April 7, 1770 – Poet William Wordsworth was born in
Cockermouth, England.
April 7, 1776 – Captain John Barry, commander of the
American warship USS Lexington captured and took command of the British
warship, HMS Edward, off the coast of Virginia.
April 7, 1766 – Harry Toulmin was born in Taunton,
Somersetshire, England. After the death of Ephraim Kirby at Fort Stoddert in
1804, Toulmin succeeded him as Superior Court Judge for the Tombigbee District
of the Mississippi Territory. Toulmin assumed the role of first postmaster in
January 1805. He would pass away at Fort Stoddert at the age of 57 on Nov. 11,
1823.
April 7, 1786 – William Rufus King, a founder of Selma, Ala.
and the 13th Vice President of the United States, was born in Sampson County,
N.C. In early 1818, King bought land on the Alabama River in Dallas County and
moved to the state. He became a leader in the community that grew up in the
area, which he named Selma after a city in a favorite poem. King was elected to
his first term in the U.S. Senate when Alabama became a state in 1819. In 1852,
King was elected vice president on the ticket with Franklin Pierce. Shortly after the election, King went to Cuba for
health reasons. Despite the improved climate, his health continued to
deteriorate and the U.S. Congress had to pass special legislation and make
arrangements for his swearing-in as vice president. King holds the distinction
of being the only member of the U.S. executive branch to have been sworn into office
on foreign soil. As King's condition worsened, he decided that he would prefer
to die at his home in Alabama and left Cuba in early April. He arrived at his
plantation on April 17, 1853 and died the following evening.
April 7, 1798 – United States formed the Mississippi
Territory by an Act of Congress. As created by Congress, the Mississippi
Territory embraced all the present states of Mississippi and Alabama lying
above 31 degrees north latitude and below 32 degrees 28 minutes north latitude.
Georgia claimed that portion of these states lying above 32 degrees 28 minutes
north under her royal charter.
April 7, 1805 – After
a long winter, the Corps of Discovery led by Lewis and Clark broke camp among
the Mandan tribe and resumed its journey West along the Missouri River.
April 7, 1822 – U.S. Representative James Adams Stallworth
born in Evergreen, Ala. He was elected to represent Alabama in the U.S. House
of Representatives from 1857 to 1861. He also served as a member of the Alabama
State Legislature. He died at the age of 39 on Aug. 31, 1861 and is buried in
the Old Evergreen Cemetery.
April 7, 1825 – During his historic tour of the United
States, the Marquis de Lafayette arrived in Mobile, Ala. and was entertained at
the home of Mobile Mayor Samuel H. Garrow, whose home stood near the corner of
Government Street and South Jackson Street in Mobile. “Mobile gave an
enthusiastic welcome to the distinguished general,” according to a Historic
Mobile Preservation Society historical marker at the site of the mayor’s former
home.
April 7, 1829 – Joseph Smith Jr., founder of the Latter Day
Saint movement, commenced the translation of the Book of Mormon, with Oliver
Cowdery as his scribe.
April 7, 1854 – Former U.S. President Millard Fillmore was
entertained during a reception aboard the Eliza Battle in Mobile, Ala. (13
Alabama Ghosts)
April 7, 1861 - P. G. T. Beauregard
ordered all transports to Fort Sumter, S.C. cut off. This ended the fort's
supply of fresh food.
April 7, 1862 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought at Saint Andrews Bay, Fla.; at Columbia Furnace,
Va.; and at Foy’s Plantation and Newport in North Carolina. The Federal
vessels, USS Mississippi and USS Pensacola, entered the mouth of the
Mississippi River in preparation to run past forts Jackson and St. Phillip in Louisiana.
The Federal vessel, USS Pittsburg, ran past the batteries at Island No. 10,
near New Madrid, Mo.
April 7, 1862 - A two-day Federal
operation in and around Elizabeth City, N.C. began. A six-day Federal operation
aimed at disrupting Confederate lines of communication between Chattanooga,
Tenn. and Marietta, Ga. began. Federal reconnaissance to the Rappahannock River
in Virginia was conducted.
April 7, 1862 – During the Civil War, the Battle of Shiloh
(Pittsburgh Landing) ended as the Union Army under General Ulysses S. Grant
defeated the Confederates near Shiloh in western Tennessee. Grant pushed the
Confederates, now under the command of General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, back to
Corinth, Miss., a major rail center 20 miles to the southwest. In the two days
of heavy fighting, Union forces suffered 13,047 casualties, including 1,754
killed, 8,408 wounded and 2,885 captured while Confederate forces suffered
10,694 casualties, including 1,723 killed, 8,012 wounded and 959 missing.
April 7,
1862 – The Confederate fighting unit, the Wilcox Farmers, was organized at Bethel, and William Ripley Welch was
elected its first captain. The men who composed its ranks left Yellow Bluff on
the Alabama River for Mobile. They served there four months and were ordered to
Tullahoma, Tenn. as Co. B of the 38th Alabama Infantry Regiment.
(Men of Wilcox)
April 7, 1863 – During the Civil
War, a five-day Federal operation began against Indians between Fort Wright and
William’s Valley in California; and a skirmish was fought at Bayou Vidal, La.
at Dunbar Plantation. Confederates also attacked the Federal vessel, Barataria,
on the Amite River in Louisiana. A Federal operation also began between
Gloucester Point and Gloucester Courthouse in Virginia.
April 7, 1863 – During the Civil
War, a Naval engagement took place between the U.S. South Atlantic Blockade
Squadron and the shore batteries in Charleston Harbor, S.C. Flag Officer DuPont
commenced his attack on Charleston on this day with the planned assault on Ft.
Sumter. Delayed by tides and later by a problem with a torpedo raft, the assault
got underway at 3 p.m. The ships were pummeled by fire from both Sumter and Ft.
Moultrie. All were hit dozens of times. DuPont’s flagship, the USS New
Ironsides, sat directly over a 2000-pound torpedo while the Confederates made a
frantic effort to set it off. It was later determined that a wagon had cut the
wire leading to it. Darkness cut off the attack, and DuPont later advised that
Charleston could not be taken by sea assault.
April 7, 1864 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought
near Decatur, Ala. at Woodall’s Bridge.
April 7, 1864 – During the Civil
War, skirmishes were fought near Rhea’s Mills, Ark.; along Bushy Creek in
eastern Kentucky; near Pleasant Hill, La. at Wilson’s Plantation; and between
Federals and Apache Indians at the base of the Sierra Bonita Mountains in the
New Mexico Territory. Multiple skirmishes were also fought in the vicinity of
Port Hudson, La.
April 7, 1864 – HILLIARD’S LEGION: General Longstreet was
ordered to aid Gen. Robert E. Lee, who was on the Rapidan River.
April 7, 1865 – During the Civil War, a federal operation
began from near Blakeley to Stockton in Alabama. A skirmish was also fought on
the Catawba River, Ala. at Fike’s Ferry.
April 7, 1865 - Near Appomattox
Courthouse, Va., General U.S. Grant commenced a most delicate negotiation. He
sent a letter, under flag of truce, to Gen. Robert E. Lee. In part, it stated
“The result of the last week must convince you,” he said, “of the hopelessness
of further resistance... (to avoid) any further effusion of blood, by asking of
you the surrender of that portion of the CS Army known as the Army of Northern
Virginia.” Skirmishes were also fought at Farmville, High Bridge and Prince
Edward Courthouse, Va.
April 7, 1865 – 59TH ALABAMA: With so many of
Lee’s men scattered, wounded or captured, he did not know how many troops were
left to fight in the Army of Northern Virginia. On this morning, about 250 of
Moody’s brigade (including the 59th) came into Farmville, where they
at once formed upon a hill just north of the Appomattox River. Around noon, an
officer of Gen. John Gordon’s staff informed General Johnson that he and his
men were assigned to General Gordon’s corps. Gordon then gave orders for the
whole corps to march toward Lynchburg and not stop until 11 p.m. or midnight.
April 7, 1873 – National Baseball Hall of Fame infielder and
manager John McGraw was born in Truxton, N.Y. During his career, he played for
the Baltimore Orioles, the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Giants, and he
also managed the Orioles and the Giants. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame
in 1937.
April 7, 1890 – Author Marjory Stoneman Douglas was born in
Minneapolis, Minn.
April 7, 1891 - The great showman P.T. Barnum passed away at
the age of 80 in Bridgeport, Conn. Though it's unclear if he did actually utter
"there's a sucker born every minute," he was one of the most
brilliant promoters America has ever seen. Known for exhibiting
"freaks" like Tom Thumb, he also created the circus billed as
"The Greatest Show on Earth."
April 7, 1896 - Col. B.L. Hibbard gave a political speech at
Enon church on this Tuesday.
April 7, 1905 – According to The Monroe Journal, Cooper B.
Scott, who fired the first gun at Fort Sumter, died at Gainesville, Ga., aged
65 years.
April 7, 1908 - Author Julian Lee Rayford was born in
Mobile, Ala.
April 7, 1915 – Jazz singer Billie Holiday was born in
Philadelphia, Pa.
April 7, 1916 – A “Stereopticon lecture” was scheduled to be
held at Monroe County High School in Monroeville, Ala. on this Friday evening
on the subject of “Birth of a Nation.” There were also to be some illustrated
songs such as “America,” sung as quartette, and the “Swannee River” as solo.
Pictures illustrating these songs and 62 pictures of the “Birth of a Nation”
were to be part of this “educational and inspiring” entertainment. Admission
was 15 for children and 25 cents for adults.
April 7, 1916 - Dr. D.D. Cole of Eliska, accompanied by his
“two bright little boys,” was a business visitor to Monroeville, Ala. on this
Friday.
April 7, 1918 – National Baseball Hall of Fame second
baseman Bobby Doerr was born in Los Angeles, Calif. He would go on to play his
entire career for the Boston Red Sox. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in
1986.
April 7, 1918 - One month after Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, formally ending its participation in World War I, Winston Churchill secretly proposed to the British War Cabinet a method by which Britain’s former ally could be persuaded to reenter the war.
April 7, 1923 - “The Ghost of Hilo” by Paul Bliss, a Hawaiian
operetta, was scheduled to be given in the auditorium of the Agricultural
School in Evergreen, Ala. on this Friday evening, under the direction of Mrs.
W.G. Hairston and Mrs. John Deming.
April 7, 1927 – Herbert Hoover, who was Commerce Secretary
at the time, appeared on the first city-to-city television broadcast, from
Washington, D.C. to an auditorium in New York City.
April 7, 1931 – Post-modern novelist and short-story writer
Donald Barthelme was born in Philadelphia.
April 7, 1933 – Prohibition in the United States was
repealed for beer of no more than 3.2 percent alcohol by weight, eight months
before the ratification of the XXI amendment.
April 7, 1934 – The community baseball teams at Rabb and
Herbert in Conecuh County, Ala. were scheduled to play at the baseball diamond
in the Rabb community.
April 7, 1936 – In Monroe County (Ala.) Circuit Court, Tom
Perkins was sentenced to death for the killing of Clifford McNeil, 24, of Old
Texas. Sheriff J.P. Farrish transferred Perkins to Kilby Prison in Montgomery
to await his execution, which was scheduled for May 8.
April 7, 1937 – NFL wide receiver Gail Cogdill was born in
Worland, Wyoming. He would go on to play for Washington State, the Detroit
Lions, the Baltimore Colts and the Atlanta Falcons.
April 7, 1939 – Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola was born in
Detroit, Mich.
April 7, 1940 – Booker T. Washington became the first
African American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp.
April 7, 1943 – Bobby Jean McIntyre, 10-year-old daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. E.M. McIntyre of Evergreen, and her grandfather, M.E. Wilson,
brought 1,935 pennies she’d saved and bought a $25 war bond at the Evergreen
Post Office. She brought the pennies to the post office in a shoe box, and
clerk Harris Williamson spent 45 minutes counting the pennies. Williamson said
the box of pennies weighed 13 pounds.
April 7, 1954 – Pro Football Hall of Fame running back and
Heisman Trophy winner, Tony Dorsett, was born in Rochester, Pa. He would go on
to play for the University of Pittsburgh, the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver
Broncos. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994.
April 7, 1964 - Evergreen High School’s baseball team, led
by the no-hit pitching of Homer Faulkner and Steve Baggett, won their first game
of the season, beating Conecuh County High School, 8-0, at the Evergreen (Ala.)
Recreation Center field.
April 7, 1964 – Thomasville, Ala. newspaper editor and humor
columnist Earl Lee Tucker passed away at the age of 59. For 30 years, Tucker
wrote a popular humor column, "Rambling Roses and Flying Bricks,"
which originated in The Thomasville Times. Many of his columns were gathered in
three books published in 1958, 1959, and 1960. In 1972, he was inducted into
the Alabama Newspaper Hall of Honor on the Auburn University campus.
April 7, 1966 - The U.S. recovered a hydrogen bomb it had
lost off the coast of Spain.
April 7, 1966 - The Monroe County Museum Committee was
formed on this Thursday and officers elected by the representatives present.
Named to head the organization was Mrs. Rance Carr of Monroeville with Mrs.
R.B. Williams III of Monroeville named vice-president; Mrs. Sarah Primm of
Mexia, secretary; and Col. T.B. Whatley of Monroeville, treasurer. Spearheaded
by the Monroe County Rescue Squad, the committee hoped to collect anything of
historical value or antiques pertaining to Monroe County.
April 7, 1969 - U.S. President Richard Nixon threw out the
first ball of the 1969 Major League Baseball season.
April 7, 1970 – U.S. President Richard Nixon posthumously
awarded U.S. Army Sgt. William W. Seay of Brewton, Ala. the Medal of Honor for
his actions on Aug. 25, 1968 near Ap Nhi, Republic of Vietnam.
April 7, 1970 – The Town of McIntosh in Washington County,
Ala. was officially incorporated.
April 7, 1970 - John Wayne won his first and only Oscar for
his role in "True Grit." He had been in over 200 films.
April 7, 1971
– President Richard Nixon announced his decision to increase the rate of
American troop withdrawals from Vietnam.
April 7, 1972 – Richard Floyd McCoy Jr. staged the best
known of the so-called D.B. Cooper "copycat" hijackings. He boarded
United Airlines' Flight 855 (a Boeing 727 with aft stairs) in Denver,
and brandishing what later proved to be a paperweight resembling a hand grenade
and an unloaded handgun, he demanded four parachutes and $500,000. After
delivery of the money and parachutes at San Francisco International Airport,
McCoy ordered the aircraft back into the sky and bailed out over Provo, Utah,
leaving behind his handwritten hijacking instructions and his fingerprints on a
magazine he had been reading. He was arrested on April 9 with the ransom cash
in his possession, and after trial and conviction, received a 45-year sentence.
April 7, 1973 – Evergreen, Ala. native George Jones
performed in a clarinet concert in New York City’s Carnegie Hall, accompanied
by his wife, Arlene, at the piano and their 12-year-old daughter, Katrina, who
turned the music.
April 7, 1975 – NFL cornerback, safety and special teamer
Ronde Barber was born in Blacksburg, Va. He would go on to play for the
University of Virginia and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
April 7, 1975 – NFL running back Tiki Barber was born in
Blacksburg, Va. He would go on to play for the University of Virginia and the New
York Giants.
April 7, 1975 - North Vietnamese
forces prepared to launch the “Ho Chi Minh Campaign,” designed to set the
conditions for a final communist victory in South Vietnam.
April 7, 1976
– Actor and producer Kevin Alejandro was born in San Antonio, Texas.
April 7, 1976
– Actress Barbara Jane Reams was born in Burley, Idaho.
April 7, 1981 – Fort Deposit Academy’s baseball team beat
Sparta Academy, 10-8, in Evergreen, Ala. Sparta’s Jeff Johnson, the losing
pitcher, hit a home run for the Warriors.
April 7, 1992 - Alabama author Howell Raines was awarded the
Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for his essay "Grady's Gift."
April 7, 1994 - Darby’s Red & White Grocery celebrated
its grand re-opening on this day with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Among those
participating were Ginny Darby, Lisa Darby, George Preyear, Probate Judge Otha
Lee Biggs, John Barnett Jr., Ronny Darby, Joe Whatley, Billy Ghee, John Barrett
III, Rodney Darby, Joe McKissick, Sherry Blanks, Tammy Lee, Walter Crim and
Chuck Pelham.
April 7, 1997 - Oasis singer Liam Gallagher and actress
Patsy Kensit were married.
April 7, 2003 – U.S. troops captured Baghdad. Saddam
Hussein's regime fell two days later.
April 7, 2003 - The news that South Alabama Gas would be
adding on to their service lines on the Old Greenville Road and Brownville Road
in 2003 was announced at the board meeting held on this Monday night at the
Evergreen office.
April 7, 2006 – The Evergreen Old Historical Cemetery, the
Evergreen “Greasy Bottom” Cemetery, the Antioch-Rabb Cemetery and the Calloway
Stallworth Cemetery, all in Conecuh County, Ala., were added to the Alabama
Historic Cemetery Register.
April 7, 2006 – The Union Cemetery and the Franklin
Cemetery, both in Escambia County, Ala., were added to the Alabama Historic
Cemetery Register.
April 7-8, 2009 - Local weather observer Harry Ellis
reported lows of 32 degrees in Evergreen, Ala.
April 7, 2014 – EF0 tornado struck Evergreen, Ala., leaving
a path of destruction 150 yards wide and three quarters of a mile long.
April 7, 2016 - Monroe Academy’s baseball team improved
their record to 24-6 by pounding Jackson Academy 11-1 at home on this Thursday.
Outstanding MA players in that game included Drew Black, Logan Caldwell, Noah
Goodman, Lake Higdon, Trace Holder, Andrew Lambert, Dalton McKenzie, Griffin
McKenzie and Lane Powell.
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