, artist ("The Spirit of '76"), d. 1918
1934 Norman Schwarzkopf, Gen., US, Liberator of Kuwait in 1991, d. 2012

DIED
1485 King Richard III of England (1483-1485), 32, unable to find a horse

 

23 Aug

1775 George III declares that the American colonies are in a state of rebellion
1864 Battle of Ft. Morgan: US Troops capture the post from the Confederates, near Mobile
1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact: Hitler and Stalin agree to cooperate in plundering Europe -- Learn More
1940 The Luftwaffe begins night raids on London
1942 Damaged USS 'Blue' (DD-387) is scuttled at Tulagi.
1942 US recon a/c spot Japanese force intent on reinforcing Guadalcanal
1943 NY Yankees 'Old Timers' Game: 69,126 fans pack Yankee Stadium to see Babe Ruth play for the first time in seven years, raising $80,000 for the Army-Navy Relief Fund
(1.2 Million in 2021)


BORN

1788 Joseph Gilbert Totten, Brig. Gen., US, scholar, d. 1864 -- Learn More
1818 Rufus Ingalls, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1893
1832 Alexander Chambers, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1888
1923 John Eisenhower, soldier, historian ("The Bitter Woods"), d. 2013

DIED
1819 Oliver Hazard Perry, 34, Commo, USN, who met the enemy and they were his, yellow fever
1900 Nathaniel Harrison Harris, Brig Gen, C.S.A., at 66 and one day

 

24 August

1814 The British burn Washington, after Sir George Cockburn eats Pres. Madison's dinner in the White House
1942 Japanese naval infantry (SNLF) land in the Goodenough Islands, off northeastern New Guinea.
1991 Gorbachev resigns as head of Communist Party of the USSR
1991 Ukraine declares independence from USSR

BORN

1808 Benjamin G. Humphreys, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1882
1808 Thomas F. Drayton, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1891
1827 Walter H. Stevens, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1867
1828 George "Maryland" Steuart, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1903
1865 Ferdinand I, Prince (1887-1908) and Tsar of Bulgaria (1908-1918), d. 1948


DIED

1974 Alexander P. de Seversky, 80, aviator, author, aeronautical engineer

 

25 August

1825 USMA Cadet Jefferson Davis penalized for imbibing, and on the Sabbath
1862 US SecWar authorizes Gen Rufus Saxton to arm 5,000 slaves
1905 First Presidential submarine dive: Theodore Roosevelt in the USS 'Plunger' (SS 2) at Sag Harbor, staying under nearly an hour.
1921 US signs peace treaty with Germany
1942 Marine & Navy a/c attack Japanese reinforcing squadron near Guadalcanal.
1944 Paris liberated from Nazi occupation



BORN

1811 Joseph D. Webster, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1876
1812 Percival Drayton, Capt, USN, d. 1865
1819 Allan Pinkerton, detective, inept Union spymaster, d. 1884
1823 John Newton, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1895
1825 Henry W. Birge, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1888
1911 Võ Nguyên Giáp, brilliant Vietnamese commander, who fought Japanese, French, & Americans, d. 2013

DIED

1945 Vice Admiral Willis Augustus "Ching" Lee, Jr., 57, premier USN battleship commander, Olympian, heart attack -- Learn More
1967 George Lincoln Rockwell, 49, USN veteran, American Nazi, shot by a follower
2009 Edward "Ted" Kennedy, 77, sometime soldier, politician, last of four brothers who were devoted to national service
2012 Neil Armstrong, who on July 20, 1969 took a 'small step', at 82

 

26 Aug

1775 First Congressional action on veterans' benefits
1839 US Revenue Cutter 'Washington' seizes the Spanish ship 'Amistad', manned by self-liberated slaves, off Montauk Point
1943 U.S. bombers in China attack Japanese installations in Hong Kong.
1944 De Gaulle marches up the Champs-Elysees to Notre Dame under fire from Nazi snipers

BORN
1833 Charles Jackson Paine, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1916
1835 Theodore Washington Brevard, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1892
1901 Maxwell D Taylor, sometime commander, 101st A/B Div, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, d. 1987


DIED
1974 Charles Lindbergh, intrepid flyer, environmentalist, Nazi stooge, anti-Semite, at 72 -- Learn More
2010 William B Lenoir, 71, astronaut
2011 General Donn Albert Starry, soldier, scholar, military reformer, at 86

 

27 Aug

1861 Skirmish at Ball's Cross Roads, WVa
1942 Cuba declares war on Germany, Japan, & Italy
1942 Guadalcanal: 5th Marines raid Kokumbona
1942 USS 'Iowa' (BB 61) is launched at the Brooklyn Navy Yard
1943 Elms 43rd Inf Div land on Arundel Island in the Solomons, unopposed
1945 Over 41,000 Japanese surrender on Morotai and Halmahea
1945 Third Fleet enters Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo Bay, as US troops begin the occupation of Japan
1945 Ticker tape parade on Broadway for General Charles de Gaulle -- Learn More
1958 Ticker tape parade on Broadway for CDR William Anderson & the crew of the USS 'Nautilus' (SS 571)


BORN

1824 Hiram Gregory Berry, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1863
1826 Frank Stillman Nickerson, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1917
1832 James Alexander Walker, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1901
1839 Emory Upton, Maj Gen, U.S.V., military theorist, d. 1881
1908 Lyndon B Johnson, incidental naval officer, President (1963-1969)


DIED

 

28 Aug
1861 Union forces invest Ft. Clark, Hatteras, NC, which falls the next day
1862 Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, Va
1862 Rebel spy Belle Boyd released from the Old Capitol Prison
1862 Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas/Gainesville/Bristoe Station), Day 1 of 3: Union advances



1939 First successful jet flight, a Heinkel He 178
1942 USS 'Washington' (BB-56) enters the Pacific via the Panama Canal.
1943 Elms 43rd Div advance on Arundel against light Japanese resistance.
1944 B-24 raid on the Kuriles, Japanese Submarine Chaser No. 77 is sunk.
1944 'LSM-270' commissioned at Newark, under Ens. Owen R. Meredith, USNR
1963 The March on Washington: Martin Luther King delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial
1986 Former Navy WO Jerry Whitworth convicted of spying for the USSR
1988 Ramstein air show: Italian stunt jets collide, 70 die
1990 Iraq declares Kuwait its 19th province

BORN

1798 Gershom Jaques Van Brunt, Capt, U.S.N., d. 1863
1828 William Alexander Hammond, Brig Gen, US, Surgeon General, d. 1900

DIED

1955 Emmett Till, 14, black American, lynched in Money, Mississippi
1978 Bruce Catton, Civil War historian ("A Stillness at Appomattox"), at 78

 

29 Aug

1862 Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas/Gainesville/Bristoe Station), Day 2 of 3: Confederates hold
1939 Einstein writes to FDR about the A-Bomb
1944 The 28th Inf. Div. marches down the Champs Elysee
1945 4th Marines land at Yokosuka Naval Base
1945 British liberate Hong Kong from Japan
1949 USSR explodes its first atomic bomb
1958 Air Force Academy moves to new facilities at Colorado Springs
1990 C-5 transport plane crashes at Ramstein AFB, Germany, killing 13

BORN
1915 Ingrid Bergman, actress ("Casablanca"), d. this date 1982 at 67

DIED
29 John the Baptist, c. 30, beheaded [Trad]
1981 Lowell Thomas, intrepid war correspondent, author, at 89
1982 Ingrid Bergman, actress ("Casablanca"), d. this date 1982
1987 Lee Marvin, marine, actor ("The Big Red One"), at 63

 

30 August

1862 Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas/Gainesville/Bristoe Station), Day 3 of 3: Confederates win
1937 Near Shanghai the Chinese Air Force mistakes the liner 'President Hoover' for a Japanese ship, inflicting light damage.
1939 Poland mobilizes for WW II
1941 The Germans begin the siege of Leningrad
1942 Guadalcanal: U.S. DDs and APDs land reinforcements, lose one ship.
1942 Nazi Germany annexes Luxembourgi
1945 Gen MacArthur arrives in Japan
1951 US-Philippines mutual defense treaty signed
1991 Azerbaijan declares independence from the USSR


BORN
1918 Ted Williams, marine, outstanding baseball player, d. 2002
1960 Gary Gordon, American soldier, kia 1993, in Mogadisciu, earning the Medal of Honor

DIED

1879 John Bell Hood, Gen, C.S.A., who lost Atlanta, yellow fever at 48
1918 Col. Bertram T. Clayton, 55, Alabama-born Brooklyn cavalryman, the highest ranking West pointer to be kia in World War I -- Learn More

 

1880 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands (1898-1948), d. 1962
1945 Leonid I Popov, Russia, cosmonaut
1963 The Moscow-Washington "Hot Line"

DIED
683 K'inich Janaab' Pacal, Lord of Palenque (615-683)
1057 Earl Leofric III of Mercia (1030-1057), husband to Lady Godiva, b. 968

 

1942 "Tokyo Express" mission to Guadalcanal evades B-17s.
1942 A Federal court upholds detention of Japanese-Americans
1942 German troops land on the Taman Peninsula, USSR
1943 Espiritu Santo: Japanese sub 'I-182' is sunk by USS 'Wadsworth' (DD-516)
1943 USN makes air and gunnery attacks on Marcus I
1950 13 North Korean divisions assault UN lines
1983 Soviets shoot down Korean Air Flight 007, a Boeing 747 that had strayed over Kamchatka

BORN
1798 Richard Delafield, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1873
1824 Isaac Hardin Duval, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1902
1829 James Conner, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1883
1878 John Frederick Charles Fuller, British Maj. Gen., military scrivener, historian,
1922 Melvin R Laird, Secretary of Defense (1969-73)

DIED

1838 William Clark, of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, at 68
1862 Maj Gen Phil Kearny, 47, "the bravest man in the Union Army," kia, Chantilly
1862 Maj. Gen. Isaac I. Stevens, U.S.A., 44, kia, Chantilly
1864 Emmeran Bliemel, CSA, only Catholic chaplain kia in the Civil War
1947 Frederick Russell Burnham, 86, American scout, soldier of fortune (Matabele, Boer Wars, etc.), conservationist
1983 Lawrence Patton McDonald, 48, physician, Democratic member of Congress from Georgia, killed in KAL 007

 

2 SEP

1863 The Alabama legislature suggests recruiting slaves for the Confederate Army
1864 Robert E. Lee suggests recruiting blacks for Confederate service "every place in the Army"
1864 Union forces under William T Sherman capture Atlanta, get blamed for torching the place
1901 VP Theodore Roosevelt cites the African proverb, "Speak softly and carry a big stick""
1943 Truk: Japanese patrol vessel is torpedoed by USS 'Snapper' (SS-185),
1944 Anne Frank is sent to Auschwitz
1944 Lt jg George H.W. Bush bails out near Chichi Jima, and is rescued by 'Finback' (SS-230) -- Learn More
1945 Douglas MacArthur says "These proceedings are closed," USS 'Missouri' (BB-63), Tokyo Bay.
1945 Ho Chi Minh declares Vietnam independent of France

BORN

1837 James H. Wilson, Maj Gen, U.S., d. 1925
1878 Werner von Blomberg, German field marshal and defense minister, d. 1946
1948 Christa McAuliffe, teacher-astronaut, d. 1986, Space Shuttle 'Challenger'

DIED

1953 Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, Defender of Bataan, sometime prisoner-of-war, b.
2010 Eileen Nearne, 89, SOE operative, D-Day veteran, Ravensbruck survivor

 

3 SEP
1783 Treaty of Paris ends the Revolutionary War, as Britain recognizes American independence
1861 Confederates under Leonidas Polk invade Kentucky, insuring its adherence to the Union
1885 First Naval War College class convenes
1918 Five black soldiers are hanged on charges of "mutiny" for a riot protesting racism in Houston in 191
1939 Britain and France declare war on Germany
1940 The Anglo-American "Destroyers for Bases" Deal: US gives Britain 50 old destroyers in exchange for basing rights in the Empire
1943 Italy and the Allies secretly agree to a cease-fire
1944 US Navy shells the Japanese on Wake Island.
1945 Japanese forces in the Philippines surrender to the US
1967 Nguyen Van Thieu elected president of Vietnam (1967-75)

BORN

1825 Armistead Lindsay Long, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1891
1825 William Wallace Burns, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1892
1831 States Rights Gist, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1864
1835 William Gaston Lewis, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1901
1875 Ferdinand Porsche, German tank & car designer, d. 1951
1923 Mort Walker, veteran, cartoonist ("Beetle Bailey"), de. 2018

DIED

1929 Owen Thomas Edgar, last known Mexican War veteran, at 98
1969 Ho Chi Minh/Nguyen Sinh Cung, Vietnamese revolutionary, President (1945-1969)
1991 Frank Capra, 94, veteran, film maker ("Why We Fight")

 

4 Sep

1886 Geronimo surrendered to Gen Nelson A Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Ariz -- Learn
1941 German submarine 'U-652' unsuccessfully attacks USS 'Greer' (DD 145), which drops depth charges
1942 Lunga Point, Guadalcanal: Japanese DDs sink two U.S. destroyer transports
1945 US reoccupies Wake Is
1950 First appearance of the comic strip "Beetle Bailey"
1957 Arkansas Gov Fabus orders the National Guard to keep blacks out of Central High School

BORN
1810 Donald McKay, clipper ship designer, d. 1880


DIED
1804 Richard Somers, US naval officer, kia at Tripoli, c. 24
1864 John Hunt Morgan, Brig. Gen., CSA, kia, 39
1974 Creighton W Abrams, soldier, US Army Chief-of-Staff, at 59
1986 Henry "Hammerin' Hank" Greenberg, ball player, OSS agent, at 75

 

5 Sep

1774 First Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia
1775 Continental Navy issues uniform regulations for officers
1795 US pays Algiers $1 million to ransom 100 sailors
1813 USS 'Enterprise' captures HM brig 'Boxer' off Portland, Me
1836 Sam Houston is elected as the first permanent president of Republic of Texas (1836-1838)
1876 Powder River Campaign -- Battle of Slim Buttes: Gen Crook defeats the Cheyenne & Siouxe
1914 Britain, France, Belgium, and Russia formally ally against Germany
1918 Due to WW I, the World Series begins a month early
1918 USS 'Mount Vernon' (ex-liner 'Kronprinzesin Cecilie'), survives a German torpedo off France
1939 FDR creates Neutrality Patrol, to defend hemispheric waters
1942 British and American aircraft bomb Le Havre and Bremen
1943 US airborne troops land at Nadzab, New Guinea
1961 US resumes nuclear testing after a temporary ban
1972 Palestinian terrorists murder 11 Israelis at the Munich Olympics
1975 Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme tries to assassinate Pres Ford in Sacramento
1978 Sadat, Begin, & Carter begin a peace conference at Camp David

BORN

1793 John Lawrence Burns, 1812 veteran, the "Old Hero of Gettysburg," who joined the Union firing line, d. 1872
1815 Tyree Harris Bell, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1902
1847 Jesse James, Confederate raider, outlaw, killed 1882
1905 Arthur Koestler, novelist ("Darkness at Noon"), suicide 1983

DIED

1877 Crazy Horse, 32-35, cavalryman, who did in Fetterman, Custer, and others, killed "trying to escape"
1912 Lt Gen Arthur MacArthur, Jr., American soldier, b. 1845

 

6 Sep

1861 Brig. Gen. U.S. Grant captures Paducah, Kentucky, without opposition
1862 Stonewall Jackson occupies Fredrick, Maryland
1863 Confederates evacuate Ft Wagner, SC, ending 59 day Union siege
1901 Pres William McKinley is mortally wounded by Leon Czologosz in Buffalo (d. 14th)
1918 US Navy 14-inch railroad guns open fire on the Western Front
1940 'Charles F. Hughes' (DD-428) commissioned by Lt Cdr. G. L. Menocal; GM Eugene Paulson
1940 Mussolini turns down Hitler's offer of a panzer unit to support his forces in North Africa
1941 Germany orders all Jews over 6 anywhere to wear a yellow Star of David
1943 Japanese CA 'Nachi' survives torpedo from USS 'Halibut' (SS-232), off Japan.
1983 USSR admits to shooting down KAL 007 on 9/2


BORN

1797 William "Extra Billy" Smith, Maj Gen, C.S.A.
1811 James Melville Gilliss, Lt., USN, founder of the Naval Observatory, d. 1865
1815 John Richardson Liddell, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1887
1819 William Starke Rosecrans, Maj Gen, U.S., who attained "the edge of glory", d. 1898
1827 John Morrison Oliver, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1872
1946 Bryan D O'Connor, USMC, astronaut

DIED

1945 Vice-Adm. John S. McCain, Sr., 61, four days after attending the Japanese surrender
2005 1st Sgt Mark Matthews, at 111, the last "Buffalo Soldier"

 

7 Sep

 

8 Sep
1919 Ticker tape parade on Broadway for General of the Armies John J. Pershing & 25,000 Doughboys
1923 Seven USN destroyers ground at Point Honda, Ca., by a navigational error, 23 die
1939 FDR declares a "limited national emergency" due to war in Europe
1942 700 Marine Raiders hit Tasimboko, Guadalcanal, in the Japanese rear
1943 Italy secretly concludes an armistice with the Allies
1943 US aircraft bomb targets near Rome, escorted by Italian fighters
1943 Operation Zitronella/Sizilien: A German naval squadron raids Allied installations in Spitzbergen
1945 US troops land in Korea to assume occupation duties
1951 Japan signs peace treaty with 48 countries at San Francisco
1954 Manila: Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) formed
1966 "Star Trek" debuts on NBC

BORN
1592 Peter Stuyvesant, Dutch general, Director-General of the Nieuw Netherlands (1647-1664), d
1821 Henry Baxter, Brig Gen, U.S., d. 1873
1828 Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Maj Gen, U.S.V., citizen-soldier, d. 1914
1829 George Crook, Maj Gen, U.S., noted Indian fighter, d. 1890
1829 Seth Maxwell Barton, Brig Gen, C.S.A., d. 1900

DIED
1935 Louisiana Senator Huey P. Long, 42, shot by Dr. Carl Austin Weiss, Jr.
1935 Dr. Carl Austin Weiss, Jr, 28, shot by Long's bodyguards.