1780: British cavalry soldiers and Loyalists led by Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton attack Abraham Buford’s force of Continental Army soldiers near Lancaster, S.C.. As Buford raises the white flag, Tarleton’s horse is shot and killed, trapping the British officer. His Radiers respond by ferociously attacking the Americans, killing over 100 and seriously wounding many more.
News of “Bloody Ban’s” atrocity inspires many Americans to support the Revolution and “Tarleton’s Quarter” (take no prisoners) becomes a rallying cry for Continental soldiers.
1781: Off the coast of Nova Scotia, the frigate USS Alliance engages two British sloops-of-war: HMS Atalanta and HMS Trepassy. Alliance was still in the process of repairing damage from by storms and the larger vessel was hampered by a lack of wind. Capt. John Barry is seriously wounded by a blast of grapeshot and eventually has to be taken below decks to treat his wounds. When his executive officer asks Barry’s permission to surrender, the famous skipper resumes command. The wind picks back up and after a series of devastating broadsides, both British vessels strike their colors.
USS Alliance
Britain will offer Barry 100,000 pounds and command of any frigate to switch sides, but the “Father of the U.S. Navy” replies that he would refuse even if they offered him the entire British treasury and command of the Royal Navy.
1944: (featured image) USS Block Island (CVE-21) becomes the only U.S. aircraft carrier sunk in the Atlantic when a German U-boat slips through the escort carrier’s defensive screen and hits the flattop with two torpedoes. Only six sailors perish in the attack as 951 of Block Island‘s crew are rescued, but two of the six F4F Wildcat pilots in the air during the attack will survive after ditching when they fail to reach the Canary Islands. The hunter-killer group sinks U-549 shortly after the sub fatally wounds the carrier.
That same day, Capt. William W. Galt of the 168th Infantry Regiment volunteers to personally lead his battalion after two failed attacks against German positions at Villa Crocetta in Italy. Standing exposed on the turret of a tank destroyer, Galt led the charge as he used his machine gun and grenades to kill some 40 Germans with grenades and his machine gun. Galt was mortally wounded by a German 88mm shell and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Lt. William Wylie Galt
1951: Private First Class Whitt L. Moreland of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines volunteered to join a rifle platoon in an attack against an enemy-held hill near Kwagch’i-Dong, Korea. After capturing their first objective, Moreland led a group of Marines on an assault against an enemy bunker 400 yards away. When the communists attacked his party with a volley of grenades, Moreland kicked several grenades away, but slipped and fell while attempting to neutralize the last grenade. Realizing that he would not have enough time to safely get rid of the grenade, he rolled on top of it and shielded his comrades from the blast with his body. For his sacrifice, PFC Moreland was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
2002: FBI Director (and former Marine platoon commander) Robert Mueller acknowledges that his organization did not follow up on red-flag leads that may have prevented the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
