Tag: military history
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After a 34-hour barrage by Confederate cannons, Union forces relinquish Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor, thus starting the American Civil War. April 13, 1861
Image: Bombardment of Fort Sumter, a portrait by Currier and Ives On this day in history, April 13, 1861, after a 34-hour barrage by Confederate cannons, Union forces relinquish Fort Sumter in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor. The first engagement of the war was over, and the only casualty had been a rebel horse. The Union…
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The Bombing of Dresden, February 13, 1945.
Image: Dresden viewed from the Rathaus (city hall) in 1945, showing destruction. (Public Domain) On this day in history, February 13, 1945, over 800 Royal Air Force Lancaster’s descended on Dresden, Germany, “the Florence of the Elbe,” and with its lethal cargo, turned the city into a raging inferno killing approximately 25,000 innocent people and completely flattening…
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General George S. Patton, Commanding Officer of the U.S. 15th Army, Died From Wounds Suffered Not in Battle but in an Odd Car Accident. He was 60 years old. At 5:55 p.m. on December 21, 1945, Patton Passed Away in His Sleep.
Image: Major General Walter M. Robertson (back seat), commanding the 2nd Infantry Division, with Lieutenant General Patton pass in review of elements of Patton’s Third Army in April 1944, prior to the Normandy invasion in June. (Public Domain) On this day in history, General George S. Patton, commanding officer of the U.S. 15th Army, died…
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The Battle of Passchendaele (Also Known as the Third Battle of Ypres) Ended on November 6, 1917, with a Hard-Won Victory by British and Canadian Soldiers at the Belgian Village of Passchendaele. November 6, 1917.
Image: Soldiers of an Australian 4th Division field artillery brigade on a duckboard track passing through Chateau Wood, near Hooge in the Ypres salient, 29 October 1917. (Public Domain) On this day in history, November 6, 1917, after more than three months of vicious combat, the Battle of Passchendaele (also known as the Third Battle…
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Prisoners Of War Throughout History
When Everett Alvarez Jr. signed up for the U.S. Air Force in 1960, he didn’t imagine that he would become the first and nearly longest-held American prisoner of war in Vietnam; he just wanted to fly. Alvarez, the son of two poor Mexican immigrants, had just graduated as an engineer from Santa Clara University and…
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British and Indigenous Forces Under Sir Isaac Brock Conquered an American Army at the Battle of Queenstown Heights on the Niagara Frontier in Ontario, Canada. October 13, 1812.
Image: The death of General Brock at the Battle of Queenston Heights by John David Kelly (1862 – 1958) published 1896. (Public Domain) On this day in history, October 13, 1812, British and Indigenous forces under Sir Isaac Brock conquered an American Army at the Battle of Queenstown Heights on the Niagara frontier in Ontario,…
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Edith Cavell, a British Nurse Employed in Belgium, Was Executed by the Germans After Being Found Guilty of Assisting over 200 Allied Soldiers to Escape to England. October 12, 1915.
Image: The Execution of Edith Cavell (Public Domain) On this day in history, October 12, 1915, in the early morning hours, Edith Cavell, a British nurse employed in Belgium, was executed by the Germans after being found guilty of assisting over 200 Allied soldiers to escape to England. During her trial, she admitted openly to…
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The South African Boer War Began Involving Britain and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State. October 11, 1899.
Image: Clockwise from left: Frederick Roberts entering in Kimberley; Boer militia at the Battle of Spion Kop; Boer women and children in a British concentration camp. (Public Domain) On this day in history, October 11, 1899, the Second South African Boer War began involving Britain and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State.…
History Daily With Francis Chappell Black 