May 5
1215. Barons in England begin renouncing their allegiance to King John. This begins the chain of events that will result in the Magna Carta.
1260. Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis, takes the title of Great Khan. He had been commander of the Eastern Armies of the Mongol Empire, in the process of conquering China. He completes that mission while Great Khan, forming the Yuan Dynasty in 1271. He also has tremendous influence over the western portions of the Mongol Dynasty -- the Ilkhanate (modern Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, and portions of surrounding countries) and the Golden Horde of the steppes. He also welcomes Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant, to China, greatly increasing his fame in the western world.
1821. Napoleon dies while in exile on the island of Helena.
1862. Cinco de Mayo! Troops halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla, Mexico.
1864. The Battle of the Wilderness begins, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. One of the nastiest of the Civil War, the battle lasts for days and covers some of the same ground that previous battles, most famously Chancellorsville, were fought on earlier in the war. The impenetrably thick brush and woods makes visibility poor. The most horrifying part is that weapons of the combatants light portions of the brush on fire, which rages in portions of the wilderness, including between the lines. Wounded men of both sides, unable to flee or be rescued, are heard screaming and perishing throughout the nights.
A tactical victory for Lee, perhaps, having inflicted more casualties on Grant's forces, it fails to thwart Grant's relentless determination to get to Richmond. The most notable part of this engagement isn't the fight, but what happened afterwards. In every previous engagement between Union and Confederate forces in this and similar areas between Washington and Richmond, the Union had disengaged and then withdrawn to positions behind the nearest river. This time, Grant withdraws but orders a march by the left flank, continually trying to get around Lee. The Army of the Potomac never again leaves Virginia soil until the end of the war.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Historian James McPherson
While the armies skirmished warily on May 7, Grant prepared to march around Lee's right during the night to seize the crossroads village of Spotsylvania a dozen miles to the south. If successful, this move would place the Union army closer to Richmond than the enemy and force Lee to fight or retreat. All day Union supply wagons and the reserve artillery moved to the rear, confirming the soldiers' weary expectation of retreat. After dark the blue divisions pulled out one by one.
But instead of heading north, they turned south. A mental sunburst brightened their minds. It was not another "Chancellorsville ... another skedaddle" after all. "Our spirits rose," recalled one veteran who remembered this moment as a turning point in the war. Despite the terrors of the past three days and those to come, "we marched free. The men began to sing." For the first time in a Virginia campaign the Army of the Potomac stayed on the offensive after its initial battle. [ |
1891. The Music Hall in New York City (later renamed Carnegie Hall) opens, with Tchaikovsky as guest conductor.
1945. Admiral Karl Konitz, now President of Germany, orders all U-boats to cease offensive operations and return to their bases. Prague rises up against their German occupiers. Wehrmacht troops capitulate in Denmark and the Netherlands