This Week in American History: 1568 – French Forces Attack Spanish Fort San Mateo

Here is what happened this week in American History.

• Apr. 30. On this day in 1789, George Washington takes the oath of office becoming the first President of the United States. This memorable event takes place on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City.

• May 1. In 1951, the Chinese Fifth Phase offensive is faltering. South Korean ROK, UN and US forces have retreated as far as 35 miles in some places in an effort to consolidate defenses. To this point, US forces have suffered 314 killed and 1,600 wounded, but the Chinese have suffered at least 13,000 killed, nearly 24,000 injured and about 250 captured. UN reports indicate that over 75,000 Chinese Peoples Volunteer Army have been killed in the fighting. Around Seoul, ROK, UN and US forces send reconnaissance units three to five miles northward and they are not finding any significant Chinese or North Korean forces. This leads to further advances with Allied units pushing northward 10 miles and more. The Chinese and North Korean forces encountered were small groups and quickly overwhelmed.

• May 2. Today in 2011, Osama bin Laden, who was responsible for the terrorists’ attacks on September 11, 2001, is killed. The 160^th Special Operations Aviation Regiment “ Night Stalkers” with 79 SEALS with a Belgian Malinois raid his compound at Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in Pakistan. His body was flown to the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and he was buried at sea.

• May 3. On this day in 1568, America is not yet a country when French soldiers attack the Spanish fort, San Mateo, located along the banks of the St. Johns River in Florida. Spanish soldiers surviving the battle are slaughtered. This bloodthirsty action was because three years earlier Spanish soldiers out of St. Augustine had attacked the French Fort Carolina located in nearly the same spot. There were an estimated 200 to 250 French in Fort Caroline and they were massacred with only about 50 women and children surviving to be taken as prisoners and possibly enslaved. The Spanish destroyed Fort Caroline and constructed a new fort named San Mateo. After the French attack, San Mateo was rebuilt only to be abandoned a year later. Today, the National Park Service maintains a near full-scale model of Fort Caroline in the vicinity of where the original fort was located.

• May 4. In 1886, a peaceful worker’s strike seeking eight-hour workdays is taking place in Chicago. Police officers are attempting to disperse the crowd when someone throws a homemade bomb among the officers. One of the officers is killed. The remaining officers begin shooting into the crowd. The melee will result in the deaths of 15 people and 70 injuries. Over 100 arrests will be made. Four people will be hanged as a result though the person throwing the bomb is never identified.

• May 5. Today in 1981, Danielle Christine Fishel Karp is born in Mesa, Arizona, with her family moving to California while she was an infant. She is “discovered” while performing in a community theater at only 10 years old. She performs voiceovers and works in commercials before appearing in “Full House” and “Harry and the Hendersons” followed by a recurring role in “Boy Meets World”. She dropped the Karp name and today enjoys considerable success as an actress and director.

• May 6. On this day in 1877, Chief Crazy Horse, war leader of the Lakota Oglala band of Native Americans surrenders to US troops in Nebraska. A legend of the Old West, he fought against the encroachment of whites on what had been Native American lands and to preserve the Lakota traditions.