November 12, 1942 - The Start of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal

The Guadalcanal Campaign began on August 7, 1942, when Americans landed on the Guadalcanal

Above is the Guadalcanal Island layout. As you can
see, Iron Bottom Sound is to the right of
Henderson Field.

with the objective of denying the Japanese use of the island for their bases to threaten supple routes between the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand (1). Four months later the first Battle of Guadalcanal started on November 12th. During that day the Japanese had came to realize that: “one, that the Americans had far more troops on Guadalcanal than earlier estimates had indicated, and two, Henderson Field had to be neutralized in order for the Japanese to control the seas around the island” (2). Henderson Field is an air landing strip that the Japanese built in order to demolish the Marine’s radio station, food stock and construction equipment. The night of November 12, fights broke out

Above is Kinugawa, a Japanese cargo ship,
beached and sunk on the shores of Guadalcanal.
The Japanese were unable to receive supplies.

between the Japanese and Americans, sinking six Japanese ships and ten American ships (3). At about 1:00 AM on the 13th, a bombardment force entered Iron Bottom Sound, the body of water located at the Southern end of the slot between Guadalcanal, Savo Island, and Florida Island (4). Waiting for them was an American force of cruisers and destroyers (5). The two main Japanese ships, Hiei and Kirishima, whose job was to bombard Henderson Field into impotence, were sunk (6).

Guadalcanal’s importance meant that fighting continued because, “neither side was willing to give up the struggle to maintain control over the Sound, and thereby denying supply to the other side's land forces” (7). The stage was set, yet again, for another brutal battle two nights later, which began the second naval battle of Guadalcanal. Americans lost three destroyers and a battle ship that evening. The Japanese had lost one additional destroyer that played an important part in taking over Henderson Field. Because of this they have finally given up the war effect to take over Henderson Field. The Campaign of Guadalcanal finally ended on February 9, 1943; the Japanese had lost 31,400 troops, whereas the U.S. had only lost 2,000 soldiers when about 60,000 were deployed (8), both sides lost a lot of ships. But by far the most significant loss for the Japanese was the decimation of their elite group of naval aviators (9). Japan, after Guadalcanal, no longer had a realistic hope of beating the all-powerful United States (10).

-Jenna S. & Jack R.



(1) "Guadalcanal Campaign," Princeton University, Accessed November 7, 2013, http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Guadalcanal_Campaign.htm.
(2) Nihon Kaigun, "Guadalcanal Campaign - Nihon Kaigun," Accessed November 7, 2013, http://www.combinedfleet.com/battles/Guadalcanal_Campaign#First_Guadalcanal.
(3) “Guadalcanal Campaign – Nihon Kaigun”
(4) “Guadalcanal Campaign – Nihon Kaigun”
(5) “Guadalcanal Campaign – Nihon Kaigun”
(6) “Guadalcanal Campaign – Nihon Kaigun”
(7) “Guadalcanal Campaign – Nihon Kaigun”
(8) "Battle of Guadalcanal,” — History.com, Accessed November 7, 2013, http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-guadalcanal.
(9) “Battle of Guadalcanal”
(10) “Battle of Guadalcanal”
(11) Naval History and Heritage Command, "Guadalcanal Campaign,” Accessed November 7, 2013. http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/guadlcnl/guadlcnl.htm.

November 11, 1918 - Armistice Day

November 11, 1918 will forever be remembered as the date the First World War reached a ceasefire on the Western Front, eventually leading to the conclusion of the Great War. At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, an official order was passed through the ranks declaring all nations on the western front to cease firing. While June 28, 1919 is the certified date the war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, President Woodrow Wilson made an effort for the date of armistice of World War I to be recognized and celebrated.

An Armistice Day celebration in Raleigh, N.C. in 1920

November 11 of that year included many parades and celebrations, including a “brief suspension of business activities.”[1] A congressional act passed in 1938 officially made November 11th a national holiday.[2] The Great War caused horrendous injuries and deaths to all those involved. Speaking on the Allied Powers specifically, they mobilized an estimated 42,000,000 soldiers, and of those, an estimated 22,000,000 were wounded or killed in action. [3]

America was involved in WWII on a far larger scale than in the First World War. During World War I, the U.S. mobilized a little under 4,400,000 troops. While involved in World War II, the U.S. set over 12,000,000 to battle. [4] By 1954, due to the massive number of new veterans and pressure from major veteran’s support groups, President Dwight Eisenhower moved to change the name of Armistice Day to Veterans’ Day.[5] In 1971, Congress decided to alter Veterans’ day even more by shifting it to always fall on the fourth Monday of October.[6] However, not every state decided to follow suit with the federal government. With confusion setting in due to Veterans’ Day being celebrated on the fourth Monday in October in Alabama, and on November 11 in, initially only Mississippi and South Dakota, changing the date of Veterans’ Day yet again was imminent. Slowly from 1971-1975, as many as half

Veterans' Day celebrated in Columbus, OH in 2012

of the states in the union switched Veterans’ Day back to the original date of World War I’s armistice, November 11th. In 1975, President Gerald Ford finally caved to popular support and passed legislation to shift Veterans’ Day to the date we observe today, however, the process to become official still took another three years until 1978. [7]

- Zach P. and Hunter O.

[1] “History of Veterans’ Day,” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, accessed November 3, 2013, http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

[2] “History of Veterans’ Day,” U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, accessed November 3, 2013, http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/vetdayhistory.asp

[3] “WWI Casualties and Death Tables” PBS website, accessed November 5, 2013, http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html

[4]”By the Numbers: U.S. Military” The National WWII Museum website, accessed November 5, 2013, http://www.nationalww2museum.org/learn/education/for-students/ww2-history/ww2-by-the-numbers/us-military.html

[5] “The History of Veterans’ Day,” The U.S. Army Center of Military History, accessed November 3, 2013, http://www.history.army.mil/html/reference/holidays/vetsday/vetshist.html

[6] “Veterans’ Day” The History Channel Website, accessed November 3, 2013, http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-veterans-day

[7] “Veterans’ Day November 11,” America’s Library, and the Library of Congress, accessed November 3, 2013, http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/modern/jb_modern_veteran_3.html

November 10, 1865 - Confederate Prison Camp Leader is Executed

A crowd gathered around the platform where Wirz was executed.

On November 10, 1865, Union soldiers surrounded an execution platform, all chanting, “Wirz, remember, Andersonville.” The executioner, Major Russell, said, “I deplore this duty,” to which Henry Wirz said, “I know what orders are, Major, and I am being hanged for obeying them.” Major Russell triggered the trapdoor; Wirz fell, but the fall didn’t snap his neck. It took a full two minutes for him to die, while all around him soldiers continued chanting. [1]

Andersonville, officially known as Camp Sumter, became the worst of the camps on either side. No barracks were ever built, forcing the prisoners to live in “shebangs” constructed of scrap wood. There was a stream, but it quickly became polluted and turned the land of the camp into a swamp.[2] The prisioners lacked fresh drinking water and disease quickly spread. The Confederacy built the camp to hold 10,000 soldiers, but that number quickly soared to somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000, with some estimates stretching as high as 45,000. Some 13,000 deaths are attributed to the camp.

Wirz was one of the few political executions of the American Civil War. After a year in Europe operating on behalf of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Wirz returned was given of the Andersonville POW camp, where he gained a reputation for being a “weak administrator …[with] a bad temper.” [3]

Historians debate about how at fault Wirz actually was. He had very little in terms of resources, and in 1864 the Union had stopped prisoner exchanges. When word got out about the atrocities of Andersonville, through photographs and witnesses, someone had to be held accountable. Wirz’s trial took 2 months, and throughout it all he refused to plead guilty to charges of “wanton cruelty.”

- Valarie S. and David P.





[1] John, Simkin. "Spartacus Educational." Accessed November 6, 2013. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USACWwirz.htm.
[2] "History.com." Accessed November 6, 2013. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/henry-wirz-hanged.
[3] Henry Wirz," The Biography Channel website,http://www.biography.com/people/henry-wirz-560234 (accessed Nov 06, 2013).