Joe's Daily U.S. History Lesson -- June 17

JUNE 17 -- 1885 Statue of Liberty arrives to New York harbor; 1972 Watergate begins; 1775 Battle of Bunker Hill

JUNE 17 1885 – Statue of Liberty arrivers in New York Harbor. …It was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of America after a century of peace between the two countries. It was designed by French sculptor Frederic-August Bartholdi who modeled the statue after his own mother. He got assistance from engineer Gustava Eiffel.

It’s recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886. It was designated as National Monument in 1924. In 1903, a plaque inscribed with a sonnet titled The New Colossus by American poet Emma Lazarus, written 20 years earlier for a pedestal fundraiser, was placed on an interior wall of the pedestal. Lazarus’ now famous words, which include Give me your tired, your poor/your huddled masses yearning to break three, became symbolic of America’s vision of itself as a land of opportunity for immigrants.

1972 – Nixon’s re-election employees are arrestee four burglaries. …They were wiretapping the Democratic National Convention’s headquarters for the purposes of looking for dirt. The Nixon administration tried to cover-up its involvement, but when the conspiracy was discovered and investigated b y the US Congress, the Nixon administration’s resistance to its probes led to the discovery of multiple abuses of power by the Nixon administration, followed by articles of impeachment, and the eventual resignation of Richard Nixon, President of the United States, on August 9, 1974.

The only resignation of a US President to date. 69 people were indicted with trials or pleas resulting in 48 being found guilty and incarcerated. On June 17, 1972, five men were arrested for breaking into the DNC headquarters at Watergate. The name Watergate and the suffix gate have since become synonymous with poli8tical scandals in the US and in other English and non-English speaking nations as well.

1775 – Battle of Bunker Hill. The belligerents: Prescott v Howe. The result: Pyrrhic victory, British capture Charlestown peninsula.

Most of the battle actually took place at Breed’s Hill during the Siege of Boston. Now, what do I mean by a pyrrhic victory. That by def is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that is tantamount to defeat. And that is exactly my friends, what took place at the hill. Early in the Revolution, the British occupied Boston, but a month prior, they had retreated from Lexington.

That right there, coupled with the anti-British sentiment that was going on in Boston, led the British to fortify the Dorchester Heights and Charlestown peninsulas. But the colonists found out about the plan, and William Prescott ordered a construction of strong redoubts on Breed’s Hill overlooking Boston, as well Charlestown.

What were the British doing while these giant dirt and granite walls were being constructed? Hmm, sleeping. Gen. Howe doesn’t like this, to say the least. He stated, and I paraphrase, these rebels have done more work in one night than my troops can do in a month!

He fired cannon from the Harbor, but no effect. So here came 2500 British troops to march the hill. During the initial assault, the Redcoat went down. Especially officers. Howe sends a second assault up the hill. And those Redcoats went down. General Howe gets another 400 reinforcements, and they went up the hill.

This time, the colonists were out of ammo. So they shot whatever they could; glass, rocks and nails. Prescott told his men to wait until the British came in range, literally, until you see the whites of their eyes. Major Pitcaim, who just a month or so prior led the British to the Lexington greens, was killed in the assault. But the colonists were out of bullets, and Howe led a successful bayonet siege as the colonists retreated.

Overall, Gen. Howe and the British, though victorious, paid a dear price, losing 40% of his men. The Americans lost Breed Hill, but the Americans learned that the British army was not invincible after all, and the army simply realized they needed better training.

And the training they would receive would help them in New York and New Jersey later on. And that, is what I mean by a pyrrhic victory.