Nov. 27 in US Military History

1817: Maj. Gen. Edmund P. Gaines dispatches soldiers to attack the Seminole camp at Fowltown, Fla., formally beginning the First Seminole War.

1868: Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s Seventh Cavalry attacks a peaceful Cheyenne encampment near present-day Cheyenne, Okla. The Battle of Washita River – more of a massacre – would be the first substantial “victory” in the Indian Wars.

1909: Following the execution of two American mercenaries in Nicaragua, US troops land in Bluefields to prepare for an invasion.

1942: Adm. Jean de Laborde orders the destruction of the French fleet anchored at Toulon, to avoid falling into German hands. Three battleships, six cruisers, 1 aircraft transport, 30 destroyers, and 16 submarines are sunk. Three submarines sail for Allied-controlled Algiers, and only one falls into German hands.

1951: A Nike anti-aircraft missile shoots down a QB-17 target drone over White Sands Missile Range, becoming the first successful surface-to-air missile test.

Medal of Honor: In Korea, 1950, Army Capt. Reginald B. Desiderio personally charged the enemy, inflicting heavy casualties and ultimately repelling a “fanatical” assault. Capt. Desiderio was mortally wounded in the assault. His replacement, Capt. Lewis Millett, would also be awarded the Medal of Honor for a historic bayonet charge in February.