December 29

Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church.

On 29 December 1170, Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered by followers of King Henry II inside Canterbury Cathedral, later becoming a revered martyr and saint.

The Battle of Garigliano was fought between a Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and a French army commanded by Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo.

On December 29, 1503, Spanish forces under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba defeated the French in the Battle of Garigliano, securing a key victory in the Italian Wars.

According to John Smith, Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan leader Wahunsenacawh, successfully pleads for his life after tribal leaders attempt to execute him.

In 1607, Pocahontas famously intervened to save English colonist John Smith from execution by her father’s Powhatan tribal council.

American Revolutionary War: British forces under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell defeat American forces under Major General Robert Howe and capture the port city of Savannah, Georgia.

British forces under Lt. Col. Archibald Campbell captured Savannah, Georgia, from American troops on December 29, 1778, during the Revolutionary War.

USS Constitution, under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour battle.

The USS Constitution, known as 'Old Ironsides,' defeated HMS Java in a three-hour naval battle off Brazil on December 29, 1812.

The Treaty of New Echota is signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States.

The Treaty of New Echota was signed on December 29, 1835, ceding all Cherokee lands east of the Mississippi River to the United States.

The United States annexes the Republic of Texas and admits it as the 28th state.

The Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States and admitted as the 28th state on December 29, 1845.

The launch of HMS Warrior, with her combination of screw propeller, iron hull and iron armour, renders all previous warships obsolete.

HMS Warrior, the Royal Navy’s first iron-hulled, screw-propelled, iron-armoured warship, was launched on December 29, 1860.

American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou ends in a Union defeat as forces under General William T. Sherman are repulsed with heavy losses by Confederate troops under General John C. Pemberton.

Union forces under General William T. Sherman were repulsed at Chickasaw Bayou on December 29, 1862, suffering heavy losses.