Today in History for Feb. 7, 2018

Evergreen native Sue Bell Cobb.

Feb. 7, 1775 - Benjamin Franklin published "An Imaginary Speech" in defense of American courage while in London, England.

Feb. 7, 1778 - While making salt, Daniel Boone was captured on this day by Shawnee warriors under Chief Blackfish near the Blue Licks in Kentucky. Boone pretended to be happy to see the Shawnee and learned their goal was to attack Boonesboro. He convinced them they didn’t have enough men to take the fort and if they captured the men he had left making salt it would bring them great honor. Boone secured the surrender of the salt makers to prevent them from being killed.

Feb. 7, 1781 - General Charles Cornwallis finished crossing the Yadkin River in pursuit of American General Nathanael Greene, who had a two-day lead in his race to the Dan River and Patriot-held Virginia.

Feb. 7, 1783 – During the American Revolutionary War, French and Spanish forces lifted the Great Siege of Gibraltar.

Feb. 7, 1792 - A Treaty of Peace and Friendship made and concluded between the President of the United States of America and the Chiefs and Warriors of the Cherokee Nation of Indians, approved on July 2, 1791, was proclaimed on this day.

Feb. 7, 1795 - The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.

Feb. 7, 1812 - The New Madrid earthquake hit. At a magnitude estimated to be 8.2, it was the largest recorded earthquake in the contiguous United States. The town of New Madrid, Missouri was destroyed, and the Mississippi River was said to have run backward for several hours.

Feb. 7, 1813 - Colonel John Williams and Colonel Thomas Smith led a force of Eastern Tennessee Volunteers into northeast Florida on this day. They descended on Payne’s Town at Alachua but found it deserted. Payne had died and leadership of the Alachua rested on the shoulders of his brother Bolek. A few roving bands of “harmless old men and women” were found and attacked and killed by the Tennessee Volunteers.

Feb. 7, 1817 – Shelby County, Ala. was created, and Shelbyville, located 12 miles northeast of Montevallo, served as the first county seat.

Feb. 7, 1818 – Blount County, Ala. was created by the Alabama territorial legislature. It was later reduced to its present limits in 1824. Now bounded on the northeast and east by Marshall County, Etowah County and St. Clair County; on the south by Jefferson County; and on the west and northwest by Walker County and Cullman County. Named for William G. Blount (c. 1767-1835), governor of Tennessee (1809-15), who had sent troops to aid the white residents of this area during the Creek Indian War of 1813-14. Its county seats have been Blountsville (1820-89) and the present one, Oneonta, chosen in 1889.

Feb. 7, 1855 - Charles Siringo, one of the most famous contemporary chroniclers of the cowboy life, was born in Matagorda County, Texas.

Feb. 7, 1861 – During the Civil War, the Choctaw Indians aligned themselves with the Southern States, announcing their support for the Confederacy during a tribal council at Doaksville.

Feb. 7, 1862 - Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston ordered 15,000 reinforcements to Fort Donelson one day after the fall of Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. This fort lay on the Cumberland River just a few miles from Fort Henry. Johnston's decision turned out to be a mistake, as many of the troops were captured when the Fort Donelson fell to the Yankees on Feb. 16.

Feb. 7, 1862 - Union General Ambrose Burnside landed 10,000 troops on Roanoke Island in North Carolina. The Confederates surrendered the next day.

Feb. 7, 1862 – During the Civil War, Federal reconnaissance was conducted to Flint Hill and Hunter’s Mill, in the vicinity of Fairfax Courthouse, Va.

Feb. 7, 1862 – During the Civil War, Confederate forces burned the vessels, Appleton, Belle, Lynn Boyd and Samuel Orr, on the Tennessee River to avoid being captured by the USS Conestoga.

Feb. 7, 1862 – During the Civil War, Federal forces reoccupied Romey, West Virginia.

Feb. 7, 1863 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought in the vicinity of Edenton, N.C.; in the vicinity of Murfreesborough, Tenn; and near Williamsburg, Va. at Olive Branch Church. Confederates also reopened the Sabine Pass, Texas.

Feb. 7, 1864 – During the Civil War, skirmishes were fought at Waccomo Neck, N.C.; at the mouth of Caney Bayou, Texas; and at Vidalia, La., where the Federal unit, 2nd Mississippi Heavy Artillery of African Descent was involved. Skirmishes were also fought at Brandon, Satartia, and Morton, Miss., opposing Federal forces advancing toward Meridian, Miss.

Feb. 7, 1864 - Union General Quincy Gilmore dispatched General Seymour to Jacksonville, Florida. Seymour was defeated in the Battle of Olustee on Feb. 20.

Feb. 7, 1865 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln ordered a disabled 14-year old boy to be released from the 55th Kentucky regiment. Perry Harris had joined the army a month earlier without his parent's permission. The request for the discharge had been requested from the boy's father. The discharge was effective April 15.

Feb. 7, 1867 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of 1935’s “Little House on the Prairie,” was born just north of Pepin, Wisc.

Feb. 7, 1872 - Cherokee Elias C. Boudinot delivered a speech on this day before the House Committee on Territories in behalf of a territorial government for the Indian Territory. The speech was in reply to Wm. P. Ross, a Cherokee delegate, in his argument against any congressional action upon the subject before the House Committee on Territories.

Feb. 7, 1885 – Sinclair Lewis, the first American to win the Noble Prize for literature, was born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.

Feb. 7, 1895 – Monroe Masonic Chapter No. 4 held a regular convocation at 7:30 p.m. at Perdue Hill, Ala.

Feb. 7, 1895 – The Monroe Journal reported that John S. Harrengton was “again in harness as Sheriff of Monroe, Mr. I.B. Slaughter having engaged him to discharge the duties of that office, pressing private affairs rendering it impossible for him to give the necessary personal attention to the office. Mr. Harrengton will give to the office the same efficient personal attention that characterized his former administration.”

Feb. 7, 1895 – The temperature dropped to 10 degrees in Monroeville, Ala. on this day, the “lowest point within the memory of the oldest citizens. Rain, snow and ice is reported everywhere.”

Feb. 7, 1895 – Around 8 a.m., the steamer Nettie Quill nearly sank at Cobb’s Landing in Wilcox County, Ala. High winds pushed the boat into an underwater snag that tore a large hole (four feet by 20 inches) in the boat’s starboard side. Water rushed into the hold and while passengers and freight were put ashore, carpenters worked in cold, waist-deep water to make repairs. The boat was eventually repaired and arrived back in Mobile, 225 miles away, at 6 a.m. on Feb. 9.

Feb. 7, 1905 - Capt. Thos. A. Nettles and S.H. Dailey came to Monroeville from Tunnel Springs on this Tuesday evening to attend the regular convocation of the Royal Arch Chapter.

Feb. 7, 1915 – Confederate veteran Henry J. Beasley passed away at the age of 72 in Conecuh County, Ala. Born on April 26, 1842, Beasley was a member of Co. H, 23rd Ala. Regiment and mustered into Confederate service on Nov. 16, 1861 in Montgomery. He served as 2nd Cpl. of the guard and remained with the company and regiment until he was captured at the Battle of Nashville, Tenn. He was a prisoner of war until June 27, 1865.

Feb. 7, 1915 - In a blinding snowstorm, General Fritz von Below and Germany’s Eighth Army launched a surprise attack against the Russian lines just north of the Masurian Lakes on the Eastern Front, beginning the Winter Battle of the Masurian Lakes (also known as the Second Battle of the Masurian Lakes).

Feb. 7, 1916 – State Highway Director Keller was scheduled to hold a “road institute” meeting in Brewton, Ala. on this Monday and was set to visit Evergreen later that afternoon.

Feb. 7, 1920 – Russian admiral and explorer Alexander Kolchak was executed by firing squad at the age of 45 in Irkutsk, Russia.

Feb. 7, 1932 - Alabama author Gay Talese was born in Ocean City, N.J.

Feb. 7, 1935 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Evergreen High School’s boys basketball team beat Brewton, 12-7, in Brewton, Ala. Horne led Evergreen with four points.

Feb. 7, 1935 – Evergreen High School’s boys basketball team was scheduled to play Red Level in Evergreen.

Feb. 7, 1935 - The Evergreen Courant reported that Alabama Gov. Bibb Graves had appointed Charles S. Kelly of Atmore as warden of Atmore Prison (also known as Moffat Farm). Kelly was a native of Repton, and his brothers were County Health Officer, Dr. E.L. Kelly, and J.E. Kelly, a former state representative from Conecuh County and the president of the Union Bank in Repton.

Feb. 7, 1935 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Mrs. G.O. Dickey had spent the weekend in Montgomery with her sister, Mrs. A.S. Rhodes.

Feb. 7, 1935 – The Monroe Journal reported that Miss Lillian Deer of Claiborne had taken over the management of the hotel at Frisco City. She succeeded Miss Edna Baird, who had held that post for the past several years.

Feb. 7, 1935 – The Monroe Journal reported, under the headline “Many Mentioned As McDuffie’s Successor,” that with the resignation of Congressman John McDuffie who had been appointed Federal Judge of the South Alabama District by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, had come much speculation as to who would be selected to fill the vacancy in the first Alabama district. “Many outstanding men in the counties composing the first district have already been mentioned as probable candidates to fill the office which has been held by McDuffie for nine consecutive terms,” according to The Journal.

Feb. 7, 1939 – In a game said to have been witnessed by the “largest crowd in Evergreen basketball history,” the Virgil Trucks Dr. Pepper team, which featured Bill Fowler, beat the Green Hawks, 35-31, on this Tuesday night in Evergreen. Before that game, Evergreen High School’s varsity boys team beat Monroe County High School.

Feb. 7, 1942 - A wedding that claimed much interest on this day was that of Miss Dean Russell to Max McAliley and Miss Marie Andress of Peterman to Sam Pierce at a double ceremony at the home of the Rev. Charles Granade in Beatrice on this Saturday night. They were married in the presence of a few close friends. Immediately following the ceremony, the couples left for a short wedding trip to Biloxi and other points in Mississippi.

Feb. 7, 1949 – The “new” hospital built in Monroeville, Ala. was opened by Dr. Thomas Earl Nettles on West Claiborne Street. This hospital closed when Monroe County Hospital opened in 1962.

Feb. 7, 1949 - Joe DiMaggio signed a contract with the New York Yankees that was worth $100,000. It was the first six-figure contract in Major League Baseball history.

Feb. 7, 1952 – Pro Football Hall of Fame tackle Pete Henry died at the age of 54 in Washington, Pa. During his career, he played for the Canton Bulldogs, the New York Giants and the Pottsville Maroons, and he also served as the head coach for the Bulldogs, the Maroons and Washington & Jefferson College. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1963.

Feb. 7, 1957 – The Monroe Journal reported that Thomas “Tommy” Black of Beatrice, Ala. had been elected vice-president of the Peoples Exchange Bank of Beatrice at a recent stockholders meeting. He had served as cashier for the previous 10 years. James E. Black was named new cashier, after serving as assistant cashier for the previous six years. Other officers were re-elected. They included P.S. Jackson, president; Lindsey Finklea and A.A. Nettles, vice-presidents; and R.A. Wible, G.L. Nettles, Thomas Black, J.F. Nettles, P.S. Jackson and A.A. Nettles, directors.

Feb. 7, 1958 - The Dodgers officially became the Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc.

Feb. 7, 1959 – National Baseball Hall of Fame second baseman and manager Nap Lajoie died at the age of 84 in Daytona Beach, Fla. During his career, he played for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Philadelphia Athletics and the Cleveland Naps and he also managed the Naps from 1905 to 1909. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1937.

Feb. 7, 1963 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Byron Warren Jr. had returned to the University of Alabama for his junior year.

Feb. 7, 1963 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Conecuh County native John Henry Evans had recently observed his 100^th birthday in Texas. Evans was born in the Mill Beat community on Feb. 3, 1863 to John Bell Evans and Elizabeth Roberts Evans. Evans left Conecuh County at the age of 16 and moved to Texas, where he had lived since that time. He was married and his wife was 98 years old in 1963. They had four children and lived in Rising Star, Texas.

Feb. 7, 1965 - As part of Operation Flaming Dart, 49 U.S. Navy jets from the 7th Fleet carriers Coral Sea and Hancock dropped bombs and rockets on the barracks and staging areas at Dong Hoi, a guerrilla training camp in North Vietnam.

Feb. 7, 1970 – Conecuh County Sheriff James M. “Shorty” Brock qualified for reelection. William Troy Smith of Evergreen also qualified to run for Conecuh County.

Feb. 7, 1971 - Operation Dewey Canyon II ended, but U.S. units continued to provide support for South Vietnamese army operations in Laos.

Feb. 7, 1972 – The Richards DAR House in Mobile, Ala. was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Feb. 7, 1979 – German SS officer and physician Josef Mengele drowned at the age of 67 while swimming off the coast of Bertioga, Sao Paula, Brazil.

Feb. 7, 1983 - Alabama journalist Buford Boone died in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Feb. 7, 1985 - A television version of Alabama author William March's book “The Bad Seed” was broadcast as part of the “Twilight Zone” series.

Feb. 7, 1985 – The Evergreen Courant reported that Evergreen Mayor Pat Poole had presented a copy of his book, recently published, “Sparta, Alabama, 1821-1866” to Mrs. Lucy Warren, head of the Heritage Section of the Evergreen-Conecuh County Public Library. Copies of the book sold for $5 each and could be purchased at the library, Sleepy’s Big T, Evergreen Movie Rental and the Kiwanis Club. Proceeds from the book were to be donated to charity, according to Poole.

Feb. 7, 1985 – This day’s edition of The Evergreen Courant including a photo of Tim Sasser, Sports Director at WEGN in Evergreen, with a trophy he planned to present at the end of the current basketball season to the team in Conecuh County that had the best overall season. The team with the best record was not the only factor that would be looked into, but also which team went the farthest in the playoffs. The trophy was sponsored by WEGN AM & FM in Evergreen and Olympic Sporting Goods in Brewton.

Feb. 7, 1985 - "Sports Illustrated" released its annual swimsuit edition. It was the largest regular edition in the magazine’s history at 218 pages.

Feb. 7, 1985 – The Monroe Journal reported that Monroe County High School’s girls basketball team had eased through the 5A Area 2 and the Sub-state 1 tournaments to earn a bid in the state finals at Fair Park arena in Birmingham on Fri., Feb. 8. Top players on MCHS’s girls team that season included Rosa Ball, Becky Hairelson, Barbara Lane, Samantha Malone, Carla McKenzie, Alicia Morrissette, Carolyn Richardson, Patricia Richardson, Brenda Stallworth and Jennifer Stallworth. Diana Harris Lyons was MCHS’s girls coach.

Feb. 7, 1992 - Second-ranked Frisco City High School ran its record to 16-0 on this Friday when the Whippets pounded Flomaton High School, 76-48, in Frisco City. Adrian Bullard, a 6-foot-2 sophomore forward, scored a career high 30 points to pace the Whippets. He also had 10 rebounds. Other top Frisco City players that season included Derrick Crayton, Brent Enzor, Tony Gibbs, Marando Lambert, Adrian McGinnis and A.J. White. Curtis Harris was Frisco City’s head coach.

Feb. 7, 1994 - Michael Jordan signed a contract with the Chicago White Sox to play baseball.

Feb. 7, 1995 - U.S. President Bill Clinton invited the two sides of the Major League Baseball strike to the White House in an effort to reach an agreement. The two sides did not resolve the issue that day.

Feb. 7, 1997 - Jim Kelly of the Buffalo Bills announced his retirement from the NFL. He was the only quarterback to date to guide the same team to four losing Super Bowls.

Feb. 7, 2002 – The Monroe Journal reported that 17-year-old Hunter Parden, a senior at Excel School, would enter the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., that summer, the first step toward realizing his childhood dream of becoming a Marine Corps fighter pilot. Parden and his family spent the first weekend of November 2001 visiting the Naval Academy, located about 30 minutes from Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Md. Parden, who celebrated his 18^th birthday on June 4, 2002, was scheduled to report to the Naval Academy on June 28, 2002.

  

Feb. 7, 2008 - Sue Bell Cobb, Alabama Supreme Court chief justice, was scheduled to be the featured speaker at the Monroeville-Monroe County Chamber of Commerce annual dinner meeting. Sandy Smith, the chamber’s executive director, said the dinner was to be held at the Monroeville Community House. Chamber board members at that time included Dick Deas, Jim Kelly, Corky Fountain, Joe Pridgen, Al Brewton, Jonathan Byrd, Mary Ellen Day, Kenny Johnson, Dennis Kress, Paul England, Harvey Gaston, Amber McDonald, Joseph Oglesby, Angie Sanchez, David Stewart and Lee Taylor.

  

Feb. 7, 2016 - Parade Magazine released its 53^rd Annual All-American High School Football Team on this Sunday, and the team featured three players from Alabama: Carver-Montgomery linebacker Lyndell Wilson, Clay-Chalkville athlete Ty Pigrome and Gordo linebacker Ben Davis. Wilson and Pigrome were named first-team members on defense, and Davis was an honorable mention selection.