News & Updates

In late July: During the Civil War David Farragut was our first Rear Admiral and Ulysses Grant became our nation’s first General of the Army. Our active army and militia worked together overseas for the first time. And the Star Spangled Banner became our National Anthem.

On 16 Jul 1862, during our Civil War, David Glasgow Farragut, in recognition of his victory at New Orleans, was promoted to Rear Admiral, the first officer to hold that rank in the history of the US Navy. ‘ Rear Admirals were to rank with Major Generals in the Army.

On 16 Jul 1957, Marine Maj. John Glenn set a transcontinental speed record when he flew a jet from California to New York in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds.

On 18 July 1918, during WWI, three days after a German offensive near the Marne River in the Champagne region of France failed, Allied forces launched a major counterattack ending the Second Battle of the Marne and decisively turning the tide of the war toward an Allied victory.

Casualties at the Marne were staggering, with Germany losing 168,000 soldiers to death or injury, compared with 95,000 for the French, 13,000 for the British and 12,000 for the US. After the disaster at the Marne, Ludendorff was forced to call off a planned German offensive further north, in the Flanders region stretching between France and Belgium, which he had envisioned as Germany’s best hope of victory. In the end, the Second Battle of the Marne marked the last large-scale German offensive of WWI.

On 22 Jul 1942, the systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw ghetto begins, as thousands were rounded up daily and transported to a newly constructed concentration/extermination camp at Treblinka, in Poland. By the end of the war, between 700,000 and 900,000 would die at either Treblinka I or II. Hoess was tried and sentenced to death by the Nuremberg Tribunal. He was hanged in 1947.

On 23 July 1967, in the early morning hours of July 23, 1967, one of the worst riots in US history broke out on 12th Street in the heart of Detroit’s predominantly African American inner city. By the time it was quelled four days later by 7,000 National Guard and US Army troops, 43 people were dead, and 342 injured. By the summer of 1967, the predominantly African American neighborhood of Virginia Park was ready to explode. Some 60,000 poor people were crammed into the neighborhood’s 460 acres, living in squalor in divided and sub-divided apartments. The Detroit Police Department, which had only about 50 African Americans at the time, was viewed as a white occupying army. At night, 12th Street was a center of Detroit inner-city nightlife, both legal and illegal. William Scott operated an illegal after-hours club on weekends. The police vice squad often raided establishments like this, and at 3:35 a.m. on Sunday morning they moved against Scott’s club. That night, they were hosting a party for several veterans, including two servicemen recently back from Vietnam. Out in the street, a crowd began to gather as police waited for paddy wagons to take the 85 patrons away. An hour passed before the last prisoner was taken away, and by then about 200 onlookers lined the street. A bottle crashed into the street. The police ignored it, but then more bottles were thrown, including one through the window of a patrol car. The police fled as a riot erupted. Thousands of people had spilled out onto the street. Around 6:30 a.m., the first fire broke out, and soon much of the street was set ablaze. By midmorning, every policeman and fireman in Detroit was called to duty. 600,000 officers fought to control a mob of 3,000. Firemen were attacked as they tried to battle the flames. Detroit Mayor Cavanaugh asked the Michigan Governor to send in the state police, but these 300 more officers couldn’t keep the riot from spreading to a 100-block area. The National Guard was called in but didn’t arrive until evening. By the end of the day, over 1,000 were arrested, but still the riot kept growing. Five people were dead. On Monday, 16 people were

killed, most by police or guardsmen. Snipers fired at firemen, and fire hoses were cut. Governor Romney asked President Lyndon Johnson to send in US troops. Nearly 2,000 army paratroopers arrived on Tuesday and began patrolling the street. Ten more people died that day, and 12 more on Wednesday. On Thursday order was finally restored. Over 7,000 people were arrested. A total of 43 were killed. Some 1,700 stores were looted and nearly 1,400 buildings burned, causing $50 million in property damage. Some 5,000 people were left homeless. The so-called 12th Street Riot was the worst US riot in 100 years.

On 25 Jul 1814, during the War of 1812, an American army under the command of Major General Jacob Brown, having won a victory at Chippewa on July 5th, was now compelled by an advancing British army, to retreat toward Fort Erie. After several hours of fighting, the costliest of any in the War of 1812, our forces withdrew to Fort Erie and later into New York. While most of our units were Regular Army regiments, this army did contain a brigade consisting of the 5th Pennsylvania Regiment and a mixed force of New York militia along with some New York volunteer dragoons under the command of Brigadier General Peter Porter of New York. British losses totaled 876 men killed or wounded; our losses were 859 men. Though the militia didn’t play an important role during the battle, being part of the reserve, its mere presence was significant never-the-less. During this war, it was very uncommon to find militia units crossing from the US into enemy territory. Under existing laws, they could not be compelled to do so. In fact, there were instances where the militia of one state refused to cross a state line to serve in defending their neighbors. These actions would be found to various degrees until passage of the 1903 Militia Act bring the militia (now National Guard) under federal control in time of war.

On 25 Jul 1866, Ulysses Grant was named General of the Army, the first officer to hold the rank.

On 26 Jul 1945, during WWII, the Potsdam Declaration was issued in a radio broadcast demanding the immediate and unconditional surrender of Japan. It also threatened the “prompt and utter destruction” of the Japanese homeland, if the government of Japan failed to do so. On the 28th Japanese Premier Kantaro Suzuki announced to the Japanese press that the Potsdam declaration was to be ignored.

On 26 Jul 1945, during WWII, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis delivered the consignment of Uranium-235, needed to assemble the first operational atomic bomb, to the American base on Tinian. Shortly after delivering the bomb, our ship was sunk by a Japanese submarine.

On 26 Jul 1948, President Harry Truman in Executive Order No. 9981 called for “equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed forces without regard to race, color, religion or national origin.” Oue military was now desegregated, leading the way for the rest of the nation. On 27 Jul 1909, Orville Wright tested our Army’s first airplane, flying himself and a passenger for 1 hour, 12 minutes and 40 seconds over Fort Myer, Virginia.

On 27 July 1953, after three years of a bloody and frustrating war, the US, the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, and South Korea agreed to an armistice, bringing the Korean War to an end. The armistice ended America’s first experiment with the Cold War concept of “limited war.”

On 28 Jul 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, beginning WWI.

On 28 Jul 1931, Congress made “The Star-Spangled Banner” our 2nd national anthem.

On 30 July 1956, two years after pushing to have the phrase “under God” inserted into the pledge of allegiance, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a law officially declaring “In God We Trust” to be the nation’s official motto. The law also mandated that the phrase be printed on all American paper currency. The phrase had been on US coins since the Civil War when, according to the US Treasury, religious sentiment reached a peak. Eisenhower’s treasury secretary, George Humphrey, had suggested adding the phrase to paper currency as well.

On 31 July 1777, during our Revolutionary War, the Marquis de Lafayette, a 19-year-old French nobleman, was made a major-general in the American Continental Army.

On 31 July 1991, President Bush and Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty in Moscow.

COMING UP ON FRONTLINES OF FREEDOM

On the weekend of July 20-21, Army vet Jessica Villareal from Concerned Veterans for America will discuss issues. Army vet and businessman Brent Reath will discuss his service. Vet Amanda Winters will discuss female concealed carry, and Gen Chris Petty will present the Battle of the Month.

And on the weekend of July 27-28, former Space Force Lt. Col. Matt Lohmeier will discuss some serous issues in our military. Greg Wrightstone, Ex Dir of the CO2 Coalition will discuss the danger our earth is not it. Diane Raver will present the Movie of the Month.

The Frontlines of Freedom Newsletter is published twice monthly;
the dates of publication each month depend on the events and history of that month.

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