The FReeper Foxhole Revisits The CSS Hunley with Updates on Funeral - May 1st, 2004

see educational sources

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Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer
for all those serving their country at this time.


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The FReeper Foxhole Revisits

The Confederate Submarine
CSS H.L. Hunley

In 1864, the CSS H.L. Hunley was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship in combat. The sub was lost that night as well; and has remained a mystery until now. The Hunley wreck was discovered in 1995 and was raised during the summer of 2000. The study and conservation of the submarine is ongoing.

The Hunley has been a local legend for 130 years. It has been incorporated into Charleston history, which has kept the memory of the submarine alive for the generations since the War Between the States. The Hunley even had a museum on Broad Street devoted to it for many years; until it closed in the late 1970s.

The History

A group of private citizens in New Orleans, including James McClintock, Baxter Watson, and Horace Hunley, got together to finance and design a submersible torpedo boat. Their first prototype, Pioneer, was completed, but had to be scuttled in Lake Pontchartrain soon after due to the fall of the city in 1862.

The engineers fled to Mobile where they built a second prototype, American Diver. Mclintock experimented with different motive methods, including steam and battery power. However, in the end they went with a hand cranked drive. On its first time out, it was swamped and lost while under tow outside of Mobile Bay. Its location remains a mystery..



Months later, with additional investors and $15,000 ($300,000 today), they built their third submarine, which would later become known as the Hunley. It was hand cranked by a crew of 8, and used hand pumped ballast tanks, fore and aft, to submerge and surface. Soon, the Hunley was tested and demonstrated a successful attack against a dummy target using a towed contact torpedo. The military approved its use and put the Hunley on a train to Charleston.

Hunley At Charleston

The Siege of Charleston doesn't often appear in the history books as a full fledge battle of the War between the States. However, for most of the war, Charleston was under siege by Federal forces both on land to the south and at sea near the mouth of the harbor. Charleston endured 587 days of constant shelling, the use of confederate prisoners as human shields (the immortal 600) and its fortifications withstood numerous ground attacks (the charge of the 54th Mass -see the movie Glory). It was into this environment that the Hunley was delivered.



Hunley arrived in Charleston on August 12, 1863. She was commanded by McClintock with Gus Whitney as the first officer and the civilian crew from Mobile. Base of operations was the cove, a small inlet behind Sullivan's Island. McClintock took Hunley out daily but had no luck engaging the enemy.

On the night of August 21, 1863, the "Swamp Angel", a secretly constructed federal battery built in the marshes behind Folly Island, began shelling downtown Charleston. The gunners used the steeple of St. Michael's church to target their weapon. Two days later the confederate military, frustrated by Hunley's lack of results, seized the sub and turned it over to Lt. John Payne and a crew from the ironclad CSS Chicora. The new crew trained for several days until August 29, when disaster struck.

Hunley was being towed away from Fort Johnson by the steamer/gunboat Ettawan with the full crew of 9 men on board. Lt. Payne, standing in the open forward hatch, was struggling with the tow line when he accidentally kicked the diving plane tiller into the down position. Due to the forward motion from the tow boat, Hunley dove fast, with both hatches open. Payne and 3 others got out, though one, Charles Hasker was caught in the forward hatch and carried to the bottom, 42 feet down.

The Second Crew

By September 1st, efforts to raise the boat were underway- the process would take 10 days. The sub's future was uncertain until Horace Hunley wrote the military on the 19th, requesting that he and the original civilian crew (who demonstrated the boat in Mobile) be given the project. The military agreed and put Lt. George Dixon in command. In the first days of October, the civilian crew was reassembled and training resumed. On October 5, the CSS David successfully attacked her Goliath, the federal gunboat New Ironsides. Soon after, Hunley resumed nightly sorties outside the mouth of the harbor.

On the 15th, Horace Hunley insists on commanding the sub for a morning demonstration dive under the CSS Indian Chief (records don't explain where Dixon was at the time). The sub dove and never surfaced.



Three days later, divers locate the sub in 56 feet of water. The sub was at a severe angle and had plowed into the bottom. She was raised in several days and after the salvage, it was deduced that:

The forward sea cock was open, allowing the forward ballast tank to fill and overflow. The rear tank was closed and full of air. The hatches were unbolted but remained shut through the sinking due to the pressure of the water. While trying to push open the hatches, Hunley and the first officer both asphyxiated standing in the conning towers where trapped air remained, the rest of the crew drowned. Horace Hunley, manning the forward position (included the forward tank) likely caused the sinking.

Winter Operations

In November 1863, the Hunley was refurbished on a wharf in Mt. Pleasant. Conrad Chapman's painting was executed during this period (Dec 2). A new military crew was put together with volunteers from the CSS Indian Chief. Training resumed and by mid December, Hunley was again running nighttime sorties outside of the harbor. Soon after, CSS David became a regular tow boat, getting Hunley as far out as possible to allow the crew to save their strength for their return voyage.

One day in January, 1864 (a month later ) Hunley's towed contact torpedo drifted into the CSS David, however a crewman went in the water and pushed the torpedo away. CSS David would no longer be used as a tow boat. Also, about this time, federal ironclads began the extensive use of chain nets and other passive obstacles to prevent torpedo attack (Hunley was no secret). Hunley would have to focus operations on the wooden blockade fleet farther out to sea (7 miles out). Her base was moved to Breach Inlet, between Sullivan's and Long Islands (now Isle of Palms). Attacks would now be carried out with a torpedo mounted on a seventeen foot iron pole fixed to the bow (similar to the CSS David).



February 5, 1864, William Alexander was transferred from Hunley's crew. He would later document much of what is known of the sub and it's operations.

Also in early February, a lone federal sloop-of-war, USS Housatonic, began anchoring closer to the Sullivan's Island beach every night (about 3 miles out). Her intent was to be in a better position to intercept the blockade runners that would hug the shoreline and slip past the federal fleet.

Last Mission

On the calm night of the 17th, Hunley engaged Housatonic. She approached on the surface, coming in fast. Housatonic's night watch spotted her and opened fire with small arms, but could not stop the attack. Housatonic, slipped her anchor chain out and reversed her propeller to try to back out of Hunley's path, but this didn't help. Hunley rammed her torpedo into the federal ship, about 8 feet below the waterline. The sub immediately backed away, leaving the torpedo embedded in Housitonic's side. A several hundred foot cord spooled out from Hunley, still connected to the torpedo. At some point, the cord between the sub and the torpedo became taut, detonating the explosive, and quite possibly Housatonic's magazine. The warship went down in less than five minutes, settling upright in 30 feet of water with her rigging still high above the sea. Surprisingly, all but 5 of Housatonic's crew survived.



After the attack, Hunley gave a prearranged signal (with a blue lantern) to sentries on shore, who would build a large fire on the beach at Breach Inlet to help her find her way back, but she never was seen again.

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

The Blockade

The primary Federal strategy during the American Civil War (War for Southern Independence, that is ;-) was a massive naval blockade of the entire southern coastline. The Southern states primarily produced raw materials for export to Northern and European industries. Luxury goods and many bare essentials were primarily imported to the South, therefore a blockade could destroy the south's economy (and starve a lot of people, too). It is during this period that many new techniques were developed for blockade running and attacking blockade ships. The Hunley was one of these new techniques.

The Hunley's Torpedo

Hunley's torpedo was a sealed canister with 90 to 130 lbs. (conflicting sources) of black powder with a lanyard detonated fuse; attached to an iron barb. Designed to be rammed into a blockade ship well below the water line; and detonated by lanyard after the sub has backed away. Apparently the sub was originally designed to tow a torpedo and drag it into its target; but this method wasn't very effective.



The torpedo was constructed out of a copper canister which contained the powder and fuse. The canister was attached to an iron "thimble" that slipped over the end of the sub's spar. This allowed the torpedo to slide off the spar as Hunley backed away. Sources vary as to the design; many describe it as a "can" stuck on the end of the spar, with the iron barb protruding out of its center. It would seem more likely that the iron barb would connect directly to the thimble with the canister hung below. This would transfer the impact from the ramming through the barb, directly to the spar and the sub itself, rather than through the sensitive canister.

Hunley's Engineering

Torpedo: A sealed canister with 90lb of black powder with a lanyard detonated fuse; attached to an iron barb. Designed to be rammed into a blockade ship well below the water line; and detonated by lanyard after the sub has backed away. Apparently the sub was designed to tow a torpedo and drag it into its target; but this method wasn't very effective.

Iron Spar: During the excavation of the sub, it was discovered that the spar was made out of iron and mounted to the bottom of the bow- not the top (which conflicts with Chapman's original painting).

Dive Planes: Just like a modern sub, these are used in addition to ballast tanks to determine the sub's depth.

Snorkels: Pipes that could be raised several feet to the surface to allow breathing. However, most sources say these never worked.

Deadlights: Small glass port holes spaced along the top of the hull to allow light in. Discovered during the excavation. Also, it has recently been proposed that Hunley's interior may have been painted white to make it as bright as possible. This is indicated in Chapman's painting- the inside of the open hatch appears to be white.

Keel Weights: Iron ballast to keep the sub upright and low in the water. Sources say that these were bolted up into the crew compartment and could be unbolted in and emergency, to give the sub more buoyancy and possibly get it off the bottom.

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

www.charlestonillustrated.com
www.rc-submarines.com/id111.htm
www.civilwarartillery.com/

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Why was Hunley lost?

We still don't know yet- but archaeologists will probably come up with a solid theory as the conservation of the sub continues. The general consensus has always been that Hunley went down with the Housatonic; either damaged by small arms fire at the moment of the attack, or mortally wounded by the shock wave of Housatonic's explosion. However, anyone willing to do just a tiny bit of research will find out that Hunley gave a prearranged signal to solders on Sullivan's Island, after the attack.

Divers have found 3 breaches in Hunley's hull, which could have been caused by gun fire, accidental ramming by a federal ship, or they could be damage caused to the hulk years after the sinking- by dragged anchors, or by trapped air in the wreck that could cause small pieces of the hull to rust away.

Why weren't more "Hunleys" built?

Remember that Hunley, like many other southern weapons, were private ventures designed, funded, and built by individuals, not the government.

The Confederacy started with no navy in 1861. Commissions were offered the attract Privateers; thus offering business incentive to private vessels to take up commerce raiding. Also, the very nature of the blockade caused many business people to offer prize money for the destruction of key blockade vessels (fortunes were made running the blockade).

Are the hatches really as small as they are shown in the illustrations?

Yes, the hatch openings on Hunley are approx. 12" by 16" ellipses. That's a circumference of about 46"- is your waistline less that 46"?

Why is so much of our information about Hunley so distorted?

Sketches made from Chapman's painting failed to account for the foreshortening of the image of the sub. Hunley therefore "lost" 25% of it's length. Diagrams showing the workings of the sub were figurative and explanatory, never meant as literal images of the sub. Throw in our own natural bias that people who lived before us were not as smart, err, knowledgeable as we are and there you have it.

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'One evening after alternating diving and rising many times, Dixon...and several crew members compared watches, noted the time and sank for the test...In twenty-five minutes...the candle would not burn...Each man had determined that he would not be the first to say 'up!' Not a word was said except the occasional 'How is it?' between Dixon and myself, until the word 'up' came from all nine. We started the pumps...but I realized that my pump was not throwing...I...took off the cap of the pump, lifted the valve and drew out some seaweed that had choked it...We soon had the boat to the surface...Fresh air!...We had been on the bottom for two hours and thirty-five minutes...'

-- Lt. W.A. Alexander

[snippy_about_it]

Related News articles

Brave men of the South

Charleston's Confederate defenders are lauded

Local Civil War re-enactors pay homage to Hunley crew

Hunley Funeral Photos

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Posted on Sun, Apr. 18, 2004

Confederate submariners buried

By Michael E. Ruane

The Washington Post

CHARLESTON, S.C. - One sailor was a deserter from the Union navy. Another was probably a shoemaker, his teeth marred by a cobbler's needle. A third was a serious smoker whose tobacco-filled wooden pipe was found near his bones.

The skipper had a bent coin in his pocket -- a good-luck charm from the battle of Shiloh -- and bullet fragments in his leg. The second in command wore the dog tag of a dead Yankee. And one of the crew had been helmsman on a rebel privateer.

The doomed men of the Confederate submarine CSS Hunley were a hard-bitten and varied lot. With healed fractures, arthritic joints and tobacco-stained teeth, they died together, dreadfully, while making history on a winter night off the coast of Charleston in 1864.

After a meticulous three-year investigation, a team of scholars and scientists resurrected the eight men of the Hunley, put clay on their bones and stories to their names.



And on Saturday, 140 years after their deaths, the crew of the first submarine to successfully attack an enemy warship was buried amid solemn ceremony at a cemetery in Charleston.

Thousands of men in Confederate gray and Union blue and women in black hoop skirts and veils attended what has been called the last Confederate funeral.

"There are some who have scoffed at our efforts to pay tribute to these men, saying that because they were Confederates, they don't deserve so high an honor," said Ronald Wilson, commander-in-chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. "It is our duty to respect and remember these individuals."

From a military standpoint, the members of the crew "were incredibly brave men," said Doug Owsley of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. "When you get inside this little tiny vessel and realize how small it is, boy, these were gutsy guys."

The 40-foot-long, 14-ton Hunley was a crude, claustrophobic craft that was built out of a boiler, had no independent air supply and was powered by a hand crank. It had a crew of eight, who, on the night of Feb. 17, 1864, set out to engage the Union fleet blockading the Confederate port.

Outside Charleston Harbor, the submerged Hunley rammed a torpedo on a barbed spar into the hull of a 12-gun Union sloop, the USS Housatonic. The Union ship sank. The Hunley sank, too, for reasons that remain uncertain, and for more than a century no trace of boat or crew was found.

In 1995, the boat was located by a team financed by adventure novelist Clive Cussler. It was raised during the summer of 2000.

This report includes material from the Associated Press.

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A NEW FEATURE ~ The Foxhole Revisits...

The Foxhole will be updating some of our earlier threads with new graphics and some new content for our Saturday threads in this, our second year of the Foxhole. We lost many of our graphic links and this is our way of restoring them along with revising the thread content where needed with new and additional information not available in the original threads.

A Link to the Original Thread;

The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The CSS Hunley - Mar. 2nd, 2003

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The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

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[SAMWolf]

Good Night Snippy

Great job on updating the thread.

The first sinking of a vessel by a Submarine occurred on February 17, 1864 when the C.S.S. Hunley sunk the U.S.S. Housatonic of Charleston, S.C.

[snippy_about_it]

Good night Sam. Thanks partner.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

[snopercod]

Thanks.

[Valin]

On this Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on May 01:
1238 Magnus VI Lagabuter King of Norway (1263-80)
1245 Philippe III Poissy Yvelines France, King of France (1270-85)
1493 Phillippus Paracelsus Switzerland, physician/alchemist
1592 Johann A Schall von Bell German missionaries/astronomer
1672 Joseph Addison England, essayist (Spectator)
1735 John H van Kinsbergen Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral/founder of Dutch Marines Corps
1764 Benjamin Henry Latrobe engineer/architect (built Capitol)
1769 Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington, British PM (C) (1828-30)
1771 George Guest composer
1800 Ret Thomas Aloysius Dornin Commander (Union Navy), died in 1874
1807 John Bankhead "Prince John" Magruder Major General (Confederate Army)
1819 William Steele Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1885
1825 George Inness US landscape painter ("Delaware Water Gap")
1830 Mary Harris Jones [Mother Jones], hell-raiser
1835 Alfred Napoleon Alexander "Natti" Duffie Brigadier General (Union volunteers)
1839 Chardonnet inventor (rayon)
1851 Eberhard Nestle German oriëntalist/biblical scholar
1852 Calamity [Martha] Jane [Burke] frontier adventurer/Indian fighter
1881 Pierre Teilhard de Chardin France, philosopher/paleontologist
1905 Nikolai Tikhonov Soviet PM (1980-85)
1907 Kate Smith Greenville AL, singer (God Bless America)/Philadelphia Flyer luck charm
1910 Cliff Battles Akron OH, NFL hall of famer (Braves, Redskins)
1916 Glenn Ford Québec Canada, actor (Cade's County, Big Heat, Midway)
1916 Jack Parr Canton OH, TV host (Jack Paar Show)
1919 Dan O'Herlihy Ireland, actor (Fail Safe, Last Starfighter, Robocop)
1922 Louis Nye Hartford CT, comedian (Steve Allen, Happy Days)
1923 Joseph Heller Brooklyn NY, novelist (Catch-22, 1963 Arts & Letters Award)
1925 Malcolm Scott Carpenter Boulder CO, astronaut (Mercury 7-Aurora 7)
1927 Harry [Harold George Jr] Belafonte New York NY, calypso singer (The Banana Boat Song)
1929 Sonny James [James Loden] Hackelburg AL, country singer (Young Love)
1930 Little Walter [Marion Walter Jacobs] blues harmonica
1939 Judy Collins Seattle WA, singer (Send in the Clowns, Both Sides Now, Clouds)
1944 Rita Coolidge Nashville TN, singer/delta lady (Higher & Higher, We're All Alone)
1948 James Wise US soul singer (Archie Bell & the Drells)
1949 Douglas Barr Cedar Rapids IA, actor (Howie-The Fall Guy)
1954 Ray Parker Jr Detroit MI, rock guitarist/vocalist (Ghostbusters-Who You Gonna Call?)
1958 John Diehl Cincinnati OH, actor (Detective Zito-Miami Vice)
1966 Johnny Colt Cherry Point NC, rock bassist (Black Crowes-Shake Your Money Maker)
1971 Jamie Marie Swenson Miss USA-South Dakota (1997)
1973 Curtis Martin NFL running back (New England Patriots)

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Deaths which occurred on May 01:
1171 Dermot MacMurrough last Irish king of Leinster, dies
1308 Albrecht I van Habsburg German King (1298-1308), murdered
1471 Thomas a Kempis spiritual writer (The Imitation of Christ), dies at 91
1555 Marcellus II [Marcello Cervini] Italian Pope (1555), dies at 53
1572 Pius V [Antonio Ghislieri] great-inquisiteur/Pope (1566-72), dies
1703 Kiva Yoshinaka Japanese monarch, murdered
1863 Edward Dorr Tracy US Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 29
1869 ? colt reported killed by a meteorite near New Concord OH
1873 David Livingstone British physician/explorer (Africa), dies at 60
1896 Naser ed-Din shah of Persia (1848-96), murdered at 65
1902 John Glover English chemist (production sulfuric acid), dies at 85
1904 Antonín Dvorak Czechoslovakia, composer (Slavic Dancing), dies at 62
1926 Nicolaus Adriani translator (Middle-Celebes Language), dies at 60
1932 Paul Doumer President of France (1931-32), assassinated by Russia's Paul Gargalov
1945 Paul Josef Goebbels Nazi minister on propoganda, commits suicide
1947 Sanner leader of Norger blood bath, executed
1948 Christos Ladas Greek minister of Justice, murdered
1952 William Fox [Fried] US film pioneer (Nickelodeon), dies at 73
1954 Tom Tyler actor (Lost Ranch, Coyote Trails), dies at 50
1965 Spike Jones composer (Spike Jones Show), dies at 53
1982 Gene Sheldon actor (Bernardo-Zorro), dies at 72
1990 Sunset Carson cowboy actor (El Paso Kid, Oregon Trail), dies at 62
1991 Richard Thorpe director (Jailhouse Rock, Night Must Fall), dies
1993 Pierre Bérégovoy PM of France (1992-93), commits suicide at 67
1993 Ranasinghe Premadasa President (Sri Lanka, 1989-93), assassinated at 68
1997 Bebe AKA Flipper, dolphin, dies at 40
1998 Eldridge Cleaver ex-Black Panther leader dies at 62.

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 BAILEY JOHN HOWARD---DOCENA AL.
1967 CORFIELD STAN L.---GALLUP NM.
1967 GAUGHAN ROGER CONRAD---BELCHERTOWN MA.
1967 GUAJARDO HILARIO H.---SAN ANTONIO TX.
1967 SMITH CARL ARTHUR---ATTICA NY.
1967 SOULIER DUWAYNE---MILWAUKEE WI.
1968 GERVAIS DONALD P.---CLARKSVILLE TN.
1968 MARTIN RICHARD D.---HONOLULU HI.
1968 WHITMIRE WARREN T. JR.---FAIRFAX VA.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

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On this day...
0305 Emperor Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Jovius of Rome resigns
1006 Supernova observed by Chinese & Egyptians in constellation Lupus
1528 Pánfilo the Narvaéz begins exploration to with 350 men to Florida
1544 Turkish troops occupy Hungary
1551 Council of Trente resumes
1682 Louis XIV & his court inaugurate Paris Observatory
1703 Battle at Rultusk: Swedish army beats Russians
1704 Boston Newsletter publishes 1st newspaper ad
1707 England, Wales & Scotland form UK of Great Britain
1715 Prussia declares war on Sweden
1751 1st American cricket match is played
1757 Austria & France divide Prussia
1776 Adam Weishaupt founds the secret society of Illuminati
(don't tell anyone, it's a secret)
1777 RB Sheridans "School for Scandal" premieres in London
1786 Mozart's opera "Marriage of Figaro" premieres in Wien (Vienna)
1822 John Phillips becomes 1st mayor of Boston
1840 1st adhesive postage stamps ("Penny Blacks" from England) issued
1841 1st emigrant wagon train leaves Independence MO for California
1844 Samuel Morse sends 1st telegraphic message
1844 Whig convention nominates Henry Clay as presidential candidate
1846 Ida Pfeiffer (48) begins trip around world
1851 Great Exhibition opens in London's Hyde Park, at Crystal Palace
1853 Argentina adopts its constitution
1857 William Walker, conqueror of Nicaragua, surrenders to US Navy
1861 Lee orders Confederate troops under T J Jackson to Harper's Ferry
1862 Union captain David Farragut conquers New Orleans
1863 Battle of Chancellorsville VA (29,000 injured or died)
1863 Battle of Port Gibson, Mississippi
1863 Confederate "National Flag" replaces "Stars & Bars"
1863 Confederate congress passed resolution to kill black soldiers
1864 Atlanta campaign, Georgia
1864 Battle at Alexandria LA (Red River Campaign)
1864 Wilderness campaign
1866 American Equal Rights Association forms
1867 Howard University chartered
1867 Reconstruction of South begins, black voter registration
1869 "Folies-Bergère" opens in Paris France
1869 A colt is reported killed by a meteorite near New Concord OH
1873 1st US postal card issued
1873 Emperor Franz Jozef opens 5th World's Fair in Wien (Vienna)
1875 238 members of "Whiskey Ring" accused of anti-US activities
1883 "Buffalo Bill" Cody put on his 1st Wild West Show
1883 Baseball returns to Philadelphia, 1st National League game since 1876
1884 Construction begins on Chicago's 1st skyscraper (10 stories!)
1884 Moses Walker became 1st black player in the major league
1886 US general strike for 8 hour day, begins
1889 1st International Workers Day, according to the 2nd International
1889 Bayer introduces aspirin in powder form (Germany)
1891 Cy Young pitches 1st game played in Cleveland's League Park Cleveland Spiders 12, Cincinnati Redlegs 3
1898 George Dewey commands, "You may fire when you are ready, Gridley" as US route Spanish fleet at Manila
1900 Premature blast collapses mine tunnel killing 200 at Scofield UT
1901 Detroit Tigers commit 12 errors against Chicago White Sox

1901 Herb McFarland hit 1st grand slam in the American League

1901 Pan-American Exposition opens in Buffalo
1908 World's most intense rain shower (2.47" in 3 minutes) at Portobelo Panamá
1912 Beverly Hills Hotel opens
1915 British Lusitania leaves New York, for Liverpool
1915 German submarine sinks US ship Gulflight
1919 Mount Kelud (Indonesia) erupts, boiling crater lake which broke through crater wall killing 5,000 people in 104 small villages
1920 Babe Ruth's 1st Yankee homerun & 50th of career, out of Polo Grounds
1922 Charlie Robertson of Chicago pitches a perfect no-hit, no-run game
1923 49th Kentucky Derby: Earl Sande aboard Zev wins in 2:05.4
1925 Cyprus becomes a British Crown Colony
1926 Satchel Paige makes pitching debut in Negro Southern League
1927 1st British airliner to serve cooked meals (Imperial Airways)
1928 Drunken fascist Erich Wichman attacks VARA-radio transmitter
1929 Brooklyn's Johnny Finn sets 100 yard sack race in 14.4 seconds
1929 Police kill 19 Mayday demonstrators in Berlin
1931 Empire State Building opens in New York NY
1931 Singer Kate Smith begins her long-running radio program on CBS
1934 Philippine legislature accepts US proposal for independence
1935 Boulder Dam completed
1936 Emperor Haile Selassie leaves Ethiopia as Italian invades
1936 FBI's J Edgar Hoover arrests Alvin Karpis
1937 FDR signs act of neutrality
1939 Batman Comics hit the street
1939 Pulitzer Prize awarded to Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (The Yearling)
1940 140 Palestinian Jews die as German planes bomb their ship
1941 "Citizen Kane", directed by & starring Orson Welles, premieres in New York
1941 General Mills introduces Cheerios
1941 German assault on Tobruk
1942 Radio Orange calls to defy order to wear "Jewish star"
1943 69th Kentucky Derby: Johnny Longden aboard Count Fleet wins in 2:04
1943 Food rationing begins in US
1944 Messerschmitt Me-262 Sturmvogel, first operational jet aircraft (twin-jet fighter), makes 1st flight
1945 Admiral Karl Doenitz forms German government
1945 Radio Budapest, Hungary re-enters shortwave broadcasting after WWII
1946 Fieldmarshal Montgomery appointed British supreme commander
1946 Mrs Emma Clarissa Clement named "American Mother of the Year"
1947 Radar for commercial & private planes 1st demonstrated
1948 74th Kentucky Derby: Eddie Arcaro aboard Citation wins in 2:05.4; this is Arcaro's 4th win
1948 Glenn Taylor, Idaho Senator, arrested in Birmingham AL for trying to enter a meeting through a door marked "for Negroes"
1948 North Korea proclaims itself People's Democratic Republic of Korea
1948 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Auspicia quaedam
1949 A's Elmer Valo is 1st American League'er to hit 2 bases-loaded triples in a game
1949 Gerard Kuiper discovers Nereid, (2nd satellite of Neptune)
1951 Mickey Mantle's 1st homerun
1951 Minnie Minoso becomes the 1st black to play for the White Sox
1952 Marines take part in an atomic explosion training in Nevada
1952 Mr Potato Head, introduced
1952 TWA introduces tourist class
1954 80th Kentucky Derby: Raymond York aboard Determine wins in 2:03
1954 HSA-UWC Established (Unification Church) (The Moonies)
1955 Bobby Feller's 15th 1-hit or less game (12 1-hitters, 3 no-hitters)
1957 Larry King's 1st radio broadcast
1957 US give Poland credit of $95 million
1959 Floyd Patterson KOs Brian London in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
1960 Russia shoots down Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane over Sverdlovsk
1961 1st US airplane hijacked to Cuba
1961 Fidel Castro announces there will be no more elections in Cuba
1962 Bo Belinsky pitches a no-hitter, in his 4th start
1962 France performs underground nuclear test at Ecker Algeria
1963 1st American (James Whittaker) conquers Mount Everest
1963 Indonesia takes control of Irian Jaya (west New Guinea) from Netherlands
1964 1st BASIC program runs on a computer (Dartmouth)
1965 91st Kentucky Derby: Bill Shoemaker on Lucky Debonair wins in 2:01.2
1966 Last British concert by the Beatles (Empire Pool in Wembley)
1967 Anastasio Somoza Debayle becomes President of Nicaragua
1967 Elvis Presley & Pricilla Beaulieu wed in Las Vegas
1968 Phillies J Boozer is ejected for throwing spitballs during his warmup
1971 97th Kentucky Derby: Gustavo Avila on Canonero II wins in 2:03.2
1971 Amtrak railroad begins operation
1971 Rolling Stones release "Brown Sugar"
1976 102nd Kentucky Derby: Angel Cordero Jr on Bold Forbes wins in 2:01.6
1978 1st black mayor of New Orleans (Ernest Morial) inaugurated
1978 Naomi Uemura became 1st to reach North Pole overland alone
1979 Elton John becomes 1st pop star to perform in Israel
1981 Billie Jean King admits to a lesbian affair with Marilyn Barnett
1981 Harrison Williams (Senator-D-NJ) convicted on FBI Abscam charges
1981 Radio Shack releases Model III TRSDOS 1.3
1982 108th Kentucky Derby: Ed Delahoussaye on Gato Del Sol wins in 2:02.4
1983 Nolan Ryan surpasses Walter Johnson for most strikeouts (3,508)
1985 US President Reagan ends embargo against Nicaragua
1986 Bill Elliott sets stock car speed record of 212.229 mph
1986 Tass reports Chernobyl nuclear power plant mishap
1987 Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish born nun
1991 Angola's civil war ends
1991 A's Rickey Henderson breaks Lou Brocks record with his 939th steal (vs Yankees)
1992 Rickey Henderson steals his 1,000th base
1993 119th Kentucky Derby: Jerry Bailey aboard Sea Hero wins in 2:02.4
1993 Bomb attack on Sri Lankan President (26 die)
1994 Charles Kuralt retires as CBS newsman (On the Road)
1996 Gerald Williams is 1st New York Yankee since 1934 to get 6 hits in a game
1997 Toni Blair elected PM of UK
1999 Charismatic, a 31-1 long shot, won the 125th Kentucky Derby in Louisville. It was the third highest payoff in Derby history.
2001 FBI Director Louis Freeh announced his retirement.
2001 Thomas Blanton Jr. became the second ex-Ku Klux Klansman to be convicted in the 1963 bombing of a church in Birmingham, Ala., that claimed the lives of four black girls. Sentenced to four life sentences

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

World : Workers Day, Law Day, Loyalty Day
Italy : Festival of St. Efisio
Belgium : Festival of St. Evermaar
Finland : Vappu Day
Hawaii : Lei Day
India : Maharashtra Day (1960
Turkey : Commemoration of Yunus Emre
Massachusetts : Senior Citizens' Day (1963)
Pennsylvania : Americanism Day
US : Child Health Day
US : Dewey Day (Battle of Manila Bay) (1898)
US : Bird Day
USA: Mother Goose Day
Correct Posture Month

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Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Joseph the Workman, stepfather of Jesus (optional)
Anglican, Lutheran : Feast of SS Philip & James, apostles

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Religious History
1501 In his encyclical "Ad ea quae circa decorem," Pope Alexander VI sanctioned the Minim Friars, a religious order founded by Francis of Paola (1416-1507) in 1435.
1740 English revivalist George Whitefield wrote in his journal: 'Lord, show that Thou dost love me, by humbling and keeping me humble as long as I live. The means I leave to Thee.'
1845 At a convention in Louisville, KY, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South was organized as a new denomination, separate from its parent, the Methodist Episcopal Church.
1933 The first issue of "The Catholic Worker" was published. Founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, the monthly newspaper promoted social reconstruction through shared farming and housing for the urban poor.
1939 "Back to the Bible Broadcast" was launched by founder Theodore Epp, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Today, over 600 radio stations nationwide carry the program.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

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Thought for the day :
"Adults are obsolete children"

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Actual Newspaper Headlines...
Drunk Gets Nine Months in Violin Case

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Why did the Chicken cross the Road...
THE BIBLE: And God came down from the heavens, and He said unto the chicken, "Thou shalt cross the road." And the chicken crossed the road, and there was much rejoicing.

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Stocks To Watch In 2004...
Hale Business Systems,
Mary Kay Cosmetics,
Fuller Brush
and W.R.Grace Co. will merge and become...
Hale,Mary,Fuller,Grace.

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Guide to Minnesota driving
A right lane construction closure is just a game to see how
many people can cut in line by passing you on the right
as you sit in the left lane waiting for the same jerks to
squeeze their way back in before hitting the orange construction barrels.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-gram.

The Union Jack proudly waving at the launch of the Edmund Fitzgerald on June 7, 1958.

St. Marys River. R. LeLievre

Painting of the Fitzgerald.

The painting shows what Capt. Bud Robinson experienced on Nov. 10, 1975 as First Mate on the Tadoussac. The painting displays the Fitz after the eye of the storm passed, from what Capt. Robinson experienced that afternoon. The Tadoussac crossed the Fitzgerald and Anderson's wake above Michipicoten Island as they proceeded towards the North Shore.

The Tadoussac made the passage safely and proceeded on to Silver Bay. Over the radio that evening he heard the Coast Guard reports that the Fitzgerald was missing.

Fitzgerald's bell on display at the Ship Wreck Museum. Rob Farrow

The brave men who were lost that night:

Captain Ernest M. McSorley
Michael E. Armagost
Fred J. Beetcher
Thomas D. Bentsen
Edward F. Bindon
Thomas D. Borgeson
Oliver J. Champeau
Nolan S. Church
Ransom E. Cundy
Thomas E. Edwards
Russell G. Haskell
George J. Holl
Bruce L. Hudson
Allen G. Kalmon
Gorden Maclellan
Joseph Mazes
John H. McCarthy
Eugene O'Brien
Karl A. Peckol
John J. Poviach
James A. Pratt
Robert C. Rafferty
Paul M. Rippa
John D. Simmons
William J. Spengler
Mark A. Thomas
Ralph G. Walton
David E. Weiss
Blaine H. Wilhelm

http://www.boatnerd.com/fitz/

Ship's Bell

http://www.mhsd.org/fleet/O/On-Columbia/fitz/default.htm

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning PE. Thank You for today's Flag-o-gram.

A terrible loss of human life.

[Professional Engineer]

1960 Russia shoots down Francis Gary Powers' U-2 spy plane over Sverdlovsk

U-2

After Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union during a CIA spy flight on 1 May 1960, NASA issued a press release with a cover story about a U-2 conducting weather research that may have strayed off course after the pilot "reported difficulties with his oxygen equipment."

To bolster the cover-up, a U-2 was quickly painted in NASA markings, with a fictitious NASA serial number, and put on display for the news media at the NASA Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base on 6 May 1960. The next day, Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev exposed the cover-up by revealing that the pilot had been captured, and espionage equipment had been recovered from the wreckage.

[SAMWolf]

Morning aeronaut. It's hard to see a Hurricane and not think about you now. You oughtta get it trademarked. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C.