1775: The Continental Congress creates the Continental Navy. Esek Hopkins, Esq. is named commander-in-chief of the fleet, four captains are commissioned, as well as five first lieutenants (including future hero John Paul Jones), five second lieutenants, and three third lieutenants.
1864: Following his “March to the Sea” and just before his “March through the Carolinas,” Union Army Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman presents the captured city of Savannah (Ga.) to Pres. Lincoln as a “Christmas gift.” The wire from Sherman to Lincoln reads; “I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton.”
1941: Winston Churchill arrives in Washington, D.C. for the Arcadia Conference, the first military strategy summit between Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt and the British prime minister.
Meanwhile, the first U.S. troops arrive at Australia. By 1943, a quarter of a million Americans will be stationed “down under.”
1944: Having surrounded the 101st Airborne at Bastogne, Belgium, German General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz issues a surrender ultimatum to Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe, the acting commander for the 101st. Clement’s one-word response: “NUTS!”
Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe, left, and then-Col. Harry W.O. Kinnard II at Bastogne
(Featured Image) Despite being heavily outnumbered, the “Screaming Eagles” hold out until the 4th Armored Division relieve them on Dec. 26th. Meanwhile, German commanders recommend ending the Rundstedt Offensive (Battle of the Bulge) due to a lack of significant progress.
And on this day near Kalterherberg Germany, Tech. Sgt. Peter J. Dalessondro called in mortar strikes and used his rifle, grenades, and an acquired automatic weapon to save his unit from being completely routed by multiple overwhelming attacks. Dalessondro remains behind and is last heard calling for mortar strike on his own position as enemy troops surround and are poised to overtake him. For his selfless actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor.
1950: Air Force F-86 Sabres shoot down six communist MiG-15 fighters without losing a single jet in the biggest dogfight of the Korean War.
