Today in History for July 5, 2017

Pvt. Charles Robert Hendrix

July 5, 1586 – Puritan colonial leader and founder of Connecticut, Thomas Hooker, was born in England.

July 5, 1610 – John Guy set sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.

July 5, 1687 – Isaac Newton published one of the most important books in the history of science, “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica” or "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy."

July 5, 1775 – The Second Continental Congress adopted the Olive Branch Petition, written by John Dickinson, which appealed directly to King George III and expressed hope for reconciliation between the colonies and Great Britain.

July 5, 1777 - British General John Burgoyne led Redcoats, Hessian mercenaries, Canadians, Loyalists and Indians to a victory at Ticonderoga, N.Y.

July 5, 1801 – U.S. Naval officer David G. Farragut was born in Campbell's Station, Tenn. (now Farragut, Tenn.).

July 5, 1813 – During the War of 1812, three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York commenced.

July 5, 1814 – During the War of 1812’s Battle of Chippawa, American Major General Jacob Brown defeated British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.

July 5, 1819 - Alabama's first constitutional convention was convened in Huntsville, Ala. Less than a month later, the 44 delegates, representing 22 counties, adopted what would become known as the Constitution of 1819, the first of six Alabama constitutions.

July 5, 1819 – John Murphy and Dr. John Watkins represented Monroe County in the Alabama Constitutional Convention in Huntsville, Ala. Samuel Cook represented Conecuh County in the constitutional convention.

July 5, 1861 – Union and Rebel forces clashed at Carthage in southwestern Missouri, resulting in the first large-scale engagement of the war and signaling an escalation in the hostilities between the North and South. The Missouri State Guardsmen, a force of 6,000 men commanded by Confederate Governor Claiborne Jackson and Colonel Sterling Price, were poorly equipped and outfitted mostly in civilian clothing. Their Union counterpart was a force of 1,100, mostly German-Americans from St. Louis, commanded by General Franz Sigel. Both sides claimed victory.

July 5, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought near Newport News, Virginia.

July 5, 1862 – During the Civil War, a four-day Federal operation began in the vicinity of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and a two days of Confederate operations began, directed against Federal shipping in the James River, Virginia.

July 5, 1862 – During the Civil War, multiple skirmishes were fought along the Hatchie River in Mississippi, and skirmishes were also fought at Battle Creek and Walden’s Ridge, Tennessee.

July 5, 1863 - U.S. Federal troops occupied Vicksburg, Miss. and distributed supplies to the citizens.

July 5, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Bardstown, Franklin, Lebanon and Woodburn, Kentucky; at Smithsburg, Maryland; and along Yellow Creek, Tennessee.

July 5, 1863 – During the Civil War, this day marked Day No. 1 of the 20-day Jackson, Mississippi Campaign. Skirmishes were fought at Birdsong Ferry and near Bolton, Miss. as Federal troops under Sherman once more turned their attention on the Mississippi capital city. At Vicksburg, Grant began the work of paroling Pemberton’s army.

July 5, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Cunningham’s Crossroad, Fairfield, Greencastle, Green Oak, Mercersburg and Steven’s Furnace (Caledonia Iron Works) in Pennsylvania. The beaten Army of Northern Virginia moved generally toward Hagerstown, Maryland, while Lee’s trains went by way of Chambersburg.

July 5, 1863 – During the Civil War, a three-day Federal operation began between Plymouth and Williamston, North Carolina. Skirmishes were also fought at Kenansville and Warsaw, North Carolina.

July 5, 1864 – Joseph G. Sanders, aka “The Turncoat of Dale County,” was granted a provisional commission as a Second Lieutenant by Union Major General Nathaniel P. Banks, which he received on July 17, 1864 with orders to report for duty with Co. F of the First Florida Cavalry (U.S.) on Aug. 23 when the regiment was mustered in for Federal service in Florida. Sanders accordingly presented himself at the U.S. outpost at Barrancas, Fla., where he enrolled for a term of three years.

July 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, Sherman’s Federals pressed Johnston’s line on the Chattahoochee. Skirmishing also occurred at Pace’s Ferry, Howell’s Ferry, Turner’s Ferry and Isham’s Ford in Georgia.

July 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, President Lincoln suspended the privilege of writ of habeas corpus in Kentucky and declared martial law.

July 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Keedysville, Noland’s Ferry, Point of Rocks and Solomon’s Gap in Maryland. Jubal Early’s Confederate force began crossing the Potomac River.

July 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, a request was sent to New York and Pennsylvania for 24,000 militia to assist in the defense of Washington City from the advancing Confederates under Jubal Early.

July 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, a six-day Federal operation began between New Madrid and Caruthersville in Missouri. A skirmish was also fought at Big Piney, Missouri.

July 5, 1864 – During the Civil War, a 16-day Federal expedition began, originating from La Grange, Tenn. to Tupelo, Miss.

July 5, 1865 - The U.S. Secret Service Division was created to combat currency counterfeiting, forging and the altering of currency and securities.

July 5, 1865 - President Andrew Johnson signed an executive order that confirmed the military conviction of a group of people who had conspired to kill the late President Abraham Lincoln, then commander in chief of the U.S. Army, and with his signature, Johnson ordered four of the guilty to be executed. Confederate sympathizers David E. Herold, G. A. Atzerodt, Lewis Payne, Mary E. Surratt, Michael O’Laughlin, Edward Spangler, Samuel Arnold and Samuel A. Mudd were arraigned on May 9 and convicted on July 5 for “maliciously, unlawfully, and traitorously” conspiring with several others, including John Wilkes Booth, who had assassinated President Lincoln on April 14, 1865. In addition to targeting Lincoln, the conspirators had planned to kill General Ulysses S. Grant as he led Union armies in the Civil War against the southern states. Vice President Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln to the presidency, was also one of the group’s intended prey.

July 5, 1867 – Astronomer A.E. Douglass was born in Windsor, Vermont.

July 5, 1879 – Jesse D. Andrews shot and killed Daniel Powell during an argument at Cokerville (in Monroe County, Ala.?).

July 5, 1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tested his rabies vaccine on a nine-year-old boy named Joseph Meister, who’d been bitten by a rabid dog.

July 5, 1889 – French poet and film director Jean Cocteau was born in Maisons-Laffittee, near Paris.

July 5, 1896 – William Sydney Porter, better known to readers as O. Henry, fled from Texas to escape embezzlement charges.

July 5, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that the following officers had been appointed for the ensuing Masonic year for Alabama Lodge No. 3, A.F.&A.M.: J.F. Gaillard, Worshipful Master; Reubin Perry, Senior Warden; H.J. Coxwell, Junior Warden; W.E. Broughton, Treasurer; J.W. Wilkinson, Secretary; Jas. A. Marshall, Senior Deacon; S.F. Busey, Junior Deacon; and L.J. Frye, Tyler.

July 5, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Manistee community, that the town was “still on the boom. New houses continue to go up and new machinery to go in. The plan has been made for a new church at this place which will go up in the near future and prove a great benefit to the community, which we feel sure it will. Miss Anna Bell Murphy is teaching a flourishing school at the Grimes school house. She visited the capitol this week attending the teacher’s examination.”

July 5, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported, in news from the Buena Vista community, that Messrs. J.J. Finklea and Sons would soon have their “commodious and neatly built” gin completed, and that they expect to gin 20 bales per day.

July 5, 1906 – The Monroe Journal reported that Sheriff Fountain and Marshal Hunter made a business trip to Brewton during the previous week.

July 5, 1914 - In Berlin, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany pledged his country’s unconditional support for whatever action Austria-Hungary choose to take in its conflict with Serbia, a long-running rivalry thrown into crisis by the assassination, the previous June 28, of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife by a Serbian nationalist during an official visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia.

July 5, 1915 – “The Heart Punch,” a drama starring world heavyweight champion Jess Willard, was scheduled to be shown at the Arcade Theatre in Evergreen, Ala.

July 5, 1915 – Starting on this date, the board of pension examiners was scheduled to be in session at the office of Dr. Betts & Newton for 10 days, for the purpose of examining Confederate veterans and their widows living in Conecuh County, Ala. who wished to apply for a pension.

July 5, 1915 – The Liberty Bell left Philadelphia by special train on its way to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. This was the last trip outside Philadelphia that the custodians of the bell intended to permit.

July 5, 1915 – Monroeville’s baseball team defeated Brewton, 7-4, in 11 innings on this Monday in Brewton, Ala.

July 5, 1915 – Funeral services for Claude Lazenby, the son of G.S. Lazenby of Forest Home, were held in Greenville, Ala. Lazenby was killed on July 3 in a railway accident in Los Angeles, Calif.

July 5, 1916 – The steamboat “City of Mobile” was destroyed during a “hurricane” at the wharf at the foot of Dauphin Street in Mobile, Ala.

July 5, 1921 - After Judge Hugo Friend denied a motion to quash the indictments against the Major League Baseball players accused of throwing the 1919 World Series, a trial began with jury selection. The Chicago White Sox players, including stars Shoeless Joe Jackson, Buck Weaver and Eddie Cicotte, subsequently became known as the “Black Sox” after the scandal was revealed.

July 5, 1925 – French author, traveler and explorer Jean Raspail was born in Chemillé-sur-Dême, Indre-et-Loire, France.

July 5, 1928 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the Evergreen Motor Car Co. was moving into the “pretty new building recently completed on Rural Street” and was scheduled to officially open in that location on Sat., July 7. All seven models of the New Ford Car were to be on display on that day, several of which have not been shown in Evergreen, Ala. before.

July 5, 1928 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the newspaper was moving its offices to a new home two doors east of its present location, and its new home was to be in the building recently completed by the Evergreen Motor Car Co. Part of the newspaper’s equipment had already been moved, and the July 5 issue of the paper, which was about half its normal size, was composed in the old office and printed in the new because the printing presses had already been moved. The editor noted that the new location would be more accessible to the public because it was downstairs whereas the old location had been upstairs.

July 5, 1935 – The 14^th Dalai Lama, the spiritual ruler of Tibet, was born Lhamo Thondup in Taktser, Tibet, to a farming and horse-trading family.

July 5, 1937 – SPAM was unveiled by Hormel Foods.

July 5, 1940 – Artist Chuck Close was born in Monroe, Wash.

July 5, 1945 – The Monroe Journal reported that Sam Yarbrough of the Merchant Marine was at home on furlough after spending 17 months at sea.

July 5, 1945 – The Monroe Journal reported that Pvt. Bernard Gaston was spending a 60-day furlough with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. W.S. Gaston of Frisco City. He was a prisoner of war in Germany for nearly six months and was said to have lost about 50 pounds during that time.

July 5, 1950 – The Battle of Osan, the first face-off of American and North Korean troops in the Korean War, took place at Osan, just south of Seoul.

July 5, 1950 – Army Pvt. Charles Robert Hendrix, 19, of Monroe County, Ala. was killed in action in Korea. Born on Oct. 4, 1930, he was a member of B Co., 21^st Infantry Battalion, 24^th Infantry Division, and was buried in the Shiloh Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery. Hendrix, the son of Mr. and Mrs. W.M. Hendrix of Monroeville, was one of the first of Monroe County's casualties in the Korean conflict. He was in the army for three years, previously having attended J.U. Blacksher High School. His body arrived in Evergreen after having been shipped via transport from Korea to the U.S. Sources say that he fought in the first battle of the Korean War, called Task Force Smith.

July 5, 1950 - Army Pvt. O.C. Clarke Jr. of Covington County, Ala. died while a prisoner of war in Korea.

July 5, 1951 – The Monroe Journal reported that Pvt. Thomas B. Qualls, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Sid Qualls of Route 1, Uriah, was serving as a rifleman with the 35^th Infantry Regiment, a part of the 25^th Division, in Korea. Before entering the service in November 1950, Qualls was employed by J.U. Blacksher, Uriah.

July 5, 1951 – National Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Goose Gossage was born in Colorado Springs, Colo. He went on to play for the Chicago White Sox, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the New York Yankees, the San Diego Padres, the Chicago Cubs, the San Francisco Giants, the Texas Rangers, the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.

July 5, 1952 – British author Dame Hilary Mantel was born Hilary Thompson in Glossop, Derbyshire.

July 5, 1953 – The Evergreen Greenies baseball team was scheduled to play Baker, Fla. in Evergreen on this Sunday.

July 5, 1956 – Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver James Lofton was born in Fort Ord, Calif. He went on to play for Stanford, the Green Bay Packers, the Los Angeles Raiders, the Buffalo Bills, the Los Angeles Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles, and he coached the San Diego Chargers and the Raiders. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

July 5, 1966 - State and territorial governors met in Los Angeles to adopt a resolution expressing “support of our global commitments, including our support of the military defense of South Vietnam against aggression.”

July 5, 1966 - During a White House press conference, President Lyndon B. Johnson expressed his disappointment at the reaction of a “few” U.S. allies. Johnson had been actively seeking international support for the war against the communists in Vietnam.

July 5, 1968 – Technology executive Susan Wojcicki was born in Santa Clara County, Calif.

July 5, 1971 – The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, was formally certified by President Richard Nixon.

July 5, 1988 – The Evergreen City Council named veteran city employee Clayton Davis to serve as Water Department Superintendent, replacing Franklin Williamson, who had retired earlier that year.

July 5, 1988 – Terry Lynn Parker, 23, of Rt. 1, Evergreen was killed in a logging accident on this Tuesday morning while working with a logging crew in the Mobley Creek area of Covington County, near Brooklyn, Ala. Parker, who was employed by Bruce Salter Logging Co., was struck by a falling tree at 9 a.m. and pronounced dead at the scene at 11:25 a.m., according to Covington County Sheriff’s Investigator Max Hooks.

July 5, 1989 - The pilot episode of "Seinfeld" aired on NBC.

July 5, 1991 – Evergreen’s 14-&-15-year-old Babe Ruth All-Stars were scheduled to play South Monroe in Atmore, Ala. at 7:30 p.m.

July 5, 1998 - Roger Clemens of the Toronto Blue Jays got his 3,000th career strikeout.

July 5, 1998 – Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Sid Luckman died at the age of 81 in Aventura, Fla. During his career, he played for Columbia and the Chicago Bears. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1965.

July 5, 1999 – U.S. President Bill Clinton imposed trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

July 5, 2002 – National Baseball Hall of Fame left fielder Ted Williams died of cardiac arrest at the age of 83 in Inverness, Fla., and his son sent his father’s body to be frozen at a cryonics laboratory. During his career, he played for the Boston Red Sox and managed the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966.

July 5, 2009 – The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered, consisting of more than 1,500 items, was found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England.

July 5, 2012 – Longtime local radioman Gary Downs, 63, passed away in a Monroeville, Ala. nursing home.