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| General Earl Van Dorn |
March 2, 1498 – Vasco da Gama's fleet visited the Island of
Mozambique.
March 2, 1770 - British soldiers
and Bostonian laborers fought at John Hancock's wharf. The soldiers were
confined to their barracks after the incident.
March 2, 1776 - General George
Washington ordered artillery forces to begin bombarding Boston from their
positions at Lechmere Point.
March 2, 1776 – During the American
Revolutionary War, Patriot militia units arrested the Royal Governor of Georgia
James Wright and attempted to prevent the capture of supply ships in the Battle
of the Rice Boats.
March 2, 1793 - Sam Houston, the
first President of the Republic of Texas, was born in Rockbridge County, Va.
March 2, 1807 – The U.S. Congress
passed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation
of new slaves into the country. The act prohibited “the importation of slaves
into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States... from any
foreign kingdom, place, or country.”
March 2, 1819 - President James Monroe signed the Alabama
enabling act.
March 2-3, 1825 – During his tour of the United States, the
Marquis de Lafayette stayed in Raleigh, North Carolina where he was reunited
with Colonel William Polk who had fought beside him at the Battle of Brandywine
where both had been wounded.
March 2, 1836 - The siege at the Alamo continued.
Unbeknownst to defenders of the Alamo, the provisional Texas government at
Washington-on-the-Brazos declared independence from Mexico.
March 2, 1836 - Texas declared its independence from Mexico
and an ad interim government was formed.
March 2, 1855 - Congress appropriated $30,000 on this day to
install camels in the American Southwest, as part of the U.S. Army. Though they
proved successful as pack animals, after the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861,
the camels became all but forgotten about.
March 2, 1861 - The U.S. Congress created the Territory of
Nevada.
March 2, 1862 - The Confederate forces under General Ben
McCulloch, General Earl Van Dorn and General Sterling Price joined together in
preparation to advance on Union General Samuel Curtis' army.
March 2, 1864 – During the Civil War, a Federal operation
began between Larkin’s Landing and Guntersville, Ala.
March 2, 1865 - Union General George Custer's troops
defeated Confederate General Jubal Early's forces at the Battle of Waynesboro,
Virginia. The battle brought an end to fighting in the Shenandoah Valley.
March 2, 1867 - The United States Congress passed the First
Reconstruction Act, which divided the South into five military districts.
March 2, 1871 - James Osgood Andrew passed away in Mobile at
the age of 76. He was the first native of Georgia to enter the Methodist
ministry, and the Andrews Chapel in McIntosh, Ala. was named in his honor.
March 2, 1877 – Just two days before his inauguration, the
U.S. Congress declared Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the 1876 election even
though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote on Nov. 7, 1876.
March 2, 1899 - Mount Rainier National Park in Washington
was established by the U.S. Congress.
March 2, 1900 - – Astronomer Morris K. Jessup, the author of
“The Case for the UFO,” was born near Rockville, Indiana. He was heavily
involved in early research of the “Philadelphia Experiment.”
March 2, 1901 - Trustees of the Alabama Department of
Archives and History met in Gov. William J. Samford's office to organize the
nation's first state archival agency. Charged with, among other
responsibilities, "the care and custody of official archives [and] the
collection of materials bearing upon the history of the State," the
department was housed in the capitol until 1940. In that year it moved across
Washington Avenue to the War Memorial Building, which had been constructed for
the Archives.
March 2, 1904 - The "Official Playing Rules of
Professional Base Ball Clubs" were adopted.
March 2, 1904 – Theodor Geisel, also known as “Dr. Seuss,”
was born in Springfield, Mass. His most famous books included “And to Think
That I Saw It on Mulberry Street” (1937), “The Cat in the Hat” (1957) and
“Green Eggs and Ham” (1960).
March 2, 1915 - The Monroeville, Ala. Lodge of the Knights
of Pythias held a meeting under special permit for the election of officers.
The former officers were elected for a semi-annual term.
March 2, 1925 - State and federal highway officials
developed a nationwide route-numbering system and adopted the familiar U.S.
shield-shaped, numbered marker.
March 2, 1927 - Babe Ruth signed a three-year contract with
the New York Yankees worth $70,000 a year.
March 2, 1931 – Journalist and novelist Tom Wolfe was born
in Richmond, Va. His most famous books include “The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine
Flake Streamline Baby” (1965), “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test” (1968), “The
Right Stuff” (1979) and “The Bonfire of the Vanities” (1987).
March 2, 1933 – The film “King Kong” opened at New York's
Radio City Music Hall.
March 2, 1935 – Confederate officer Thomas Mercer Riley died
and was buried at Turnbull Cemetery near Riley Crossing in Monroe County, Ala.
He was born on July 2, 1840 at Turnbull in Monroe County. He enlisted in the
Monroe Guards on March 15, 1861 and served as 2nd Captain. He enlisted in the
5th Alabama on May 13, 1861 and was elected 2nd Lt. He was appointed a 1st Lt.
by the State of Alabama on Oct. 13, 1861. Co. D, 5th Alabama reorganized and
became Co. C, 5th Alabama on April 27, 1862 and he was named captain on that
date. He was wounded on June 2, 1864 and sent home on a 30-day furlough. He
commanded Co. C, 5th Alabama and assumed command of the entire regiment during
the battle. He surrendered the regiment at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9,
1865. After the war, he averted a financial disaster within Monroe County in
his position as head of the Bank of Beatrice. The post-war Riley home stands
today just north of Riley Crossing on the west side of State Highway 21.
March 2, 1936 – The Clarke-Washington Electric Membership
Corporation was organized by some 83 members from Clarke and Washington
counties. This was the first rural electrical co-op organized in state under an
executive order signed by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 11, 1935.
March 2, 1942 – Novelist John Irving was born in Exeter, New
Hampshire. His most famous books include “The World According to Garp” (1978),
“The Cider House Rules” (1978) and “A Prayer for Owen Meany” (1989).
March 2, 1950 – The J.U. Blacksher High School building at
Uriah, Ala. burned.
March 2, 1961 - President John F. Kennedy appointed Red
Level, Ala. native Dr. Luther Leonidas Terry U. S. Surgeon General. Terry was
born in Red Level in 1911 and graduated from Birmingham-Southern College in
1931. As Surgeon General he issued a landmark report on smoking and health that
raised awareness among policymakers and the public about the dangers of
smoking. The report, “Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to
the Surgeon General of the United States,” was released on Jan. 11, 1964 and
concluded that lung cancer and chronic bronchitis are causally related to
cigarette smoking. Terry served as Surgeon General until Oct. 1, 1965.
March 2, 1972 – A tornado struck Evergreen, Ala. and
demolished a lumber shed at the Conecuh Lumber Co. and a number of other
buildings. No injuries were reported.
March 2, 1982 – NFL quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was born
in Lima, Ohio. He would go on to play for Miami (Ohio) and the Pittsburgh
Steelers.
March 2, 1985 – NFL running back Reggie Bush was born in
Spring Valley, Calif. He would go on to play for Southern Cal, the New Orleans
Saints, the Miami Dolphins and the Detroit Lions.
March 2, 1991 – The Battle at Rumaila Oil Field brought an
end to the 1991 Gulf War.
March 2, 1992 - Ryne Sandberg signed a five-year contract
with the Chicago Cubs worth $30.5 million.
March 2, 2004 - The Indianapolis Colts signed Peyton Manning
to a seven-year, $98-million deal with a $34.5 million signing bonus. It was
the largest package to date in the NFL.
March 2, 2004 – During the War in Iraq, Al-Qaeda carried out
the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
March 2, 2011 – The James Landing Cemetery in Clarke County,
Ala. was added to the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register.
March 2, 2011 – The Lamb Cemetery and the James Whitley
Family Cemetery in Butler County, Ala. were added to the Alabama Historic
Cemetery Register.
March 2, 2012 – The Yancey-Crane Cemetery in Baldwin County,
Ala. was added to the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register.
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