1812: In the War of 1812, the super-frigate USS Constitution, commanded by Captain William Bainbridge, sank HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour slugfest. Java’s destruction marked the third British loss in less than a year. In addition to the Java, the Constitution had won a short fight against the British Guerrière, and the Constitution’s sister ship, United States, had dismasted the 35-gun Macedonian off the Canary Islands. Read a short history of the USS Constitution on HistoryNet.com.
Also today in history, in the U.S. and elsewhere:
1503: In the Battle of Garigliano near Naples, the Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba decisively defeated the French. In spite of a heroic lone defense of the bridge to cover the French retreat by Pierre Terrail, 4,000 French troops were killed with another 4,000 wounded or captured, compared to 900 Spanish. Córdoba’s victory left the Spanish in control of Naples.
1860: The HMS Warrior was launched. The ship combined screw propulsion with an all-iron superstructure and iron armor, rendering all other warships obsolete.
1890: What began as an attempt by the 7th U.S. Cavalry Regiment to disarm Miniconjou and Hunkpapa Lakota at Wounded Knee, near the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, turned into misunderstanding and violence — followed by indiscriminate shooting. The final death toll came to 29 troopers — most apparently shot in error by their own comrades because one-half of the armed Indians were cut down in the first volley — as well as 98 Lakota men, 65 women and 21 children. Read about the history of Wounded Knee on HistoryNet.com.
