This Day in US Military History
150 years ago, 22 December, 1864, Sherman captured the city of Savannah, GA. Sherman telegraphed Lincoln: “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the city of Savannah with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition and also about 25,000 bales of cotton.”
Two Pirrong ancestors (from the distaff side) served in Sherman’s army, one in the 46th Ohio (4th Division, XV Corps, Army of the Tennessee) and the other in the 92nd Ohio (3rd Division, XIV Corps, Army of Georgia).
70 years ago, 22 December, 1944, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe, Assistant Division Commander, 101st Airborne Division, responded to a German demand for the surrender of Bastogne with one word: “Nuts!” The Germans were non-plussed by the reply, so the American delivering the message translated it as “Go to hell.”
The 101st held out against intense German assaults until Patton’s Third Army arrived on 27 December. The 101st wasn’t relieved, however. It was ordered onto the offensive, fighting until mid-January in the meat grinder battle to push back the Germans.
