Stand Watie was born on December 12, 1806, in Oothcaloga, Cherokee Nation (present-day Calhoun, Georgia). Watie was the only Native American to achieve the rank of general during the Civil War and was the last Confederate general to surrender.
On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. A day that will live in infamy, the attack prompted an unusual handling of the American flag, which became known as the Flag of Liberation.
On December 4, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson boarded a boat to Paris, becoming the first siting president to travel to Europe. He spent six months in France for the World War I peace talks in Paris.
On November 29, 1952, president-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower filled a campaign promise to visit Korea. He had been critical of Harry Truman’s handling of the Korean conflict and promised he would visit and bring an end to the war.
On November 28, 1922, skywriting was first used for advertising in American skies. It quickly grew in popularity, with advertisers finding a new way to deliver messages to a wider audience.
On November 25, 1783, the British Army left New York City following the American Revolutionary War. The date was celebrated for over a century as Evacuation Day, with celebrations rivaling those held on the Fourth of July.
US sailor Dorie Miller died on November 24, 1943, during the Battle of Makin. He had previously survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, for which he’d earned a Navy Cross.
America’s 14th president, Franklin Pierce, was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, on November 23, 1804. Despite his early popularity, Pierce only served one term due to his poor handling of the growing slavery issue.
On November 19, 1752, George Rogers Clark was born in Albemarle County, Virginia. A hero of the American Revolution, he’s most famous for his captures of Kaskaskia, Vincennes, and Fort Sackville.