November 7, 1811 - Gen. William Henry Harrison (right) wins the Battle of Tippecanoe. In the wake of his failures to overturn the Treaty of Fort Wayne, the Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa began organizing a confederacy against the United States. Gathering forces at Prophetstown, Tenskwatawa was soon confronted by an army led by Harrison. Attacking Harrison's camp near the Tippecanoe River, his men were repeatedly repelled. Though having sustained greater losses, Harrison's victory inflicted a serious blow to Tecumseh's efforts to unite the tribes. Despite this, Tecumseh remained a threat on the frontier until his death at the 1813 Battle of the Thames. Was Harrison's win a foregone conclusion or should Tenskwatawa approached the battle differently?

Photograph Source: Public Domain

November 5, 1854 - Allied forces win the Battle of Inkerman. Having been defeated at Alma and thwarted at Balaclava, Russian commander Prince Alexander Menshikov devised a plan to crush the British 2nd Division on the heights near Inkerman. Striking with overwhelming numbers from two directions, the Russians met intense resistance from Brig. Gen. John L. Pennefather's men. Defeating attacks from the west, the British next repelled assaults from the north as reinforcements reached the field. Counterattacking, British and French troops succeeded in driving off the Russians. The battle effectively broke the back of the Russian army and reduced the war to the siege of Sevastopol. Though the Russians possessed a massive numerical advantage, they failed in their objectives - what should they have done differently?

A big year on the Western Front, 1916 saw two of the bloodiest battles of the war as well as the Battle of Jutland, the only major clash between the British and German fleets. Not believing that a breakthrough was possible, Germany began a battle of attrition in February by assaulting the fortress city of Verdun. With the French under heavy pressure, the British launched a major offensive at the Somme in July. While the German attack at Verdun ultimately failed, the British suffered horrific casualties at the Somme for little ground gained. While both sides were bleeding in the west, Russia was able to recover and launched the successful Brusilov Offensive in June.

Photograph Source: Public Domain

November 1, 1765 - The Stamp Act of 1765 takes effect. The Stamp Act was an attempt on the part of Parliament to raise taxes to fund the maintenance of British troops in North America after the French & Indian War. In operation, the Stamp Act called for a tax stamp to be affixed to many paper products and related goods. Widely opposed by the American colonists, the Stamp Act saw the rise of the term "taxation without representation" as those in North America lacked representation in Parliament. Faced with widespread protests and boycotts, Parliament repealed the Stamp Act in March 1766, while also passing the Declaratory Act which stated that Parliament had the right to make laws for the colonies. The battle over the Stamp Act was a key moment on the road to the American Revolution.

Photograph Source: Public Domain