Today in military history: Battle of Tippecanoe
On Nov. 7, 1811, Shawnee spiritual leader Tenskwatawa was defeated at the Battle of Tippecanoe. At the time, the U.S. government was aggressively seizing frontier land from Native Americans, who…
Today in military history: Bolsheviks revolt in Russia
On Nov. 6, 1917, the Bolsheviks revolted in Russia. World War I was a disaster for Russia and in March of 1917, riots and strikes broke out over the scarcity…
Today in military history: Lincoln relieves General McClellan of command
On Nov. 5, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln removed General George B. McClellan from command of the Army of the Potomac. General McClellan was given control of the Army of the…
Today in military history: Iranian hostage crisis begins at US embassy
On Nov. 4, 1979, Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking more than 60 American hostages during the Iranian hostage crisis. During the Iranian Revolution, Mohammad Reza Shah,…
Today in military history: Continental Army is disbanded
On Nov. 3, 1783, the young United States disbanded the Continental Army. When the Revolutionary War broke out, the colonists relied on militias, which rallied part-time troops from the local…
Today in military history: Brits launch Operation Supercharge
On Nov. 2, 1942, British forces broke through Axis defensive lines in the Battle of El Alamein in Egypt. In 1941, World War II was not going well for the…
Today in military history: US tests first hydrogen bomb
On Nov. 1, 1952, the U.S. tested the first hydrogen bomb. After the United States dropped two atomic weapons on Japan in World War II, the government did not pursue…
Today in military history: American victory at Saratoga
On Oct. 17, 1777, Americans won a major victory at Saratoga. During the American Revolution, the nascent United States needed a large victory to prove to foreign countries that the…
Today in military history: John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry
On Oct. 16, 1859, abolitionist John Brown raided Harpers Ferry in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt. Born into an antislavery family, Brown was moved to publicly denouncing…
Today in military history: World’s first combat submarine sinks
On Oct. 15, 1863, the CSS Hunley, the world’s first successful combat submarine, sank. For the second time…and also not the last… Hunley, named for her inventor, Horace Lawson Hunley,…