May 21 in Military History — On This Day

⚔️📍 North Anna River, Virginia1864

Battle of North Anna — Grant vs. Lee in the Overland Campaign

Grant's Union army attacked Lee's Confederate forces at the North Anna River, only to find Lee had arranged his defenses in an inverted V formation that allowed him to concentrate against either Union wing. Lee was ill and bedridden during the battle.

North Anna was arguably Lee's most brilliant tactical arrangement, but his illness prevented the follow-through that might have destroyed Grant's army; Grant disengaged and moved south.

Outcome

Confederate defensive success; Grant continues south toward Richmond

Casualties

4,000

Naval Battle of Iquique

Blockading Iquique, the old wooden Chilean corvette Esmeralda was cornered by Peru's powerful ironclad Huáscar. When Grau rammed the Esmeralda, her captain Arturo Prat leapt aboard the enemy ironclad sword in hand, calling on his men to follow, and was cut down. The Esmeralda was rammed three times and sank with her colours flying. Grau chivalrously rescued survivors and returned Prat's effects to his widow.

Though a Peruvian tactical victory, Iquique gave Chile its supreme national hero in Prat, whose sacrifice electrified the country and became a rallying cry. Meanwhile the escape of the Peruvian ships bought Chile time to hunt the Huáscar.

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San Carlos Landings ('Bomb Alley')

Operation Sutton landed some 4,000 British troops at San Carlos Water on East Falkland in darkness and relative surprise. Argentine aircraft responded throughout the day with repeated, extraordinarily courageous low-level attacks that sank HMS Ardent and later damaged or sank HMS Antelope and HMS Coventry. The narrow waters of San Carlos — quickly dubbed 'Bomb Alley' — became a fierce air-sea battle. Despite their losses, Argentine pilots frequently failed to arm their bombs on time for such low-level releases, and hundreds of bombs simply passed through ships without detonating. The beachhead held.

The San Carlos landings established the bridgehead that made the entire land campaign possible. Argentine air power inflicted serious losses but could not prevent the build-up of forces on shore — a failure that proved decisive.

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