Military History Anniversaries 1 thru 15 July 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 JUL 00 1940 – U.S. Army: 1st Airborne Unit » In 1930, the U.S. Army experimented with the concept of parachuting three-man heavy-machine-gun teams. Nothing came of these early experiments. The first U.S. airborne unit began as a test platoon formed from part of the 29th Infantry Regiment, in July 1940. The platoon leader was 1st Lieutenant William T. Ryder, who made the first jump on August 16, 1940 at Lawson Field, Fort Benning, Georgia from a B-18 Bomber. He was immediately followed by Private William N. King, the first enlisted soldier to make a parachute jump. Although airborne units were not popular with the top U.S. Armed Forces commanders, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sponsored the concept, and Major General William C. Lee organized the first paratroop platoon. On a tour of Europe he had first observed the revolutionary new German airborne forces which he believed the U.S. Army should adopt. This led to the Provisional Parachute Group, and then the United States Army Airborne Command. General Lee was the first commander at the new parachute school at Fort Benning, in west-central Georgia. The U.S. Armed Forces regards Major General William C. Lee as the father of the Airborne. The first U.S. combat jump was near Oran, Algeria, in North Africa on November 8, 1942, conducted by elements of the 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Tragically, he would never see his hard work and planning come to fruition. On February 4, 1944 he suffered a heart attack and would never see his "Screaming Eagles" jump into Normandy. In his honor, the soldiers of the 101st Airborne shouted "Bill Lee" instead of Geronimo as they dropped from planes onto the beaches of Normandy. Jul 01 1775 – Native Americans: Congress Resolves to Forge Indian Alliances » The Continental Congress resolves to recruit Indian nations to the American side in their dispute with the British, should the British take native allies of their own. The motion read: “That in case any Agent of the ministry, shall induce the Indian tribes, or any of them to commit actual hostilities against these colonies, or to enter into an offensive Alliance with the British troops, thereupon the colonies ought to avail themselves of an Alliance with such Indian Nations as will enter into the same, to oppose such British troops and their Indian Allies.” Few “such Indians Nations” saw any advantage to joining the Patriot cause. Rather, they saw Great Britain as their last defense against the encroaching land-hungry European settlers into their ancestral territory. Racist settlers managed to undermine any residual trust remaining in the Native American population during the revolution by committing atrocities such as the massacre of neutral, Christian 1 | P a g e Indian women and children at prayer in Gnaddenhutten, Pennsylvania, in 1778. In another example, a Continental officer undermined his own cause with the murder of Cornplanter, a Shawnee leader and Patriot ally, in 1777. Cornplanter At the close of the War for Independence, the Patriots’ few Indian allies received worse treatment at the hands of their supposed allies than natives who had sided with Britain. Having promised Continental soldiers land in return for their service, Congress seized land from its Indian allies in order to cede it to officers on the verge of mutiny in 1783. Jul 01 1782 – American Revolution: Raid on Lunenburg, Nova Scotia » Occurred when the U.S. privateer, Captain Noah Stoddard of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and four other privateer vessels attacked the British settlement at Lunenburg. In Nova Scotia, Canada the assault was the most spectacular raid of the war and the last major privateer attack on a Nova Scotia community. Lunenburg was defended by militia leaders Colonel John Creighton and Major Dettlieb Christopher Jessen. On the morning of 1 JUL Stoddard led approximately 170 US privateers in four heavily armed vessels and overpowered Lunenburg’s defense, capturing the blockhouses and burning Creighton's home and filling Jessen's house with bullets holes. The privateers then looted the settlement and kept the militia at bay with the threat of destroying the entire town. The American privateers plundered the town and took three prisoners, including Creighton, who were later released from Boston without a ransom having been paid. Jul 01 1862 – Civil War: Battle of Booneville, MS » Occurred in the aftermath of the Union victory at the Battle of Shiloh and within the context of Confederate General Braxton Bragg's efforts to recapture the rail junction at Corinth, Mississippi, 20 miles north of Booneville. After the Union Army victory at Shiloh, Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck moved his forces slowly toward Corinth, an important rail center. By 25 MAY after traveling 5 miles in three weeks, Halleck was positioned to lay siege to the town. But on 29 MAY, the Confederate forces under General P.G.T. 2 | P a g e Beauregard slipped away undetected and moved toward Tupelo, Mississippi. In late June, Halleck ordered his forces south and learned that the Confederates, by then under Bragg, were advancing toward Corinth. The 31-year-old Union Col. Philip Sheridan established a fortified position to the south at Booneville on 28 JUN to await the Confederate attack. Lead elements of 4,700 troops under the Confederate Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers encountered Sheridan's pickets on the morning of 1 JUL, three and 1.8 miles to the southwest of Corinth. The pickets fell back and established a sound defensive line at the intersection of the roads from Tupelo and Saltillo. Aided by the superiority of their new Colt revolving rifles, the line withstood the initial Confederate assault before withdrawing to a backup position 2 miles closer to the town. Chalmers' effort to turn the left flank of this new line was thwarted when Sheridan's main force joined the battle. The bulk of the Union force stayed on the defensive while Sheridan sent the 2nd Michigan Cavalry under Capt. Russell Alexander and the 2nd Iowa Cavalry under Lt. Col. Edward Hatch to attack the Confederate rear and left flank, respectively. The cavalry forces pushed Chalmers to retreat and Sheridan called off the pursuit after 4 miles when his fatigued troops encountered swampy terrain. Sheridan estimated that Chalmers lost 65 troops killed in the battle; Federal casualties were one dead, 24 wounded, and 16 missing. Due to the battle, Bragg delayed his offensive strategy for Corinth, allowing Halleck additional time to unite his troops. Jul 01 1862 – Civil War: The Battle of Malvern Hill [Poindexter's Farm], Virginia » The final battle in the Seven Days Campaign, part of George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign. It was fought between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, led by Robert E. Lee, and the Union Army of the Potomac under George B. McClellan. He was not present for the initial exchanges of the battle, having boarded the ironclad USS Galena and sailed down the James River to inspect Harrison's Landing, where he intended to locate the base for his army. Confederate preparations were hindered by several mishaps. Bad maps and faulty guides caused Confederate Maj. Gen. John Magruder to be late for the battle, an excess of caution delayed Maj. Gen. Benjamin Huger, and Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson had problems collecting the Confederate artillery. The battle took place on the 130-foot elevation of Malvern Hill, near the Confederate capital of Richmond. Including inactive reserves, more than 50,000 soldiers from each side took part, using more than 200 pieces of artillery. The Union's V Corps, commanded by Fitz John Porter, took up positions on the hill on 30 JUN. The battle occurred in stages: over the course of four hours a series of blunders in planning and communication caused Lee's forces to launch three failed frontal infantry assaults across hundreds of yards of open ground, unsupported by Confederate artillery, charging toward strongly entrenched Union infantry and artillery. These errors provided Union forces with an opportunity to inflict heavy casualties. In each phase, the effectiveness of the Federal artillery was the deciding factor, repulsing attack after attack, resulting in a tactical Union victory. After the battle, McClellan and his forces withdrew from Malvern Hill to Harrison's Landing, where he remained until 16 AUG. His plan to capture Richmond had been thwarted in the course of four hours. In the aftermath of the battle, however, the Confederate press heralded Lee as the savior of Richmond. In stark contrast, McClellan was accused of being absent from the battlefield, a harsh criticism that haunted him when he ran for president in 1864. Casualties and losses: US 2,100 - CSA 5,650. 3 | P a g e Jul 01 1863 – Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg Begins » The largest military conflict in North American history begins this day when Union and Confederate forces collide at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The epic battle lasted three days and resulted in a retreat to Virginia by Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia ending his northward advancement. Two months prior to Gettysburg, Lee had dealt a stunning defeat to the Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville, Virginia. He then made plans for a Northern invasion in order to relieve pressure on war-weary Virginia and to seize the initiative from the Yankees. His army, numbering about 80,000, began moving on June 3. The Army of the Potomac, commanded by Joseph Hooker and numbering just under 100,000, began moving shortly thereafter, staying between Lee and Washington, D.C.