Today in History for March 28, 2015

General Henry Hopkins Sibley

March 28, 1515 – St. Teresa of Avila was born in Gotarrendura, Spain. Her books include “The Way of Perfection” (1566) and “The Interior Castle” (1580).

March 28, 1692 – In connection with the Salem witchcraft trials, Elizabeth Proctor was accused of witchcraft.

March 28, 1774 - Upset by the Boston Tea Party and other blatant acts of destruction of British property by American colonists, the British Parliament enacted the Coercive Acts, to the outrage of American Patriots.

March 28, 1776 – Juan Bautista de Anza, one of the great western pathfinders of the 18th century, arrived at the future site of San Francisco with 247 colonists.

March 28, 1782 - The United Netherlands recognized American independence.

March 28, 1817 - John Gassaway Rush was born in Orangeburg District, South Carolina. In 1860, he and his wife donated land for a church to the McIntosh community, and the Andrews Chapel was constructed on this property.

March 28, 1818 – The Butler Massacre occurred near Pine Barren Creek. Three were killed by Indians, including Capt. Butler (Butler County, Alabama was later named in his honor.)

March 28, 1862 – During the Civil War, at the Battle of Glorieta Pass in New Mexico (which began on March 26), Union forces stopped the Confederate invasion of the New Mexico territory. Confederates, under the command of General Henry Hopkins Sibley, lost 36 men killed, 70 wounded, and 25 captured. The Union army lost 38 killed, 64 wounded, and 20 captured.

March 28, 1864 - A group of Copperheads attacked Federal soldiers in Charleston, Ill. Five were killed and 20 were wounded.

March 28, 1864 – During the Civil War, a federal operation to Caperton’s Ferry, Ala. began.

March 28, 1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln met with Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman and Admiral David Dixon Porter at City Point, Va.

March 28, 1865 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Elyton, Ala. with Brig. Gen. James H Wilson‘s Union cavalry force.

March 28, 1868 – Norman A. Staples, owner of the ill-fated steamboat James T. Staples, was born.

March 28, 1875 – Evergreen, Ala. was officially incorporated.

March 28, 1904 – Whipple Van Buren Phillips, H.P. Lovecraft’s grandfather, passed away from a stroke at the age of 70 around midnight at his home at 454 Angell St. in Providence, R.I. He was buried in Swan Point Cemetery.

March 28, 1909 - Alabama journalist and author Lael Tucker Wertenbaker was born in Bradford, Pa.

March 28, 1909 – Award-winning author Nelson Algren was born in Detroit, Mich. His books include “A Walk on the Wild Side” (1956).

March 28, 1914 – American explorer, poet and painter Everett Ruess was born in Oakland, Calif. He mysteriously disappeared in November 1934 near Escalante, Utah.

March 28, 1921 - U.S. President Warren Harding named William Howard Taft as chief justice of the United States Supreme Court.

March 28, 1935 – In Lovecraftian fiction, Miskatonic University’s Peaslee Australian Expedition left Boston Harbor, destined for Australia, where it searched for ancient ruins in the Great Sandy Desert.

March 28, 1940 - Poet, novelist and short-story writer Russell Banks was born in Newton, Mass. His books include “Hamilton Stark” (1978), “Continental Drift” (1985) and “Lost Memory of Skin” (2011).

March 28, 1958 – Florence, Ala. native W.C. Handy, the “Father of the Blues,” passed away in New York City at the age of 84.

March 28-April 3, 1963 – “To Kill A Mockingbird” was shown at the Monroe Theatre in Monroeville, Ala.

March 28, 1963 - Sonny Werblin announced that the New York Titans of the American Football League was changing its name to the New York Jets.

March 28, 1969 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States and one of the most highly regarded American generals of World War II, died in Washington, D.C., at the age of 78.

March 28, 1969 – Evergreen High School played in a spring football jamboree in Luverne that included Evergreen, Luverne, Union Springs and Georgiana. Evergreen played Luverne in the first half (12-minute quarters), and Union Springs played Georgiana in the second half. Wendell Hart was Evergreen’s head football coach, and his assistants included Mike Bledsoe and Charles Branum.

March 28, 1969 – Lyeffion, Repton, Frisco City, Excel and J.U. Blacksher played in a spring football jamboree at J.U. Blacksher High School at Uriah. Lyeffion played Frisco in the first quarter; Excel played Repton in the second; Blacksher played Frisco in the third; Excel played Lyeffion in the fourth; and Repton played Blacksher in the fifth.

March 28-30, 1969 – The movie, “Cool Hand Luke,” played at the Pix Theatre in Evergreen, Ala.

March 28, 1977 – Novelist Lauren Weisberger was born in Scranton, Pa. Her books include “The Devil Wears Prada” (2003).

March 28, 1984 - Bob Irsay, owner of the once-mighty Baltimore Colts, moved the team to Indianapolis.

March 28, 1990 – President George H. W. Bush posthumously awarded Oakville, Ala. native Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.

March 28, 1999 - In Cuba, the Orioles beat the Cuban National Team, 3-2. It was the first time since the 1950's that a U.S. team had played in Cuba.

March 28, 2003 – In a friendly fire incident, two A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from the United States Idaho Air National Guard's 190th Fighter Squadron attacked British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing British soldier Matty Hull.

March 28, 2014 – Former U.S. Senator Jeremiah Denton Jr. passed away at the age of 89. Denton was born in Mobile on July 15, 1924, to a family that traced its heritage back to the French Catholic founders of Mobile. In 1964 he was assigned, as a U.S. Navy pilot, to the USS Independence (CVA-62), which was deployed off the coast of North Vietnam. In July 1965, Denton led a bombing mission over North Vietnam and was shot down and captured. He spent 48 of his 91 months of imprisonment in solitary confinement, one of the longest periods of any American POW. His book, “When Hell Was in Session,” which recounted his POW experiences, was made into an NBC television movie in 1979 starring Hal Holbrook.