US Military History Throughout The Years.

• Battle of Palmito Ranch: Friday, May 12, 1865 – Considered by some to be the last battle of the Civil War, Union and Confederate forces would clash on the banks of the Rio Grande River east of Brownsville, Texas. The battle was prompted by the Union commander who had never been in combat. After small initial success on the 12th they would be defeated on the 13th by Confederate forces using artillery to their great advantage. Union Private John J. Williams is believed to be the last man killed in this battle and thus the last Solider to die in combat in the Civil War. That this battle was the last one fought in the Civil War is disputed, as the Confederacy has ceased to exist at this point and this can be considered a post-war action as a result.
• USS America: Wednesday, May 10, 1797 – The first American Navy ship built under the Naval Act of 1794 was launched. The USS United States was a wood hulled, three masted heavy frigate that was built along with five other similar frigates. She would protect American merchant ships until the Civil War when the Confederacy would capture and later scuttle her. She was raised by the Union but later broken up in 1865
• Join or Die: Thursday, May 9, 1754 – Founding Father Benjamin Franklin publishes what is considered the first political cartoon in American newspapers. In this days addition of the Pennsylvania Gazette he would publish the “Join or Die” cartoon, the cartoon showed what was at the time colonial disunity and was used to encourage the British American colonies to unite against harsh British rule. The cartoon over the years has become a symbol of American unity and freedom.

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