This Day in History

[Amnorix]

Today...

[Amnorix]

June 29.

Wow, really lame day. I'll save myself some time and effort here.

1956. The Federal Aid Highway Act is signed into law, officially creating the US Interstate Highway System.

[patteeu]

Reading about the Entebbe raid makes me wonder what impact it would have had on the course of US history if Carter's attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages had been equally successful. Would Carter have won re-election? Would Reagan have ever been president? Carter still had the economic malaise to overcome, but the lingering hostage crisis really pulverized his image.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by patteeu

Reading about the Entebbe raid makes me wonder what impact it would have had on the course of US history if Carter's attempt to rescue the Iranian hostages had been equally successful. Would Carter have won re-election? Would Reagan have ever been president? Carter still had the economic malaise to overcome, but the lingering hostage crisis really pulverized his image.

Yes, hard to say. The economic situation was so incredibly bad I'm not sure that even a successful rescue hostage mission would have saved him.

The failed rescue mission wasn't really his fault, but it certainly killed any chance he might have had at reelection.

The only good thing about the entire disaster is that it led to some internal revisions and significant improvements in special forces operations capabilities.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

June 27

1844. Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (i.e. Mormons) is killed by a mob while awaiting trial. Five men were tried for his murder, but acquitted.

No sh*t? I had no idea he was killed (or awaiting trial).

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Donger

No sh*t? I had no idea he was killed (or awaiting trial).

Neither did I. What he was awaiting trail for was fairly complicated, so I decided to skip that part. It's moderately interesting, however, if you want to look it up.

Edit to note two things:

1. I have REALLY learned alot of fascinating trivia and tidbits in doing this thread.

2. One thing I've learned is that the Mormons were a REALLY controversial religion and created a hell of a lot of issues everywhere they went. We kind of treat them nicely now and more or less thing of them as pleasant oddballs who hang out in Utah and wish they could engage in bigamy, but can't. Their early history, however, was full of all kinds of intrigue and drama.

[Jenson71]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Neither did I. What he was awaiting trail for was fairly complicated, so I decided to skip that part. It's moderately interesting, however, if you want to look it up.

Edit to note two things:

1. I have REALLY learned alot of fascinating trivia and tidbits in doing this thread.

2. One thing I've learned is that the Mormons were a REALLY controversial religion and created a hell of a lot of issues everywhere they went. We kind of treat them nicely now and more or less thing of them as pleasant oddballs who hang out in Utah and wish they could engage in bigamy, but can't. Their early history, however, was full of all kinds of intrigue and drama.

And probably with a lot of Missourians on this board, especially in the KC area, they would know that a lot of Mormons hang out in Independence, MO, as well.

[Amnorix]

June 30

1905. Albert Einstein publicizes "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" introducing the concept of special relativity.

1908. The "Tunguska Event" occurs. A meteoroid or comet fragment bursts 5-10 kilometers above the ground in the remote reaches of Siberia with the force of approximately 10-15 megatons of TNT (i.e. 1,000 times the power of the Hiroshima or Nagasaki atomoc bombs).

1921. Former President William Howard Taft is appointed Chief Justice of the United States, the job he had always sought.

1934. The Night of the Long Knives, occurs, with Adolf Hitler removing most of his political enemies in Nazi Germany, including most notably Ernst Rohm, the head of the Brown Shirts. At least 85 people are killed.

1944. Nearly a month after D-Day, the city of Cherbourg on the Cotentin peninsula falls to the Allies. The deep water port city is critical to Allied supply logistics.

1986. The United States Supreme Court rules in Bowers v. Hardwick that states can outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults. The case was a 5-4 decision and one of the members of the majority, Lewis Powell, would later go on to say that he believed he had erred in his decision. In 1995, Justice Blackmun, who had written the dissenting opinion, would note that the dissent was mostly written by his former law clerk (and now Stanford Law Professor) Pam Karlan, who was herself homosexual. The same state law that the Supreme Court had upheld in 1986 would be reversed by the Georgia Supreme Court, on state constitutional law grounds, in 1998, and Bowers itself would be overturned in 2003 by the Supreme Court. In overturning the case, the Court would note: "Bowers was not correct when it was decided, and it is not correct today."

1997. The United Kingdom turns sovereignty of Hong Kong over to China.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

1908. The "Tunguska Event" occurs. A meteoroid or comet fragment bursts 5-10 kilometers above the ground in the remote reaches of Siberia with the force of approximately 10-15 megatons of TNT (i.e. 1,000 times the power of the Hiroshima or Nagasaki atomoc bombs).

So many people buy that cover-up story.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by Donger

So many people buy that cover-up story.

I know the alien landing ship is very compelling...

[Amnorix]

July 1. Busy day.

1863. The Battle of Gettysburg begins. More about this on a later date.

1870. The United States Department of Justice formally comes into existence.

1881. The first international telephone call is made, between Calais, Maine and St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada.

1898. The Battle of San Juan Hill, the decisive battle of the Spanish-American War, is fought. Future President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt will be nominated for the Medal of Honor for his efforts as a Colonel in leading the volunteer American "Rough Riders" regiment.* It doesn't take him long to leverage his success -- he is soon elected governor of New York, and will join McKinley's ticket and become Vice President in the election of 1900, and then ascend to the Presidency upon McKinley's death in 1901, a scant three years after leading the Rough Riders up the hill. Another man who is involved is Lieutenant John Pershing, who will later become famous as "Black Jack Pershing" leading all American forces in Europe in WWI. Mostly ignored by the press and history is the fact that African-American troops were heavily involved and should have shared heavily in the credit for the victory.

*Interesting side note -- Roosevelt will finally get his Medal of Honor awarded to him, posthumously, in 2001. It was therefore about 103 years between the nomination and award.
　
1916. The first day of the Battle of the Somme (which technically began a week earlier with artillery bombardments commencing) sees 19,000 British Army members killed and another 40,000 wounded -- the first single day combat losses in British military history.

1921. The Communist Party of China is founded. Though technically not a founder, Mao Zedong will be present at the first congress that is convened. Within 30 years, despite (or perhaps to a degree because of) the invasion by and the pacification attempts of Japan, as well as the ardent support of the existing government by the United States, it will seize control of the Chinese government.

1943. Tokyo City merges with Tokyo Prefecture and formally goes out of existence. Since such date, no city in Japan has officially had the name "Tokyo". What we know as Tokyo is not a single city, but rather a collection of 23 cities within a prefecture that includes not only the city itself but two outlying island chains and 39 additional municipalities outside "Tokyo" proper. The prefecture governs 35-39 million people, making it the largest "municipality" by population in the world, as well as the municipality with the greatest purchasing power, with a GDP of approximately US$1.5 trillion as of 2008.

1963. Zip codes are introduced for US mail.

1963. The British government admits that a former high ranking intelligence official, Harold (Kim) Philby, was a Soviet agent.

1987. WFAN radio, the world's first all-sports radio station, begins broadcasting in New York City.

1991. The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved.

[Amnorix]

July 2

1776. The Continental Congress adopts a resolution dissolving all of Colonial America's ties with Great Britain. The exact wording of the formal Declaration of Independence will be adopted two days later. John Adams correctly predicts the festivities to mark the occassion, though he misses the date by two days.
　

Originally Posted by John Adams, in a letter written to his wife, Abigail

The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade with shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

Originally Posted by John Adams, in a letter written to his wife, Abigail

You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these states. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will triumph in that Days Transaction, even although We should rue it, with I trust in God We shall not.

1777. Effective this date, Vermont becomes the first American state to abolish slavery.

1853. The Russian Army crosses the Pruth River, beginning the Crimean War.

1881. Charles J. Guiteau shoots President Garfield who will eventually die of infection on September 19. Delusional in his beliefs that he had been instrumental to Garfield's Presidential victory, Guiteau repeatedly petitions the administration for a job, preferably as ambassador to France. Eventually, Secretary of State James Blaine tells him never to return again. Guiteau, now believing that God has ordained that he kill the ungrateful President, borrows $15 to buy a revolver. He would have preferred one with ivory handles, as he thought it would look better in a museum after the assassination, but he couldn't afford it. Later, he follows the President to the train station where he is seeing his wife off to her vacation on the Jersey shore, but decides not to shoot him then as his wife is in poor health and he does not want to upset her. On this date, he awaits the President at the railway station, where among other things he engages a cab to take him to jail later. President Garfield arrives to take the train to join his wife on the Jersey shore. Guiteau walks up behind Garfield and shoots him twice.
　

Originally Posted by Charles J. Guiteau

"I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts. .. Arthur is President now!!

The wounds are not immediately mortal, and certainly Garfield would have survived with modern medical care. It being 1881, however, Garfield finally succumbs to the last of a number of infections, possibly brought on by his own doctors probing his wounds with unwashed hands and medical instruments.

The case was one of the first high profile cases in the US involving an insanity defense. The prosecutor was unimpressed.

Originally Posted by lead prosecutor George Corkhill

He's no more insane than I am. There's nothing of the mad about Guiteau: he's a cool, calculating blackguard, a polished ruffian, who has gradually prepared himself to pose in this way before the world. He was a deadbeat, pure and simple. Finally, he got tired of the monotony of deadbeating. He wanted excitement of some other kind and notoriety, and he got it.

Guiteau, meanwhile, becomes a media darling at his trial, with numerous random outbursts at the judge, the prosecutors and his own defense team, and occassionally turning around and soliciting legal advice from the gallery via passed notes. He dictating an autobiography for the New York Herald, ending it with a personal ad for a christian woman under 30. He argues to the judge that he isn't responsible for the President's death because "the doctors killed Garfield, I just shot him."

Guiteau is eventually found guilty and hanged. He did, however, survive longer than any other Presidential assassin, only being executed nine months after Garfield's death.
　
1937. Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, are last heard from while flying over the Pacific.

1962. The first Wal-Mart opens in Rogers, Arkansas.

[Amnorix]

July 3

1754. George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity (how's that for an unimaginative name) to the French during the French and Indian Wars.

1775. George Washington takes command of the Continental Army, at Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1863. The Battle of Gettysburg concludes with Pickett's Charge (see next post for more details).

1866. The Battle of Ko****ratz resolves the Austro-Prussian War. The Prussian victory at the battle consolidates Prussian gains, and elevates its power and prestige to the point that within a few years all of Germany, which for many centuries had been an electic mix of autonomous and semi-autonomous sovereignties under the nominal rule of the Holy Roman Emperor will be united.

1884. Dow Jones and Company publishes its first stock average.

1940. Reluctantly, the British Fleet out of Gibraltar fires upon the French Atlantic Fleet which had fled France to keep it out of German hands and was then docked in French North African port of Mers El Kebir (in Algeria). The attack results in the three battleships being sunk, and the deaths of over 1,200 Frenchmen, who until recently were British allies. The British were, rightly, very concerned that the Vichy government would result in the French fleet being turned over to German control. The French, under the arrogant Admiral Darlan, declined more peaceful options and the British therefore fired upon the ships of their recent ally.

Originally Posted by British Admiral Somerville, commanding

It is impossible for us, your comrades up to now, to allow your fine ships to fall into the power of the German enemy. We are determined to fight on until the end, and if we win, as we think we shall, we shall never forget that France was our Ally, that our interests are the same as hers, and that our common enemy is Germany. Should we conquer we solemnly declare that we shall restore the greatness and territory of France. For this purpose we must make sure that the best ships of the French Navy are not used against us by the common foe. In these circumstances, His Majesty's Government have instructed me to demand that the French Fleet now at Mers el Kebir and Oran shall act in accordance with one of the following alternatives; (a) Sail with us and continue the fight until victory against the Germans. (b) Sail with reduced crews under our control to a British port. The reduced crews would be repatriated at the earliest moment. If either of these courses is adopted by you we will restore your ships to France at the conclusion of the war or pay full compensation if they are damaged meanwhile. (c) Alternatively if you feel bound to stipulate that your ships should not be used against the Germans unless they break the Armistice, then sail them with us with reduced crews to some French port in the West Indies — Martinique for instance — where they can be demilitarised to our satisfaction, or perhaps be entrusted to the United States and remain safe until the end of the war, the crews being repatriated. If you refuse these fair offers, I must with profound regret, require you to sink your ships within 6 hours. Finally, failing the above, I have the orders from His Majesty's Government to use whatever force may be necessary to prevent your ships from falling into German hands.

Admiral Somerville would go on to say that he thought it was an immense political blunder and an act of which he was "thoroughly ashamed". Ultimately, however, Churchill's wisdom was the greater, as the actions clearly proved to the world that Britain would continue to fight Nazi Germany, alone if necessary.

[Amnorix]

1863. The Battle of Gettysburg concludes with Pickett's Charge.

As most reading this will be aware, Pickett's Charge is one of the more famous moments in American military history. I won't bother to belabor the entire Gettysburg campaign, which of course has filled volumes. Those interested in exploring the depths of this fascinating battle would be well-advised to read Stephen Sears book.

http://www.amazon.com/Gettysburg-Ste...8681023&sr=1-1


In brief, however:

After nearly two years of inconclusive campaigning back and forth across Northern Virginia and parts of Maryland, Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general commanding the Army of Northern Virginia, after his stunning (and what he perceived to be demoralizing to the Union) victory at Chancellorsville, resolved to take his army over to the offensive and invade the North.

There were a number of reasons for this momentous decision. First, he thought that by threatening a number of Union states and key cities, such as Baltimore, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg and potentially Ohio, he might give strength to the peace movement in the North. Second, Northern Virginia had been the site of years of campaigning, and its farms, lands and inhabitants were depleted and downtrodden. Moving the scene of the action woudl provide better forage for his frequently malnourished army. Third, he was by nature an aggressive commander, and because of the relative numbers of the two armies (the Union Army of the Potomac, which he faced, was at nearly all times anywhere from one-third to one-half as large as his, and often better supplied with ammunition and food), he had been forced to remain on the defensive. He was, without doubt, tired of it, and longed to bring the war to his enemy.

And so he did. Marching up the Shenendoah Valley, he entered Pennsylvania. Soon, completely by accident, more or less, the Union and Confederate armies started gathering at a small and insignificant town called Gettysburg. What started initially as a small skirmish eventually brought bought armies into full contact with each other. By the second day (July 2), the armies were fully assembled. The Northern troops, under the command of General Gordon (Old Snapping Turtle -- see picture below if you wonder why he had that nickname) Meade took some high ground just outside the city, and had defenses laid out roughly in the shape of a fishhook.

An interesting side note here is the effect of the recent death of General Stonewall Jackson on the Confederate actions. On the first day, Union troops took excellent defensive positions on heights south of the town, but were nto there in significant numbers. Both sides recognized their importance, and Lee issued an order to General Ewell, who had previously served under Jackson. Ewell was used to Jackson's peremptory orders, and Lee's orders to "take Cemetary Ridge, if practicable" led Ewell to decide that such an attack was not "practicable" and left the Union in command of the best defensive position in the area. Had they been disloged, the rest of the Battle of Gettysburg would have unfolded very differently.

Repeated heavy assaults on the Union army's flanks were repulsed, including a critical battle on Little Round Top, at the extreme end of the Union line, where Colonel Joshua Chamberlain led his 20th Maine troops in a famous downhill bayonet charge to break the Confederate lines once his men had run out of ammunition. His actions would result in the award of a Medal of Honor, and Chamberlain would go on to continued success in teh Union army, including a battlefield promotion to brigadier general which was given by Grant during the Siege of Petersburg when he was shot through the hip and not expected to live. Grant acted quickly in promoting him, in response to the corps' commander's urgent request.

Originally Posted by General Warren, to General Grant

"He has been recommended for promotion for gallant and efficient conduct on previous occasion and yesterday led his brigade against the enemy under most destructive fire. He expresses the wish that he may receive the recognition of his services by promotion before he dies for the gratification of his family and friends."^[

Chamberlain would recover and return to command. He would be wounded six times during the course of the war, and have six horses shot out from under him. He was selected by Grant to attend the surrender of Confederate troops at Appomatox, and would issue the controversial (at the time) yet gallant order for the Union troops to honor the Confederate soldiers laying down their weapons by saluting their passing ranks.

Back to the main action. On the third day, Lee was clearly frustrated. He was absolutely convinced that, although outnumbered, his was the superior army. His efforts to roll up the Union flanks had been repeatedly thwarted, but only by a hair's edge. His initial plan for the third day was to repeat the attacks on both Federal flanks, but early in the morning the Federals, with heavy artillery support, launched thier own attack on a key position on Culp's Hill, on the Confederate left, which spoiled his plans.

He resolved instead to charge the Union center. His attack would be made by his trusted stalwart General Longstreet's First Corps, led by the Virginia Division of General George Pickett. At around 1:00 p.m., approximately 160 Confederate cannon began firing to softed Union lines, one of the heaviest concentrated artillery bombardments of the war. The Union return cannon fire was sporadic and uninspiring.

And the reason for the Union's response was General Henry Jackson Hunt. A brilliant military commander, Hunt had commanded all Union artillery during early parts of the war, but had been sent to the rear and his artillery dispersed under General Hooker at Chancellorsville, which greatly weakened the Union efforts there and led to their defeat. Now, Hooker was himself relieved, and all Union guns were once again under Hunt's command. Knowing that a charge would soon follow, Hunt conserved his ammunication and his gunner's strength for the key moment. The Confederate salvos went mostly unanaswered.

Short on ammunition, as always, however, the Confederate bombardment did not last long. By 3:00 p.m. the firing subsidied, and 12,500 Confederate troops stepped forward and began a charge of three-quarters of a mile towards Cemetary Ridge, which the Union was defending. As they charged, Hunt's artillery opened up and fierce flanking fire came from all along the Union lines. Amazingly, some Confederates reached Union lines and briefly broke them at a weak defensive spot known forever after as "the Angle". Union reinforcements, however, drove them off and this geographic spot became known as "The High Water Mark of the Confederacy", as it was arguably the closest they ever got to winning the war.

The charge failed. On July 4th, Independence Day, the two armies stared at each other across a rain-soaked and ravaged battlefield with casualties everywhere. That same day, Vicksburg, the "Key to the Mississippi" fell to General Grant. The war was effectively over, though two years more bloodshed needed to be spilled to prove it to the proud and stubborn South.

Late in the afternoon of the 4th, Lee withdrew his army, heading back to Virginia. The two armies suffered nearly 50,000 casualties, or approximately 30% of the forces that had met on the battlefield. Nearly 8,000 were killed outright, and over 3,000 horses. In the July heat, the stench quickly became overwhelming, and the townspeople performed much of the work in burying the dead and burning the horse carcasses.

Despite Lincoln's frantic efforts, Meade refused to follow up his victory closely, and let the Confederate army "escape".

Pickett, a thoroughly mediocre general, would reportedly never forgive Lee for ordering the charge in which over 50% of his division would be rendered casualties. When his surviving men scrabbled back to their lines, Lee ordered him to form his division for defense. He replied, "General Lee, I have no division." According to one source, he would tell friends that "That man destroyed my division." Historians are unable to credit this fully, however, as other reports indicate that when answering why the charge failed, he would reply "I've always thought the Yankees had something to do with it."

Perhaps the most important result of the battle, however, was the breaking of the aura of invincibility that had surrounded Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia.

Originally Posted by Abraham Lincoln, to Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles

"Our army held the war in the hollow of their hand and they would not close it!"^[

General Gordon Meade (Old Snapping Turtle)




Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain



George Pickett

[Donger]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

1940. Reluctantly, the British Fleet out of Gibraltar fires upon the French Atlantic Fleet which had fled France to keep it out of German hands and was then docked in French North African port of Mers El Kebir (in Algeria). The attack results in the three battleships being sunk, and the deaths of over 1,200 Frenchmen, who until recently were British allies. The British were, rightly, very concerned that the Vichy government would result in the French fleet being turned over to German control. The French, under the arrogant Admiral Darlan, declined more peaceful options and the British therefore fired upon the ships of their recent ally.

Reluctantly.

[Sully]

Jeff Bridges is Chamberlain in my head, at this point.