KentK93 said:

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May 11, 1976. A tanker carrying 7,500 gallons of liquid ammonia crashed onto a Houston freeway, killing six and injuring more than 170. Fifty years later, we remember. Video courtesy @abc13houston #HoustonFire #HoustonHistory #HazMat pic.twitter.com/b2JL4de0wj

— Houston Fire Dept (@HoustonFire) May 11, 2026

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On this day in 1953, Waco was ravaged by a tornado that tore through the heart of the city. The storm killed 114 people and seriously injured another 145; 196 business buildings were completely destroyed, and 396 were damaged so badly that they had to be torn down.
Source:… pic.twitter.com/4GtUN1TaiL

— Trevor P. Wardlaw (@1thread6flags) May 11, 2026

On May 11, 1969, U.S. paratroopers from the 101st Airborne kicked off a brutal 10-day battle for Hill 937 in Vietnam’s A Shau Valley. The North Vietnamese called it Dong Ap Bia: the Mountain of the Crouching Beast.

Journalists dubbed it ‘Hamburger Hill’ because the fighting was… pic.twitter.com/akILdPNmul

— History Dame (@history_dame) May 11, 2026

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On May 11, 1969, U.S. paratroopers from the 101st Airborne kicked off a brutal 10-day battle for Hill 937 in Vietnam's A Shau Valley. The North Vietnamese called it Dong Ap Bia: the Mountain of the Crouching Beast.

Journalists dubbed it 'Hamburger Hill' because the fighting was so savage it felt like soldiers were being ground up as SGT. James Spears said, "Have you ever been inside a hamburger machine? We just got cut to pieces by extremely accurate machine-gun fire."

After 11 assaults, heavy air strikes, artillery, and monsoon rains, U.S. forces finally took the summit on May 20, only to abandon it days later.

Of the ~1,800 American troops, 72 were killed, 372 wounded.

The battle became a flashpoint for criticism of the war, even Sen. Ted Kennedy called the tactics 'senseless and irresponsible.'

What do you think: was Hamburger Hill a necessary stand or a tragic waste?

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On this day in 1863, in the small town of Raymond, Mississippi, Confederate women were preparing a victory feast.

Tablecloths were laid. Hams were carved. Pies cooled on windowsills. Brigadier General John Gregg was marching toward town with 4,100 men, and the people of Raymond… pic.twitter.com/i7AK4cwmn3

— Echoes of War (@EchoesofWarYT) May 12, 2026

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On this day in 1863, in the small town of Raymond, Mississippi, Confederate women were preparing a victory feast.

Tablecloths were laid. Hams were carved. Pies cooled on windowsills. Brigadier General John Gregg was marching toward town with 4,100 men, and the people of Raymond were certain he would crush the small Union force scouting nearby and return as a hero by dinner.

There was one problem.

The "small Union force" was not a brigade. It was not a division. It was Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson's entire XVII Corps, twelve thousand men under Ulysses S. Grant's most aggressive subordinate.

Gregg's brigade hit the Federal line along Fourteenmile Creek and, for a wild hour, actually drove it back. The terrain was so dense with brush and gunpowder smoke that Union Maj. Gen. John "Black Jack" Logan rode his line shouting orders he couldn't see his own men obey, his horse foaming, screaming at them to hold.

Then the rest of the corps showed up.

Three to one became four to one became impossible. Gregg pulled out through the streets of Raymond, leaving 515 casualties behind. The Union army marched in, sat down at the laid tables, and ate the feast meant for the Confederate victors.

But the meal wasn't the consequence. The decision Grant made next was.

The unexpected ferocity of Gregg's attack convinced Grant that more Confederates were massing at Jackson, behind him. So instead of marching directly on Vicksburg, he pivoted east, took Jackson, scattered Joseph Johnston, then turned back west.

Champion Hill fell four days later. Big Black River the day after that. Vicksburg, the fortress that controlled the entire Mississippi River, surrendered on July 4.

Exactly 53 days after the dinner plates were cleared in Raymond.

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🇺🇸On May 12, 1903, Theodore Roosevelt became one of the first U.S. Presidents to have an official public appearance captured on motion-picture film during a parade in San Francisco.

Filmed by H.J. Miles, the short film, titled ‘The President’s Carriage,’ was later shown in… pic.twitter.com/7cJcQ5EhKe

— RetroNewsNow (@RetroNewsNow) May 12, 2026