May 4

1863 – The Battle of Chancellorsville ended: U.S. Civil War.

"My plans are perfect, and when I start to carry them out may God have mercy on General Lee, for I will have none." – Union General Joseph Hooker, prior to the battle.

Big talk for an incompetent commander.

Robert E. Lee had his finest moment at Chancellorsville, and handed Hooker his ass...Part of the equation was General Lee's instincts and willingness to take the fight to his enemy.  Another part of the equation was the incompetent Hooker.

That said, Hooker's loss ended up being a Pyrrhic victory for Lee - the outcome of Chancellorsville was one he couldn't afford to have.

A traditional Pyrrhic victory is one where the winner of a battle pays such a heavy losses to win the victory it cannot fight again at a later date, or can fight but not win...Lee's casualties at Chancellorsville were almost equal to those of the Union forces, but the forces were not equal:  133,000 Union v. 60,000 Confederate forces; with 17,000 Union casualties (1,600 dead) v. 13,000 Confederate casualties (1,600 dead).

Each death was a tragedy, but the Union could afford such losses, because they were more than able to replace them with more troops - and materiel...The South was in no such position, and every battle was a loss - even if they 'won', because their manpower levels were paltry compared to the North.

Also, Lee lost his best commander:  General Stonewall Jackson was accidentally shot by his own troops...It's debatable that this loss was as grave for Lee as his 13,000 casualties.

1493 - Pope Alexander VI decreed all new lands discovered west of the Azores were Spanish.

In 1494 this decree took form as the Treaty of Tordesilla...Unfortunately for Spain, the English, French and Dutch had no intention of being held back by Papal decrees.

It is interesting to wonder how things would have turned out had the Protestant Reformation not torn these countries from the Catholic sphere, though...I think it’s a legitimate question to wonder if the countries currently known as the U.S. and Canada would be far worse off and much more like South and Central American ‘Banana Republics’ than the thriving nations they are today had they been ruled by the Spanish?

1776 - Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.

Tiny Rhode Island put its neck on the chopping block, and should be noted as the first Patriots to have the testicular fortitude to challenge English rule in the colonies.

1814 - The Bourbon Dynasty was restored in France, under Louis XVIII.

Louis should have insisted on Napoleon’s execution, instead he had to fight him again in less than a year.

1886 - The Haymarket Square Riot broke out as a result of a labor demonstration.

The Haymarket Affair was a month-long event and much too difficult to explain here. You should note the episode was largely led by anarchists and wannabe communists, which is important to know because modern scholars have turned this event into a battle cry against business...I recommend you follow the link to read up on the event: HAYMARKET AFFAIR.

1919 - The May Fourth Movement:  Students demonstrated in China against the Versailles Peace Conference (ending WWI) decision to hand Germany's possessions in Shantung Province to Japan.

I can’t say I blame the Chinese for being angry. They were at war with the Japanese in 18-years, and a lot worse off due to the fact the Japanese controlled many Chinese ports - a result of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95, the Russo-Japanese War of 1905, and the Versailles Treaty.

Also of note, this movement led to the birth of the Chinese Communist Party.

1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea started when naval and air battles began off the Solomon Islands:  WWII.

The true turning-point in the Pacific came in June at Midway, but American victories in the Pacific began mounting from this time, making the Coral Sea a pseudo turning-point in the war.

Also of note, this is the naval first battle in history to be fought solely in the air...It is considered a naval battle because it was fought by planes from Japanese and American aircraft carriers.

1945 - A letter written by a British Soldier:  WWII.

A powerful reminder.

"The fact is that all these were once clean-living and sane and certainly not the type to do harm to the Nazis. They are Jews and are dying now at the rate of three hundred a day. They must die and nothing can save them - their end is inescapable, they are too far gone now to be brought back to life. I saw their corpses lying near their hovels, for they crawl or totter out into the sunlight to die. I watched them make their last feeble journeys, and even as I watched they died." - Peter Coombs, British soldier, letter to his wife after liberation of the Nazi Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp.

1970 - Ohio National Guard troops shot and killed four students and wounded eleven at Kent State University after demonstrations against the Vietnam War.

The troops may have been a little heavy handed and trigger-happy, but I can’t say I blame them.

1988 - A year-long amnesty program for illegal aliens in the United States who met certain conditions was coming to a close, with thousands of applicants lining up nationwide on the last day.

For all of his greatness, Reagan failed miserably on this issue...It not only led to more illegals rushing our borders, but will eventually be the impetus for another, much more enormous, amnesty.