Today in History for Sept. 8, 2016

General William Rosecrans

Sept. 8, 1504 – Michelangelo unveiled his sculpture “David.”

Sept. 8, 1565 - A Spanish expedition established the first permanent European settlement in North America at present-day St. Augustine, Fla. The expediction was led by Spanish admiral and Florida's first governor, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés.

Sept. 8, 1664 – The Dutch surrendered the cit of New Amsterdam to the British, who renamed it New York.

Sept. 8, 1781 – During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina, the war's last significant battle in the Southern theater, ended in a narrow British tactical victory. The battle began when Major General Nathanael Greene's Continental Army (about 2,200 men) began an offensive against British forces (less than 2,000) under Lt. Col. Alexander Stewart at Eutaw Springs on the banks of the Santee River. This battle resulted in the highest casualties of the entire war as more than 500 Americans were killed or wounded in the action and 700 British were either killed, wounded or missing.

Sept. 8, 1810 – The Tonquin set sail from New York Harbor with 33 employees of John Jacob Astor's newly created Pacific Fur Company on board. After a six-month journey around the tip of South America, the ship arrived at the mouth of the Columbia River and Astor's men established the fur-trading town of Astoria, Oregon.

Sept. 8, 1812 – Louisa Frances Garland, the wife of Univeristy of Alabama President Landon Garland, was born. Tradition states that Louisa Garland convinced Union soldiers not to burn the President’s Mansion when they attacked the University’s campus on April 4, 1865.

Sept. 8, 1822 – German geologist and explorer Karl von Ditmar was born in Vändra, Pärnu County, Livonia. He is best known for travelling in and contributing to the scientific understanding of Kamchatka.

Sept. 8, 1840 – Confederate veteran Henry Smith Skinner was born in Carrol County, Mo. During the Civil War, he served in Co. E of the 15th Confederate Cavalry and served on the staff of Col. Henry “Harry” Maury. After the war, he practiced denistry in Belleville, Ala. He passed away on Dec. 26, 1922 and is buried in the Methodist Cemetery at Belleville.

Sept. 8, 1861 – During the Civil War, an engagement was fought at Lucas Bend, Mo.

Sept. 8, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Lovetsville, Va.

Sept. 8, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought on the Franklin and Scott Roads in Kentucky; at Poolesville, Maryland; at Cockrum Crossroad and at Rienzi, Mississippi; at Big Creek, Missouri; at Columbia, Tennessee; and at Williamsburg, Virginia.

Sept. 8, 1862 – During the Civil War, Robert E. Lee released a pronouncement to the people of Maryland on this day. “The people of the Confederate States have long watched with the deepest sympathy the wrongs and outrages that have been inflicted on the citizens,” he said. “We know no enemies among you, and will protect all, of every opinion.” The South had long believed that if the Union army weren’t there that Maryland would have long since seceded. “It is for you to decide your destiny freely and without constraint.” The immediate decision of the people of Maryland, pro-South as well as pro-North, was that they had no desire to “sell” their just-harvested crops for Confederate money. The anticipated enthusiasm for Robert E. Lee’s “army of liberation” was not materializing.

Sept. 8, 1863 - At the Second Battle of Sabine Pass, a small Confederate force thwarted a Federal invasion of Texas at the mouth of the Sabine River on the Texas-Louisiana border. While the Confederates did not lose a single man, 28 Yankees were killed, 75 were wounded, and 315 were captured. The loss was humiliating for the Union, Franklin was ridiculed and Dowling’s Rebels became heroes.

Sept. 8, 1863 - Union General William Rosecrans approached Chattanooga, Tenn. from the west and began crossing Lookout Mountain. The next day Union troops captured the city with only minor skirmishing.

Sept. 8, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Alpine and Lookout Mountain, Georgia; at Webber’s Fall in the Indian Territory;  at Friar’s Island, Tennessee; and at Brandy Station, Virginia.

Sept. 8, 1863 – During the Civil War, the 1st Confederate Army Corps under Lieutenant General James Longstreet was detached from the Army of Northern Virginia and ordered to Tennessee to assist General Braxton Bragg, arriving Sept. 18 - 19, 1863, having to travel by rail through North Carolina and to Atlanta, Georgia, to reach Bragg’s army, revealing the South’s inferior railroad system.

Sept. 8, 1864 - Over 50 Confederate boats were destroyred at Salt House Point on Mobile Bay, Ala. A three-day Federal expedition began from Mobile Bay to Bon Secour and Fish River, Ala., and the immense salt works at Bon Secour and barracks at Camp Anderson were destroyed.

Sept. 8, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Glass Village and Clarendon, Arkansas; at Labiadieville, Louisiana; near Warrensburg, Missouri and near Currituck Bridge, Virginia.

Sept. 8, 1864 – During the Civil War, a four-day Federal operation from Helena to Alligator Bayou, Arkansas began, and another four-day Federal operation began from Lewisburg to Norristown and Russellville, Arkansas.

Sept. 8, 1864 – A Federal expedition was conducted from Fort Pike, Louisiana, aboard the steamer, JD Swain, up the Peal River to Deer Island Landing.

Sept. 8, 1864 - It had been more than a week before that George McClellan had been nominated as the Democratic candidate for President in that year’s election, but he did not get around to formally accepting that nomination until this day. At that point he made an announcement that did not sit well with many: He disavowed the “peace plank” in the party platform. This provision insisted that there should be an “immediate cessation of hostilities” and that the Union should be reunited, if possible, by negotiation. McClellan renounced this, saying “The Union is the one condition of peace” and that that was all that could bring the end of the war. This made McClellan look as though he was trying to have things both ways, which, as usual, endeared him to neither faction.

Sept. 8, 1865 – During the Civil War, a second day of skirmishing with Indians took place at Powder River, the Montana Territory.

Sept. 8, 1883 – The Northern Pacific Railway (reporting mark NP) was completed in a ceremony at Gold Creek, Montana. Former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in an event attended by rail and political luminaries.

Sept. 8, 1888 – “Jack the Ripper” claimed his second victim, Annie Chapman, in London.

Sept. 8, 1892 – An early version of the Pledge of Allegiance appeared in a magazine called The Youth's Companion. It read: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands; one nation indivisible, with liberty and Justice for all."

Sept. 8, 1895 – On this Sunday, B.F. Dogget killed 14 rattlesnakes on his farm in the Glendale community (Monroe County?). Two of the snakes were 4-1/2 feet long and the others were about 15 inches long.

Sept. 8, 1900 - The powerful “Hurricane of 1900” hit the city of Galveston, Texas, causing an estimated 8,000 deaths. The storm kept up for 18 hours, with winds clocked at 120 mph. Most of Galveston was built at sea level, and huge waves swept through the streets and flattened businesses and homes.

Sept. 8, 1909 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Dr. and Mrs. J.V. Carsewell and Mrs. Costello had arrived in Evergreen, Ala. from McWilliams to take charge of the Evergreen Hotel on Sept. 9.

Sept. 8, 1909 – The Evergreen Courant reported that one case of pellagra had been reported in Conecuh County, Ala. About three weeks prior, a child died about 12 miles southeast of Evergreen from the disease. The child was from Mississippi, where it had contracted the disease before being sent to relatives in Conecuh County.

Sept. 8, 1912 – Steve Blackwell, his son, J.T. Blackwell, Gus Baggett, G.E. Bradley and Jas. Ryals were placed in the Conecuh County Jail on charges of murdering John Lowrey earlier that day near Repton, Ala.

Sept. 8, 1914 – William A. Burnett, “a former well known citizen of Evergreen and Castleberry,” died at his home in Pollard, Ala. after a “lingering illness.”

Sept. 8, 1915 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Prof. L.H. Lewis, a member of the Agricultural school faculty, had arrived from his home in Blocton, in preparation for the opening of the school year.

Sept. 8, 1920 - The first transcontinental U.S. airmail service began, from New York to San Francisco. As part of the system, there were 15 airfields in all, beginning with New York and including Cleveland, Chicago, Omaha, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, Reno, and finally San Francisco.

Sept. 8, 1924 – Novelist Grace Metalious was born in Manchester, New Hampshire. She is best known for her 1956 novel, “Peyton Place.”

Sept. 8, 1924 – Evergreen, Alabama’s Agricultural and Grammar schools opened with a joint program at the Grammar school auditorium on this Monday morning at 10 a.m. Prof. J.B. Hobdy, the state director of vocational education, was the keynote speaker. W.B. Sexton was principal of the Agricultural school, and R. Gaston Bozeman was the principal of the City School.

Sept. 8, 1927 - The State Secondary Agricultural School in Evergreen, Ala. was scheduled to open its 30th annual session on this Thursday at 9 a.m. in the auditorium of the Evergreen City School.

Sept. 8, 1933 – Ghazi bin Faisal became King of Iraq.

Sept. 8, 1939 – Alabama State Highway Director Chris J. Sherlock announced that an agreement between the State Highway Department and Monroe County officials had been signed for the paving of 12-1/2 miles of State Highway 47 between Tunnel Springs and Midway, the last unpaved section of the highway between Greenville and Monroeville.

Sept. 8, 1945 – Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Lem Barney was born in Gulfport, Miss. He went on to play for Jackson State and the Detroit Lions. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992.

Sept. 8, 1947 – Short story writer and novelist Ann Beattie was born in Washington, D.C.

Sept. 8, 1952 – “The Old Man and the Sea,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Ernest Hemingway, was first published.

Sept. 8, 1954 - Having been directed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to put together an alliance to contain any communist aggression in the free territories of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, or Southeast Asia in general, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles forged an agreement establishing a military alliance that becomes the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).

Sept. 8, 1955 – Evergreen High School opened for the 1955-56 school year.

Sept. 8, 1960 - NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., which grew out of the Army's Redstone Arsenal, was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Among many contributions to the U.S. space program, center director Wernher von Braun and his team developed the Saturn rockets that launched American astronauts to the moon in 1969. Gov. John Patterson and Werner von Braun, director of the space flight center, were in attendance as was Mrs. Marshall who unveiled a bust in honor of her husband.

Sept. 8, 1961 – Evergreen opened the 1961 football season with a 21-0 loss to Escambia County High School in Atmore, Ala.

Sept. 8, 1961 – Three Thomasville, Ala. women died from injuries in an afternoon accident at the intersection of Highway 31 and Highway 84 North. The accident occurred when a 1961 Dodge car driven by Mrs. Gene L. Doyle of Thomasville collided with a loaded dump truck. Passengers in the car included Mrs. Russell B. Smith and Mrs. Bessie M. Hayes. All three were transported to the Conecuh County Hospital, but none survived.

Sept. 8, 1964 – Monroe County, Ala. schools opened for their first full day of classes for the 1964-65 school year.

Sept. 8, 1965 - Bert Campaneris became the first Major League Baseball player to play all nine positions in one game.

Sept. 8, 1966 - NBC-TV aired the first episode of "Star Trek," entitled "The Man Trap." The show was canceled on September 2, 1969.

Sept. 8, 1968 - Troung Quang An became the first South Vietnamese general killed in action when his aircraft was shot down. The commander of the U.S. 1st Infantry Division (more popularly known as the ‘Big Red One”), Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware, suffered a similar fate when his helicopter was shot down on September 13. Maj. Gen. Ware was one of two U.S. division commanders killed during the war; the other was Maj. Gen. George W. Casey of the 1st Cavalry Division who was killed in a helicopter crash on July 7, 1970.

Sept. 8, 1969 – Belgian-French explorer and activist Alexandra David-Néel passed away at the age of 100 in Digne, France. She is most known for her 1924 visit to Lhasa, Tibet when it was forbidden to foreigners. David-Néel wrote over 30 books about Eastern religion, philosophy, and her travels, and her teachings influenced the beat writers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, the populariser of Eastern philosophy Alan Watts, and the esotericist Benjamin Creme.

Sept. 8, 1969 – A Conecuh County, Ala. trial jury awarded Eloise Traweek $45,000, the largest judgement up to that point in Conecuh County history, in a lawsuit against Southern Bell Telephone Co. Circuit Judge Robert E.L. Key presided over the case, which arose when Traweek was injured in a fall after she tripped over a Southern Bell wire. She was represented by attorneys Frank Tipler Jr. and William D. Melton.

Sept. 8, 1973 - Hank Aaron hit his 709th home run.

Sept. 8, 1974 - Evel Knievel attempted (unsuccessfully) to vault across the mile-wide Snake River Canyon in a rocket-like contraption he called the "Sky Cycle."

Sept. 8, 1974 – In relation to the Watergate Scandal, US President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office.

Sept. 8, 1985 – Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds tied Ty Cobb’s 57-year-old record for career hits (4,191) with two hits against the Chicago Cubs.

Sept. 8, 1986 - Herschel Walker made his start in the National Football League (NFL) after leaving the New Jersey Generals of the USFL.

  

Sept. 8, 1997 - The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of Timothy McVeigh for his role in the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Sept. 8, 1998 - St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire hits his 62nd home run of the year, breaking Roger Maris’ record for most home runs in a single season.

Sept. 8, 1998 – Major League Baseball second baseman Marlon Anderson made his major league debut for the Philadelphia Phillies. He entered that game as a pinch hitter, hitting a home run off Mel Rojas of the New York Mets.

Sept. 8, 1999 - U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno named former U.S. Senator John Danforth to head an independent investigation into the 1993 fire at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas.

Sept. 8, 2002 - The NFL's Houston Texans played their first regular season game. They beat the Dallas Cowboys, 19-10.

Sept. 8, 2006 – Auburn University athlete and coach Erk Russell, a native of Ensley, Ala., died at the age of 80 in Statesboro, Ga. During his career, he played football, basketball and baseball at Auburn and went on to serve as Auburn’s head baseball coach and Georgia Southern’s head football coach.

Sept. 8, 2008 – American explorer Ralph Plaisted passed away at the age of 80 in Wyoming, Minn. Plaisted and his three companions, Walt Pederson, Gerry Pitzl and Jean-Luc Bombardier, are regarded by most polar authorities to be the first to succeed in a surface traverse across the ice to the North Pole on April 19, 1968, making the first confirmed surface conquest of the Pole.

Sept. 8, 2015 - British researchers announced that evidence of a larger version of Stonehenge had been located about 2 miles from the Stonehenge location. There were 90 buried stones that had been found by ground penetrating radar.