1862

Today in History 07/12 (Medal of Honor)

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Medal of Honor, 1939 (© Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Collection/Library of Congress)(1862) Valor above and beyond the call of duty honored
President Abraham Lincoln signs a law providing for the awarding of medals to Army personnel who “distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action,” and the first of these Medal of Honor five-point bronze stars coated in copper will be awarded to six Civil War Union Army volunteers.
The Medal of Honor is the United States of America’s highest and most prestigious personal military decoration that may be awarded to recognize U.S. military service members who distinguished themselves by acts of valor. The medal is normally awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the U.S. Congress. Because the medal is presented “in the name of Congress”, it is often referred to informally as the “Congressional Medal of Honor”. However, the official name of the current award is “Medal of Honor”, as it began with the U.S. Army’s version. Within United States Code the medal is referred to as the “Medal of Honor”, and less frequently as “Congressional Medal of Honor”. U.S. awards, including the Medal of Honor, do not have post-nominal titles, and while there is no official abbreviation, the most common abbreviations are “MOH” and “MH”.
Awarded for: Conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty
First awarded: March 25, 1863: American Civil War, U.S. Army recipient
Last awarded: June 26, 2018
Total awarded: 3,519

The Medals of Honor
The Medals of Honor awarded by each of the three branches of the U.S. military, and are, from left to right, the Army, Coast Guard/Navy/Marine Corps and Air Force.
wiki/Medal_of_Honor
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(1862) Valor above and beyond the call of duty honored.
Also on this day,

1562 | Ancient Maya books destroyed
Sacred books of the Maya, a people native to the Yucatan Peninsula in what will later be Mexico, are burned by Spanish Roman Catholic bishop Diego de Landa. The Maya indigenous language and religion have been deemed heretical by the Inquisition and are therefore to be destroyed.
1979 | Disco protest takes over baseball game
The Chicago White Sox and local radio DJ Steve Dahl team up for a promotional event: blowing up a crate of disco records in between games of a doubleheader. Thousands of fans—who got in for 98 cents if they brought a record to be destroyed—trash the field. The team is forced to postpone, and eventually forfeit, the second game.
1984 | US gender barrier broken as female veep nominee is chosen
Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale chooses Representative Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. The first woman, and first Italian-American, to be on a major party presidential ticket in US history will give a rousing acceptance speech at her party’s convention a week later.

Today in History 04/07/18

Currier & Ives print of the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing (Battle of Shiloh), Tennessee, April 7, 1862 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Images)(1862) Grant claims major Civil War victory at Shiloh
Casualties numbering 23,000 result from two days of fighting in southwestern Tennessee between Union and Confederate forces, in the bloodiest American conflict to date. Although Gen. Ulysses S. Grant can claim an important Union win, the carnage shocks both sides.
The Battle of Shiloh was a battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union force known as the Army of the Tennessee had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the Tennessee River, where the Confederate Army of Mississippi launched a surprise attack on Grant’s army from its base in Corinth, Mississippi. Johnston was mortally wounded during the fighting; Beauregard succeeded to command of the army and decided against pressing the attack late in the evening. Overnight, Grant was reinforced by one of his divisions stationed further north and was joined by three divisions from the Army of the Ohio. The Union forces began an unexpected counterattack the next morning which reversed the Confederate gains of the previous day.
Start date: Apr 06, 1862
End date: Apr 07, 1862

Battle of Shiloh
Map of the Battle of Shiloh, April 7, 1862
wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh
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(1862) Grant claims major Civil War victory at Shiloh.
Also on this day,
1141 | Matilda takes the throne
1940 | African American stamp
1994 | Rwandan Genocide

Today in History 09/17/17

President Lincoln and General McClellan seated inside a tent on the Battlefield of Antietam (Alexander Gardner/Library of Congress)(1862) Sun sets on bloodiest battle in American history
George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac stems the tide of Robert E. Lee’s Confederate advance into Union territory, but the Battle of Antietam near Sharpsburg, Maryland, exacts a terrible toll with 22,000 dead, injured, or missing by the end of the bloodiest day in US military history.
The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the South, was fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland and Antietam Creek as part of the Maryland Campaign. It was the first field army–level engagement in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War to take place on Union soil and is the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with a combined tally of 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing.
Date: Sep 17, 1862
Maryland Campaign
Maryland Campaign, actions September 3 to 15, 1862 RED – Confederate, BLUE – Union

wiki/Battle_of_Antietam
Star Trek' cast members (from left) Leonard Nimoy, George Takei and DeForest Kelly in front of the unveiling of the Space Shuttle in Palmdale, California, in 1976 (© AP)(1976) NASA unveils a new spaceship in the California desert
NASA’s new reusable orbital space vehicle, the space shuttle, is rolled out for its first public viewing in front of thousands of invited guests in Palmdale, California. It’s christened the ‘Enterprise’ after a write-in campaign by ‘Star Trek fans, and most of the show’s original cast is on hand for the unveiling.
Space Shuttle Enterprise was the first orbiter of the Space Shuttle system. Rolled out on September 17, 1976, it was built for NASA as part of the Space Shuttle program to perform atmospheric test flights after being launched from a modified Boeing 747. It was constructed without engines or a functional heat shield, and was therefore not capable of spaceflight.
Manufacturer: Rockwell International
Space Shuttle Enterprise in launch configuration
Low angle view of gantry and Space Shuttle Enterprise in launch position on the Vandenberg Air Force Base’s Space Launch Complex 6 (commonly known as “SLICK 6”), in California, during the ready-to-launch checks to verify launch procedures.

wiki/Space_Shuttle_Enterprise
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Today in History 04/07/17

Queen Matilda And Her Tapestry.' Matilda, queen consort of the Kingdom of England and the wife of William the Conqueror, is supposed to have worked on the Bayeux Tapestry. (© Print Collector/Getty Images)(1141) England’s first female ruler takes the throne
Empress Matilda begins a seven-month reign during a chaotic period in England and Normandy known as The Anarchy. Although angry crowds stop her from being crowned queen, she will hold the title Lady of the English, and her son will become King Henry II.
Empress Matilda, also known as the Empress Maude, was the claimant to the English throne during the civil war known as the Anarchy. The daughter of King Henry I of England, she moved to Germany as a child when she married the future Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. She travelled with her husband into Italy in 1116, was controversially crowned in St. Peter’s Basilica, and acted as the imperial regent in Italy. Matilda and Henry had no children, and when Henry died in 1125, the crown was claimed by Lothair II, one of his political enemies.
Lived: Feb 07, 1102 – Sep 10, 1167 (age 65)
Spouse: Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou (m. 1128 – 1151) · Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (m. 1114 – 1125)
Children: Henry II of England (Son) · Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (Son) · William FitzEmpress (Son)
Parents: Henry I of England (Father) · Matilda of Scotland (Mother)
Buried: Rouen Cathedral
Siblings: William Adelin (Brother) · Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (Brother)
Highlights
  • 1118: William and Matilda’s mother – Matilda of Scotland – had died in 1118, and so Henry took a new wife, Adeliza of Louvain.

  • 1128: Henry knighted his future son-in-law, and Matilda and Geoffrey were married a week later on 17 June 1128 in Le Mans by the bishops of Le Mans and Séez.

  • 1135: Henry died in 1135 but Matilda and Geoffrey faced opposition from the Norman barons and were unable to pursue their claims.

  • 1137: Stephen returned to the Duchy in 1137, where he met with Louis VI and Theobald to agree to an informal alliance against Geoffrey and Matilda, to counter the growing Angevin power in the region.

  • 1139: In 1139 Matilda crossed to England to take the kingdom by force, supported by her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, and her uncle, King David I of Scotland, while Geoffrey focused on conquering Normandy.

  • 1167: She was buried under the high altar at Bec Abbey after her death in 1167.

wiki/Empress_Matilda
Currier & Ives print of the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing (Battle of Shiloh), Tennessee, April 7, 1862 (© Universal History Archive/Getty Images)(1862) Grant claims major Civil War victory at Shiloh
Casualties numbering 23,000 result from two days of fighting in southwestern Tennessee between Union and Confederate forces, in the bloodiest American conflict to date. Although Gen. Ulysses S. Grant can claim an important Union win, the carnage shocks both sides.
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union force known as the Army of the Tennessee under Major General Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee on the west bank of that river, where the Confederate Army of Mississippi, under General Albert Sidney Johnston and second-in-command Pierre G. T. Beauregard, launched a surprise attack on Grant’s army from its base in Corinth, Mississippi. Johnston was mortally wounded during the fighting; Beauregard, who thus succeeded to command of the army, decided against pressing the attack late in the evening. Overnight Grant was reinforced by one of his own divisions stationed further north and was joined by three divisions from another Union army under Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell. This allowed them to launch an unexpected counterattack the next morning which completely reversed the Confederate gains of the previous day.
Start date: Apr 06, 1862
End date: Apr 07, 1862

wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh
Booker T. Washington 10-cent stamp (© Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum)(1940) US issues first stamp to honor an African American
Educator, public speaker, presidential advisor, and one of the most influential black civil rights leaders in the post-Reconstruction South, Booker T. Washington appears on a commemorative postage stamp issued 25 years after his death.
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and advisor to presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American community.
Lived: Apr 05, 1856 – Nov 14, 1915 (age 59)
Spouse: Olivia A. Davidson (m. 1886 – 1889)
Founded: Tuskegee University · National Negro Business League · Calhoun Colored School
Education: Hampton University · Wayland Seminary (1878 – 1879)
Parents: Jane Ferguson (Mother)
Children: Ernest Davidson Washington (Son) · Portia M. Washington · Booker T. Washington Jr.
Highlights
  • 1878: He also attended Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C. in 1878 and left after 6 months.

  • 1881: In 1881, the Hampton Institute president Samuel C. Armstrong recommended Washington to become the first leader of Tuskegee Institute, the new normal school (teachers’ college) in Alabama.

  • 1886: Booker T. Washington married Olivia A. Davidson in 1886; their marriage lasted 3 years till 1889.

  • 1900: ACHIEVEIn an effort to inspire the “commercial, agricultural, educational, and industrial advancement” of African Americans, Washington founded the National Negro Business League (NNBL) in 1900.MENT

  • 1901: When Washington’s second autobiography, Up From Slavery, was published in 1901, it became a bestseller and had a major effect on the African-American community, its friends and allies.

  • 1915: He led the school until his death in 1915.

wiki/Booker_T._Washington
Tutsi civilians, seeking refuge from Hutu militias, queue for food inside the Sacred Family Church in the government controlled part of Kigali, Rwanda May 20, 1994 (© Corinne Dufka/Reuters)(1994) Rwandan Genocide begins
In the aftermath of the Rwandan Civil War, conflicts in the African nation continue, reaching a flash point when ethnic Hutu forces kill Belgian peacekeepers and launch a genocidal campaign against their neighbors, the Tutsi. Roughly 800,000 will die in the largest genocide since World War II.
The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, was a genocidal mass slaughter of Tutsi in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority government. An estimated more than 800,000 Rwandans were killed during the 100-day period from April 7 to mid-July 1994, constituting as many as 70% to 80% of the Tutsi population. Additionally, 30% of the Pygmy Batwa were killed. The genocide and widespread slaughter of Rwandans ended when the Tutsi-backed and heavily armed Rwandan Patriotic Front led by Paul Kagame took control of the country. An estimated 2,000,000 Rwandans, mostly Hutus, were displaced and became refugees.
Start date: Apr 07, 1994
End date: Jul 15, 1994

wiki/Rwandan_genocide
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Today in History 03/09/17

The Battle of Hampton Roads, famous for being the first fight between two ironclads, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (the latter rebuilt from the burned-out hull of the USS Merrimack) (© Buyenlarge/Getty Images)(1862) World’s first iron-clad naval battle
Steam-powered, iron-clad warships in the American Civil War, the Union’s USS Monitor and the Confederate’s CSS Virginia, fire on each other for four hours off Hampton Roads, Virginia. The engagement of iron-fortified battleships ends in a draw.
The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as either the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack or the Battle of Ironclads, was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies. It was fought over two days, March 8–9, 1862, in Hampton Roads, a roadstead in Virginia where the Elizabeth and Nansemond rivers meet the James River just before it enters Chesapeake Bay adjacent to the city of Norfolk. The battle was a part of the effort of the Confederacy to break the Union blockade, which had cut off Virginia’s largest cities, Norfolk and Richmond, from international trade.
Start date: Mar 08, 1862
End date: Mar 09, 1862

wiki/Battle_of_Hampton_Roads
General Francisco Villa, also known as Pancho Villa, circa 1913 (© Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)(1916) Mexico’s rebel leader Pancho Villa launches raid on US
Revolutionary Pancho Villa, seeking arms to fight his guerilla war against Mexico’s President Carranza, leads some 500 horsemen over the US border in an attack on the town of Columbus, New Mexico.
The Battle of Columbus, March 9, 1916, began as a raid conducted by Pancho Villa’s Division of the North on the small United States border town of Columbus, New Mexico, located 3 miles north of the border. The raid escalated into a full-scale battle between Villistas and the United States Army. Villa himself led the assault, only to be driven back into Mexico by elements of the 13th Cavalry Regiment stationed at the town. The attack angered Americans and President Woodrow Wilson ordered the Punitive Expedition in which the US Army invaded Mexico in an unsuccessful attempt to capture General Villa.
Date: Mar 09, 1916

wiki/Battle_of_Columbus_(1916)
Aerial photo taken March 9, 1945 showing the destruction caused by Operation Meetinghouse on the industrial section of Tokyo along the Sumida River (© AP)(1945) Operation Meetinghouse firebombs Tokyo
US warplanes in World War II begin dropping over 1,600 tons of bombs on Japan’s largest city. The most destructive single firestorm in history begins, and will kill up to 130,000 and leave 1 million homeless.
The Bombing of Tokyo, often referred to as a series of firebombing raids, was conducted as part of the air raids on Japan by the United States Army Air Forces during the Pacific campaigns of World War II. The US first mounted a small-scale raid on Tokyo in April 1942.
Date: 1942

wiki/Bombing_of_Tokyo
Police marksman Clarence Phillips stands with his rifle at the ready on the roof of a building near the District Building in Washington DC on March 9, 1977 (© AP)(1977) The Hanafi Siege begins in Washington, DC
More than 150 hostages are taken as 12 armed Hanafi Muslims storm three buildings, starting a siege that will last 39 hours and end, in part, due to Muslim ambassadors negotiating with the hostage-takers.
The 1977 Hanafi Siege occurred on March 9–11, 1977 when three buildings in Washington, D.C. were seized by 12 Islamic gunmen. The gunmen were led by Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, who had broken from the Nation of Islam because he blamed them for murder. They took 149 hostages and killed radio journalist, Maurice Williams. After a 39-hour standoff, the gunmen surrendered and all remaining hostages were released from the District Building, B’nai B’rith headquarters, and the Islamic Center of Washington.
Start date: Mar 09, 1977
End date: Mar 11, 1977

wiki/1977_Hanafi_Siege
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