JEB Stuart was fatally shot at the Battle of Yellow Tavern in 1864.

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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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i remember this happening

May 11, 1996. I managed to graduate from Texas A&M University.

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

On this day in Texas history, 51 years ago, the state lost one of its most beloved and foundational music icons. Bob Wills, the King of Western Swing, was seventy years old when he died on May 13, 1975, in Fort Worth, leaving behind an incredible catalog and a legacy that inspired Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, and countless others.

In 1999, in the pages of this magazine, Anne Dingus wrote that "many Texans find that deep within their heart lies a Bob Wills melody." That has certainly been true of Texas Monthly staffers over the years. David Courtney, a.k.a the Texanist, has been known to sing Wills tunes in the shower; Christian Wallace journeyed to Wills's hometown of Turkey in 2022 to "dance all night, dance a little longer" with the musician's most feverish fans; and in May of 2000, John Morthland declared "Bob Wills is still the king"a full quarter century after his death. And while that sentiment may seem hyperbolic, Wills's legend only continues to grow as new generations of musicians learn to love his showy style and signature "ah-ha" calls.

May 15, 1864-The Virginia Military Institute Corps of Cadets fought as a unit at the Battle of New Market, Virginia. On May 10, 1864, the VMI Corps of Cadets was ordered to join Gen. John C. Breckinridge's Confederate forces near Staunton, Virginia. After marching nearly 85 miles northward, the Corps arrived at New Market 15 May. General Franz Sigel's Union troops, positioned atop Bushong's Hill, raked the Confederate line with cannon and musketry creating a gap in the line. Remarkably, the cadets helped close the gap, allowing the Confederate forces to regroup and push back the Union army. Breckenridge forced Sigel and his men to retreat, securing the battlefield for the Confederacy.

The cadets, numbering 257, were organized into a battalion of four companies of Infantry and one section of Artillery, 10 cadets were killed in battle or died later from the effects of their wounds; 45 were wounded. The youngest participating cadet was fifteen; the oldest twenty-five.Many cadets lost their footwear in the freshly plowed soil, turned to thick mud after several days of rain. That section of the battlefield became known as the "Field of Lost Shoes."

86 years ago today, Winston Churchill, Prime Minister for exactly 5 days, was woken by his phone ringing at 7:30 a.m.

It was Paul Reynaud, the French Premier. His voice was hollow.

"We have been defeated. We are beaten; we have lost the battle."

Churchill, half-asleep,… pic.twitter.com/wTZrU0zl19

— Voices of WW2 (@VoicesofWW2) May 15, 2026

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86 years ago today, Winston Churchill, Prime Minister for exactly 5 days, was woken by his phone ringing at 7:30 a.m.

It was Paul Reynaud, the French Premier. His voice was hollow.

"We have been defeated. We are beaten; we have lost the battle."

Churchill, half-asleep, couldn't process it:

"Surely it can't have happened so soon?"

Reynaud: "The front is broken near Sedan. They are pouring through in great numbers with tanks and armoured cars."

The German invasion was 5 days old. The "impassable" Ardennes forest had just funneled seven Panzer divisions through France's weakest hinge.

The next day, Churchill flew to Paris. He asked General Gamelin a single question:

"Where is the strategic reserve?"

Gamelin shrugged. "Aucune."

None. France had no reserve. There was nothing behind the line that had just broken.

Churchill later wrote that this was one of the greatest shocks of his life. The country he'd grown up believing had the finest army in Europe had already lost the war. They just didn't know it yet.

Six weeks later, Paris fell.

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On this day in history, May 16, 1986, Tom Cruise blockbuster 'Top Gun' jets across silver screen

In Fort Worth, springtime and severe weather are synonymous. (As if you didn't know, right?!) But in May 1949, Mother Nature outdid herself.

The skies opened, and the rain barreled down with a vengeance. Over just two days, amounts exceeded 10 inches in parts of Fort Worth. Heavy storms drenched the area during the afternoon and evening of May 16. By late that night and into the early hours of May 17, the rain intensified, with some parts of the city seeing several inches per hour. Once rainfall began to taper later that day, the historic damage was evident.

Montgomery Ward building, located on West 7th Street and Farrington Field