March 5, 1770: Prelude to the Revolutionary War: a scuffle between British troops and a clutch of colonists in front of Boston, Massachusetts’ Custom House burst into violence as the British fired into the crowd, killing five. Initially called “The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street,” after the title of an engraving by Paul Revere, it later became known as the Boston Massacre. It helped grow support for a war for independence.

1906: Army troops overwhelmed native Moro fighters in the Philippines’ First Battle of Bud Dajo. After the U.S. occupied parts of the Philippines following the Spanish-American War, Philippine rebels, who had been fighting the Spanish, began fighting the Americans.

1918: The Tank Service was established. Armor would become a permanent branch of the U.S. Army in 1950.

1942: The United States Naval Construction Battalions, known as the Seabees, was established. Formed in World War II, the Seabees (taken from the initials “C.B.”) built bases for advancing U.S. forces. The Seabees remain an integral part of the U.S. military today.

Quote of the Day:

“The difficult we do now; the impossible takes a little longer.” Seabee sign at Bougainville Navy Yard, 1944

Brandus, Paul. This Day in U.S. Military History (pp. 66-67). Bernan Press. Kindle Edition.