July 3, 1863: On the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg,
Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s last attempt at breaking
the Union line ended in disastrous failure, bringing the most
decisive battle of the American Civil War to an end.
In less than an hour, more than 7,000 Confederate troops
had been killed or wounded.
Robert E. Lee by Pompeo Coppini – University of Texas
at Austin, Austin, Texas.
TIM MAGUIRE
On June 25, 1950, armed forces from communist North Korea
smashed into South Korea, setting off the Korean War.
The United States, acting under the auspices of the United
Nations, quickly sprang to the defense of South Korea and
fought a bloody and frustrating war for the next three years.
The Korean War was the first “hot” war of the Cold War. Over
55,000 American troops were killed in the conflict.
During World War II, the U.S. 10th Army overcame the last major
pockets of Japanese resistance on Okinawa Island, ending one
of the bloodiest battles of World War II.
The same day, Japanese Lieutenant General Mitsuru Ushijima,
the commander of Okinawa’s defense, committed suicide with
a number of Japanese officers and troops rather than surrender.
Mitsuru Ushijima
(31 July 1887 – 22 June 1945)
The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker’s Hill.
British General Thomas Gage landed his troops on the
Charlestown Peninsula overlooking Boston, Massachusetts,
and lead them against Breed’s Hill, a fortified American
position just below Bunker Hill, on June 17, 1775.
As the British advanced in columns against the Americans,
American Colonel William Prescott reportedly told his men,
“Don’t one of you fire until you see the whites of their eyes!”
The British won the so-called Battle of Bunker Hill, and Breed’s
Hill and the Charlestown Peninsula fell firmly under British
control.
Despite losing their strategic positions, the battle was a morale-
builder for the Americans, convincing them that patriotic
dedication could overcome superior British military might.
Colonel William Prescott
On June 7, 1942, the Battle of Midway—one of the most
decisive U.S. victories in its war against Japan—came to
an end. In the four-day sea and air battle, the outnumbered
U.S. Pacific Fleet succeeded in destroying four Japanese
aircraft carriers with the loss of only one of its own, the
Yorktown, thus reversing the tide against the previously
invincible Japanese navy.
At the Battle of Midway, Japan lost four carriers, a cruiser,
and 292 aircraft, and suffered 2,500 casualties.
The U.S. lost the Yorktown, the destroyer USS Hammann,
145 aircraft, and suffered 307 casualties.
