1919: U.S. Marines land in Costa Rica to protect American interests when the government is overthrown by a coup. 1934: USS Ranger (CV-4), the first U.S. ship designed from the …
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1779: Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold’s court martial begins in Philadelphia, but the trial is immediately postponed when Lt. Gen. Sir Henry Clinton captures Stony Point, N.Y.. The Americans did not know …
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To prepare for the future, we must understand our past. Follow OpsLens “On This Day in Military History” to learn more about the events that shaped our country. 1862: As …
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1866: “Decoration Day” – the predecessor to Memorial Day – is first observed by order of U.S. Army Gen. John A. Logan, who designated the day “for the purpose of …
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Editor’s note: each week we will be exploring the connections (both in print and on OpsLens TV) between seemingly disconnected events that occurred this week in military history, in addition …
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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 …
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1942: Cmdr. Joseph Rochefort and his Station HYPO cryptanalysts have broken the Japanese Navy’s main radio code, named JN-25b. When they discover Japan’s planned assault at a facility codenamed “AF,” …
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1818: Gen. (future U.S. pres.) Andrew Jackson and his expeditionary army march into Spanish-controlled Florida, easily capturing the Gulf-coastal town of Pensacola. Col. José Masot, the Spanish governor, retreats to …
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1862: Confederate forces under the command of Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson strike, outmaneuver, and – with textbook coordination of infantry, cavalry, and artillery – decisively defeat Union Army …
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1804: The “Corps of Discovery,” a group of about four dozen Army volunteers led by Capt. Meriwether Lewis and 2nd Lt. William Clark, departs St. Charles, Mo. and heads west …