Army-history in May

Beyond its role in defense of the nation, the Army and its Soldiers have contributed to medicine, technology, exploration, engineering and science. The milestones listed in this monthly chronology offer only a small glimpse of that proud story of selfless service. It is also your story.

For more about Army history, go to www.ArmyHistoryFnd.org and www.Army.mil/cmh.

1600s

1607--Colonists at Jamestown, Va., organize the first militia in North America and begin constructing a fort following a surprise attack on the settlement by Powhatan Indians, May 28.

1637--The first joint military campaign by American colonial militia troops takes place in New England, when units from Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth and Connecticut conduct a coordinated attack on May 26 against the Pequot Indians on the Mystic River.

1700s

1776--Patriot militias led by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold attack the British garrison at Fort Ticonderoga, N.Y., on May 10. The fort is captured without a shot being fired.

1778--On May 5 Congress commissions German Baron Frederick W. A. Von Steuben a major general and appoints him to be the Continental Army's inspector general. Yon Steuben has spent the winter as a volunteer leading the Army's first professional training in formal drill and tactics.

1781--American forces lead by Henry Lee, Francis Marion and Charles Sumter capture four Tory and British positions in South Carolina. At Fort Mott, flaming arrows are used to force the surrender.

1783--On May 3 GEN George Washington presents the first Army decorations. The heart-shaped Badge of Merit, made of purple cloth, goes to to SGTs Elijah Churchill and William Brown of the Continental Army for honorable Service. A third badge is later given to SGT Daniel Bissell. These are the only badges awarded, but they form the basis for the 1932 creation of the Purple Heart medal.

1800s

1804--On May 21 the Army's Corps of Discovery, under OPT Meriwether Lewis and LT William Clark, sets off up the Missouri River from St. Charles, Mo., beginning its two-year exploration of the Louisiana Territory.

1812--On May 14 Congress authorizes establishment of the Army Ordnance Department, making this the birthday of the Ordnance Corps.

1813--During the May 29 battle of Sackett's Harbor, N.Y., Army regulars and militiamen successfully fully turn back a British attempt to capture the critical American base at the harbor.

1824--The first Army professional school, the Artillery School of Practice, is established May 24 at Fortress Monroe, Va. New artillery officers who graduate from West Point are sent to the school before going on to their regiments.

1846--Congress establishes the 2nd Regiment of Dragoons on May 23, For a short period, 1843-44, the unit is converted to a rifle regiment, then remounted as the 2nd Dragoons. The unit exists today as the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

1863--COL Benjamin Grierson and three regiments of Union cavalry reach Mobile, Ala., May 2. ending a 800-mile, three-state sweep behind Confederate lines.

1864--For two days, May 5-6, the Army of the Potomac battles the Army of Northern Virginia in a thickly wooded area north of Richmond In what*e known as The Wilderness Campaign. Both sides lose heavily, but the Union Army continues to press southward.

1881--An Army scientific expedition of 24 men under LT Adolphus W. Greely departs May 7 to explore the Arctic. The men become stranded when supply ships fail to reach them. Greely and six survivors are finally rescued in 1884.

1900s

1905--The Moro Insurrection. The Army begins the first of three Army campaigns on Jolo Island, Philippines, to quell radical Muslim tribesmen resisting American presence.

1918--In the first major American offensive of World War I, the 1st Division's 18th and 26th infantry regiments capture the town of Cantigny, France, May 28.

1942--On May 14 the Women's Army Corps, formerly the Woman's Army Auxiliary Corps, is established.

1944--In Italy, the reinforced Fifth Army breaks out of the Anzio beachhead and attacks the German Gustav line.

1945--The German High Command meets with Allied representatives at a schoolhouse in Reims, France, on May 7 and surrenders all German forces.

1950--On May 5 Congress enacts the Uniform Code of Military Justice, replacing the Articles of War as the judicial regulations of the armed forces.

1952--In Korea, Eighth U.S. Army launches counterattacks to halt the Chinese communist advance.

1957--The Army adopts the M-14 rifle to replace the M-1, the Browning automatic rifle and M-1 carbine.

1965--The first major Army combat unit, the 173rd Airborne Brigade, arrives in South Vietnam.

1967--North Korean raiders blow up an Army barracks just south of the DMZ, killing several soldiers and wounding others.

1980--On May 28 Cadet Andrea Hollen becomes the first female graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

2000s

2002--In Afghanistan, American and British forces search for Taliban fighters in Operation SNIPE.

2003--Thomas E. White steps down May 9 as the 18th secretary of the Army after serving approximately two years in the position.

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