On December 6, 1833 – John Singleton Mosby (d.1916), lawyer and Col. (“Grey Ghost” of Confederate Army), was born. He later gave riding lessons to young George Patton. 1862 –
On December 6, 1833 – John Singleton Mosby
(d.1916), lawyer and Col. (“Grey Ghost” of Confederate Army), was born. He later gave riding lessons to young George Patton.
1862 – President Lincoln ordered the hanging of 39 of the 303 convicted Indians who participated in the Sioux Uprising in Minnesota. They were to be hanged on Dec. 26. The Dakota Indians were going hungry when food and money from the federal government was not distributed as promised. They led a massacre that left over 400 white people dead. The uprising was put down and 300 Indians were sentenced to death. Pres. Lincoln reduced the number to 39, who were hanged. The government then nullified the 1851 treaty.
1863 – U.S.S. Weehawken, Commander Duncan, sank while tied up to a buoy inside the bar at Charleston harbor. Weehawken had recently taken on an extra load of heavy ammunition which reduced the freeboard forward considerably. In the strong ebb tide, water washed down on an open hawse pipe and a hatch. The pumps were unable to handle the rush of water and Weehawken quickly foundered, drowning some two dozen officers and men.
1923 – A presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress.
1942 – In New Guinea, US forces managed to reach the beach on the east side of Buna after heavy fighting. The Australian attack at Gona has little success. Japanese reinforcement fighting along the coast from the west make some headway.
1943 – The US 5th Army offensive continues. The British 10th Corps captures Monte Camino while the US 2nd Corps attacks Monte la Difensa. To the east, the British 8th Army approaches the Moro River.
1950 – Far East Air Forces’ 27th Fighter-Escort Wing F-84 Thunderjets flew their first combat mission of the Korean War.
1957 – America’s first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit blew up on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Fla.
1968 – Operation Giant Slingshot began in Mekong Delta.
2000 – A Russian court found US Citizen, Edmond Pope (54), guilty of espionage. Pope was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by a Moscow court for espionage; however, he was pardoned by Russian President Vladimir Putin and released eight days after his sentencing.
2004 – In Iraq, five U.S. troops were reported killed in separate clashes in a volatile western province. Insurgents blew up part of a domestic oil pipeline in northern Iraq.
