2 January 1863
The Battle of Stones River concludes when the Union troops of William Rosecrans defeat Confederates under Braxton Bragg at Murfeesboro, just south of Nashville. This battle was a crucial engagement in the contest for central Tennessee, and provided a Union victory during a very bleak period for the North. The end of 1862 found Rosecrans's Army of the Cumberland in Nashville, thirty miles north of Bragg's troops. Rosecrans assumed command of the army only in October, with the understanding that he would attack Bragg and drive the Confederates from central Tennessee. This move was delayed throughout the fall by John Morgan's cavalry, who harassed the federals and threatened their supply line. Finally, the day after Christmas, Rosecrans moved his force south to meet Bragg. The armies collided along Stones River on New Year's Eve. Facing a larger Union force (42,000 Union soldiers to 35,000 Confederates), Bragg launched an attack in bitterly cold morning fog against the Yankees' right flank. The attack was initially successful in driving the Union back, but the Yankees did not break. A day of heavy fighting brought frightful casualties, and the suffering was compounded by the frigid weather. The Confederates came close to winning, but were not quite able to turn the Union flank against Stones River. The new year dawned the next day with each army still in the field and ready for another fight. The strike came on January 2, and the Confederates lost the battle. Bragg attacked against the advice of his generals and lost the confidence of his army. The Union troops repelled the assault, and Bragg was forced back to Chattanooga. The North was in control of central Tennessee, and the Union victory provided a much-needed moral boost in the aftermath of the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg. Stones River was a hard-fought and very bloody engagement, with some of the highest casualty rates of the war. The Confederates lost 33 percent of their force, while 31 percent of the Union force was either killed, wounded, or missing. Combined casualties totaled nearly 25,000 men. Lincoln later wrote to Rosecrans, "...you gave us a hard victory which, had there been a defeat instead, the nation could scarcely have lived over."
2 January 1967
In what is described as the biggest air battle of the war to date, U.S. Air Force F-4 Phantom jets down seven communist MiG-21s over North Vietnam. The Phantoms were flying cover for F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bombers, which were attacking surface-to-air missile sites in the Red River Delta. During this operation, Col. Robin Olds shot down one of the MiGs, becoming the first and only U.S. Air Force ace with victories in both World War II and Vietnam. 2 January
Medal of Honor Citations for Actions Taken This Day
LENIHAN, JAMES Rank and organization: Private, Company K, 5th U.S. Cavalry. Place and date: At Clear Creek, Ariz., 2 January 1873. Entered service at: - - - . Birth: Ireland. Date of issue: 12 April 1875. Citation: Gallantry in action.
*EDWARDS, JUNIOR D. Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Company E, 23d Infantry Regiment, 2d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Changbong-ni, Korea, 2 January 1951. Entered service at: Indianola, Iowa. Born: 7 October 1926, Indianola, lowa. G.O. No.: 13, 1 February 1952. Citation: Sfc. Edwards, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. When his platoon, while assisting in the defense of a strategic hill, was forced out of its position and came under vicious raking fire from an enemy machine gun set up on adjacent high ground, Sfc. Edwards individually charged the hostile emplacement, throwing grenades as he advanced. The enemy withdrew but returned to deliver devastating fire when he had expended his ammunition. Securing a fresh supply of grenades, he again charged the emplacement, neutralized the weapon and killed the crew, but was forced back by hostile small-arms fire. When the enemy emplaced another machine gun and resumed fire, Sfc. Edwards again renewed his supply of grenades, rushed a third time through a vicious hail of fire, silenced this second gun and annihilated its crew. In this third daring assault he was mortally wounded but his indomitable courage and successful action enabled his platoon to regain and hold the vital strongpoint. Sfc. Edwards' consummate valor and gallant self-sacrifice reflect the utmost glory upon himself and are in keeping with the esteemed traditions of the infantry and military service.2 January 1904
U.S. Marines are sent to Santo Domingo to aid the government against rebel forces backed by European interests opposed to the government of Carols F. Morales. Morales had stopped payment on all foreign debts to attempt to negotiate more favorable terms. In 1905 the US will arrange a customs receivership that will pay off the debts.
TODAY IN MILITARY HISTORY
2 January
◆366 The Allamanni invade the Roman Empire across the Rhine.
◆1492 Granada surrenders to Ferdinand & Isabella, completing the 781 year war to liberate Spain from the Moors.
◆1570 Tsar Ivan the Terrible begins the conquest of Great Novgorod.
◆1602 Spanish forces in Ireland surrender to the English at Kinsale.
◆1631 England & Spain ally against the Dutch Republic.
◆1762 During the course of the Seven Years War, England declares war on Spain, who is preparing to ally herself with the French and Austrians.
◆1861 The USS Brooklyn is readied at Norfolk to aid Fort Sumter.
◆1861 Colonel Charles Stone is put in charge of organizing the Washington D.C. militia.
◆1863 The battle of Stones River concludes when the Union troops of William Rosecrans defeat Confederates under Braxton Bragg at Murfeesboro, just south of Nashville.★
◆1904 U.S. Marines are sent to Santo Domingo to aid the government against rebel forces backed by European interests opposed to the government of Carols F. Morales. Morales had stopped payment on all foreign debts to attempt to negotiate more favorable terms. In 1905 the US will arrange a customs receivership that will pay off the debts.
◆1918 Russian Bolsheviks threaten to re-enter the war unless Germany returns occupied territory.
◆1932 Japanese forces in Manchuria set up a puppet government known as Manchukuo.
◆1933 US troops leave Nicaragua. They have been there since 1926 trying to keep peace between the Liberal government and the Conservative forces of Augusto Sandino (Sandinistas) elements, but in 1932, isolationist feeling in the Congress leads to continued funding of the mission to be withdrawn.
◆1941 The Andrews Sisters recorded "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."
◆1941 Roosevelt announces a plan to mass-produce 7500-ton freighters. 200 will be produced to a standard design and will be known as Liberty Ships.
◆1942 In the Philippines, the city of Manila and the U.S. Naval base at Cavite fall to Japanese forces. The American and Philippino Allies establish their defenses on the approaches to the Bataan Peninsula.
◆1942 Navy Airship Patrol Group 1 and Air Ship Squadron 12 are established at Lakehurst, N.J.
◆1943 Japanese positions at Buna, New Guinea are stormed by troops from Eichelberger's US 1st Corps. Fighting continues around Sanananda.
◆1943 US troops on Guadalcanal launch another assault up Mount Austen. Some progress is made but the Gifu strongpoint remains in Japanese control.
◆1944 On New Britain, the American 7th Marine Regiment launches attacks to expand its beachhead near Cape Gloucester but fails to meet its objectives.
◆1944 US Task Force 38 (Admiral Barbey) lands 2400 troops of the 126th Regiment (General Martin) of the 32nd Division at Saidor. Both the airfield and the harbor are secured. An Allied cruiser and destroyer force, led by Admiral Crutchley, provides cover for the landing. To the east, Australian forces advance to Sialum.
◆1945 In the Ardennes, Third Army troops take Bonnerue, Hubertmont and Remagne. In Alsace Seventh Army withdraws under German pressure.
◆1945 About 1000 USAAF bombers nominally attack troop concentrations and communications in western Germany while about 1000 RAF bombers strike Nuremburg and Ludwigshafen.
◆1945 An American Sikorsky helicopter is used in convoy escort duties for the first time.
◆1945 In the Carolines, Fais Island is occupied by an American amphibious force.
◆1951 For the first time, a C-47 dropped flares to illuminate B-26 and F-82 night attacks on enemy forces. The flares also deterred enemy night attacks on U.S. troops. Fifth Air Force withdrew forward-based F-86s assigned to the 4th FIW from enemy-threatened Kimpo Airfield near Seoul to the wing's home station at Johnson AB, Japan.
◆1963 In Vietnam, the Viet Cong down five U.S. helicopters in the Mekong Delta. 30 Americans are reported dead.
◆1963 At Ap Bac, a village in the Mekong Delta 50 miles southwest of Saigon, the Viet Cong inflict heavy casualties on a much larger South Vietnamese force. 1966 American G.I.s move into the Mekong Delta for the first time.
◆1967 In what is described as the biggest air battle of the war to date, U.S. Air Force F-4 Phantom jets down seven communist MiG-21s over North Vietnam. The Phantoms were flying cover for F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bombers, which were attacking surface-to-air missile sites in the Red River Delta. During this operation, Col. Robin Olds shot down one of the MiGs, becoming the first and only U.S. Air Force ace with victories in both World War II and Vietnam. ★
◆1969 Operation Barrier Reef, The fourth and last interdiction barrier in the Mekong Delta is established with naval patrols operating on the LaGrange-Ong Long Canal fro, Tuyen Nhon on the Vam Co Tay Rover to An Long on the Mekong began.
◆2002 Troops of the 101st Airborne Division begin to replace Marines that have been in Kandahar, Afghanistan since November of 2001.