Military History

May 18 ,1863 - Union forces begin the Siege of Vicksburg (right).  Crossing the Mississippi River at Bruinsburg on April 29-30, 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee embarked on a stunning campaign which saw it win several battles before driving Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton's forces back into the Vicksburg defenses.  A fortress that commanded the Mississippi, holding the city was key if the  Confederates wished to deny use of the river to the Union.  Attacking on May 19, Grant's army was repulsed by the Vicksburg defenses.  Trying again on the 22nd, the result proved no better.  Unwilling to suffer more casualties, Grant elected to lay siege.  Reinforced over the next month, he compelled Vicksburg to surrender on July 4, 1863.  Coming a day a after the Union victory at Gettysburg, the fall of Vicksburg, and Port Hudson fours days later, opened the river to Union traffic and marked the turning point of the Civil War.

Civil War Battles - 1863 in the West

• Battle of Arkansas Post
• Battle of Raymond
• Siege of Port Hudson
• Battle of Chickamauga
• Battle of Chattanooga

Photograph Source: Public Domain

May 17, 2006 - USS Oriskany (right) is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef.  Laid down during World War II as a "long-hulled" Essex-class carrier, Oriskany was not launched until after the conflict's end.  Though nearly complete, work on the ship was suspended in 1947.  It was resumed a few years later when the vessel became the prototype for the SCB-27 modernization program.  Finally completed in 1950, Oriskany initially saw service in the Atlantic before transferring to the Pacific for the remainder of its career.  Deployed to the Western Pacific in 1952, it made its combat debut supporting UN forces during the Korean War.  Modernized again in the late 1950s, the carrier became a stalwart of the US Navy's aerial campaign during the Vietnam War.  Between 1965 and 1973, the ship conducted seven deployments off Southeast Asia.  In 1966, Oriskany suffered a devastating fire which killed over 40 men and was the result of a mishandled magnesium flare.  Retired in 1976, Oriskany was originally sold for scrap but was later reclaimed by the US Navy.  Given to the State of Florida, it was sunk as an artificial reef in 2006.

US Navy - Aircraft Carriers

• USS Saratoga
• USS Yorktown
• USS Enterprise
• USS Hornet
• USS Franklin

Photograph Courtesy of the US Naval History & Heritage Command

May 13-15, 1864 - Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman (right) fights the Battle of Resaca during his Atlanta Campaign. Pushing south from Chattanooga, Sherman sought to turn Gen. Joseph E. Johnston out of his strong position at Dalton, GA by exploiting an undefended mountain pass at Snake Creek Gap and capturing Resaca. Advancing through the gap, Maj. Gen. James McPherson's Army of the Tennessee failed to take the town on May 9 allowing Johnston to retreat south. Taking a position north and west of Resaca, Johnston repelled Union assaults on May 14 and counterattacked against Sherman's left flank. The fighting resumed the next day as Sherman attacked from the north and Johnston attempted another flanking maneuver. Learning that afternoon that Union troops were crossing the Oostanaula River and threatening his rear, Johnston withdrew south after nightfall.

Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

May 12, 1863- Union forces under Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson (right) win the Battle of Raymond.  After crossing the Mississippi River south of Vicksburg, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant pushed northeast to sever the city's rail connections to Jackson, MS.  Advancing on the Union right, McPherson's XVII Corps encountered an over-strength Confederate brigade near Raymond on May 12.  Led by Brig. Gen. John Gregg, this force initially moved to attack the Union troops until realizing it was badly outnumbered.  In the fighting, McPherson's men overwhelmed the Confederates and sent them retreating back to Jackson.

American Civil War - Fighting in the West:

• Battle of Shiloh
• Battle of Stones River
• Battle of Chickamauga
• Battle of Chattanooga
• Battle of Franklin

Photograph Courtesy of the Library of Congress

May 10, 1775 - American forces capture Fort Ticonderoga (right).  Located at the southern end of Lake Champlain, Fort Ticonderoga was a key location during the French & Indian War.  In the years after the war, its importance waned and the garrison dwindled to around fifty men.  With the beginning of the American Revolution, colonial forces began moving against Fort Ticonderoga with the goal of capturing its large supply of artillery and securing the northern frontier.  On May 10, 1775, American forces led by Colonels Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold successfully stormed the fort.  Later that year, Fort Ticonderoga's guns were transported to Boston by Colonel Henry Knox.  Emplaced on Dorchester Heights, they compelled the British to abandon the city in March 1776.

American Revolution - Key Battles

• Battle of Bunker Hill
• Battle of Trenton
• Battle of Saratoga
• Battle of Yorktown

Photograph Source: Public Domain

May 8, 1822 - Major General John Stark (right) dies.  A native of New Hampshire, Stark first saw military service with Roger's Rangers during the French & Indian War.  Having proved himself a gifted soldier, he was given command of a New Hampshire regiment at the start of the American Revolution.  In this role, Stark first saw action during the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill.  Accepted into the Continental Army, he spent much of 1776 in northern New York before returning south for the victories at Trenton and Princeton.  Ordered home to recruit new troops, Stark resigned in protest in 1777 when he was passed over for promotion.  Accepting a role in the New Hampshire militia, he led his men to victory at the Battle of Bennington that August.  This triumph earned him a promotion to brigadier general and he returned to the Continental Army.  Stark served for the remainder of the war and took part in the Battle of Springfield as well as sat on the board that sentenced British spy Major John Andre.  Brevetted to major general in 1783, Stark retired to New Hampshire where he died in 1822.

American Revolution - Commanders:

• Major General Nathanael Greene
• Marquis de Lafayette
• Major General Henry Knox
• Major General Anthony Wayne

Photograph Source: Public Domain

May 7, 1763 - Pontiac's Rebellion begins when Pontiac (right) attempts to capture Fort Detroit.  In the wake of the British victory in the French & Indian War, the Native America tribes of present-day Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois quickly became unhappy with the policies of Gen. Jeffery Amherst.  These saw him reduce gifts to the tribes as well as restrict the sale of gunpowder and weapons.  In May 1763, the Ottawa leader Pontiac attempted to capture Fort Detroit.  When this failed, he laid siege.  His actions sparked tribes around the region to rise up.  By the end of June many of the British forts along the frontier had fallen and Fort Pitt was also under siege.  While Fort Pitt was relieved in August after the Battle of Bushy Run, the situation on the frontier remained dire.  In 1764, Maj. Gen. Thomas Gage, working with Indian department head Sir William Johnson, was able to bring the conflict to a conclusion through a mix of negotiation and military campaigns.  

French & Indian War - Battles:

• Battle of Monongahela
• Battle of Carillon
• Siege of Louisbourg
• Battle of Quebec

Photograph Source: Public Domain

May 3-5, 1811 - Viscount Wellington holds off the French at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro.   Advancing after turning Marshal Andre Massena back at the Lines of Torres Vedras, Wellington advanced with British and Portuguese forces and laid siege to the border towns of Ciudad Rodrigo, Almeida, and Badajoz.  Moving to relieve Almeida, Massena attacked Wellington at the village of Fuentes de Oñoro on May 3.  Repulsed, he took the next day to scout the enemy's position.  Finding that Wellington's right was weak, Massena struck there on May 5 while also attacking the village.  In heavy fighting, the Allied forces successfully turned back the French efforts.  While Massena fell back to Ciudad Rodrigo, Wellington completed the capture of Almeida on May 11.

The Peninsular War - Battles:

• Battle of Vimeiro
• Battle of Talavera
• Battle of Salamanca
• Battle of Vitoria

Photograph Source: Public Domain

Having won earlier in the day at the Battle of Contreras, American forces pushed up both sides of a large lava field known as the Pedregal and converged on Churubusco.  Having seen his defensive line south of Mexico City shattered, Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna directed that the bridge at Churubusco be held at all costs to allow the army to retreat.  Opening the Battle of Churubusco shortly after noon, Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott's men assaulted the bridge and nearby San Mateo Convent.  A second column was sent across a bridge to the west at Coyoacan and threatened Portales to the north.  In several hours of bloody fighting, the Americans carried both the bridge and convent.  Pushing towards Portales, Scott's army forced Santa Anna's men to flee back to Mexico City. 

Photograph Source: Public Domain

Advancing into the heart of Mexico, Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott approached Mexico City from the south.  Initially stymied by Mexican forces at San Antonio, he elected to push part of his army across a lava field to the west known at the Pedregal.  Using a route scouted by Maj. Robert E. Lee, American troops succeeded in getting behind a Mexican force led by Gen. Gabriel Valencia on August 19.  The next morning, they attacked at dawn and routed the Mexicans in the Battle of Contreras.  The defeat shattered the Mexican defenses south of the city and set the stage for the Battle of Churubusco later that day.  

Battles of the Mexican-American War:

• Battle of Palo Alto
• Battle of Resaca de la Palma
• Battle of Monterrey
• Battle of Buena Vista
• Siege of Veracruz
• Battle of Cerro Gordo

Photograph Source: Public Domain