Today in History for Sept. 12, 2017

Army Pvt. William Francis Williams

Sept. 12, 490 B.C.E. – The Battle of Marathon, one of history’s earliest recorded battles, took place on this day.

Sept. 12, 1609 – Henry Hudson began his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen.

Sept. 12, 1777 - The Continental Congress received a letter from Continental Army General George Washington informing them of the Patriot defeat the previous day at Brandywine, Pa.

Sept. 12, 1781 - In North Carolina, the British captured Governor Burke and 13 high-ranking Whig officials in Hillsborough.

Sept. 12, 1813 – Having been informed of the attack on Fort Mims, General Jackson directed Col. John McKee to return to the Indian country and “get out” as many Choctaw and Chickasaw warriors as practicable and then march against the Creek town, situated at the Falls of the Black Warrior, under the rule of the chieftain, Oseeochee Emathla.

Sept. 12, 1814 – During the Battle of North Point, an American detachment halted the British land advance to Baltimore in the War of 1812.

Sept. 12, 1822 – Mary Boykin passed away at the age of six and was buried in the Old Beulah Cemetery in Conecuh County. Her tombstone is the oldest known grave in the cemetery.

Sept. 12, 1842 – Confederate soldier William George Riley was born. He was the brother of Monroe Guards commander Thomas Mercer Riley. W.G. Riley died on June 22, 1940 and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Evergreen, Ala.

Sept. 12, 1846 – Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning eloped.

Sept. 12, 1853 – George Clothies was commissioned for his first of two terms as Monroe County, Alabama’s Sheriff.

Sept. 12, 1857 – The SS Central America sank about 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, N.C., drowning a total of 426 passengers and crew, including Captain William Lewis Herndon. The ship was carrying 13–15 tons of gold from the California Gold Rush.

Sept. 12, 1861 – This day’s issue of The Clarke County Democrat carried the following notice on its editorial page – “We are requested by Capt. Stephen B. Cleveland to state that there is still room for any persons desirous of joining his Cavalry Company.”

Sept. 12, 1861 – During the Civil War, at the First Battle of Lexington, Confederate General Sterling Price converged on a Union garrison at Lexington, Missouri. The 19-day siege ended with the surrender of the Federals under Colonel James Mulligan. Price secured the town with only 25 men killed and 72 wounded while Federal losses numbered 39 dead and 120 wounded.

Sept. 12, 1861 – During the Civil War, U.S. Major General George Brinton McClellan, ordered the arrest of the members of the Maryland legislature as well as other citizens of the state deemed disloyal to the Federal Union. The greatest fear in Washington, D.C. at this point in the War was the possible secession of Maryland. With Virginia already gone on one side, Maryland’s departure would leave the Federal capital entirely surrounded by Confederate territory, which would be embarrassing at the very least. A meeting of secessionist-minded state legislators had been scheduled for Sept. 17 in Frederick, Md., far from the capital of Annapolis. Orders were quietly issued, and starting today, the gentlemen were quietly arrested. To decrease opportunities for further agitation they were taken for confinement to Ft. Warren in Boston Harbor.

Sept. 12, 1861 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Petersburg and Peytona in West Virginia.

Sept. 12, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Black River, Mo.

Sept. 12, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Brandenburg, Glasgow and Woodburn in Kentucky; at Maryland Heights and Frederick in Maryland; at the Coldwater, Mississippi railroad bridge; and at Hurricane Bridge in West Virginia.

Sept. 12, 1862 - If General George McClellan had no idea where Robert E. Lee and his army were located, the state officials of Pennsylvania had the strong suspicion that he was headed straight for them. The geography, the road network, and an assumption that Lee would try to stay a prudent distance away from the Army of the Potomac made this a fairly logical possibility. Orders were issued in Harrisburg and Philadelphia on this day to box up the state’s documents, bonds, archives and treasury and ship them to New York for safekeeping. A fair number of politicians decided to ride along on the train--just to keep the records safe, of course.

Sept. 12, 1862 – During the Civil War, a five-day Federal operation in Loudoun County, Va. began.

Sept. 12, 1862 – During the Civil War, Confederates laid siege to Harper's Ferry, W.Va.

Sept. 12, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Dardanelle and near Brownsville in Arkansas; at Sterling’s Plantation, near Morganza, La.; near Houston, Texas County, Mo.; at South Mills, N.C.; at White Plains and near Bristoe Station in Virginia; and in Roan County, W.Va.

Sept. 12, 1863 – During the Civil War, northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee were the scenes of numerous skirmishes, probes, reconnaissances, and general nastiness on this day. If gathered together they would probably have added up to a sizeable battle, but spread out as they were around Chattanooga, they didn’t amount to much. Sites where official skirmishes occurred included Rheatown, Tenn. and Leet’s Tanyard, Alpine, the Lafayette Road, Rock Springs and Dirt Town in Georgia.

Sept. 12, 1863 – During the Civil War, a four-day Federal operation began, originating from Harper’s Ferry, W.Va. into Loudoun County, Va.

Sept. 12, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Caledonia, Mo. and near Memphis, Tenn.

Sept. 12, 1864 - President Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant had a common worry on this day: Phil Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley. It wasn’t that he was doing anything wrong; the problem was that he didn’t seem to be doing much of anything at all. To Lincoln this was a worry because Sheridan was supposed to be catching General Early’s Confederate force, which had been raiding and rampaging as far north as Pennsylvania for most of the summer. Grant worried about this too, with the additional personal complication that Sheridan was a friend from the “western theater” who had been brought East and given an army at Grant’s personal recommendation. One factor neither seems to have allowed for was that Sheridan was a cavalryman, and had never commanded large numbers of foot soldiers before.

Sept. 12, 1865 – The New Alabama Constitution was adopted to comply with Presidential Reconstruction dictates to rejoin the Union. The document was later rejected by U.S. Congress.

Sept. 12, 1870 – American journalist, explorer, and author Fitz Hugh Ludlow passed away at the age of 34 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Sept. 12, 1880 – German-American satirist, cultural critic and journalist H.L. Mencken was born Henry Louis Mencken in Baltimore, Md.

Sept. 12, 1883 – John Burns was commissioned for the first of his two terms as Monroe County, Alabama’s Sheriff.

Sept. 12, 1886 – Members of the Masonic fraternity were invited to attend the funeral of Bro. Wm. F. Andress on this second Sunday in September at 10 o’clock a.m. at the Ridge Church. A.M. Leslie was Secretary.

Sept. 12, 1895 – The Monroe Journal reported that work on the “Academy building” was progressing rapidly. “It had been hoped to have the house ready for occupancy by next Monday, the day for the opening of the Fall term, but the inability of the local mills to promptly supply the necessary materials has delayed the work, hence the school will begin and continue in the old house until the new is ready.”

Sept. 12, 1897 – French scientist Irene Joliot-Curie, the daughter of Pierre and Marie Curie, was born in Paris. She and her husband, Frederic Joliot, was the Noble Prize in 1935 in chemistry for artificially creating radioactive elements.

Sept. 12, 1913 - Jesse Owens was born in Oakville, Alabama. Owens was one of the first U.S. athletes who combined talents as a sprinter, low hurdler, and broad jumper. In 1936, he won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics: in the100 meter, 200 meter, broad jump, and as a participant on the 400-meter relay team.

Sept. 12, 1915 – On this Sunday night, the Rev. N.H. Gibson and his wife were called from Monroeville, Ala. to Columbus, Ga. after they received a telegram saying that their son, police officer N.H. Gibson Jr., had been fatally shot in the line of duty.

Sept. 12, 1916 - The Monroe County Board of Revenue held a meeting at the Monroe County Courthouse on tis Tuesday with all members present.

Sept. 12, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. William Francis “Will Frank” Williams, 27, of Greenville, Ala. was killed in action in France while serving in Co. A, 165^th Infantry. Born in Greenville on Sept. 8, 1891, he was initially buried in the St. Miheil American Cemetery in Thioucourt, France. He was later returned to the United States and buried in Arlington National cemetery in 1921. He was the son of Elvin B. and Mary Ada Cheatham Williams. He lived in Butler County, Ala. at the time of his enlistment in the Army. He was married to Ila Mae Murphy Williams and they had a daughter, Willie Frances Williams. 

Sept. 12, 1918 – President Wilson called upon men between 18 and 45 (estimated at 13 million men) to register for “America’s greatest draft.”

Sept. 12, 1918 - The American Expeditionary Force (AEF) under the command of General John J. Pershing launched its first major offensive operation as an independent army during World War I.

Sept. 12, 1919 – Adolf Hitler joined the German Workers' Party (later the Nazi Party).

Sept. 12, 1925 – Construction of the Wilson Dam in Florence, Ala. was completed, and at the time, it was the largest dam in the world at 137 feet tall and 4,535 long. Construction began on Nov. 8, 1918.

Sept. 12, 1938 – Adolf Hitler demanded autonomy and self-determination for the Germans of the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.

Sept. 12, 1939 – A landmark dwelling in western Monroeville, Ala. was completely destroyed by fire during the morning hours. Occupied by “Shorty” Johnson, the house was one of the oldest dwellings in Monroeville. Built about 1850 by Harris Malden, and it was owned and occupied after the Civil War by Dr. Flake. Several well known families either owned or occupied the house in later years, including F.M. Jones, George W. Salter, J.T. Salter and many others.

Sept. 12, 1940 - The prehistoric Lascaux cave paintings were discovered near Montignac, France by four teenagers who stumbled upon the ancient artwork after following their dog, Robot, down a narrow entrance into a cavern. The cave paintings were 17,000 years old and were some of the best examples of art from the Paleolithic period.

Sept. 12, 1943 - Cpl. Frank Dannelly, stationed at Maxwell Field, spent this Sunday with his grandmother, Mrs. A.B. Farnham, according to The Evergreen Courant.

Sept. 12, 1944 – During World War II, the liberation of Serbia from Nazi Germany continued. Bajina Bašta in western Serbia wass among the liberated cities.

Sept. 12, 1950 - A movie version of Alabama author William March's book “The Bad Seed” was released.

Sept. 12, 1952 – In their “first game on their new lighted field before an overflowing crowd,” Repton High School opened the 1952 football season with a 13-0 loss to Flomaton in Repton, Ala. This was the first ever game on the “new, lighted field built by the townspeople” since the previous season. Coach Charlie Pouncey was Repton’s head coach. Starters back from the 1951 team are Gerald Baggett, Shelton Baggett, Roger Baggett, Harry Giles, John Conner, Douglas Robinson and Kenneth Baggett. Other lettermen were Ray Baggett and Paul Brantley. Other members of the squad were Eddie Kelley, Marcus Straughn, Tommy Nall, Johnny McInnis, Douglas Conner, Warren Watson, Bert Stacey and Roger Hays. Coach Pouncey expected to field the following starters in the Flomaton contest: left end, Harry Giles; left tackle, Gerald Baggett; left guard, Wendell Baggett; center, Kenneth Baggett; right guard, Gene Austin or Roger Baggett; right tackle, John Conner; right end, Paul Brantley; quarterback, James Baggett; left halfback, Ray Baggett; right halfback, Douglas Robinson; fullback, Shelton Baggett.

Sept. 12, 1952 – The strange “Flatwoods Monster” incident took place in the Town of Flatwoods in Braxton County, West Virginia.

Sept. 12, 1958 - The J.U. Blacksher Bulldogs of Uriah were scheduled to open their season on the gridiron on this Friday night against an “intersectional” opponent, Flomaton. The contest was set for Flomaton at 7:30. Coach Jack Akins reported the 20 candidates appearing for practice at Uriah put on pads over a week before in preparation for the opening bout. Players at Blacksher that season included Hubert Adams, Ed Lee Baggett, Jesse Brantley, Charles Colbert, Freddy Hollinger, Charles House, Bud Ikner, Roy Gene Ikner, Randolph Lambert, James Madison, Shine Marshall and Bill Solomon.

Sept. 12, 1958 - A scrapping, crippled band of Evergreen Aggies lost their 1958 football opener to Atmore by a 7 to 0 count in Evergreen on this Friday night. The game was played on a water-soaked field and off-and-on showers liberally sprinkled players and the fair crowd in attendance throughout the game. The first half belonged to Atmore’s Blue Devils and the last half to the Aggies, but the Devils pushed across a score in their half and that was the difference. Actually, the difference was a big, hard-running fullback, Lou Vickery, who shouldered the Atmore offense and defense. Vickery personally ground out the Atmore score, eating up 56 yards through battling Aggie defenses on 12 carries for the touchdown. The tally came early in the second period and the Blue Devils were never able to mount another offensive thrust. Evergreen coaches Wendell Hart and Jeff Moorer were pleased with the play of their youthful club. Defensive play was outstanding and although never able to carry a sustained drive to pay dirt, the Aggies did show a strong running game. They did not throw a pass. Evergreen’s chances suffered critically with the injury of quarterback Billy Melton in practice on that Monday. Melton was slated to start but busted a collarbone in scrimmage and is out til midseason. Veteran utility man Jimmy Bell, a scheduled starter at end, was called into the signal-calling post after the injury. Bell’s performance was excellent in consideration of the limited practice he had at the spot. His play-calling was fine, defensive play excellent, and he ran well on the sneak. Evergreen showed exceptional strength in the middle of the line. Capt. Paul Pace gave spirited leadership and was a defensive and blocking standout. Guards George Bolton, alternate captain, and Byron Warren Jr., played fine ball both ways and it was through this game that most Aggie gains were made. Wayne Peacock, 230-pound giant, and Ken Tucker delivered fine first game performances at tackle. The play of Leon McKenzie, Elvin Higgins and Wayne Stinson at end was pleasing to coaches and spectators. McKenzie punted exceptionally well. Tucker also booted skillfully. Robbie Boykin’s fine all-around performance paced the play of the Aggies’ exceptionally well-balanced backfield. Boykin drove strongly on the first down situations, was stout defensively and blocked sharply. Robert Ellington and Ceylon Strong made a fine team at the halfbacks. Ellington was steady gainer on offense and a rock on defense. Strong in his first start showed signs of stardom with game-seasoning.

Sept. 12, 1959 - North Vietnamese Premier Pham Van Dong told the French Consul: “You must remember we will be in Saigon tomorrow.” In November, he would tell the Canadian Commissioner: “We will drive the Americans into the sea.” The U.S. Embassy in Saigon eventually passed these remarks along to Washington as evidence of the deteriorating situation in South Vietnam.

Sept. 12, 1963 – Beatrice High School principal Marvin Gwin announced the cancellation of the school’s football season because the school didn’t have enough players to field a team. Out of the 15 players who reported for practice that season, most were in the seventh and eighth grade. Football returned to the school the following year with a six-game schedule against the ‘B’ teams from other schools.

Sept. 12, 1963 – Circuit Judge T.W. Thaggard of Greenville, Ala. issued a writ of mandamus requiring the Butler County Board of Education to provide bus transportation for students in the Beat 8 community in Evergreen to the McKenzie School in Butler County. Beat 8 residents petitioned the court for the writ after the Conecuh County Board of Education voted to transport Beat 8 students to Evergreen rather than McKenzie as it had been done in the past.

Sept. 12, 1964 – T.R. Miller beat Frisco City, 19-0, and Excel beat Lyeffion, 25-0, in Excel.

Sept. 12, 1972 - U.S. intelligence agencies (the Central Intelligence Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency) reported to the National Security Council that the North Vietnamese have 100,000 regular troops in South Vietnam and could sustain fighting “at the present rate” for two years.

Sept. 12, 1979 – Hurricane Frederic made landfall on this night at Dauphin Island with winds of 125 mph, five people killed and $23 million damage resulted.

Sept. 12, 1979 - Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox became the first American League player to get 3,000 career hits and 400 career home runs.

Sept. 12, 1984 – Mark Childress’ first novel, “A World Made of Fire,” was first released by Knopf.

Sept. 12, 1984 - Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets set the baseball record for strikeouts in a season by a rookie with 246, previously set by Herb Score in 1954. Gooden's 276 strikeouts that season, pitched in 218 innings, set the current record.

Sept. 12, 1994 - The Monroeville Area Chamber of Commerce was scheduled to hold interviews for the 1994-95 Mockingbird Court on this Monday at the chamber office in the Old Monroe County Courthouse. Interviews for the Mockingbird Court, a group of outstanding junior and senior high school girls from Monroe County schools, were set to begin at 8:30 a.m. Members of the 1993-94 Mockingbird Court were Carmen Coursey, Rachel Mixon and Angela Petty of Excel High School, Gena Lambert of J.U. Blacksher High School, Ellen Sawyer, Tamara Turk and Julie Thorn of Monroe County High School and Leigh Rumbley of Monroe Academy.

Sept. 12, 2002 - The house that Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain lived in as a child, from ages 11 to 15, was sold on eBay for $210,000. The house had been valued at $52,660 in 2000.

Sept. 12, 2002 - A judge announced that a jury would have to decide who would get the ball that Barry Bonds hit for his record 73rd home run. The ownership of the ball, with an estimated value of $1 million, was being disputed between two men that had been in the bleachers.

Sept. 12, 2002 - U.S. President George W. Bush addressed the U.N. about Iraq's continued refusal to abide by U.N. resolutions dating back to the Persian Gulf War. He told the body that it risked becoming irrelevant if it did not confront Saddam Hussein.

Sept. 12, 2003 – During the Iraq War, U.S. forces mistakenly shot and killed eight Iraqi police officers in Fallujah.

Sept. 12, 2011 – Jeff Daniels of Evergreen completed his 2,181-mile thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail.

Sept. 12, 2011 – The 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City opened to the public.