Military History Anniversaries 16 Thru 30 June
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Military History Anniversaries 16 thru 30 June Events in History over the next 15 day period that had U.S. military involvement or impacted in some way on U.S military operations or American interests Jun 16 1832 – Native Americans: Battle of Burr Oak Grove » The Battle is either of two minor battles, or skirmishes, fought during the Black Hawk War in U.S. state of Illinois, in present-day Stephenson County at and near Kellogg's Grove. In the first skirmish, also known as the Battle of Burr Oak Grove, on 16 JUN, Illinois militia forces fought against a band of at least 80 Native Americans. During the battle three militia men under the command of Adam W. Snyder were killed in action. The second battle occurred nine days later when a larger Sauk and Fox band, under the command of Black Hawk, attacked Major John Dement's detachment and killed five militia men. The second battle is known for playing a role in Abraham Lincoln's short career in the Illinois militia. He was part of a relief company sent to the grove on 26 JUN and he helped bury the dead. He made a statement about the incident years later which was recollected in Carl Sandburg's writing, among others. Sources conflict about who actually won the battle; it has been called a "rout" for both sides. The battle was the last on Illinois soil during the Black Hawk War. Jun 16 1861 – Civil War: Battle of Secessionville » A Union attempt to capture Charleston, South Carolina, is thwarted when the Confederates turn back an attack at Secessionville, just south of the city on James Island. In November 1861, Union ships captured Port Royal, South Carolina, which lay about halfway between Charleston and Savannah, Georgia. This gave the Federals an important base from which to mount operations along the southern coast. Before dawn on 16 JUN, Yankee General Henry W. Benham led 9,000 troops onto James Island. Benham had a checkered career as a commander. He helped clear western Virginia of Confederates in the summer of 1861 but was ordered arrested by General William Rosecrans for “unofficer-like neglect of duty” because he was headstrong and critical of leadership. Eventually, he and Rosecrans made amends, and in the spring of 1862 Benham was sent to Port Royal to command the northern district of General David Hunter’s Department of the South. Benham decided to attack the strong fortifications that protected Confederates under the command of General Nathan “Shanks” Evans. But the Rebels’ fortifications were nearly impenetrable. The approach to the fort was across a strip of firm ground bracketed by marshes, which narrowed the ground that the Confederate artillery needed to cover. Only 500 Confederates were inside, but another 1,500 rushed in from Charleston. Benham staged three attacks against the fort, but each failed. The Federals lost nearly 800 men, while the Southerners suffered only 200 losses. 1 | P a g e After the disastrous battle, Union officials began pointing fingers, and Benham was arrested three days later. His superior, Hunter, had ordered no assault without permission. There was disagreement between Benham and his three subordinates over plans to attack. The three later said they had presented objections on the eve of the battle, but an aide to Benham said there had been no such discussion. Benham blamed one of his commanders, Isaac Stephens, for the botched charge. The Judge Advocate General’s Office recommended revocation of Benham’s commission. But the aggressiveness he possessed was in short supply among Union generals in 1862, and the Lincoln administration rescinded the revocation. Benham joined Ulysses S. Grant for the Vicksburg campaign, and he commanded the Army of the Potomac’s engineering brigade during Grant’s Virginia campaign against Robert E. Lee in 1864. Jun 16 1863 – Civil War: Draft Riots Continue To Rock New York City » The draft riots enter their fourth day in New York City in response to the Enrollment Act, which was enacted on March 3, 1863. Although avoiding military service became much more difficult, wealthier citizens could still pay a commutation fee of $300 to stay at home. Irritation with the draft dovetailed with opposition to the Emancipation Proclamation of September 1862, which made abolition of slavery the central goal of the war for the Union. Particularly vocal in their opposition were the Democratic Irish, who felt the war was being forced upon them by Protestant Republicans and feared that emancipation of slaves would jeopardize their jobs. Their fears were confirmed when black laborers replaced striking Irish dock workers the month before the riots. Discontent simmered until the draft began among the Irish New Yorkers on July 11. Two days later, a mob burned the draft office, triggering nearly five days of violence. At first, the targets included local newspapers, wealthy homes, well-dressed men, and police officers, but the crowd’s attention soon turned to African Americans. Several blacks were lynched, and businesses employing blacks were burned. A black orphanage was also burned, but the children escaped. Not until 17 JUL was the violence contained by the arrival of Union troops, some fresh from the battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. More than 1,000 people died and property damage topped $2 million. The draft was temporarily suspended, and a revised conscription began in August. As a result of the riots and the delicate political balance in the city, relatively few New Yorkers were forced to serve in the Union army. 2 | P a g e Jun 16 1864 – Civil War: Skirmish at Mud Creek, GA (16-18 Jun) » During the Atlanta campaign while the eastern armies were busy flanking each other around Richmond and Petersburg, Confederate General William Walker’s Division of Hardee’s Corps was being driven back through drenching thunderstorms and crossed Mud Creek on the night of June 16, 1864. The following morning, the 97th Ohio and the 28th Kentucky pressed the Confederates, captured their skirmish line and held the position through the night. The morning on18 JUN began with a driving rainstorm and the 26th Ohio, 57th Indiana, and 100th Illinois relieved the 97th Ohio and 28th Kentucky and prepared to move forward. Their commander, Colonel Frederick Bartleson, who had lost an arm at Chickamauga and had recently been released from Libby Prison, ordered them forward. The regiments crossed two swollen creeks and took the Confederate works, captured many prisoners, and pushed back the main Confederate. The Federals were then able to bring fresh regiments forward to Bartleson’s position where Federal artillery were able to enfilade the Confederate lines. The next morning, Johnston ordered his army back toward the defenses on Kennesaw Mountain. Jun 16 1941 – WW2 Era: U.S. State Dept. orders the closure of all German & Italian consular & tourist offices in the US (by July 10th). Jun 16 1945 – WW2: Atom Bomb Successfully Tested » The Manhattan Project comes to an explosive end as the first atom bomb is successfully tested in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Plans for the creation of a uranium bomb by the Allies were established as early as 1939, when Italian emigre physicist Enrico Fermi met with U.S. Navy department officials at Columbia University to discuss the use of fissionable materials for military purposes. That same year, Albert Einstein wrote to President Franklin Roosevelt supporting the theory that an uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction had great potential as a basis for a weapon of mass destruction. In February 1940, the federal government granted a total of $6,000 for research. But in early 1942, with the United States now at war with the Axis powers, and fear mounting that Germany was working on its own uranium bomb, the War Department took a more active interest, and limits on resources for the project were removed. Brigadier-General Leslie R. Groves, himself an engineer, was now in complete charge of a project to assemble the greatest minds in science and discover how to harness the power of the atom as a means of bringing the war to a decisive end. The Manhattan Project (so-called because of where the research began) would wind its way through many locations during the early period of theoretical exploration, most importantly, the University of Chicago, where Enrico Fermi successfully set off the first fission chain reaction. But the Project took final form in the desert of New Mexico, where, in 1943, Robert J. Oppenheimer began directing Project Y at a laboratory at Los Alamos, along with such minds as Hans 3 | P a g e Bethe, Edward Teller, and Fermi. Here theory and practice came together, as the problems of achieving critical mass-a nuclear explosion-and the construction of a deliverable bomb were worked out. Finally, on the morning of 16 JUL in the New Mexico desert120 miles south of Santa Fe, the first atomic bomb was detonated. The scientists and a few dignitaries had removed themselves 10,000 yards away to observe as the first mushroom cloud of searing light stretched 40,000 feet into the air and generated the destructive power of 15,000 to 20,000 tons of TNT. The tower on which the bomb sat when detonated was vaporized. The question now became-on whom was the bomb to be dropped? Germany was the original target, but the Germans had already surrendered. The only belligerent remaining was Japan. A footnote: The original $6,000 budget for the Manhattan Project finally ballooned to a total cost of $2 billion. Jun 16 1965 – Vietnam War: Mcnamara Visits South Vietnam » Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara conducts a fact-finding mission in South Vietnam, and Henry Cabot Lodge arrives in Saigon to resume his post as ambassador.