Today in History for Dec. 3, 2017

Alabama Congressman George M. Grant

Dec. 3, 1776 - General George Washington wrote to Congress from his headquarters in Trenton, New Jersey to report that he had transported much of the Continental Army’s stores and baggage across the Delaware River to Pennsylvania.

Dec. 3, 1776 - General Washington received a letter dated Nov. 30 from his second-in-command, General Charles Lee, reporting that he was about to cross into New York near Peekskill on this day (Dec. 3).

Dec. 3, 1777 - Philadelphia housewife and nurse Lydia Darragh gave information to Colonel Thomas Craig that she had overheard from the British the previous day. The information was that the British were planning a surprise attack on George Washington's army the next day at Whitemarsh, Pa.

Dec. 3, 1818 - Illinois was admitted as the 21st state of the union.

Dec. 3, 1821 – The Town of Sparta was incorporated by the Alabama legislature.

Dec. 3, 1826 - Union General George McClellan was born in Philadelphia. Although McClellan emerged early in the war as a Union hero, he failed to effectively prosecute the war in the East.

Dec. 3, 1828 - Andrew Jackson was elected president of the United States.

Dec. 3, 1831 - Alabama author Anne Newport Royall published the first issue of her newspaper “Paul Pry.”

Dec. 3, 1845 –Scottish soldier and explorer Gregor MacGregor died at the age of 58 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Dec. 3, 1856 – The organizational charter was issued to Fairmount Masonic Lodge No. 238 in Red Level in Covington County, Ala.

Dec. 3, 1857 – Joseph Conrad, who wrote “Heart of Darkness” in 1899, was born in Berdichev, Poland (now Ukraine).

Dec. 3, 1861 – During the Civil War, an action occurred at Salem, Mo.

Dec. 3, 1861 – During the Civil War, Ship Island, off the coast of Mississippi, was occupied by Federal forces under the command of Major General Benjamin F. Butler, with the assistance of the steamship, USS Constitution.

Dec. 3, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought at Vienna Va.

Dec. 3, 1862 – During the Civil War, Federal troops under Brig. Gen. Charles Edward Hovey occupied Grenada, Miss.

Dec. 3, 1862 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought along the Yocknapatalfa River at Free Bridge, Oakland, Prophet Bridge and Spring Dale in Mississippi; and on the Hardin Pike, near Nashville, Tenn.

Dec. 3, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Greenville, Kentucky; at St. Martinsville, Louisiana; at Log Mountain, in east Tennessee; on the Memphis & Charleston Railroad at the Wolf River Bridge, near Moscow, Tennessee; and at Ellis’ Ford, Va.

Dec. 3, 1864 - A Methodist minister named William H. “Bill” Sketoe, age 46, was lynched just north of Newton, Ala. by local Home Guardsmen led by Captain Joseph Brear. Since Sketoe was tall, a hole had to be dug beneath his feet to accommodate his large frame. Local legend insists that "the hole that won't stay filled" never vanished—even after being filled in numerous times during the years that followed. Though covered in 1979 by a new bridge and tons of rip-rap, "Sketoe's hole" remains a local attraction, and was immortalized by Alabama writer Kathryn Tucker Windham in her “13 Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey.” A monument to Sketoe was dedicated near the hanging site in 2006, and the local museum displays items of Sketoe memorabilia. Born on June 8, 1818, Sketoe’s remains were buried in the Mount Carmel Methodist Church Cemetery at Echo in Dale County, Ala.

Dec. 3, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought in Perry County, Ark.; at Thomas' Station, Ga.; and near New Madrid, Mo.

Dec. 3, 1870 – George Hutcheson Denny, who served as president of the University of Alabama from 1911 to 1936, was born in Hanover County, Va.

Dec. 3, 1890 – Masonic Lodge No. 849 was organized at Burnt Corn, Ala.

Dec. 3, 1895 – Anna Freud, a pioneer in psychoanalytic child psychology, was born in Vienna.

Dec. 3, 1898 – The Duquesne Country and Athletic Club defeated an all-star collection of early football players, 16-0, in what is considered to be the very first all-star game for professional American football.

Dec. 3, 1901 – In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt asked Congress to curb the power of trusts "within reasonable limits.”

Dec. 3, 1902 – Organizational charters were issued to Repton Masonic Lodge No. 575 and Blacksher Masonic Lodge No. 592 at Uriah, Ala.

Dec. 3, 1912 – The organizational charter was issued to North Creek Masonic Lodge No. 746 in Florala, Ala.

Dec. 3, 1916 - As part of a general upheaval within the French government and military due in part to demoralizing losses at Verdun and the Somme, the formidable General Joseph-Jacques-CÉsaire Joffre was dismissed as commander in chief of the French forces in favor of General Robert Nivelle.

Dec. 3, 1919 – H.P. Lovecraft completed “The Doom That Came to Sarnath,” which was originally published in Issue No. 44 of “The Scot” in June 1920.

Dec. 3, 1919 – After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, including two collapses causing 89 deaths, the Quebec Bridge opened to traffic. It remains the world’s longest cantilever bridge.

Dec. 3, 1924 – Dr. John Johnathan Dailey of Tunnel Springs, Ala. married Ethel Busey in Monroeville, Ala.

Dec. 3, 1928 – Walter Eugene “Gene” Garrett of Uriah, Ala. was born. He would go on to graduate from Marion Institute in 1947 and from the University of Alabama in 1953. He received his law degree from Alabama in 1953 and went on to serve as a state legislator, special judge and member of the Alabama Constitution Revision Committee. In 1963, he purchased the historic King Plantation House at Packer’s Bend and moved it board by board to Uriah.

Dec. 3, 1929 - Alabama author Zitella Cocke died in Gadsden, Ala.

Dec. 3, 1931 – H.P. Lovecraft completed “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” which was originally published in 1936’s “The Shadow Over Innsmouth.”

Dec. 3, 1947 - The Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" opened at Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theater.

Dec. 3, 1949 – Evergreen, Ala. native Andrew Thomas Riley, 59, collapsed and died during the Alabama-Auburn football game at Legion Field Stadium. Born on Oct. 11, 1890, he was buried in the New Live Oak Cemetery in Selma, Ala.

Dec. 3, 1950 - Paul Harvey began his national radio broadcast.

Dec. 3, 1950 - Tom Fears of the Los Angeles Rams caught an NFL-record 18 passes against the Green Bay Packers. Terrell Owens (San Francisco 49ers) broke the record with 20 catches for 283 yards and a touchdown against the Chicago Bears on Dec. 17, 2000.

Dec. 3, 1953 – The Martin Theatres Football Trophies were to be awarded to the top players on Evergreen High School’s varsity and junior varsity teams during an award presentation ceremony at Evergreen, Alabama’s Pix Theatre at 8 p.m. The awards were selected based on ballots cast by fans at the theatre, and Pix manager Gladys Barron was to present the trophies on stage.

Dec. 3, 1959 – About 500 people attended a “George Grant Appreciation Day” event to honor veteran 2nd District Congressman George Grant, who was completing 21 years in office. The event was held at Evergreen, Alabama’s Recreation Center.

Dec. 3, 1960 - The Lerner and Loewe musical “Camelot” opened on Broadway on this date in 1960. It was an adaptation of “The Once and Future King,” T.H. White's retelling of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1958).

Dec. 3, 1961 - George Blanda of the Houston Oilers kicked a 55-yard field goal.

Dec. 3, 1962 – Lee Roy Jordan of Excel, an All-American center and linebacker at Alabama, was one of five Southeastern Conference players drafted on this Monday in the first round of the 14-team NFL draft. Jordan was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, and Gil Brandt, the Dallas Cowboys personnel man, said Jordan would be perfect as a middle linebacker in Tom Landry’s style of defense.

Dec. 3, 1962 - Roger Hilsman, director of the State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research, sent a memorandum to Secretary of State Dean Rusk pointing out that the communist Viet Cong fighters were obviously prepared for a long struggle.

Dec. 3, 1964 – Some 800 student demonstrators were arrested on the campus of the University of California at Berkeley.

Dec. 3, 1965 - In a confidential memorandum to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, Assistant Secretary of Defense John McNaughton outlined the terms that should precede any permanent bombing halt.

Dec. 3, 1968 - The rules committee of Major League Baseball announced that in 1969 the pitcher's mound would be lowered from 15 to 10 inches. This was done in order to "get more batting action." The strike zone was also reduced from the knees to the shoulders to the top of the knees to the armpits.

Dec. 3, 1976 – Monroe Academy senior offensive guard and defensive tackle Bobo Jay played in the first ever Alabama Private School All-Star Game, which was played at Fort Dale Academy in Greenville, Ala.

Dec. 3, 1976 - Bob Marley survived an assassination attempt, in which he was shot twice, two days before the "Smile Jamaica" concert aimed at restoring peace amongst warring political factions.

Dec. 3, 1976 – Major League Baseball pitcher Gary Glover was born in Cleveland, Ohio. During his career, he played for the Toronto Blue Jays, the Chicago White Sox, the Anaheim Angles, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays and the Detroit Tigers.

Dec. 3, 1976 – NFL and Alabama defensive lineman Cornelius Griffin was born in Troy, Ala. He graduated from Pike County High School in 1995, went on to play at Alabama and was a second-round draft pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. In the NFL, he played for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins.

Dec. 3, 1979 – “Friendships, Secrets and Lies,” a television version of Alabama author Babs H. Deal's book “The Walls Came Tumbling Down,” was broadcast.

Dec. 3, 1981 – Evergreen, Ala. weather observer Earl Windham reported a low temperature of 31 degrees in Evergreen.

Dec. 3, 1983 – Castleberry, Alabama’s annual Christmas parade was scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.

Dec. 3, 1988 - Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State University won the Heisman Trophy.

Dec. 3, 2010 – The John Green Cemetery in Conecuh County, Ala. was added to the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register.

Dec. 3, 2011 – Evergreen First Baptist Church’s “Window Shopping” float captured first place honors in the best float contest during the annual Evergreen, Ala. Christmas parade. The parade was held on this Saturday afternoon in downtown Evergreen.