US Military History Throughout The Years

Short bits of history you know and some you may not!

• Margaret Corbin: Saturday, November 16, 1776 – During the defense of Fort Washington during the Revolutionary War, Margaret Corbin would accompany her husband as he manned one of the two cannon crews in the fort. Since Margaret was a nurse, she was allowed to accompany her husband and quickly began treating injured Soldiers. As the battle raged on her husband was killed as he manned his cannon. Having watched him fire the cannon so much she quickly took his place, easily firing and loading the cannon after having watched her husband do it so many times. She would continue to man the cannon until she too was seriously injured and forced out of combat. Her injuries were serious enough that she never fully recovered from them and was completely disabled. Impressed with her bravery, actions and sympathetic to her injuries, the Congress’s Board of War would grant her half the pay of a regular Soldier and money for new clothing. She was placed on the military’s rolls as a Soldier till the end of the war and became the first woman to receive a pension from the United States Government. In 1926, what were thought to be her remains, were reinterred at the United States Military Academy with full military honors. Unfortunately the remains were found to be from an unidentified male and the location of her remains are unknown.
• Collision: Saturday, November 15, 1969 – During operations in the Barents Sea, the USS Gato, a nuclear powered submarine, would collide with the Soviet submarine K-19 at a depth of around 200 feet. The collision would completely destroy the sonar in K-19s forward areas and mangle its front torpedo tube doors. The K-19 would quickly have to return to port for repairs. The USS Gato however was relatively undamaged and went on to continue its patrol.
• Palmer Land: Saturday, November 18, 1820 – US Navy Caption Nathaniel Palmer becomes the first American, and possible first person, to lay sight on Antarctica. While sailing in the South Sea in search of new seal rookeries he would push his small schooner Hero south of Cape Horn. He would reach what is now known as the Antarctic Peninsula, which would be called Palmer Land in the USA. The claim to Palmer being the first to sight Antarctica is disputed by two other captains, von Bellingshausen of Russia and Bransfield of the British Navy, most likely having sighted the peninsula before him. Palmer would go on to co-discover the South Orkney Islands, take part in the fast sailing express freight of the time and would be a part designer in the development of the clipper ship.

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