Today in History for Aug. 22, 2014

Consolation Church at Oakey Streak in Butler County.

Aug. 22, 565 – On this day, the Irish monk Saint Columba is said to have made the first sighting of the Loch Ness "monster."

Aug. 22, 1857 – Elizabeth Huggins Josey passed away on this day, and her grave is believed to be the oldest marked grave in the Consolation Church Cemetery at Oakey Streak in Butler County, Ala.

Aug. 22, 1862 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Trinity, near Decatur, Ala.

Aug. 22, 1862 – During the Civil War, Capt. Pinckney D. Bowles of the Conecuh Guards was promoted to major when Major Charles L. Scott resigned. Also, 2nd Lt. John G. Guice was promoted to first. lieutenant.

Aug. 22, 1862 - President Abraham Lincoln wrote a carefully worded letter in response to an abolitionist editorial by Horace Greeley, the editor of the influential New York Tribune, and hinted at a change in his policy concerning slavery.

Aug. 22, 1864 – During the Civil War, the Battle of Weldon, Va., ended. The battle began when Union General Ulysses S. Grant attempted to cut Confederate lines into Petersburg, Va.

Aug. 22, 1864 – During the Civil War, the siege of Fort Morgan in Mobile Bay, Ala. continued.

Aug. 22, 1900 - Confederate heroine Emma Sansom passed away at the age of 53 in Upshur County, Texas and she was buried in Little Mound Cemetery. In 1863, the 16-year-old Sansom helped Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest cross Black Creek near Gadsden as he pursued Union forces led by Col. A.D. Streight. Later in 1863, Sansom was awarded a gold medal by the Alabama legislature for her actions. (Some sources say she died on Aug. 9, 1900.)

Aug. 22, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. Edward Williams of River Falls in Covington County “died of disease.”

Aug. 22, 1920 – Science fiction and horror writer Ray Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois.

Aug. 22, 1939 – Hall of Fame baseball player Carl Yastrzemski was born in Southampton, N.Y.

Aug. 22, 1941 – Football coach Bill Parcells was born in Englewood, N.J.

Aug. 22, 1943 - Alabama author Robert Inman was born in Elba, Ala.

Aug. 22, 1956 – Baseball player Paul Molitor was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Aug. 22, 1968 – Marine Lance Cpl. Dwayne Lamont Salter of Evergreen was killed in action in Vietnam.

Aug. 22, 1988 – The Fall Term of Circuit Court in Conecuh County began with Judge Robert E.L. Key presiding. Key was the 35th Judicial Circuit’s first and only judge at the time, and this was his final regular court term in Conecuh County before his retirement in January 1989.

Aug. 22, 1989 - Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers struck out Rickey Henderson to become the first pitcher in major league history to register 5,000 career strikeouts.

Aug. 22, 2003 - Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals went 0-5 to end a 30-game hitting streak.