Today in History for Feb. 20, 2018

Claiborne Lock & Dam

Feb. 20, 1725 - Colonists led by Captain John Lovewell come across a Native encampment and hid in the woods until 2 a.m. on this day, making sure the Native were asleep. They fired into the camp and killed nine and wounded another that tried to flee, but was chased down by a dog and killed. All of the dead were scalped. In early March, Lovewell marched into Boston, wearing a wig constructed from several scalps. Lovewell’s raids were the first recorded instances of Europeans scalping Natives, and have led some people to believe that the Europeans introduced scalping to the American Indians.

Feb. 20, 1726 – American Revolutionary soldier William Prescott was born in Groton, Province of Massachusetts Bay. He is best known for quote, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes."

Feb. 20, 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, was signed by United States President George Washington.

Feb. 20, 1835 - Young Mobile, Ala. printer Charles R.S. Boyington, of “Boyington Oak” fame, was hanged for the murder of Nathaniel Frost.

Feb. 20, 1836 – Edmund P. Gaines, who arrested former Vice President Aaron Burr near Fort Stoddert, Ala. in 1807, and his men were the first U.S. soldiers to revisit the scene of the Dade Massacre in Central Florida, where they identified and interred the bodies.

Feb. 20, 1836 - Dr. Hosea Lewis Cushman, ạ young physician from Maine, was one of the two survivors that made it back to Fort Brooke after the “Dade Battle.” On this day, eight weeks after the battle, General Gaines’ command, including Cushman, reached the location of the battle and buried the bodies.

Feb. 20, 1839 - A skirmish between the Army and Seminole warriors took place near Fort Lauderdale.

Feb. 20, 1844 – Canadian sailor and adventurer Joshua Slocum was born in Mount Hanley, Nova Scotia.

Feb. 20, 1861 - The Confederate Legislature, meeting in Montgomery, Ala., established the Confederate Department of the Navy.

Feb. 20, 1862 – During the Civil War, Tennessee Governor Isham Harris moved the state capital from Nashville to Memphis to get away from advancing Federal forces.

Feb. 20, 1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's 11-year-old son, William Wallace “Willie” Lincoln, died from typhoid fever. The probable cause was polluted drinking water in the White House. The health of the President’s son, interestingly enough, had parallels with that of many men in the armed services of North and South. In March of 1861 the boy had come down with measles; the same disease wreaked havoc on armies in the first year of the war. Even Robert E. Lee noted that the ailment was “mild in childhood but devastating in manhood,” and many died. Willie seemed to recover well from that attack, but typhoid was a disease of polluted water, and in Washington D.C. there was hardly any other kind to be had. The Lincolns were devastated, but they were not the only ones in mourning for a son; the casualty lists from the Battle of Fort Donelson were printed in the newspapers on this day. The loss of this child hastened Mrs. Lincoln’s mental imbalance.

Feb. 20, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought in the vicinity of Fort Halleck, the Dakota Territory, with Ute Indians and on the Shelbyville Pike in Tennessee.

Feb. 20, 1863 – 59^TH ALABAMA: The 59^th Alabama was attached to First Battalion at Big Creek Gap, Department of East Tennessee, Second Battalion Garrison at Cumberland Gap, Department of East Tennessee, Third Battalion Garrison at Knoxville, Tenn.

Feb. 20, 1863 - On Feb. 18, the Cherokee National Council, headed by acting Principal Chief Thomas Pegg, abolished the practice of slavery by passing "An Act Providing for the Abolition of Slavery in the Cherokee Nation." On this day "An Act Emancipating the Slaves in the Cherokee Nation" was passed, stating that “all Negro and other slaves within the lands of the Cherokee Nation are emancipated from slavery, and any person or persons who may have been held in slavery hereby declared to be forever free.” On June 25, the acts abolishing slavery become effective. “Any Cherokee citizen who holds slaves is to be fined no less than one thousand dollars or more than five thousand dollars. Officials who fail to enforce the act are to be removed and deemed ineligible to hold any office in the Cherokee Nation.”

Feb. 20, 1864 – During the Civil War, a Federal operation up the White River from Helena, Ark. began. Skirmishes were fought at Pease Creek, Fla.; at Flat Creek, on the Sevierville Road near Knoxville, and at Strawberry Pains, in Tennessee; at Upperville and Front Royal in Virginia; and near Hurricane Bridge, West Va.

Feb. 20, 1864 – During the Civil War, the Battle of Olustee, the largest battle fought in Florida during the war, occurred in Baker County, Fla. During the battle, Confederate forces under General Joseph Finegan defeated an army led by Union General Truman Seymour, allowing the Confederates to keep control of Florida for the rest of the war. The Yankees suffered around 1,800 killed, wounded, or captured, while the Confederates lost about 900 men.

Feb. 20, 1864 - Union General William T. Sherman left Meridian, Miss. and headed for Vicksburg. He had waited five days for Union General William Sooy Smith to arrive. Smith never reached Meridian after being defeated by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest and forced to return to Memphis.

Feb. 20, 1865 - Union General William T. Sherman's army left Columbia, S.C. Soldiers under Sherman had begun ransacking the city three days earlier.

Feb. 20, 1865 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred near Tuscumbia, Ala.

Feb. 20, 1865 – During the Civil War, an attack on Fort Meyers, Fla. occurred, and a skirmish was fought at Center Creek, Mo. A Federal operation was conducted between Greensville and Warrensburg in Tennessee, and a four-day Federal operation between Nashville and Pine Wood in Tennessee began.

Feb. 20, 1878 - The West Alabamian newspaper reported that windows were being installed in the Pickens County Courthouse on this date. These windows were the windows in the main courtroom, which were the first windows installed due to a court session due to take place in the middle of March. The garret windows, including the one with the ghostly face, were supposedly not installed until weeks after Wells’ death.

Feb. 20, 1886 – On this Saturday night in the Buena Vista community, Monroe County Deputy Sheriff Rhoad and a posse of men went to the camp of Jeff Powell, who was wanted on a years old indictment for assault with intent to murder, to arrest him. When the posse approached Powell and asked him to surrender, he ran, leaving his gun behind. The posse chased him, and Powell ran a short distance before he “wheeled in a semi-circle toward the fire, endeavoring to recover his gun,” according to The Monroe Journal. James Kearley ran in to head him off from the gun, but Powell drew his pistol and shot Kearley in the head, wounding him seriously. Powell was then fired on by the posse, but to no effect, and he escaped into the night. The next morning, a $150 reward was raised for Powell’s capture, and he was taken into custody about seven miles south of Camden in Wilcox County and taken through the “Old Chestnut Corner neighborhood” in route to Monroeville.

Feb. 20, 1887 - The first minor league baseball association was organized in Pittsburgh.

Feb. 20, 1889 – Act No. 322 of the legislature of Alabama, which incorporated Marion Military Institute, was approved.

Feb. 20, 1893 – Playwright Russel Crouse was born in Findlay, Ohio.

Feb. 20, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that a recent issue of The Evergreen Courant announced the retirement of J.F. Marsh, one of the newspaper’s editors, he having sold his interest in the paper to Mr. Geo. Salter Jr., who became sole proprietor.

Feb. 20, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that the Hon. W.H. Louiselle had returned home to Manistee from Mobile where he had been attending court for a few days.

Feb. 20, 1896 – The correspondent from the Manistee community reported to The Monroe Journal that “we had quite a stampede in the mill last week. It happened in this way: somebody spiked one of the logs, and it came into the mill, they did not know it until the saw struck it, but when the teeth began to fly the boys began to leap from the mill like frogs.”

Feb. 20, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that work had begun on the construction of the “Presbyterian Manse,” near Monroeville.

Feb. 20, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that Miss Ellen Harrengton was visiting relatives at Manistee.

Feb. 20, 1896 – The Monroe Journal reported that Capt. W.B. Kemp and Mr. T.E. Dennis of Kempville were in Monroeville a few days before.

Feb. 20, 1902 – Famous western photographer Ansel Adams was born in San Francisco. Adams’ dramatic black and white images of Yosemite and the West are some of the most widely recognized and admired photographs of the 20th century.

Feb. 20, 1906 - Jennie Faulk left on this Tuesday for St. Louis to purchase her spring goods of hats, millinery and ladies goods, “which will be larger and better than ever,” The Monroe Journal reported.

Feb. 20, 1910 – Little League Baseball founder Carl Stotz was born in Williamsport, Pa.

Feb. 20, 1910 – German SS officer Rudolf Beckmann was born in Osnabrück in northwest Germany.

Feb. 20, 1915 – Evergreen’s boys basketball team beat Effie, 21-18, at Effie, Ala. Effie’s girls beat Evergreen, 16-15.

Feb. 20, 1915 - “Miss Topsy Turvy” or the “Courtship of the Deacon,” a comedy in three acts was presented at the high school auditorium by the Excel Dramatic Club in Excel, Ala.

Feb. 20, 1916 – The building committee at the Monroeville (Ala.) Methodist Church reported on this Sunday the adoption of plans and the selection of a “desirable lot on a prominent corner for the location of a new church building,” and that between $4,000 and $5,000 had already been pledged toward the erection of a “handsome, commodious and up-to-date brick structure.”

Feb. 20, 1919 - Habibullah Khan, the leader of Afghanistan who struggled to keep his country neutral in World War I in the face of strong internal support for Turkey and the Central Powers, was shot and killed while on a hunting trip.

Feb. 20, 1920 – Admiral and explorer Robert Peary died at the age of 63 in Washington, D.C.

Feb. 20, 1924 - Prof. G.A. Harris left Monroeville, Ala. on this Wednesday for Chicago to attend the annual convention of the Department of Superintendents of the National Educational Association.

Feb. 20, 1925 – Filmmaker Robert Altman was born in Kansas City, Mo.

Feb. 20, 1926 – Horror writer Richard Matheson was born in Allendale, N.J. He wrote for television shows, including “The Twilight Zone” and “Star Trek,” and he wrote more than 20 novels and 100 short stories. His most famous books include “I Am Legend” (1954), “The Shrinking Man” (1956), later retitled “The Incredible Shrinking Man,” and “What Dreams May Come” (1978).

Feb. 20, 1928 – Major League Baseball pitcher Roy Face was born in Stephentown, N.Y. He would go on to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Detroit Tigers and the Montreal Expos.

Feb. 20, 1929 - The Boston Red Sox announced that they would begin playing games on Sundays.

Feb. 20, 1930 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Dr. H.C. Fountain attended the Winter Fox Hunt in Mobile, Ala. during the previous week, where he acted as one of the judges.

Feb. 20, 1933 – The Congress of the United States proposed the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution that would end Prohibition in the United States.

Feb. 20, 1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly met with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party's upcoming election campaign.

Feb. 20, 1934 - The Utopian Society in Los Angeles started a chain-letter campaign proclaiming that "profit is the root of all evil."

Feb. 20, 1936 – Maryland native and former slave Flora Matilda Stallworth died at the age of 90 at Nichburg in Conecuh County, Ala. Born on Dec. 25, 1845, she was buried in the Bethesda Baptist Church Cemetery at Nichburg.

Feb. 20, 1939 - A radio version of Alabama author William March's story "Nine Prisoners" was broadcast as part of “The Columbia Workshop” series.

Feb. 20, 1941 – Major League Baseball pitcher Clyde Wright was born in Jefferson City, Tenn. He would go on to play for the California Angels, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Texas Rangers.

Feb. 20, 1944 – 100 Nazi POWs arrived in Greenville, Ala. by special train, guarded by 25 U.S. soldiers and military police. They were transported to Camp Greenville, four miles north of the city, where they were to be quartered while working at the Greenville and Chapman plants of W.T. Smith Lumber Co. They were mostly young men around 20 years of age.

Feb. 20, 1950 – Welsh poet Dylan Thomas embarked on his first reading tour of the United States.

Feb. 20, 1951 - Alma Martin Post No. 50 of the American Legion was being reorganized following a meeting at the Conecuh County Courthouse on this Tuesday night. A number of veterans were at the meeting. Wallace Ward and Ed James were appointed as a membership committee and began accepting dues and issuing membership cards.

Feb. 20, 1952 - The movie “The African Queen,” screenplay by Alabama author James Agee, was released.

Feb. 20, 1952 – Emmett Ashford became the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.

Feb. 20-21, 1953 - Conecuh County Training School was scheduled to host the South Alabama District Girls Tournament in Evergreen. It was expected “to be the most competitive and interesting athletic affair held in this section for many seasons.” An impressive string of victories placed the Evergreen team in a favored position which caused the many fans to feel confident of a CCTS victory in the tournament. Players on CCTS’s girls team that season included Etta Avant and Clementine Dukes.

Feb. 20, 1962 - John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, circling the globe three times at more than 17,000 mph.

Feb. 20, 1963 – College and NBA basketball legend Charles Barkley was born in Leeds, Ala. He would go on to play for Auburn University, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Phoenix Suns and the Houston Rockets.

Feb. 20, 1967 – Music legend Kurt Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Wash.

Feb. 20, 1967 – In the Area I basketball tournament at the Coliseum in Monroeville, Ala. second-seeded Lyeffion played Coffeeville, and Beatrice played fourth-seeded Fruitdale.

Feb. 20, 1968 - The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee began hearings to investigate American policy in Vietnam.

Feb. 20, 1969 – The Monroe Journal reported that the dredge “Natchez,” owned by the Williams-McWilliams Co. of New Orleans, La., a subcontractor of Arundel-Dixon, prime contractor for Claiborne Lock and Dam, was at work on a contract to move over a million yards of dirt from the dam site. The dredged material was to be pumped through the big, 20-inch pipe into a spoils area nearby. This would probably be developed later into a recreation area, The Journal reported.

Feb. 20, 1969 – The Monroe Journal reported that SPC-4 Charles D. Eddins had received an Air Medal for flying 25 hours over hostile territory during the month of September 1968. Eddins was a gunner and crew chief on a transport helicopter. Some of his duties included transporting men into combat, transporting supplies to the ground forces and carrying the wounded from the battlefield. He was stationed with the First Air Cavalry Division at Quan Loi, Vietnam.

Feb. 20, 1975 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Laurie Cotter of Evergreen, Ala. had been gathering information about “the ghost at Gaineswood” in Demopolis as part of her Interim Term studies at Birmingham-Southern College. Cotter talked to former residents of the house, the author of a book on Alabama ghosts and a 100-year-old man from Demopolis. Cotter’s project, supervised by members of the education and history departments at Southern, was designed to give her experience in local history through personal interviews.

Feb. 20, 1975 - Roy Ray, owner of Ray’s Hardware & Supply Co. of Frisco City and a 24-year Frisco resident who had been active in civic affairs, was named “Outstanding Citizen” of 1974 by the Frisco City Chamber of Commerce at its annual banquet on this Thursday night. In presenting the award, Elliot Hendrix said the “entire town is grateful to him for the time he has taken from his business and the sacrifices he has made for Frisco City, especially in heading up the industrial development board.”

Feb. 20, 1979 - Lee Holladay on this Tuesday announced his resignation as head football coach at Excel High School, effective at the end of the 1978-79 school year. Holladay said he would assume new duties as headmaster and coach at Fort Deposit Academy. Holladay had been Excel’s head coach since 1966, except for a one-year absence. He took the Panthers to 87 wins, 22 losses and four ties. Forty-three of the wins were in consecutive regular-season games.

Feb. 20, 1982 – Lyeffion High School won the Class A, Region I basketball championship by beating A.L. Johnson, 72-58, at Conecuh County High School in Castleberry, Ala., earning a berth in the state tournament with a 24-3 overall record. Donald Lee led Lyeffion with 22 points, and Michael Grace had 21 points.

Feb. 20, 1984 – University of Alabama cornerback Ramzee Robinson was born in Huntsville, Ala. He went on to play for S.R. Butler High School, Alabama and the Detroit Lions, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns.

Feb. 20, 1987 - A bomb exploded in a computer store in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the blast was blamed on the Unabomber.

Feb. 20, 1993 - The Florida Marlins opened their first spring training camp.

Feb. 20, 1994 - Alabama author and Poet Laureate Carl Patrick Morton dies in Helena, Ala.

Feb. 20, 1997 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants signed a contract worth $22.9 million over two years.

Feb. 20, 2000 - Garth Brooks began training with the New York Mets.

Feb. 20, 2002 - ESPN and the Liberty Bowl signed a contract that extended through 2008.

Feb. 20, 2003 – The Evergreen Courant reported that the Conecuh County Spelling Bee winners for the 2003 Countywide Spelling Bee were as follows: Ayeshia Poindexter, second place; Leslie Dean, first place; and Kemara Bawlson, third place. Leslie was to represent Conecuh County in the State Spelling Bee that March. Other contestants included Asia Sullivan, Jared Williams, Nicole Nelson, Brittany Thompson, Danyell Jones and LaTrenten Maye.

Feb. 20, 2004 - Alabama author Babs H. Deal died in Montgomery, Ala.

Feb. 20, 2005 – Hunter S. Thompson died at his home in Woody Creek, Colo. of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was 76 years old.