Today’s highlight in history

On July 3, 1863, the three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ended in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops failed to breach Union positions during an assault known as Pickett’s Charge.

On this date

In 1775, Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Mass.

In 1913, during a 50th anniversary reunion at Gettysburg, Pa., Civil War veterans re-enacted Pickett’s Charge, which ended with embraces and handshakes between the former enemies.

In 1950, the first carrier strikes of the Korean War took place as the USS Valley Forge and the HMS Triumph sent fighter planes against North Korean targets.

In 1962, French President Charles de Gaulle signed an agreement recognizing Algeria as an independent state after 132 years of French rule.

In 1971, singer Jim Morrison, 27, of The Doors died.

In 1976, Israel launched its daring mission to rescue 106 passengers and Air France crew members being held at Entebbe Airport in Uganda by pro-Palestinian hijackers; the commandos succeeded in rescuing all but four of the hostages.

In 1987, British millionaire Richard Branson and Per Lindstrand became the first hot-air balloon travelers to cross the Atlantic, parachuting into the sea as their craft went down off the Scottish coast.

Ten years ago: Japan’s defense minister, Fumio Kyuma, resigned after drawing criticism for suggesting the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were inevitable.

Five years ago: Andy Griffith, 86, who made homespun American Southern wisdom his trademark as the wise sheriff in “The Andy Griffith Show,” died at his North Carolina home.

One year ago: Actress Noel Neill, who played Superman’s love interest, Lois Lane, in both a movie serial and on TV, died in Tucson, Ariz., at age 95.