Approximately 675 U.S. volunteer soldiers of the 1st and 3rd Colorado Cavalry under Colonel John Chivington attacked a peaceful encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho people at Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado Territory. Despite the camp flying an American flag and a white flag of surrender, the troops killed an estimated 150-200 people, the majority women, children, and the elderly, and mutilated the dead. The massacre, initially celebrated as a victory, was exposed by congressional investigations and became one of the most infamous atrocities in American military history.
A siege of Fort Cumberland in Nova Scotia by pro-American rebels came to an end with the arrival of British reinforcements. The failed siege was one of several attempts by American sympathizers to bring Nova Scotia into the Revolution, but British naval superiority and strong Loyalist sentiment in the province prevented it. Nova Scotia's continued loyalty to Britain would have lasting consequences for North American military geography.
Union cavalry under Brigadier General James G. Blunt defeated a Confederate cavalry force under Brigadier General John S. Marmaduke at Cane Hill in northwestern Arkansas. The running engagement across 12 miles of rough terrain tested Union mountain howitzer tactics and shaped the subsequent campaign that led to the decisive Union victory at Prairie Grove.
Union forces under General Ambrose Burnside successfully defended Knoxville, Tennessee, against a Confederate assault led by General James Longstreet. The Confederates attacked Fort Sanders in freezing pre-dawn conditions, but a frozen ditch and wire entanglements created an impassable obstacle. The assault was repulsed in approximately 20 minutes with over 800 Confederate casualties compared to fewer than 20 Union killed.
Colonel Chivington's Colorado Cavalry attacked a peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho camp at Sand Creek, killing 150-200 people, mostly women, children, and elderly. The massacre, committed against people flying an American flag and white flag of surrender, became one of the most infamous atrocities in American frontier history.
In one of the Civil War's great mysteries, Confederate General John Bell Hood's entire Army of Tennessee failed to cut off the retreating Union Army of the Ohio at Spring Hill, Tennessee. The Union force under General John Schofield marched directly past the Confederate army along the Columbia Pike during the night without being attacked. Hood was furious and blamed his subordinates, leading to the catastrophic frontal assault at Franklin the next day.
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd and three companions completed the first flight over the South Pole in a Ford Trimotor aircraft named "Floyd Bennett." The 18-hour round-trip flight from their base at Little America on the Ross Ice Shelf was a milestone in polar exploration and demonstrated the military potential of long-range aviation in extreme environments.
The submarine USS Archerfish torpedoed and sank the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano on her maiden voyage, the largest warship ever sunk by a submarine. Converted from a Yamato-class battleship hull, Shinano displaced over 71,000 tons but sank in seven hours after four torpedo hits exposed catastrophic construction and damage-control deficiencies.
The United Nations General Assembly voted 33-13 to approve Resolution 181, the Partition Plan for Palestine, dividing British-controlled Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states with Jerusalem as an international zone. Arab nations rejected the plan, and the vote immediately triggered civil war in Palestine that escalated into the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the first of many conflicts that continue to shape the military landscape of the Middle East.
Chinese People's Volunteer Army forces completed the encirclement of the 1st Marine Division and elements of the Army's 7th Infantry Division around Hagaru-ri at the Chosin Reservoir, launching one of the most brutal winter campaigns in U.S. military history. The subsequent fighting withdrawal over 78 miles of mountain road became an epic of small-unit cohesion under extreme cold.
Atari released the Pong arcade cabinet in November 1972, a commercial launch that seeded the electronic simulation industry and ultimately produced the flight, armor, and combat training simulators that transformed military pilot and crew training in the following three decades.
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American soldier of fortune who organized and commanded the "Ever Victorious Army," a force of Chinese soldiers trained and led by Western officers that fought for the Qing Dynasty during the Taiping Rebellion, the deadliest civil war in human history, which killed an estimated 20-30 million people. Ward achieved remarkable military success defending Shanghai before being killed in action at the Battle of Cixi in 1862 at age 30. He is still honored in China as a foreign hero.
Celebrated American author who served as a volunteer nurse at the Union Hospital in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. Her six weeks tending wounded soldiers from the Battle of Fredericksburg, until she contracted typhoid fever from the hospital's unsanitary conditions, inspired "Hospital Sketches," one of the earliest and most vivid accounts of military hospital life. She later wrote "Little Women," which was informed by the wartime sacrifices she witnessed.
Cheyenne peace chief who was killed during the Sand Creek Massacre on this date while standing in front of his lodge singing his death song: "Nothing lives long, except the earth and the mountains." White Antelope had been one of the most prominent advocates for peace with the United States, having traveled to Washington, D.C., in 1851 to meet President Millard Fillmore. He was approximately 75 years old when he was cut down by Chivington's troops.
10 military events occurred on November 29, spanning multiple centuries. Key events include: The Sand Creek Massacre (1864), The Battle of Spring Hill (1864), The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine (1947), USS Archerfish Sinks IJN Shinano (1944), Chinese Forces Encircle Marines at Chosin Reservoir (1950).
The most significant military event on November 29 is The Sand Creek Massacre (1864). Approximately 675 U.S. volunteer soldiers of the 1st and 3rd Colorado Cavalry under Colonel John Chivington attacked a peaceful encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho people at Sand Creek in southeastern Colorado Territory. Despite the camp flying an American flag and a white flag of surrender, the troops killed an estimated 150-200 people, the majority women, children, and the elderly, and mutilated the dead. The massacre, initially celebrated as a victory, was exposed by congressional investigations and became one of the most infamous atrocities in American military history.
Notable military figures born on November 29 include Frederick Townsend Ward (1831–1862), Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888).
Events on November 29 span the Civil War, the Colonial & Revolutionary era, the Interwar Period, the Cold War, World War II, the Korean War, covering 10 events across 3 centuries of military history.
Events on November 29 involve 5 branches of the U.S. and allied armed forces, reflecting the global scope of military operations throughout history.
Explore military history from the day you were born.
June 6
The Allied invasion of Normandy, the largest amphibious assault in history.
December 7
Japan attacks the U.S. Pacific Fleet, bringing America into World War II.
September 11
The deadliest terrorist attack in history transforms U.S. national security.
August 6
The first atomic bomb is dropped on a city, ushering in the nuclear age.
May 8
Nazi Germany surrenders unconditionally, ending World War II in Europe.
November 11
Armistice Day marks the end of World War I and honors all who served.
June 4
The turning point of the Pacific War as the U.S. Navy destroys four Japanese carriers.
July 4
The Declaration of Independence is adopted, sparking the American Revolution.
The FIM-92 Stinger helped win the Cold War by turning Afghan mujahideen into a credible anti-aircraft threat. By 2023, the United States almost ran out of them, because Raytheon stopped making them for 13 years, and the first 10 months of Ukraine support burned through the remaining stockpile.
These weapons were built to fight a war that everyone prayed would never happen. The Minuteman III has been on alert since 1970. The Typhoon-class carried enough nuclear warheads to destroy a continent. The Davy Crockett could be fired by three soldiers. Most of them have been waiting for 40 years. Here are 10 Cold War weapons built exclusively for World War III.
The MiG-31 was designed to catch the SR-71 Blackbird. It is still the fastest fighter in any air force. The Foxhound's Zaslon phased-array radar, the first ever installed in a fighter, can track 10 targets and engage 4 simultaneously at ranges exceeding 200 miles. Here is why Russia still flies a 1980s interceptor, and why the MiG-31BM carrying a Kinzhal hypersonic missile has changed what the aircraft means to modern warfare.
Nineteen armies on four continents chose the Leopard 2. No other Western tank comes close to this export record, and the reasons go far beyond German engineering.
