Posted on 05/24/2017 7:19:11 AM PDT by fugazi
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 nearby Fort San Carlos de Barrancas (originally built by the British as “the Royal Navy Redoubt”) where he briefly puts up a token resistance – to save face – before hoisting the white flag there, too.
1861: Less than 24 hours after Virginia secedes from the Union, a regiment of Zouave infantry consisting of volunteer fire fighters from New York City land at Alexandria and occupy the town. The regiment’s commander (and personal friend of President Abraham Lincoln), Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth, becomes the first Union officer killed in the Civil War when he is shot while taking down a Confederate flag.
1939: A day after the submarine USS Squalus sinks during a series of test dives off the coast of Portsmouth, N.H., the submarine salvage ship USS Falcon arrives and begins rescue operations. Although 26 sailors drowned instantly when the submarine went down, divers use a newly designed rescue chamber to save the remaining 33 crewmembers. Four divers are awarded the Medal of Honor for the world’s first rescue of a submarine crew in deep water, and...
(Excerpt) Read more at victoryinstitute.net ...
Why were Zouave infantry from New York? They had summer homes in Acadia?
Ellsworth's military knowledge came from a lifetime of studying military tactics, history, and manuals; and later as colonel of Chicago's National Guard Cadets. He never achieved his dream of attending West Point, as he could not gain the needed sponsorship. He was introduced to the famous French Zouaves through the teachings of his fencing instructor, Charles DeVillers, a former French Zouave.Ellsworth introduced this drill team to the flashy Zouave uniforms and drill that emulated French colonial troops in Algeria and turned the group, renamed the U.S. Zouave Cadets, into a national champion drill team. A national tour in 1860 brought Ellsworth to the attention of Abraham Lincoln, for whom the unit performed hundreds of military drill movements with their muskets and bayonets.
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