Today in History for Jan. 8, 2017

Madison “Matt” Lambert

Jan. 8, 1790 - President George Washington delivered the first State of the Union address to the assembled Congress in New York City.

Jan. 8, 1811 – An unsuccessful slave revolt was led by Charles Deslondes in St. Charles and St. James, Louisiana.

Jan. 8, 1815 - U.S. forces under Andrew Jackson achieved the greatest American victory of the War of 1812 at the Battle of New Orleans, which was fought between Dec. 23, 1814 and Jan. 8, 1815. The War of 1812 had officially ended on Dec. 24, 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent (which wasn’t ratified by the U.S. government until February 1815). The news of the signing had not reached British troops in time to prevent their attack on New Orleans.

Jan. 8, 1821 – Confederate General James Longstreet was born near Edgefield, S.C. Longstreet became one of the most successful generals in the Confederate army, and fought with Robert E. Lee until the surrender at Appomattox in April 1865. After the war, he became a target of some of his comrades, who were searching for a scapegoat.

Jan. 8, 1823 – Welsh-English geographer, biologist and explorer Alfred Russel Wallace was born in Llanbadoc, Monmouthshire, Wales.

Jan. 8, 1853 - A bronze statue of Andrew Jackson on a horse was unveiled in Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C.

Jan. 8, 1861 – Around midnight, Federal forces under the command of Lt. Adam J. Slemmer at Fort Barrancas in Pensacola, Fla. fired on a group of Florida State Troops who attempted to move on the fort. This action was unlike the peaceful forfeiture of Fort Marion in St. Augustine the previous day. Some historians suggest that these were the first shots fired by United States forces in the Civil War.

Jan. 8, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Fishing Creek, Ky.; at Roan's Tan Yard, also known as Silver Creek, also known as Sugar Creek, near Charleston, Mo.; and at Cheat River and at the mouth of the Blue Stone River, West Virginia.

Jan. 8, 1863 – During the Civil War, the Second Battle of Springfield was fought in Spring Field, Missouri. A three-day Federal operation between Elkhorn and Berryville, Ark. also began. A skirmish was also fought at Knob Creek, near Ripley, Mill Creek, Harpeth Shoals, and Ashland, Tenn. A three-day Federal operation between Suffolk and Blackwater, Va. also began, and a three-day Federal operation between Catlett’s Station and Rappahannock Station, Va. also began.

Jan. 8, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Moorefield Junction, West Va., and Federal artillery shelled the Confederate works at Caney Bayou, Texas.

Jan. 8, 1864 - Seventeen-year-old David Owen Dodd was hanged in Little Rock, Ark. He was captured as he tried to cross Federal lines near Little Rock with notes in Morse code hidden in his shoe. After a military court found him guilty, he confessed that he had been sent to gather information about Union troops. Dodd may have been the youngest person hanged as a spy in the Civil War.

Jan. 8, 1865 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought near Ivey's Ford, Ark. and with Kickapoo and Pottawatomie Indians at Dove Creek, Concho River, Texas.

Jan. 8, 1865 – During the Civil War, with General Ben Butler now replaced by the vastly more capable General Alfred H. Terry in command of the Army side of the project, the effort to capture Ft. Fisher was in full stride today. An immense fleet had been assembled by Admiral David D. Porter, half gun ships and the other half troop transports for the Army force. To allow for the fact that bad weather could blow in unexpectedly at any time, the fleet had scheduled a rendezvous point in case regrouping was needed. They arrived at this point, off Beaufort, N.C. on this day, and indeed had to wait for a few vessels to catch up, although the reasons were more mechanical than meteorological. The weather was holding, which did not bode well for the defenses of Wilmington, N.C.

Jan. 8, 1880 - The "ruler" Emperor Norton passed away in San Francisco. The eccentric Joshua Abraham Norton proclaimed himself "Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico." During his 20-year "reign," he was humored by the locals, and currency was even issued in his name.

Jan. 8, 1904 – German SS officer Karl Brandt was born in Mulhouse, Alsace-Lorraine.

Jan. 8, 1905 – During a wedding in northeastern Monroe County, Ala., a man named Smith shot and killed John McClammy. Smith was also seriously wounded during the “row.”

Jan. 8, 1906 - United States Marshal G.B. Dennis of the Southern District of Alabama was in Monroeville on this Monday on official business, according to The Monroe Journal.

Jan. 8, 1909 - Alabama journalist Buford Boone was born near Newnan, Ga.

Jan. 8, 1918 – In an address before a joint meeting of Congress, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson discussed the aims of the United States in World War I and outlined his famous “Fourteen Points” for achieving a lasting peace in Europe in the aftermath of World War I.

Jan. 8, 1929 – Confederate veteran Madison “Matt” Lambert died at the age of 86 at his home in Tallassee in Elmore County, Ala. Born in Claiborne on March 4, 1842, he went on to serve as a private with Co. A of the 42^nd Alabama Infantry Regiment. He enlisted on March 5, 1861 and was discharged on May 15, 1864 after being wounded at Resaca, Ga. His wound was so severe that he had to have his leg amputated below the knee. Lambert moved to Elmore County from South Alabama around 1876.

Jan. 8, 1929 - William S. Paley appeared on CBS Radio for the first time to announce that CBS had become the largest regular chain of broadcasting chains in radio history.

Jan. 8, 1931 – The Monroe Journal reported that Mr. C.H. McCall had purchased the house formerly occupied by Mr. C.D. Putnam. This house was partially destroyed by fire in November 1930 and was being rebuilt.

Jan. 8, 1932 – Bay Minette’s boys basketball team beat Evergreen High School, 22-18, in Bay Minette, Ala.

Jan. 8, 1932 – Evergreen High School’s girls basketball team improved to 4-0 with a 33-9 win over Georgiana High School. Team captain Althea Kelly led Evergreen with 22 points.

Jan. 8, 1934 – Major League Baseball third baseman Gene Freese was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. He would go on to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Philadelphia Phillies, the Chicago White Sox, the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros.

Jan. 8, 1935 – Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock and Roll,” was born in Tupelo, Miss.

Jan. 8, 1940 – Great Britain began wartime food rationing, which continued for several years after the war, finally ending in 1954.

Jan. 8, 1942 – Physicist and author Stephen Hawking was born in Oxford, England on the 300^th anniversary of Galileo’s death. He is best known for his book, “A Brief History of Time.”

Jan. 8, 1948 – Former Mississippi State and NFL quarterback Joe Reed was born in Newport, Rhode Island. He would go on to play for the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions.

Jan. 8, 1949 – Major League Baseball outfielder Wilbur Howard was born in Lowell, N.C. He would go on to play for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Houston Astros.

Jan. 8, 1953 – National Baseball Hall of Fame relief pitcher Bruce Sutter was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He went on to play for the Chicago Cubs, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

Jan. 8, 1953 – Coach Ray Owens’ Conecuh County High School boys basketball team improved to 6-2 on the season with a 39-37 win over Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Ala. Shirley Frazier led Evergreen with 17 points, and James Jernigan led CCHS with 11 points. CCHS forward Lamon Reeves scored the winning shot with five seconds left in the game. Evergreen, under Coach Wendell Hart, fell to 5-4 on the season.

Jan. 8, 1957 - Jackie Robinson announced his retirement from Major League Baseball in an article that appeared in "LOOK" magazine.

Jan. 8, 1958 - Bobby Fisher, at the age of 14, won the United States Chess Championship for the first time.

Jan. 8, 1960 - The NCAA met in New York and voted against reviving the unlimited substitution rule for college football.

Jan. 8, 1960 – Widely known educator and former Evergreen, Ala. resident Dr. Clarence M. Dannelly, 70, died on this Friday, a “victim of a lingering heart disease.” According to The Evergreen Courant, Dannelly “was nationally known in educational circles.” He served as superintendent of Montgomery city and county schools from 1936 until his retirement in 1958 and served as principal at Evergreen High School, Etowah County High School, as educational representative of Rand, McNally Co., as a staff member of the State Department of Education, as president of Kentucky Wesleyan College and he taught history and philosophy of education for two years at the University of Alabama. He also served one term as vice president of the National Education Association.

Jan. 8, 1960 – Union High School of Monroeville beat Conecuh County Training School’s boys basketball team, 73-64, in Evergreen, Ala. Douglas Evans led CCTS with 21 points, and Robert Martin followed with 14 points. Standout Union players included Richardson, a guard.

Jan. 8, 1962 – A U.S. Air Force KB-50 tanker leaving from Langley Air Force Base, Va., on its way to the Azores, disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle.

Jan. 8, 1967 - About 16,000 U.S. soldiers from the 1st and 25th Infantry Divisions, 173rd Airborne Brigade and 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment joined 14,000 South Vietnamese troops to mount Operation Cedar Falls, the largest offensive of the war to date.

Jan. 8, 1973 – Army SFC William Sherril Stinson of Georgiana, Ala. was declared missing in action in Vietnam.

Jan. 8, 1973 - The trial opened in Washington of seven men accused of bugging the Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, D.C.

Jan. 8, 1973 - National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Hanoi’s Le Duc Tho resumed peace negotiations in Paris.

Jan. 8, 1976 – In connection with the “Amityville Horror” case, after deciding that something was wrong with their house they could not explain rationally, George and Kathy Lutz carried out a blessing of their own on. George held a silver crucifix while they both recited the Lord's Prayer and, while in the living room, George allegedly heard a chorus of voices asking them "Will you stop?!"

Jan. 8, 1976 – Major League Baseball pitcher Carl Pavono was born in New Britain, Conn. He went on to play for the Montreal Expos, the Florida Marlins, the New York Yankees, the Cleveland Indians and the Minnesota Twins.

  

Jan. 8, 1977 - The cover of TV Guide featured the "Super Bowl."

Jan. 8, 1977 – Weather reporter Earl Windham reported a low of 25 degrees in Evergreen, Ala.

Jan. 8, 1977 – Sparta Academy’s boys basketball team beat Evangel, 60-59, in Eight Mile near Mobile, Ala. Bobby Johnson led Sparta with 23 points.

Jan. 8, 1980 – Sparta Academy’s varsity boys and girls basketball teams recorded wins over Greenville Academy in Evergreen. Sparta’s boys won, 75-60, as Terry Shipp led with 31 points. Sparta’s girls won, 35-17, with Missi Thacker leading with 13 points.

Jan. 8, 1981 – A local farmer reported a UFO sighting in Trans-en-Provence, France, and it’s said to be "perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time".

Jan. 8, 1984 - ABC purchased the remaining 85 percent of ESPN.

Jan. 8, 1985 - Alabama author Wyatt Blassingame died in Bradenton, Fla.

Jan. 8, 1998 – Little Eva crash survivor Grady Gaston of Frisco City, Ala. passed away at the age of 77. During World War II, Gaston, a ball turret gunner, was one of the few survivors of bomber crash that occurred in Australia. Gaston survived in terrible conditions for nearly five months before being rescued, and he was later featured by “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”

Jan. 8, 1998 – In “V for Vendetta,” Evey asked V if he was her father. V responded, and Evey was kicked out of the Gallery. Derek Almond was laid to rest. Rosemary Almond was refused any sort of financial compensation for Norsefire. With no other means of support, she accepted Roger Dascombe’s invitation.

Jan. 8, 2000 - In an American Football Conference (AFC) wild card match-up at Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville, Tenn., the Tennessee Titans staged a last-second come-from-behind victory to beat the Buffalo Bills 22-16 on a kickoff return play later dubbed the "Music City Miracle."

Jan. 8, 2007 – The Franklin Cemetery in Butler County, Ala. was added to the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register.

Jan. 8, 2009 - In Egypt, archeologists entered a 4,300-year-old pyramid and discovered the mummy of Queen Sesheshet.

Jan. 8, 2011 - Evergreen’s Chris Hines grabbed 10 rebounds as the University of Alabama’s men’s basketball team opened SEC play on this Saturday with a 75-57 win over Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss. Hines hauled in 10 rebounds for the Tide, which was his third double figure rebounding performance in the past four games. Hines also had seven points and an assist in the nationally televised game.