Today in 1775, on the outskirts of Quebec, Canada

Patriot forces under generals Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery are defeated by the British defenders of the city of Quebec in Canada during the American Revolution.

Attacking a fortified Canadian city in the middle of winter was not the best plan

On December 2, Arnold and Montgomery met on the outskirts of Quebec and demanded the surrender of the city. Governor Sir Guy Carleton rejected their demand, and on December 9 the Patriots commenced a bombardment of Quebec, which was met by a counterbattery by the British defenders that disabled several of the Patriots’ guns.

Soldiers battled the elements as well as one another

At approximately 4 a.m. on December 31, the Patriot forces advanced on the city under the cover of a blizzard. The British defenders were ready, however, and when Montgomery’s forces came within 50 yards of the fortified city they opened fire with a barrage of artillery and musket fire. Montgomery was killed in the first assault, and, after several more attempts at penetrating Quebec’s defenses, his men were forced into retreat. Meanwhile, Arnold’s division suffered a similar fate during their attack of the northern wall of the city. A two-gun battery opened fire on the advancing Americans, killing a number of Americans and wounding Benedict Arnold in the leg. Patriot Daniel Morgan assumed command, made progress against the defenders, but halted at the second wall of fortifications to wait for reinforcements.

By the time the rest of Arnold’s army finally arrived, the British had reorganized and the attack was called off. Of the 900 Americans who participated in the siege, 60 were killed and wounded and more than 400 were captured. The remaining Patriot forces then retreated from the invasion of Canada. As the Americans crossed the St. Lawrence River to safety, Benedict Arnold remained in Canadian territory until the last of his soldiers had escaped. With the pursuing British forces almost in firing range, Arnold checked one last time to make sure all his men had escaped. He then shot his horse and fled down the St. Lawrence in a canoe.

American General Benedict Arnold

Less than five years later, Benedict Arnold, as commander of West Point, famously became a traitor when he agreed to surrender the important Hudson River fort to the British for a bribe of ý20,000. The plot was uncovered after British spy John Andrý was captured with incriminating papers, forcing Arnold to flee to British protection and join in their fight against the country that he once so valiantly served.

[December 31, 1775]

Today in 1862, off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina

The U.S.S. Monitor sank in a storm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Just nine months earlier, the ship had been part of a revolution in naval warfare when the ironclad dueled to a standstill with the C.S.S. Virginia (Merrimack) off Hampton Roads, Virginia, in one of the most famous naval battles in American history.  It was the first time two ironclads had faced each other in a naval engagement (and fought to a standstill).

U.S.S. Monitor battles C.S.S. Virginia near Hampton Roads, Virginia

After the famous duel, the Monitor provided gun support on the James River for George B. McClellan's Peninsular Campaign, but by December 1862, it was clear the Monitor was no longer needed in Virginia. So she was ordered to Beaufort, North Carolina, to join a fleet being assembled for an attack on Charleston, South Carolina. However, the reassignment required that she be moved through open ocean waters and even though the Monitor served well in the sheltered waters of Chesapeake Bay, the heavy, low-slung ship was not built as an ocean-going warship.

At the best of times, the waters around Cape Hateras are considered rough and in the month of December they are exceedingly so. The U.S. Navy recognized the Monitor would be unable to steam to South Carolina under her own power so the U.S.S. Rhode Island was assigned to tow the ironclad instead.  During the towing operation, rough seas caused the Monitor to pitch and sway so much that the caulking around the gun turret loosened and water began to leak into the hull.  High seas tossed the ship onto heavier and heavier waves with each series increasing the number of leaks and eventually overpowering the onboard pumps.  By nightfall on December 30, the Monitor was in dire straits.

Monitor flounders in high seas while being towed to South Carolina

The Monitor's commander, J.P. Bankhead, signaled the Rhode Island that he wished to abandon ship. The wooden side-wheeler pulled as close as safety allowed to the stricken ironclad, and two lifeboats were lowered to retrieve the crew, many of whom were rescued.  But, when the Monitor’s pumps stopped working altogether, the ironclad quickly sank, entombing sixteen of her crew.   

Recovery of Monitor's  turret and Dahlgren guns

The wreck of the Monitor was discovered in 1973, 111 years after her sinking, and numerous artifacts, including the ship’s distinctive turret, propeller, and massive Dahlgren guns have been recovered.  They are now on display (and being studied) in the Monitor Center at The Mariner’s Museum in Virginia.  The remains of the crewmen that were recovered were interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

[December 30, 1862]

Today in 1890, near Wounded Knee Creek, South Dakota

The U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment, the same regiment that had been commanded by George Custer years before, massacred about 300 captive Native American men, women and children.

U.S. Cavalry officers during the "Indian Wars"

The preceding day, a detachment of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment commanded by Major Samuel M. Whitside intercepted Spotted Elk's band of Miniconjou Lakota and 38 Hunkpapa Lakota near Porcupine Butte and escorted them five miles westward (8 km) to Wounded Knee Creek, where they made camp on the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.  Shortly thereafter, the remainder of the 7th Cavalry Regiment arrived, led by Colonel James W. Forsyth and surrounded the encampment supported by four Hotchkiss guns.

Aftermath of the massacre.

Joined by other Indian tribes, the Lakotas had been participating in a series of “Ghost Dance” rituals which they believed would raise their own dead and lead them to new hunting grounds.  Unfortunately, this concerned European settlers in the area and they had asked for protection from U.S. forces.

Lakota elders consecrating their hunting grounds

On the morning of December 29, the troops went into the camp to disarm the Lakota and to take their leaders into custody, but events quickly got out of control.  According to a popular version of what led to the tragedy, a deaf Lakota named Black Coyote was reluctant to give up his rifle, claiming he had paid a lot for it.  A scuffle over Black Coyote's rifle escalated and a shot was fired which resulted in the 7th Cavalry's opening fire indiscriminately from all sides, killing men, women, and children, as well as some of their own fellow soldiers. The Lakota warriors who still had weapons began shooting back at the attacking soldiers, who quickly suppressed the Lakota fire. The surviving Lakota fled, but U.S. cavalrymen pursued and killed many who were unarmed.

By the time it was over, more than 200 men, women, and children of the Lakota had been killed and 51 were wounded (4 men, 47 women and children, some of whom died later); Twenty-five soldiers also died, and 39 were wounded (6 of the wounded would later die).  This massacre marked the last showdown between Native Americans and the United States Army.

The site of the battlefield has been designated a National Historic Landmark.

[December 29, 1890]

Today in 1982, in the Port of Long Beach, California,

The USS New Jersey (BB-62) was pulled out of the mothball fleet, refurbished and updated, and recommissioned into the US Navy to provide support for US air and ground forces in Beirut, Lebanon.
 

 

Referred to by her crew as the “Big J” and built at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and launched December 7, 1942, just a year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the New Jersey was actually the second ship to be called “NEW JERSEY”, the first being BB16, a turn of the century (19th century) battleship. The first Battleship New Jersey (BB-16) was a Virginia class pre-dreadnought that served from 1906 until she was sunk as a bombing target in 1922. She sailed with the Great White Fleet and served her country in World War I as a training vessel.

During World War II, the New Jersey shelled targets on Guam and Okinawa, and screened aircraft carriers conducting raids in the Marshall Islands. During the Korean War, she was involved in raids up and down the North Korean coast, after which she was decommissioned into the United States Navy reserve fleets, better known as the "mothball fleet". She was briefly reactivated in 1968 and sent to Vietnam to support US troops before returning to the mothball fleet in 1969. Reactivated once more in the 1980s as part of the 600-ship Navy program, New Jersey was modernized to carry missiles and recommissioned for service. In 1983, she participated in US operations during the Lebanese Civil War.
 

The New Jersey was decommissioned on February 8, 1991 in Long Beach, California and later towed to Bremerton, Washington where she resided until heading home to New Jersey. She was officially stricken from the Navy list on February 12,1995 but was then ordered reinstated by an order of congress as a mobilization asset under Bill 1024 section 1011.

On January 4, 1999, the New Jersey was again stricken from the Navy list and IOWA replaced her as a mobilization asset.
 

 

On September 12, 1999, the New Jersey began her Final Voyage home from Bremerton, where she had rested in mothballs for the last 8 years. On November 11th, she arrived at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Since that time, she has been restored, opened and established as an educational museum and a tribute to the brave sailors who served on her during her long and distinguished career.

The Battleship New Jersey opened as a Museum and Memorial in October 2001 and may be visited throughout the year.  She sits permanently at anchor in the river waters across from the city of Philadelphia.

[December 28, 1982]

Today in 1950, on the Korean Peninsula

Lieutenant General Mathew B. Ridgway took command of defeated, demoralized, and retreating U.N. ground forces during a critical time in the Korean War.

An aggressive leader, Ridgway removed defeatists and the defensive-minded and he rewarded officers who were aggressive and conducted offensive operations when able. Halting the Chinese at the battles of Chipyong-ni and Wonju in February, Ridgway mounted a counter-offensive the following month and re-took Seoul. In April 1951, after several major disagreements, President Harry S. Truman relieved MacArthur and replaced him with Ridgway. Promoted to general, he oversaw UN forces and served as military governor of Japan. Over the next year, Ridgway slowly pushed back the North Koreans and Chinese with the goal of re-taking all of the Republic of Korea's territory. He also oversaw the restoration of Japan's sovereignty and independence on April 28, 1952.

In May 1952, Ridgway left Korea to succeed General Dwight D. Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe for the newly formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 

[December 27, 1950]

Today in 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey,

The British suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War. 

After crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey in cold, blustery weather, General George Washington led a surprise attack on Hessian mercenaries in the streets of Trenton that caught most of the 1,200 Hessian soldiers in the city sleeping after a day of Christmas celebration.   Washington’s army numbered nearly 2,400 soldiers and was commanded by Major Generals John Sullivan and Nathanael Greene. The Hessian army led by Colonel Johann Rall, included three regiments of Hessian troops totaling around 1,400 troops with a small British unit called the 16th Dragoons.

Gen. Washington and the American Army march to Trenton

Attacking from both the north and the south side of town, tThe American army took total control of the battle. All three Hessian regiments were isolated and were not able to coordinate. American soldiers took cover in houses and from there, fired freely. During the battle, Colonel Rall was fatally wounded. The Hessian troops were completely surrounded and were forced to surrender. Hessians suffered significant losses with 22 dead, 83 wounded, and nearly 1,100 troops captured along with 6 cannons. Americans only suffered 2 dead and 5 wounded.

Hessian forces were caught completely off guard

Despite the success, Washington dropped the plan to advance further to Princeton and New Brunswick. After the battle, Washington and his troops moved back to Pennsylvania by crossing Delaware, taking back prisoners and captured supplies. This battle, despite its small scale, did wonders to the confidence level of Continental Army. They believed that they could defeat the European army, even after Hessians instilled fear in them during the battle of Long Island. It led to increased enlistment into the army.

British General Howe was surprised by the ease with which Americans won against Hessian troops. With the increased confidence of the Americans, the colonial effort was enthused and the morale advantage of British army was neutralized.

[December 26, 1776]

Today in 1972, in the skies above Hanoi,

After a 36-hour respite for Christmas, the U.S. forces in South Vietnam resumed Operation Linebacker II.  The extensive bombing campaign was resumed because, according to U.S. officials, Hanoi sent no word that it would return to the peace talks.

 

On December 13, North Vietnamese negotiators walked out of secret talks in Paris with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger. President Nixon issued an ultimatum that North Vietnam send its representatives back to the conference table within 72 hours “or else.” The North Vietnamese rejected Nixon’s demand and the president ordered Operation Linebacker II, a full-scale air campaign against the Hanoi area that began on December 18.

 

During the 11 days of Linebacker II, 700 B-52 sorties and more than 1,000 fighter-bomber sorties dropped an estimated 20,000 tons of bombs on North Vietnam–half the total tonnage of bombs dropped on England during World War II. Also on this day: U.S. headquarters in Saigon announces that American military strength in South Vietnam was reduced by 700 men during the previous week. The reduction brought the total U.S. forces in South Vietnam to 24,000, the lowest in almost eight years.

[December 25, 1972]

Merry Christmas from Military Minute

Hoping your holidays are bright from Military Minute

Today in 1955, in Colorado Springs, Colorado

NORAD (the “North American Air Defense Command”) began tracking Santa for the first time in what would become an annual Christmas Eve tradition.

Operation Track Santa

The program began  when a Sears department store placed an advertisement in a Colorado Springs newspaper which told children that they could telephone Santa Claus and included a number for them to call. However, the telephone number printed was misprinted and calls instead came through to Colorado Springs’ Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD) Center. Colonel Harry Shoup, who was on duty that night, told his staff to give all children who called in a “current location” for Santa Claus. This began a tradition which continued when NORAD replaced CONAD in 1958.

 

Today, NORAD relies on volunteers to make the program possible and it incorporates Web-based and mobile versions.  But, it’s the telephone volunteers who make it come to life. Each volunteer handles about forty telephone calls per hour, and the team typically handles more than 12,000 e-mails and more than 70,000 telephone calls from more than two hundred countries and territories. Most of these contacts happen during the twenty-five hours from 2 a.m. on December 24 until 3 a.m. MST on December 25. The volunteers include NORAD military and civilian personnel.

[December 24, 1955]

Today in 1814, in Ghent, Belgium

Representatives of the British Empire and the United States of America signed the Treaty of Peace and Amity thereby ending the War of 1812. By terms of the treaty, all conquered territory was to be returned by both sides and special commissions were planned to settle the boundary of the United States and Canada.

Belgian postage stamp commemorating the treaty

The two sides had battled, primarily on the North American continent, since June 1812 when the newly-minted United States declared war against Great Britain in reaction to three issues:

(1)  the British economic blockade of France,

(2)  the induction of thousands of neutral American seamen into the British Royal Navy against their will, and

(3)  the British support of hostile Indian tribes along the Great Lakes frontier.

Larger, less defined war aims included the capture and annexation of Canada, but this was never really well defined or realistically attainable and each invasion of Canada by US forces was repulsed.  However, US naval forces did enjoyed considerable success against British forces on the open sea as well as on the Great lakes, including critical victories by the USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”) and other American frigates, convincing the British that the Americans were serious.  In fact, the American victory in the Battle of Plattsburg Bay on Lake Champlain led to the conclusion of U.S.-British peace negotiations in Belgium.

British regulars storm the American ramparts south of New Orleans

In an unusual postmortem, news of the treaty took almost two months to cross the Atlantic, and British forces were not informed of the end of hostilities in time to end their drive against the mouth of the Mississippi River. On January 8, 1815, a large British army attacked New Orleans and was decimated by an inferior American force under General Andrew Jackson in the most spectacular U.S. victory of the war.

[December 23, 1814]

Today in 1948, in Tokyo Japan

Former Japanese premier and chief of the Kwantung Army, Hideki Tojo was executed by hanging with six other top Japanese leaders for their war crimes during World War II.  He was adjudged guilty and sentenced by the International Tribunal for the Far East more than three years after the end of hostilities.  The seven defendants were also found guilty of committing crimes against humanity in regard to their systematic genocide of the Chinese people.

On November 12, death sentences were imposed on Tojo and the six other principals, such as Iwane Matsui, who organized the Rape of Nanking, and Heitaro Kimura, who brutalized Allied prisoners of war. The Tokyo trials leading to the death sentences featured a single chief prosecutor, American Joseph B. Keenan (a former assistant to the U.S. attorney general), but other nations, especially China, contributed to the proceedings, and Australian judge William Flood Webb presided.  Additionally, various tribunals sitting outside Japan judged some 5,000 Japanese guilty of war crimes and more than 900 of those were executed.

Hideki Tojo

Tojo had been a general of the Imperial Japanese Army, the leader of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, and the 40th Prime Minister of Japan during much of World War II (October 17, 1941 to July 22, 1944). As Prime Minister, he was directly responsible for the attack on Pearl Harbor, which initiated war between Japan and the United States.

[December 23, 1948]

 

Today in 1965, in the skies over Vietnam

The EF-105F Wild Weasel made its first kill in the Vietnam War. 

Republic EF-105F Thunderchief (aka "Thud")

The EF-105F was a variation on the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, a supersonic fighter-bomber used by the United States Air Force capable of achieving Mach 2.  Originally designed as a single-seat, nuclear-attack aircraft, the F-105, or “Thud” as it was affectionately known by pilots, conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War and it was the only U.S. aircraft to be removed from combat due to high loss rates.  The Wild Weasel version was a two-seater later developed for the specialized Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role against surface-to-air missile sites.

F-105's and F-4's during refueling oepration

In Vietnam, the single-seat F-105D was the primary aircraft delivering the heavy bomb loads against the various military targets. The F-105F and F-105G Wild Weasel variants became the first dedicated Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) platforms, fighting against the Soviet-built S-75 Dvina (NATO reporting name: SA-2 Guideline) surface-to-air missiles. In fact, two Wild Weasel pilots were awarded the Medal of Honor for attacking North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile sites, with one shooting down two MiG-17s the same day. The dangerous missions often required them to be the "first in, last out", suppressing enemy air defenses while strike aircraft accomplished their missions and then left the area.

During the Vietnam War, over 20,000 Thunderchief sorties were flown, with 382 aircraft lost including 62 operational (non-combat) losses (out of the 833 produced), and tthey were credited with 27.5 kills.  The Thud was later replaced as a strike aircraft over North Vietnam by both the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and the swing-wing General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark. However, the "Wild Weasel" variants of the F-105 remained in service until 1984 when they were replaced by the specialized F-4G "Wild Weasel V."

[December 22, 1965]

Today in 1944, near Bastogne, Belgium

Six days in to what later became known as the “Battle of the Bulge,” attacking German forces called for the surrender of encircled U.S. forces, and General Anthony McAuliffe responded with a one word answer: "Nuts!"

General McAuliffe famously replied, "Nuts!"

On December 16, 1944, the Germans had launched their largest offensive of the war on the Western Front with the dual goals of (1) capturing the Belgian port of Antwerp and (2) driving a wedge between the British and American armies. The town of Bastogne is strategically located at the center of the road network of within the Ardennes Forest and the Germans referred to it as a "road octopus" since the most roads in the area pass through the town. Without its early capture, the offensive would be doomed to failure. Of course, the Allies also realized Bastogne’s importance and General Eisenhower dispatched the 101st Airborne Division to hold the town at all costs.

The Germans enjoyed initial success

Once Bastogne was encircled, the local German commander sought a surrender, ostensibly to minimize further bloodshed but also intended to place the strategic town under German control,  and sent an emissary with the following message,


To the U.S.A. Commander of the encircled town of Bastogne.

The fortune of war is changing. This time the U.S.A. forces in and near Bastogne have been encircled by strong German armored units. More German armored units have crossed the river Our near Ortheuville, have taken Marche and reached St. Hubert by passing through Hompre-Sibret-Tillet. Libramont is in German hands.

There is only one possibility to save the encircled U.S.A. troops from total annihilation: that is the honorable surrender of the encircled town. In order to think it over a term of two hours will be granted beginning with the presentation of this note.

If this proposal should be rejected one German Artillery Corps and six heavy A. A. Battalions are ready to annihilate the U.S.A. troops in and near Bastogne. The order for firing will be given immediately after this two hours' term.

All the serious civilian losses caused by this artillery fire would not correspond with the well-known American humanity.

- The German Commander.

 

The ultimatum made it up the American chain of command until it reached General McAuliffe who sent back the following message,
 

To the German Commander,

Nuts!

- The American Commander.
 

American troops defending the line

The German offensive eventually failed due largely to American resistance around St. Vith, on the northern shoulder of the Bulge, and by American forces holding Bastogne on the southern shoulder of the Bulge. American forces held out until relieved by units of General Patton’s Third Army driving north.

Machine Gun America opens in Central Florida

Americans love their guns, especially their machine guns, and many are willing to pay a steep price for the privilege of firing off a few bursts with guns they’ve only ever seen on television and in the movies.  For years, tourists from the U.S. and abroad, especially Europeans, Japanese, and other Asians, have traveled to Hawaii and to Las Vegas, Nevada where machine gun shops are thriving.  They pay good money for the chance to fire AK-47’2, M-4’s, and even monsters like the M-249 SAW, and to do so on full auto.  The experience is not one to be forgotten.


Who wouldn't want the chance to fire a few rounds through a machine gun?

Never a place to be outdone, entrepreneurs in central Florida have opened Machine Gun America, an attraction that is being billed as Central Florida’s “first Automatic Adrenaline Attraction.  Located in a strip mall on U.S. Highway 192, the new attraction allows visitors to fire machine guns and other firearms in a variety of themed environments, from "007" to "Western shootout" to "Gangster Land."  Of course, the zombie themed environment has proven especially popular with fans of “The Walking Dead” television series.

The unassuming location of Florida's new Machine Gun America

Firing ranges are not uncommon and can be found in most major metropolitan areas.  But, Machine Gun America has taken the shooting range experience to a whole other level. Pre-registration is available at www.machinegunamerica.com and "live fire" experiences start at $99, with electronic simulations starting at $30.

Today in 1864, in Savannah, Georgia

General William Tecumseh Sherman, who had unleashed a new type of warfare that he intended to "make Georgia howl," and his Union armies arrived at the end of their "March to the Sea" by capturing the coastal city of Savannah, its defenses having been abandoned the day before by the Rebel defenders.  Sherman telegraphed the news to President Abraham Lincoln and offered the Southern prize as a "Christmas gift" to the President and to the Nation.




William Tecumseh Sherman

In a pivotal moment for the entire Civil War, the Union Army had captured Atlanta after a series of flanking movements and a string of battles pitting the determined Union forces against the smaller Confederate army of General Joseph Johnston, whose critics worried that he was more concerned with preserving his army than preventing the capture of Southern territory.  They were not incorrect and by late 1864 few expected the Southern cause to see another Christmas.
 

Union forces intended to "make Georgia howl"

Sherman was very familiar with the South, having lived in Louisiana and taught at LSU (as it would later be known) as a professor so he had an affinity for the Southern people.  And, with many former classmates and even friends in the Confederate ranks, Sherman knew that the sooner he could bring the South to its knees and to capitulation, the sooner the United States could call itself whole and get on to the harder work of reconciliation.

 

Fort Pulaski

Savannah and its environs were protected by a string of Federal-era forts as well as hastily constructed trenches and earthen fortifications that could have held out for weeks, if there were sufficient provisions on hand.  However, the deprivations of the war and the ongoing effects of the Union blockade of Southern ports meant the city and its citizenry were ill-prepared for a siege and, having seen what had happened at Vicksburg the previous summer, none looked forward to another protracted battle with a forgone conclusion.  Southern leaders thought it better to escape to fight another day.

 

 





Today in 1860, in Charleston

South Carolina became the first state to vote to sever ties with the United States and set the stage for the four bloodiest years in American history.  Just four months later, in early April 1861, hostilities between the U.S. and the Confederate States of America would begin when Rebel batteries fired on Federal forces at Fort Sumter.



Fort Sumter under attack from Confederate shore batteries

Congress Enacts Landmark Legislation to Preserve America's Endangered Battlefields

The Civil War Trust has applauded members of U.S. Senate and House of Representatives for enactment of landmark legislation to preserve America’s endangered battlefields.  The legislation, part of an omnibus lands package included in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 3979), reauthorizes a highly successful federal matching grant program for the preservation of Civil War battlefields.  In addition, the bill expands that existing program to provide grants for the acquisition of land at Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battlefields.

“This is a historic moment for the battlefield preservation movement,” remarked Civil War Trust president James Lighthizer.  “For 15 years, the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program has been an invaluable tool for protecting the hallowed battlegrounds of the Civil War.  Now, for the first time, battlefields associated with America’s other formative conflicts, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, will also benefit from this public-private partnership.”

The legislation, originally introduced in 2013 as the American Battlefields Protection Program Amendments Act (H.R. 1033), reauthorizes the Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program, a matching grants program that encourages private sector investment in historic battlefield protection.  Since the program was first funded by Congress in FY 1999, it has been used to preserve more than 23,000 acres of battlefield land in 17 states.  The battlefields protected through the program include some of the most famous in the annals of America, including Antietam, Md., Chancellorsville and Manassas, Va.; Chattanooga and Franklin, Tenn.; Gettysburg, Pa.; Perryville, Ky.; and Vicksburg, Miss.

The bipartisan bill was sponsored by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) and Congressmen Rush Holt (D-N.J.) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) in their respective chambers.  In addition, the bill was championed by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.).  A complete list of House and Senate cosponsors can be found on the Congress.gov website (Senate and House).

The battlefield at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

“We owe our Congressional champions in the House and Senate an enormous debt of gratitude for believing in this program and guiding it through an often complicated legislative process,” Lighthizer noted.  “Thanks to their tireless efforts, thousands of acres of genuine American history that might have been lost to development can still be preserved for future generations.”

In his remarks, Lighthizer also noted that this legislation, by encouraging the protection of battlefield land, also honors the courage and sacrifices of all who served in America’s military.  “Preserved battlefields are living monuments – not just to the soldiers who fought in those hallowed fields – but to all Americans who have worn our nation’s uniform.  There are no better places to learn about the human cost of the freedoms we enjoy today.”

The Civil War Trust is the premier nonprofit organization devoted to the preservation of America’s hallowed battlegrounds.  The Trust is the principal nonprofit advocate for federal battlefield preservation programs and legislation. 

Today in 1960, in New York Harbor (near Brooklyn)

The aircraft carrier U.S.S. Constellation caught fire and fifty men working on the construction of the ship died.

Construction of the giant carrier was underway in the Brooklyn Navy Yard when a forklift operator who was moving a metal trash bin on the hangar deck accidentally pushed the bin against a steel plate. It shifted and sheared off the main plug of a tank carrying 500 gallons of diesel fuel, causing fuel to rush through holes in the steel flooring to decks below.  When the fuel came in contact with “hot work,” (such as a welder’s blowtorch or hot metal being worked on), it began to burn, and then set wooden scaffolding on fire.

The ensuing blaze took almost 17 hours to extinguish, but despite injuries to more than 300 workers, none of the firefighters were injured even though they had to contend with darkness and with flames that spread rapidly along an unfamiliar complex of passageways filled with dense smoke.

The disaster delayed completion of the ship by an additional seven months and cost more than $75 million to repair.  But, the Constellation (CV-64), a Kitty Hawk–class (and so-called supercarrier), was the third ship of the United States Navy to be named in honor of the "new constellation of stars" on the flag of the United States and the only naval vessel ever authorized to display red, white, and blue designation numbers. She was also one of the fastest ships in the Navy, and she was nicknamed "Connie" by her crew and officially as "America's Flagship."

 

Sam Glanzman publishes "A Sailor's Story"

Renowned comic book artist Sam Glanzman has finished work on a new book about his experiences in World War II aboard a Fletcher-class destroyer U.S.S. Stevens entitled “A Sailor’s Story.”  The book is due to be released in April of 2015 and features a painting by Glanzman depicting the Stevens on the cover.

 

Glanzman is best known for his biographical war stories about his service aboard the destroyer which were published in DC Comics and Marvel Comics, but he is also known for the Charlton Comics Fightin' Army feature "The Lonely War of Willy Schultz", a Vietnam-era serial about a German-American U.S. Army captain during World War II.

War-comic editor-artist Joe Kubert of DC Comics originally brought Glanzman to DC to work on Our Army At War, Star Spangled War Stories, and Weird War Tales.  However, his work on G.I. Combat, particularly the stories he illustrated for the feature "Haunted Tank,” earned him the lvoe and respect of generations of comic book readers.  It was also at DC that Glanzman began his series of biographical war stories about his service aboard the U.S.S. Stevens which began in Our Army at War #218 (April 1970).

World War II era Fletcher-class destroyer.

“A Sailor’s Story” is available for pre-order from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Sailors-Story-Dover-Graphic-Novels/dp/0486798127.

Today in 1915, on the beaches near Gallilpoli

20,000 Australian and New Zealand troops evacuated from Turkey without the defending Turks on the bluffs above even realizing the evacuation was underway. 

Allied troops had begun the difficult withdrawal from the beaches and cliffs they had secured in an ill fated invasion of Turkey that British Secretary of the Admiralty Winston Churchill had envisioned as a shortcut to winning World War I. 

If things had gone according to plan, the Allies would have secured the Gallipi Peninsula and from their marched on the Turkish capital of Istanbul, effectively ending Turkish involvement in the war as a member of the Central Powers.

 

To this day, the ANZAC troops still question why they were sacrificed on the beaches of Turkey for a plan that was so obviously not well-planned or well-executed.

[December 18, 1915 ]

Today in 1939, in Montevideo Harbor

The Deutschland class heavy cruiser Admiral Graf Spee was ordered scuttled by her commander, Hans Langsdorff, when he received false reports of approaching British naval forces that likely would have captured her as she lay at anchor in Montevideo harbor.

The Graf Spee, also known as a pocket battleship in the German Kriegsmarine, had battled a trio of pursuing British cruisers and inflicted heavy damage during the Battle of the River Plate. However, she had also suffered significant damage herself and been forced to take refuge in the neutral harbor only to be told by local authorities she would have to get underway and leave within 72 hours.

Admiral Langsdorff and his crew had seen considerable success in putting Allied ships on the ocean bottom, but their luck ran out when she tangled with the British cruisers.  Parts of her superstructure are still visible above the waterline in the Uruguayan harbor.

Many have wondered if the Graf Spee had managed to escape and continued to maraud against Allied shipping for a few more years the damage it inflicted would have affected the outcome of the war, but, just as with speculations over the Bismarck's fate, these will have to  remain conjecture.

[December 17, 1939]

Today in 1944 in the Ardennes Forest,

More than a quarter million Germans, some of them wearing captured American uniforms and speaking English, equipped with the latest armored vehicles, including behemoth King Tiger tanks, launched the last major offensive of World War II against the Western Allies.  Eventually known to Americans as the Battle of the Bulge, the sudden German attacks against unprepared American troops already looking forward to a Christmas respite met with initial success and threatened to delay the Allied drive into Germany indefinitely.

German troops advanced past a knocked out U.S. halftrack.

The German attack drove a salient into the Allied lines of almost 70 miles with a width of about 50 miles such that on a map it looked like a "bulge" had appeared in the Allied lines.  The difficulty for the Germans was that even as they attacked and drove deeper into the Ardennes the more they exposed their own flanks to Allied counterattacks.

U.S. troops sit atop a destroyed German Panther tank.

Realizing that he could no longer maintain an active defense on two fronts and understanding that the Soviet Army was likely to achieve a strategic breakthrough that would known Nazi Germany completely out of the war, Hitler hoped that his panzertruppen would be able to drive a wedge between the Americans and the British and cause enough casualties that they would rethink their intentions of destroying the Nazi regime. 

Generals Bradley, Eisenhower and Patton confer.

Historians have long debated whether the Germans had enough men an materiel to realistically have any hope of achieving even a limited version of Hitler's goals, but, in the end, it didn't matter as the Allies were able to contain the German onslaught and, eventually recapture their own positions.  The drive into Germany began in earnest early in 1945.

[December 16, 1944]