On March 15, 1783, General George Washington surprised an assembly of army officers in Newburgh, New York. Angry that Congress had not honored its promises on pay as well as on covering costs for food and clothing, officers had circulated an anonymous letter condemning Congress and calling for a revolt. Washington told the officers, “Let me entreat you, gentlemen, on your part, not to take any measures, which viewed in the calm light of reason, will lessen the dignity, and sully the glory you have hitherto maintained; let me request you to rely on the plighted faith of your country, and place a full confidence in the purity of the intentions of Congress.”
On March 15, 1939, during a meeting with Czech President Emil Hacha, Adolph Hitler threatened a bombing raid against the Czech capital to coerce Hacha into offering German troops free passage into Czechoslovakia. The same day, German troops pour into Bohemia and Moravia, violating the Munich Pact signed less than six months earlier by Adolf Hitler, Italian Leader Benito Mussolini, French Premier Edouard Daladier, and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain.