July 1

1863 - The Battle of Gettysburg began (ended July 3):  U.S. Civil War.

General Lee won Day 1, but the battle got away from him in the next few...Gettysburg should be noted as one of the turning-points of the war - along with Vicksburg and New Orleans.

69 - Vespasian was proclaimed Roman Emperor.

Titus Flavius Vespasianus was the victor after a civil war, and reestablished peace in the Empire...He also founded the Flavian Line of Emperors.

1569 - The Union of Lublin: United Poland and Lithuania.

Unfortunately for both, the Russians, Prussians and Austrians weren’t much for respecting other nation’s sovereignty, and swallowed both up in due time.

1595 - An English fleet sacked Cadiz, Spain.

During this time the English made many raids on the Spanish fleet, and Cadiz was one of their favorite locations...There were many others, including the various Spanish ports in the New World.

It's important to understand, these 'naval' attacks were really nothing more than seafaring brigands, acting more like pirates than 'sailors.'

1898 - Theodore Roosevelt and his 'Rough Riders' waged a victorious assault on San Juan Hill in Cuba:  Spanish-American War.

I love Teddy Roosevelt, and he was a great man long before San Juan Hill, but it was this battle and his 'heroics' which gave him the final accomplishment he needed to be chosen as President McKinley's vice president...Funny thing is much of his legend in this battle is just that, and by modern standards he hardly warranted a Medal of Honor.

Thankfully, Teddy was every bit as good a president as his 'legend' as a soldier.

1991 - President GHW Bush nominated federal appeals court judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, beginning a confirmation process marked by allegations of sexual harassment.

Nice excuse for the Democrats to begin a full-scale attack on an honorable black man...Can you imagine if the Republicans ever did this to a Democrat nominee?