The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Lt. Dick Dowling & the Battle of Sabine Pass(9/8/1863)- Feb. 4th, 2004

http://members.tripod.com/~csa/history.htm ^ | Micheal McGreevy

[SAMWolf]

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.

...................................................................................... ...........................................

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

Where Duty, Honor and Country
are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.

Our Mission:

The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans.

Welcome to "Warrior Wednesday"
Where the Freeper Foxhole introduces a different veteran each Wednesday. The "ordinary" Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine who participated in the events in our Country's history. We hope to present events as seen through their eyes. To give you a glimpse into the life of those who sacrificed for all of us - Our Veterans.

To read previous Foxhole threads or
to add the Foxhole to your sidebar,
click on the books below.

Lt. Dick Dowling
and
the Battle of Sabine Pass

On September 8, 1863, at Sabine Pass, Texas, Lt. Richard W. Dowling and the Davis Guard defeated the forces of General Nathaniel P. Banks and Admiral G. Farragut under the command of General William G. Franklin in a Confederate victory described by President Jefferson Davis as being "without parallel in ancient or modern warfare."

General Banks, commander of the Department of the Gulf, placed 15,000 men for this campaign under the immediate command of General Franklin who sailed August 29, 1863, from New Orleans with 5,000 soldiers on 18 transports of various types. The westward bound convoy was escorted by four heavily armed gunboats; the Cliffon, Sachem, Arizona and Granite City. Franklin was to sail up the Sabine Pass, land in the vicinity of Sabine City, advance to Beaumont seizing the railroad, and take Houston and Galveston from the North. The additional 10,000 men left in reserve would be brought from New Orleans to overcome all resistance in Texas.

The poorly defined Union rendezvous at the mouth of Sabine Pass was discovered and the act of surprise was lost. By September 6, the Confederate defenders knew a large Union force was approaching and although the Davis Guard had permission to withdraw, they decided to defend the earthen fort. Because Captain Odlum was acting as area commander in Sabine City, actual command at Fort Griffin fell to his young lieutenant, Richard W. (Dick) Dowling.


Admiral David G. Farragut

The defending Confederates watched the Union gunboats advance up the Pass during the night of September 7. Next morning the Union guns shelled Fort Griffin, but Dowling withheld his fire until midafternoon when the attacking Sachem was only 1200 yards away. With one of their first rounds, the Davis Guard disabled the Sachem and then shifted fire to the Clifton. In 45 minutes the two vessels surrendered and the remaining Union gunboats and transports fled in panic to the Gulf and to New Orleans. The Davis Guard suffered no casualties; the invading forces lost about 50 killed and 350 prisoners.

The incredible success of the Davis Guard gave heart to the Confederate forces. Dick Dowling and his men received commendation from their commanding generals, the Confederate Congress and President Davis. Texas remained an active state in the Confederacy.

Biography of Richard William Dowling


Lt. Richard W. Dowling, CSA

The young commander of Fort Griffin during the 1863 Battle of Sabine Pass, Richard William Dowling, was born near Tuam, County Galway, Ireland in January of 1837. In 1846, the Dowling (originally O'Dowling ) family, fleeing poverty and hoping for a better life, sailed for America and took up residence in New Orleans. In 1853, a yellow fever epidemic claimed Dowling's mother and father. Four of the five children moved to Texas and eventually settled in Houston around 1855. Young Dick Dowling was soon to make a name for himself. By the age of nineteen, grown handsome and charismatic, Dowling opened a two-story saloon and billiards parlor on Main Street. Due to his progressive business practices, "The Shades" was very successful. In 1860, he sold his interests in it, invested in a Galveston liquor importing business, and opened the "Bank of Bacchus" saloon on Courthouse Square. He also operated an informal finance and pawn brokerage on the premises, cashing checks and making loans. Dowling soon came into possession of his third public house, "Hudgepeth's Bathing Saloon", as a result of a debt owed him.

Dowling often tended bar at his various establishments and enjoyed inventing new cocktails. He was jovial and popular and was respected in the community. He held membership in several civic organizations and a Houston volunteer fire company. In 1859, he joined a local militia company, the Houston Light Artillery. When this unit disbanded in 1860, many of its members organized the Davis Guard, named for US Senator Jefferson Davis.


Davis guards - Reenactors

The all-Irish Davis Guard was mustered into Confederate service as an independent infantry company. It was commanded by Captain Fred Odlum, his wife's uncle, and Dowling was appointed first-lieutenant. In February of 1861, the Davis Guard was sent to Galveston and combined with other companies under the command of Colonel John S. "Rip" Ford. This force then sailed to Brownsville to take over the federal garrisons on the Mexican Border. During this time, disputes broke out between Ford and Odlum over the treatment of his men, and, amid claims of discrimination against Irish-Catholics, the Davis Guard returned to Houston in late March of 1861.

In October of 1861, the Guard was assigned to Company F, Third Texas Artillery Battalion and manned the big seacoast guns around Galveston. A year later they were reassigned as Company F, First Texas Heavy Artillery Regiment, and were trained personally by Colonel Joseph J. Cook. The Irish volunteers learned their lessons well, becoming crack artillerists.

On the first day of 1863, Dowling and his comrades were designated as the first wave in an assault on the Forty-second Massachusetts Infantry and a four gun battery of the Second Vermont Artillery barricaded on Kuhn's Warf during the Battle of Galveston. The Davis Guard waded out to the wharf under heavy fire, but the attack was unsuccessful because their scaling ladders were too short. There were four casualties, including one fatality.



Upon the recapture of Galveston by the Confederates, the Davis Guard was sent to Fort Griffin, a timber-shored earthwork on the low muddy banks of Sabine Pass, where the Neches and Sabine Rivers flow into the Gulf of Mexico. A few days after their arrival, the guard was ordered to serve as gunners on board two cotton-clad steamers sent out to attack two Federal blockaders that were menacing local shipping.

Dowling and a picked crew manned the 8-inch Columbiad on Board the CSS Josiah H. Bell as it steamed out accompanied by the CSS Uncle Ben. A twenty mile running artillery duel ensued, ending with the capture of the USS Velocity, the USS Morning Light, and their cargoes of much needed supplies.

The Davis Guard spent the next several months improving the fortifications at Fort Griffin and at drill. Armaments at the fort were obsolete; two 32-pounder smoothbores, two 24-pounder smoothbores, and two 32-pounder howitzers, but the boys became so proficient, that their fire could dominate the entire two- thousand yard width of the pass.This became painfully apparent to the Federals during the September 8th Battle of Sabine Pass. Capt. Odlum had been assigned as district commander in Sabine City, and First-Lieutenant Dick Dowling, now twenty-six years of age, was in command of a garrison of less than fifty men when the United States launched the twenty- two ship invasion fleet from New Orleans. On board were five-thousand soldiers, sailors, and marines, plus enough livestock, munitions, and equipment for the capture and occupation of Texas. Of course, the result was a miraculous Confederate victory yielding two Union gunboats and three hundred and fifty prisoners.



Dowling was promoted to major and spent the remainder of the war as a traveling celebrity recruiting troops for the State of Texas. When the war ended in 1865, Federal authorities paroled Major Dowling, and he returned to his business enterprises in Houston. The Bank of Bacchus became one of the favorite meeting places for veterans of the war. Despite hard times in the South, Dowling’s ventures flourished. By 1867, he had expanded into Houston real estate, South Texas farm land, a bonded warehouse in Galveston, a construction company, a Trinity River steamboat, and oil and gas leases in three counties.

Unfortunately, the disease that took his parents came for their son in 1867. He contracted yellow fever and died on September 23rd at age thirty. His Houston Hook and Ladder Company carried him to his final resting place in St. Vincent’s Cemetery while a soft rain fell and thousands of hushed Texans lined the streets. Many public works and schools have been named for him in Southeast Texas. Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp #1295 in Beaumont and Camp #1305 in Houston are named for him, as well as United Daughters of the Confederacy Chapter #404 in Beaumont.

Micheal McGreevy

[SAMWolf]

The Battle of Sabine Pass

On the evening of the 7th of September, 1863, the enemy's fleet appeared off the bar of Sabine Pass, numbering seventeen vessels. The port at the time was garrisoned with only three companies; two of artillery and one of cavalry. Each of these three companies were reduced in numbers, to one-half their maximum number by details, sickness, &c. On the appearance of the fleet the little garrison was at once put in fighting order, and the men lay on their arms during the succeeding night.

The night slowly passed away; but few eyes were closed in sleep, either among citizens or soldiers.

When morning again dawned upon the city and garrison, all eyes were turned in the direction of the fleet outside the bar, which had swelled in number during the night to twenty-two vessels--consisting of gun-boats, men-of-war, and transports. Men, women and children, citizens and soldiers, line the house-tops and lookouts, beholding with an anxions gaze the array before them.

Mothers with their little ones in their arms were hurrying to and fro--here and there collecting together in little clusters--ever and anon, a solider hurried by with a musket in one hand and his breakfast in the other, eating as he ran.

What shall we do? What will become of us? were the hasty ejaculations of mothers as they met together at houses, or on the streets.

The three companies constituting the garrison--officers and men--numbered less than one hundred. About three miles above the bar stands "Fort Griffin." Upon the fort was mounted six guns, all of short range, and not of the best quality. These six guns, and the brave officers and men that manned them were our sole dependence. Thus the brave "Davis Guards"--forty in number--and their heroic commander, Lieutenant Dowling, assisted by Lieutenant Smith, of the Engineer Corps. With these six pieces of heavy ordnance were our dependence to repel an enemy's fleet of twenty-two vessels, and an army of men fifteen thousand strong, flushed with recent victories on the Mississippi river--the other two companies were ordered on board the gun-boat Unele Ben as artillerymen and sharp-shooters, but could do nothing in repelling the enemy's advance unless he passed the fort in a crippled condition.

Soon after sunrise the fleet commenced crossing the bar, and in less than an hour's time five gun-boats and three transports had crossed over. Immediately after crossing, the gun-boats opened fire on the fort. After firing twenty-five or thirty rounds, without receiving a reply from our guns they fell back and passed out into the gulf.

Couriers were dispatched for aid on the first appearance of the fleet, but none had yet arrived.

Leonard A Abercrombie - Jeff Davis Guard

About 3 o'clock in the afternoon they again commenced crossing the bar. Five or six gun-boats, and three or four transports crossed over. The Sachem led the van, and moved up the Louisiana channel, the Arizona and Clifton coming up the Texas channel. Soon after crossing the bar the Sachem, Arizona, and Clifton opened fire on the fort. Two other gun-boats--names not known--followed in the rear and also opened fire on the fort. The first three moved rapidly up the channels keeping up a continual fire on our fortification. The shot and shell fell thick and fast around the fort. Shells exploding and and flying in every direction, frequently extending into the town to the great danger of the helpless women and children, who had no protection save their dwelling houses, several of which were struck with fragments of exploded shell.

During this din of cannonading, not a man could be seen in or about the fort. With the assurance of an easy and bloodless victory, the hasty foe advanced until his foremost vessel came within range of our guns; when, as if by magic, the smoke curled up from the six guns at the fort. The long suspense of the lookers-on at the city burst forth in exclamations of joy. A few rounds followed in quick succession from our guns, when a cloud of smoke and steam was seen to shoot up from the deck of the Sachem; when another burst of applause commingled with thanks to the God of battles, went up from the little few whose anxious eyes were fixed upon the fort and the brave men in it. The applause died away and another moment of silent suspense followed. The booming of cannon, and the explosion of shell kept up a continual roar, unsurpassed by the fiery elements of heaven. The Sachem was disabled, and settled quietly and harmlessly in the water where her guns ceased to play upon the fort.

President Jefferson Davis was elated when he heard the news of the victory September 8, l863, at Sabine Pass. He sent his personal congratulations and ordered a medal to be struck for the Davis Guard (as Lt. Dowling's men styled themselves). This medal was the only honor of its kind known to have been bestowed on Confederate soldiers during the war.

The Davis Guard medal was fashioned from a Mexican silver peso, each side smoothed off and engraved. The obverse side was inscribed in three lines, Sabine Pass / Sept 8th / 1863. In honor of the company's Irish heritage, a kelly green ribbon was attached to the suspension loop.

All eyes were now turned upon the Arizona and Clifton, but the suspense was of short duration; a shot took effect in the machinery of the Clifton, which disabled her at once. In a moment a white flag was run up at her mast-head. The firing ceased, and again the suspense burst forth in exclamations of joy and thanks to Heaven. The Arizona tacked about and ran out by the Clifton in a crippled condition and made good her escape. By this time a white flag was flying at the mast-head of the Sachem; when the haughty foe surrendered three hundred men and two gun-boats, with thirteen of their best guns to two officers and forty men.

Thus a fleet of twenty-two vessels, and fifteen thousand men, were repelled by two officers and forty men--three hundred prisoners and two of their best gun-boats captured, and not a man on our side hurt. And Texas was saved, for a time at least, from the ravages of an unmerciful and ruthless foe.

[SAMWolf]

A Union Soldier's Account of the Battle of Sabine Pass



Algiers, Louisiana September 14, 1863

We left Baton Rouge on Sept. 3d, 1863 to make a landing at the mouth of the Sabine River. We arrived at New Orleans on the 4th and left at evening on the steamship "Continental." General Emory in command of our division. Our expedition to Sabine Pass on the mouth of the Sabine River was an ill-starred one, so there is nothing in the localpapers as a result. We had the ship "Graham Polly" in tow, and on the 6th, she parted both hawsers and ran into us amidships, letting the lightin upon us at the second deck. About noon on the 7th of Sept., we came to anchor off the bar. The next morning the gunboats shelled the small forts without eliciting any response, which gave the impression that they were deserted, but when the gunboats got opposite, in an attempt to run by, the enemy opened fire and soon had the "Clifton" and "Sachem" at their mercy and took 180 prisoners. Our fleet of transports started off in a hurry, in the panic the steamer "Suffolk" ran into us and was so damaged her crew left and boarded us -- the excitement was intense. Many jumped overboard thinking the ships were sinking and were drowned. I ate all my "Hoss and Hardtack" so as to save it and kept still knowing it would be no use to run around and yell. Somehow some of us poor fellows were saved but almighty scared.


General Nathaniel P. Banks, USA

The transport "Cresent" grounded, got off by sacrificing #1000 worth of commissary stores. Signal was made to leave for the Southwest Pass, but night and a gale came on and the river steamers were at a disadvantage. We were sixty hours getting back to the passes horses nearly ruined for want of water for four days. The "Suffolk" managed to get into New Orleans the same day that we did; that is, on the 12th. Camped at Algiers on the 12th.

Serg't Jacob F. Chandler
Co. D 8th New Hampshire Volunteers

Additional Sources:

www.2020site.org
block.dynip.com/wtblockjr
www.lib.utexas.edu
www.multied.com
www.history.navy.mil
www.james.com
thorup.com
members.cox.net/libertygreys
reunion.omnica.com

[SAMWolf]

The next day, about 50 or more dead soldiers and sailors, which included 22 liberated slaves, whose names are unknown, were buried at Mesquite Point on Sabine Lake. During the battle, the Confederate "heroines of Sabine Pass," Kate Dorman and Sarah Vosburg, drove a buggy down to the fort and delivered coffee, doughnuts and a gallon of whiskey to the weary and grimy soldiers.

The Confederates at Sabine Pass had hardly had time to savor and appreciate their victory, but others quickly did, as the story of the "Alamo in reverse" battle was carried back to Houston and Galveston, and eventually back to the Confederate Congress in Richmond, Va., who quickly ordered that a special Davis Guard medal be cast for each of the men in the fort. The battle had saved Upper Texas from Union occupation until the end of the war and allowed East Texas to continue shipping cotton through the blockade and to act as the bread basket for all the Confederates fighting in Louisiana.



Within a short time, Lt. Dick Dowling was promoted to major in command of all Houston recruitment. But despite his great victory at Sabine Pass, the outcome of the great war had to be decided on the fields of Virginia. Each of the Davis Guards could only watch in horror and disgust as General Lee surrendered all Confederate forces at Appomattox Court House. But there was still another disaster which soon faced the Davis Guard soldiers. During the great yellow fever epidemic of 1867, which killed 3,000 people in Harris and Galveston counties, the beloved Dick Dowling and about half of his Sabine Pass veterans fell victim to the "yellowjack," after having survived the agonies of gunpowder and exploding shells at the battle at Sabine Pass.

However, the death of each of those men will never be in vain as long as there is a Sabine Pass, Texas, to remember them. Its citizens will always cherish the memories of those 47 valiant men, who stood so bravely in the face of death and against such astronomical odds to keep East Texas free of a Federal occupation army.

[SAMWolf]

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

---

Tribute to a Generation - The memorial will be dedicated on Saturday, May 29, 2004.

---

Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

---

[radu]

Good morning to all at the Foxhole!

To all our military men and women, past and present,
THANK YOU for serving the USA!

[snippy_about_it]

FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!



Good Wednesday Morning Everyone

If you would like added to our ping list let us know.

[snippy_about_it]

It looks like some time during the night the site (fotki) that we host our pictures on went down so we will see the dreaded red x until they bring the server back up. As of posting this they are still non-responsive.

:-(

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

O7A Optica

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Aeronaut, it looks like a giant bee!!

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning EGC. I'm going to load my windows update now and head for work.

[The Mayor]

That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" —John 21:7

Eyes of faith can see God at work.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning radu.

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning Mayor.

[stainlessbanner]

That helicopter has no prop!

[Aeronaut]

That helicopter has no prop!

It's a 'ducted fan." The propeller is inside that shroud behind the cabin.

[Valin]

On this Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on February 04:
1646 Hans A Freiherr von Abschatz Silesian poet
1688 Pierre De Marivaux Paris France, writer (Marianne)
1747 - Tadeusz Kosciusko, Poland, patriot, American Revolution hero (built West Point)
1778 Augustin P de Candolle Swiss botanist (Théorie élémentaire)
1819 Joshua Norton San Francisco CA, Norton I, emperor of USA
1826 Halbert Eleazer Paine Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1905
1841 Clément Ader French inventor (1st to fly a heavier-than-air craft)
1875 Ludwig Prandtl German Federal Republic, physicist (father of aerodynamics)
1881 Fernand Léger France, painter/ceramist/cubist (The City)
1888 Paul Althaus German theologist (The Christian Truth)
1893 Raymond Dart Australian paleoanthropologist (Australopithecus)
1902 Charles A Lindbergh Detroit MI, pilot (1st fly solo across Atlantic)
1904 MacKinlay Kantor Webster City IA, novelist (Andersonville)
1905 Eddie Foy Jr New Rochelle NY, actor (Eddie-Fair Exchange)
1906 Clyde William Tombaugh US, astronomer (discovered Pluto)

1906 Dietrich Bonhoeffer German theologist (Confessing Church)

1909 Robert Coote London, actor (Timmy-Rogues, Theodore-Nero Wolfe)
1912 Byron Nelson Fort Worth TX, PGA golfer (won 19 tournaments in 1945)
1913 Rosa Lee Parks civil rights activist (bus protester)
1913 Woody Hayes [Wayne], college football coach (Ohio, 1968 coach of year)
1914 Ida Lupino London England, actress (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Jennifer)
1915 William Talman Detroit MI, actor (Crashout, Hamilton-Perry Mason)
1917 Aga Yahya Khan Pakistan military/politician
1921 Betty Friedan Peoria IL, feminist writer (Feminine Mystique)
1923 Conrad Bain Alberta Canada, actor (Maude, Diff'rent Strokes)
1925 Russell Hoban US children's book author (Riddley Walker/Pilgermann)
1936 Gary Conway Boston MA, actor (Burke's Law, Land of the Giants)
1938 Donald W Riegle Jr (Senator-D-MI, 1976- )
1939 Jane Bryant Quinn newspaper & television reporter
1940 George A Romero actor/director (Creepshow, Martin, 2 Evil Eyes)
1944 Florence LaRue Gordon Pennsylvania, rocker (5th Dimension-One Less Bell)
1945 David Brenner Philadelphia PA, comedian/TV talk show host (Nightlife)
1947 Dan Quayle (Senator-R-IN)/(44th Vice-President-R 1989-93)
1948 Alice Cooper [Vincent Furnier], Detroit MI, rocker (School's Out)
1948 Rod Grams (Representative-R-MN)
1950 Pamela Franklin Tokyo Japan, actress (Satan's School for Girls)
1959 Lawrence Taylor [LT], NFL's greatest linebacker (New York Giants)
1959 Zenani Mandela daughter of Nelson & Winnie Mandela
1962 Clint Black Long Branch NJ, country vocalist (A Better Man)
1966 Marissa Laakso Boston MA, Miss Massachusetts-America (1990)
1969 Chastity Bono Los Angeles CA, daughter/actress (Sonny & Cher Show)
1973 Oscar De La Hoya Los Angeles CA, boxer (Olympics-gold-92)

---

Deaths which occurred on February 04:
0211 Lucius Septimus Severus emperor of Rome (193-211), dies at 64
0708 Sisinnius Greek-Syrian pope (708, 20 days), dies
1505 Joan of Valois Queen of France/saint, dies at 40
1746 Robert Blair Scottish poet (Grave), dies at 46
1815 Geert Reinders Dutch cattle breeder/inoculation proponent, dies at 77
1911 Peter A "Piet" Cronje South Africa Boer General, dies at about 75
1957 Joseph Hardaway creator of Bugs Bunny, dies at 66
1966 Gilbert H Grosvenor president National Geographic Society, dies at 90
1969 Thelma Ritter actress (All About Eve, Pillow Talk), dies at 63
1983 Karen Carpenter singer/drummer (Carpenters), dies of anorexia at 32
1987 Liberace pianist (Liberace Show, Evil Chandell-Batman), dies at 67
1989 Kenneth "Jethro" Burns country singer (Homer & Jethro), dies at 69
1992 John Dehner actor (Apache, Cowboy, Boys from Brazil), dies at 76

---

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 BOMAR JACK W.---FORT MADISON IA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1967 COLLAMORE ALLAN P. JR.---WORCHESTER MA.
1967 DAVIES JOHN O.---READING PA.
[02/18/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 DOBY HERB---OREGON CITY OR.
[09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV]
1967 FER JOHN---HELMUT CA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 POOR RUSSELL A.---WARSAW IN.
1967 THOMPSON DONALD E.---WELLSVILLE NY.
1967 WILBURN WOODROW H.---CORPUS CHRISTI TX.
[REMAINS RETURNED ID 01/03/90]
1968 BROOKENS NORMAN J.---FAYETTEVILLE PA.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG INJURED]
1968 O'CONNER MICHAEL F.---WARREN MI.
[03/05/73 RELEASED BY PRG, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1968 TALLAFERNO WILLIAM P.
[02/13/68 ESCAPED]
1968 UTECHT RICHARD W.---FAYETTEVILLE NC.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY PRG]
1970 WALTON WILBERT---FAYETTEVILLE NC.
[REMAINS IDENTIFIED 24 SEPT 92]
1972 COOPER DANIEL D.---MEDFORD OR.

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

---

On this day...
0708 Sisinnius ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1194 Richard I Lion Hearted pays Leopold O Fenrik VI's ransom of 100,000
1508 Maximilian I assumes imperial title without being crowned
1600 Tycho Brahe & Johannes Kepler meet for 1st time outside of Prague
1657 Oliver Cromwell grants residency to Luis Caravajal
1783 Worst quake in 8 years kills some 50,000 (Calabria, Italy)
1787 1st Anglican bishops of New York & Pennsylvania consecrated in London
1787 Shays' Rebellion (of debt-ridden Massachusetts farmers) fails
1789 1st electoral college chooses Washington & Adams as President & Vice President
1794 French National Convention proclaims abolishment of slavery
1797 Earthquake in Quito, Ecuador kills 40,000
1822 Free American Blacks settle Liberia, West Africa
1824 J W Goodrich introduces rubber galoshes to the public
1846 Mormons leave Nauvoo MO for settlement in the west
1847 1st US telegraph company established in Maryland
1849 University of Wisconsin begins in 1 room with 20 students
1854 Alvan Bovay proposes the name "Republican Party", Ripon WI
1855 Soldiers shoot Jewish families in Coro, Venezuela
1861 Confederate constitutional convention meets for 1st time, Montgomery AL, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi & South Carolina elect Jefferson Davis President of Confederacy
1864 Skirmish at Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi
1866 Mary Baker Eddy cures her injuries by opening a bible
1887 Interstate Commerce Act authorizes federal regulation of railroads
1895 1st rolling lift bridge opens, Chicago
1899 Revolt against US occupation of Philippines
1904 John Millington Synges "Well of Saints" premieres in Dublin
1913 Louis Perlman patents demountable auto tire-carrying wheel rim
1914 US Congress approves Burnett-anti-immigration law
1930 1st tieless, soundless, shockless streetcar tracks, New Orleans
1933 German President Von Hindenburg limits freedom of the press
1936 1st radioactive substance produced synthetically (radium E)
1938 Hitler seizes control of German army & puts Nazi in key posts
1938 "Our Town", by Thornton Wilder opens on Broadway
1941 United Service Organization (USO) founded
1942 Clinton Pierce becomes 1st US General wounded in action in WWII
1944 US 7th Infantry Division captures Kwajalein
1945 FDR, Churchill & Stalin meet at Yalta
1948 Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) gains independence from Britain (National Day)
1949 Failed assassination attempt on Shah of Persia
1952 1st black executive of a major TV station (Jackie Robinson-WNBC New York)
1956 AL plans to test automatic intentional walk during spring training
1957 1st electric portable typewriter placed on sale (Syracuse NY)
1958 Hall of Fame fails to elect anyone for 1st time since 1950
1959 Israel begins exporting copper ore
1962 Russian newspaper Izvestia reports baseball is an old Russian game
1964 24th Amendment abolishes Poll tax
1964 FAA begins 6 month test of reactions to sonic booms over Oklahoma City OK
1967 "Wild Thing" hits #20 on the pop singles chart by Senator Bobby
1968 Bowie Kuhn replaces William Eckert as 5th commissioner of baseball
1969 John Madden is named head coach of the NFL's Oakland Raiders
1969 Yassar Arafat takes over as chairman of PLO
1971 Apollo 14 lander Antares lands on Moon (Shepard & Mitchell)
1971 British car maker Rolls Royce declared itself bankrupt
1973 Reshef, Israel's missile boat, unveiled
1974 Patricia Hearst (19), daughter of publisher Randolph Hearst kidnapped by Symbionese Liberation Army
1974 Benzine rationing ends in Netherlands
1976 7.5 earthquake kills 22,778 in Guatemala & Honduras
1980 Bani Sadr sworn in as premier of Iran
1984 Frank Aquilera sets world frisbee distance record (168 meters) Las Vegas
1985 Naval exercises canceled when US refuses to tell New Zealand of nuclear weapons
1987 President Reagan's veto of Clean Water Act is overridden by Congress
1988 Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega indicted on drug charges
1990 10 Israeli tourists murdered near Cairo
1991 US postage raises from 25¢ to 29¢
1991 Hall of Fame's board of directors vote 12-0 to bar Pete Rose
1997 Secretary of State Margaret Albright announces she just discovered that her grandparents were Jewish
1998 Bill Gates gets a pie thrown in his face in Brussels Belgium

---

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Angola : Outbreak of Fighting Against Portuguese
Sri Lanka : Independence Day (1948)
US : Kosciuszko Day
US : Homemade Soup Day
US : Muffin Mania Week (Day 4)
Cat Health Month

---

Religious Observances
Anglican : Commemoration of Cornelius the Centurion
Feast of St Gilbert of Sempringham
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Andrew Corsini, bishop of Fiesole/confessor
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St John of Britto, Portuguese Jesuit

---

Religious History
1441 Pope Eugene IV published the encyclical "Cantante domino." It asserted that the biblical canon of the Roman Catholic Church contains both the 66 protocanonical books (i.e., the complete Protestant Bible) and 12 deuterocanonical (aka "apocryphal") books 78 writings in all.
1810 The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in Tennessee as an outgrowth of the Great Revival of 1800. Standing between Calvinism and Arminianism, the denomination holds a "medium theology" which affirms unlimited atonement, universal grace, conditional election, eternal security of the believer and salvation of all children dying in infancy.
1873 Birth of George Bennard, American Methodist evangelist. He penned over 300 Gospel songs during his lifetime, but is primarily remembered today for one: "The Old Rugged Cross."
1874 English poet and devotional writer Frances Ridley Havergal, 37, penned the words to the popular hymn of commitment, "Take My Life and Let It Be [Consecrated, Lord, to Thee]."
1950 American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot resolved in his journal: 'I may no longer depend on pleasant impulses to bring me before the Lord. I must rather respond to principles I know to be right, whether I feel them to be enjoyable or not.'

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

---

Thought for the day :
"Put your brain in gear before starting your mouth."

---

Question of the day...
Who really did "let the dogs out"?

---

Murphys Law of the day...(Dunn's Discovery)
The shortest measurable interval of time is the time between the moment one puts a little extra aside for a sudden emergency and the arrival of that emergency.

---

Amazing fact #761...
The yo-yo was introduced in 1929 by Donald F. Duncan. The toy was based on a weapon used by 16th-century Filipino hunters.

[snippy_about_it]

Murphys Law of the day...(Dunn's Discovery)
The shortest measurable interval of time is the time between the moment one puts a little extra aside for a sudden emergency and the arrival of that emergency.

Grrr, this is so true. Do you suppose if I stop getting ahead my problems will disappear?

[snippy_about_it]

That helicopter has no prop!

LOL. I knew it looked like something I'd seen before.

[snippy_about_it]

Of course, the result was a miraculous Confederate victory yielding two Union gunboats and three hundred and fifty prisoners.

The luck of the Irish!

Dick Dowling and about half of his Sabine Pass veterans fell victim to the "yellowjack," after having survived the agonies of gunpowder and exploding shells at the battle at Sabine Pass.

The luck of the Irish...

Good story Sam thanks. What an accomplishment at the battle and his life story, he did so much before his young life was snuffed out. It seems he really lived life to the fullest while he had it!