1864: While Union and Confederate ships engage one another at the mouth of the Roanoke River, the Army of the Potomac under Maj. Gen. George G. Meade (with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in tow) clashed with General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in the Battle of the Wilderness, which ended in a narrow tactical Confederate victory, but with a major difference from the Battle of Chancellorsville fought nearby a year earlier: shrugging off his defeat, Grant ordered his men to resume their advance toward Richmond. Interested in learning more about Maj. Gen. George Meade? Visit HistoryNet.com.
Also today in history, in the U.S. and elsewhere:
1862: Major General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac and General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of Northern Virginia clashed in the first pitched engagement of the Peninsular campaign, the Battle of Williamsburg, which ended inconclusively with the Confederate force intact and continuing the retreat already in process.
1920: Polish troops occupied Kiev in Ukraine.
1932: China and Japan signed a peace treaty.
1936: Rivincita! Italian forces occupied the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.
1941: Ethiopian Negus Haile Selassie returned to Addis Ababa.
1944: The Soviet offensive to retake Sebastopol from the Germans began.
Today in history: May 5
