February 22 in Military History

George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. The future Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and first President would establish the traditions of civilian control of the military and peaceful transfer of power.

American forces under General Zachary Taylor defeated a much larger Mexican army under Santa Anna at the Battle of Buena Vista. The victory made Taylor a national hero and future President.

The Great White Fleet of 16 American battleships returned to Hampton Roads after a 14-month, 43,000-mile voyage around the world. The cruise announced American naval power to every major port on the planet.

Less than three months after Pearl Harbor, Los Angeles anti-aircraft batteries fired over 1,400 rounds at unidentified objects in the night sky. No attacker was ever confirmed, but the panic shaped wartime air defense doctrine on the West Coast.

Hans and Sophie Scholl, members of the White Rose resistance group, were executed by guillotine in Munich for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets, becoming symbols of moral courage against military tyranny.

American bombers struck the Messerschmitt factory at Regensburg during "Big Week," continuing the massive air campaign to destroy German fighter production ahead of D-Day.

Over 9,000 Allied aircraft from bases across Britain, France, Belgium, and Italy struck rail yards, bridges, and communications hubs across Germany in a coordinated campaign to paralyze Wehrmacht logistics.

Samuel Byck attempted to hijack a Delta Air Lines DC-9 at Baltimore-Washington Airport to crash into the White House, killing a police officer and pilot before shooting himself. The failed attack presaged later terrorism threats.

As Coalition ground forces prepared their final push, retreating Iraqi troops ignited over 600 Kuwaiti oil wells in the largest act of environmental warfare in history, creating fires that took nine months to extinguish.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq bombed the al-Askari Mosque in Samarra, one of the holiest Shia shrines, igniting a wave of sectarian violence that pushed Iraq to the brink of full-scale civil war and challenged U.S. military strategy.