Posted on 06/12/2018 7:36:36 AM PDT by fugazi
1775: British Gen. Thomas Gage declares that the city of Boston is under martial law until the colonists repay for the tea they destroyed during the Boston Tea Party. Gage will pardon all colonists who lay down their arms except Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who are to be hanged.
Meanwhile, British ships arrive at Machiasport (present-day Machias, Maine) to commandeer a load of lumber for the construction of barracks during the colonists' Siege of Boston. 31 militia members, led by Jeremiah O'Brien, board the merchant ship Unity and engage the British armed sloop HMS Margaretta. After an hour of fighting, Margaretta is captured and the British flag is surrendered to the colonists for the first time. The U.S. Merchant Marine traces their roots to the Battle of Machias.
1862: Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, the new commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, orders Brig. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart to investigate the Union army's right flank during the Peninsula Campaign. Stuart and his 1,200 troopers determine that the right flank is vulnerable, and with Union cavalry is in pursuit (led by Stuart's father-in-law, Brig. Gen. Philip St. George Cooke), Stuart and his men ride a 100-mile circle around Gen. George McClellan's 105,000-man Army of the Potomac - capturing soldiers, horses, and supplies. Four days later, Stuart arrives in Richmond to a hero's welcome.
1918: Eight pilots of the 96th Aero Squadron conduct the first-ever American bombing mission, attacking rail yards at Etain, France. Meanwhile, 2nd Lt. James H. Doolittle, who will go on to lead the Doolittle Raiders over Tokyo during World War II, is issued his pilot license.
1942: 24 years to the day after the first American bombing mission of World War I, American warplanes bomb Europe for the first time of
(Excerpt) Read more at victoryinstitute.net ...
I remember visiting Boston when I was about 10 or so. We went early June (it was cold for a bunch of Texans in shorts. I got a book on the subject of Gage and Adams and Hancock. The Tea Party is one of my favorite events from the founding. I even threw a faux box of tea into the harbor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cold_Harbor
Grant finally decides Cold Harbor ain’t worth it and moves on.
Not a military history event, but today George H. W. Bush became the first former President ever to celebrate his 94th birthday. Jimmy Carter will be the second assuming he survives to Oct. 1 of this year.
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