Today in History for March 14, 2016

U.S. General John Pope

March 14, 1776 - Alexander Hamilton received his commission as captain of a New York artillery company. Throughout the rest of 1776, Captain Hamilton established himself as a great military leader as he directed his artillery company in several battles in and around New York City. In March 1777, Hamilton’s performance came to the attention of General George Washington, and he was commissioned lieutenant colonel and personal aide to General Washington in the Continental Army.

March 14, 1780 – During the American Revolution, Fort Conde (also called Fort Charlotte) in Mobile, Ala. was captured by Spanish Forces under Gen. Bernardo de Galvez. In February 1780, Galvez, who was aiding the Americans, laid siege to the fort, which was called Fort Charlotte by the British. After only a day of resistance, the British commander at Fort Charlotte surrendered to Galvez. At the time, the fort was the last British frontier post capable of threatening New Orleans in Spanish Louisiaiana. Mobile remained under Spanish control until the War of 1812 when the United States took it over, adding it to the Mississippi Territory.

March 14, 1794 - Eli Whitney received a patent for his cotton gin.

March 14, 1826 – William D. Clark of the Conecuh Guards was born in the township of Freedom in Cadaraugus County, New York. He first entered Confederate service as a private on Aug. 31, 1861 at Dunfrees, Va. in Co. E of the 4th Ala. Inf. and served with the unit through the end of the war. He was elected Second Sgt. before the close of the war.

March 14, 1862 – At the Battle of New Bern, Union General Ambrose Burnside captured New Bern, which was North Carolina’s second largest city, and closed another port through which the Confederates could slip supplies. New Bern was defended by 4,000 Confederate troops, commanded by CSA General Lawrence O. Branch. Union casualties for the battle were around 90 killed and 380 wounded, while the Confederates suffered approximately 60 killed, 100 wounded, and 400 captured.

March 14, 1862 – During the Civil War, a Federal operation was conducted from Savannah, Tenn. to Yellow Creek, Miss., and the subsequent occupation of Pittsburg Landing, Tenn. by Federal forces began. A skirmish was fought at Big Creek Gap and another at Jacksborough, Tenn. A Federal operation was conducted in the vicinity of Cedar Run, Va. The capture of New Madrid, Mo. by Federal forces under the command of Union Brigadier General John Pope began.

March 14, 1863 - The 13-day Steele’s Bayou Expedition to Rolling Fork, Miss. began, in yet another unsuccessful attempt to get behind Vicksburg. There were multiple skirmishes along Deer Creek, and multiple skirmishes along Black Bayou. A skirmish was also fought at Davis Mills, Tenn.

March 14, 1863 - Admiral Farragut was having a distinct difficulty with the shore batteries of Port Hudson, La. on the Mississippi River. He sent off a squadron of seven ships. The first, the flagship Hartford, sailed past quite unscathed. After that, things deteriorated. Richmond was hit by a shell in her steam boilers and lost power. Monongahela went next, got stuck on a mud bar and was hit by so many shots that eight of them went entirely through the ship. She was eventually pulled off by another ship, but was little use thereafter.

March 14, 1864 - Union troops led by General A.J. Smith captured Fort Derussy, which was located abour four miles north of Marksville, La. The fort was a Confederate stronghold during the Civil War, defending the lower Red River Valley in Louisiana.

March 14, 1864 - Fort Du Russy, near Simsport, La., was captured by Federal forces during the Red River Campaign. A Federal operation was conducted in Jones County, Miss., and a skirmish was fought at Bent Creek, Tenn.

March 14, 1865 - The Battle of Newton took place in Newton, Ala. during the final days of the U.S. Civil War. It was fought between local Home Guard troops and elements of the 1st Florida Cavalry (US), who had invaded the Wiregrass region of Alabama in violation of a directive given by Brigadier General Alexander Asboth, commanding Union forces in Pensacola, Fla.

March 14, 1865 – Skirmishes were fought near Dalton, Ga.; and at South Anna Bridge and Woodstock, Va. A Federal operation originating from Fayetteville to Black River, N.C. began, and a Federal operation originating from Fayetteville to Silver Run Creek, N.C. also began. Federal forces occupied Kinston, N.C. A Federal operation between New Creek and Moorefield, West Virginia began, and a Federal operation between Philippi to Carrick’s Ford, West Virginia began.

March 14, 1879 – Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany.

March 14, 1887 – Bookseller and publisher Sylvia Beach was born in Baltimore, Md. She opened a bookstore and lending library on the Left Bank of Paris called Shakespeare and Company, which stocked English-language books. Shakespeare and Company became known as “the unofficial living room” of expatriate artists living in Paris, writers like Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce.

March 14, 1888 – The Birmingham News newspaper was established in Birmingham, Ala.

March 14, 1894 – Director and explorer Osa Johnson was born in Chanute, Kansas.

March 14, 1895 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture Weather Bureau Station at Claiborne, Ala. recorded 1.0 inches of rainfall.

March 14, 1916 – Playwright Horton Foote was born in Wharton, Texas.

March 14, 1916 – A special meeting of the chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy was scheduled to be held at the Presbyterian church in Monroeville, Ala. at 3 p.m. for the election of officers and payment of dues. Lucy Burns Hybart was chapter president.

March 14, 1916 – The Hon. Miller Bonner of Camden, Ala., who was a candidate for judge of the state court of appeals, was in Monroeville, Ala. on this Tuesday “renewing his acquaintance with his many Monroe County friends,” according to The Monroe Journal. “Mr. Bonner is a gentleman of high character and a lawyer of ability. Naturally, the people of his neighboring counties feel most kindly toward his aspirations.”

March 14, 1919 – Humorist Max Shulman was born in St. Paul, Minn.

March 14, 1919 - Max Brand, perhaps the most prolific writer of western stories, published his first novel, “The Untamed.”

March 14, 1919 – Bud Johnson, who, according to police, confessed to attacking a woman near Pace, Fla., was taken from Sheriff Harvel near Castleberry on this day and was “burned to death” near the scene of the crime. “Before disposing of the man, the mob, it was reported here (Pensacola), carried him before his alleged victim, who asserted positively that he was the guilty man.”

March 14, 1923 – Photographer Diane Arbus was born in New York City.

March 14, 1923 - President Warren G. Harding became the first U.S. President to file an income tax report.

March 14, 1926 – “Red Dice,” a movie version of Alabama author Octavus Roy Cohen's book “The Iron Chalice,” was released.

March 14, 1929 – 8.70 inches of rain fell in Evergreen, Ala. during “Flood of 1929”

March 14, 1935 - The Historic Mobile Preservation Society was founded in Mobile, Ala.

March 14, 1939 – John Steinbeck’s novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” was published.

March 14, 1949 – James “Big Jim” Folsom’s son, Jim Folsom Jr., was born in Montgomery, Ala. He would go on to serve two terms as Alabama’s lieutenant governor. He became Alabama’s 50th governor in 1993 when Guy Hunt was convicted of state ethics law violations.

March 14, 1950 - The FBI unveiled the first installment of the '10 Most Wanted' list. Aimed at raising awareness of the bureau's most challenging cases, nearly 500 fugitives have appeared on the list over the last 60 years. Serial killers Andrew Cunanan and Ted Bundy as well as James Earl Ray, the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., are some of the more notable names that appeared on the list over the years. Occupying spots on the current Most Wanted list are high profile fugitives Osama Bin Laden and James 'Whitey' Bulger.

March 14, 1954 – U.S. Navy Engineman First Class Earl T. Holman of Evergreen, Ala. visited Rotterdam in the Netherlands on a four-day liberty while serving aboard the submarine, the USS Tirante. Rotterdam was the Tirante’s first stop after crossing the Atlantic after leaving her home port in New London, Conn.

March 14, 1960 – National Baseball Hall of Fame centerfielder Kirby Puckett was born in Chicago, Ill. He would go on to play his entire career for the Minnesota Twins. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.

March 14, 1963 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Lyeffion (Ala.) High School, under head coach Shirley Frazier, had completed the first week of spring football practice. Rising seniors on the team included Ronnie Golson, Allen Cook, Larry Hardee, John Grimes, Patton Brown and Harold Wilson.

March 14, 1963 – The Evergreen Courant reported that James A. Findley, 54, of Brooklyn, Ala. had been crushed to death between two trucks at the Taiami Trail Tours Inc. terminal in Tampa, Fla. Findley was attempting to couple two truck units when one lurched forward and crushed him. He was pronounced dead at Tampa General Hospital.

March 14, 1963 – The Evergreen Courant reported that James Finley had been appointed the new president of the Evergreen (Ala.) Civitan Club, filling the vacancy left when Murray Johnson moved to Atmore.

March 14, 1964 - A Dallas jury found Jack Ruby guilty of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the assumed assassin of John F. Kennedy.

March 14, 1965 – Major League Baseball pitcher Kevin Brown was born in Milledgeville, Ga. He would go on to play for the Texas Rangers, the Baltimore Orioles, the Florida Marlins, the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees.

March 14, 1965 - Twenty-four South Vietnamese Air Force planes, led by Vice-Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky and supported by U.S. jets, bombed the barracks and depots on Con Co (“Tiger”) Island, 20 miles off the coast of North Vietnam. The next day, 100 U.S. Air Force jets and carrier-based bombers struck the ammunition depot at Phu Qui, 100 miles south of Hanoi. This was the second set of raids in Operation Rolling Thunder and the first in which U.S. planes used napalm. 

March 14, 1967 – The body of U.S. President John F. Kennedy was moved to a permanent burial place at Arlington National Cemetery.

March 14, 1967 - The AFL and the NFL held the first common draft. The two leagues merged in 1970. The first player chosen was Bubba Smith, a defensive lineman from Michigan State.

March 14, 1968 - The final episode of "Batman" aired on ABC.

March 14, 1969 - At a news conference, President Richard Nixon said there was no prospect for a U.S. troop reduction in the foreseeable future because of the ongoing enemy offensive. Nixon stated that the prospects for withdrawal would hinge on the level of enemy activity, progress in the Paris peace talks, and the ability of the South Vietnamese to defend themselves. Despite these public comments, Nixon and his advisers were secretly discussing U.S. troop withdrawals. 

March 14, 1980 – Castleberry, Alabama’s mayor appointed Allen McGraw as Castleberry’s first volunteer fire chief.

March 14, 1986 – Conecuh County Sheriff’s Deputy Jimmy Lambert confiscated 415 marijuana plants near Travis Bridge. The plants were found by citizens who called the Sheriff’s Department.

March 14, 1988 – During what is now known as the “Johnson South Reef Skirmish,” Chinese forces defeaed Vietnamese forces in Johnson South Reef, disputed Spratly Islands.

March 14, 2001 - Author Anne George died in Birmingham, Ala.

March 14, 2003 - The first Montevallo Literary Festival opened.

March 14, 2005 - Major League Baseball gave a congressional committee about 400 pages of documents related to drug testing. It was also reported that Bud Selig would be willing to testify in hearings planned for March 17.

March 14, 2006 – After receiving numerous calls about possible leprechaun sittings and reports of crowds gathering in Crichton, NBC affiliate WPMI dispatched reporter Brian Johnson to investigate what is now known as the “Crichton Leprechaun Incident.”