This Day in U.S. Military History

31 December 1775 – George Washington ordered recruiting officers to accept free blacks into the army. 1775 – During the American Revolution, Patriot forces under generals Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery are defeated by the…

27 December 1777 – Floating mines intended for use against British Fleet found in Delaware River. 1814 – Destruction of schooner Carolina, the last of Commodore Daniel Patterson’s make-shift fleet that fought a series of…

26 December 1776 – The British suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War. After crossing the Delaware River into New Jersey, George Washington led an attack on Hessian mercenaries…

21 December 1620 – The Mayflower reached Plymouth, Mass. after a 63-day voyage. Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Mass. The crew of the ship did not have…

20 December 1606 – Virginia Company settlers left London to establish Jamestown. 1669 – The 1st American jury trial was held in Delaware. Marcus Jacobson was condemned for insurrection and sentenced to flogging, branding &…

19 December 1606 – The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery depart England carrying settlers who found, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States. 1675 – The…

18 December 1777 – The 1st America Thanksgiving Day commemorated Burgoyne’s surrender at Saratoga. A national Thanksgiving was declared by Congress after the American victory over the British at the Battle of Saratoga in December…

17 December 1750 – Deborah Sampson, was born. She fought in the American Revolution as a man under the alias Robert Shurtleff. 1777 – George Washington’s army returned to winter quarters in Valley Forge, Pa.…