March 27 in Military History

Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León became the first known European to sight the coast of Florida, which he named "La Florida" for the Easter season (Pascua Florida). His expedition established Spain's claim to the peninsula and initiated centuries of European military competition for control of the southeastern coast of North America.

President George Washington signed the Naval Act of 1794, authorizing construction of six frigates: USS Constitution, USS United States, USS Constellation, USS President, USS Congress, and USS Chesapeake. Designed by Joshua Humphreys to outgun any European frigate yet outrun ships of the line, these vessels became the foundation of the permanent U.S. Navy. USS Constitution remains in commission today as the world's oldest commissioned warship still afloat.

Major General Andrew Jackson, commanding 2,700 soldiers and 600 Cherokee and Creek allies, annihilated approximately 1,000 Red Stick Creek warriors at a fortified bend in Alabama's Tallapoosa River. Cherokee allies swam the river to attack from the rear while Jackson's troops stormed the breastwork. Approximately 800 Red Sticks were killed in five hours of fighting. The victory ended the Creek War and launched Jackson's path to the presidency.

On Palm Sunday, between 425 and 445 Texian prisoners of war were executed by the Mexican Army at Goliad, Texas, on orders from General Santa Anna. Colonel Fannin had surrendered after the Battle of Coleto Creek under terms promising humane treatment, but Santa Anna invoked a decree classifying armed foreigners as pirates subject to execution. The massacre killed more Texians than the Alamo and became a catastrophic strategic blunder, "Remember Goliad!" joined "Remember the Alamo!" as the battle cry that drove Sam Houston's army to victory at San Jacinto less than a month later.

France formally declared war on the Russian Empire, joining Britain in what became the Crimean War. Napoleon III sought to restore French military prestige and protect Catholic rights in the Holy Land. The Franco-British alliance against Russia marked the first time the two traditional enemies fought together since the Crusades.

President Lincoln met with Grant, Sherman, and Admiral Porter aboard the River Queen at City Point, Virginia, to plan the final stages of the Civil War. Lincoln stressed that surrender terms must preserve emancipation. Grant and Sherman outlined the strategy that ended the war within weeks, Lee surrendered at Appomattox on April 9 and Johnston at Bennett Place on April 26.

A U.S. Navy task group intercepted a Japanese convoy resupplying the Aleutian Islands garrison. The battle was one of the last pure surface gunnery duels in naval history, no aircraft participated. Despite being significantly outgunned, Rear Admiral McMorris's force fought a four-hour engagement that ended when the Japanese admiral withdrew, fearing air attacks that never came. The battle ended Japanese surface resupply of the Aleutians.

The final two German V-2 ballistic missiles to hit England struck on March 27. One hit Hughes Mansions in East London, killing 134 people, 120 of them Jewish families, one day before Passover. The other struck Orpington, killing Ivy Millichamp, the last civilian killed by enemy action on British soil during World War II. Over 2,700 British civilians had been killed by V-2s during the campaign.

During Operation Allied Force, a U.S. Air Force F-117A stealth fighter was shot down by a Serbian S-125 missile battery, the first and only shootdown of a stealth aircraft in combat history. The Serbian battery exploited the F-117's predictable flight path and the absence of electronic warfare support. Pilot Lt. Colonel Dale Zelko ejected safely and was rescued eight hours later.

U.S. and coalition forces concluded Operation Anaconda, a major combat operation in the Shah-i-Kot Valley of eastern Afghanistan. The two-week battle was the largest conventional engagement of the early Afghanistan War, involving over 2,000 coalition and Afghan troops against an estimated 500-1,000 al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters entrenched in mountain positions above 10,000 feet.