The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Colonel Joshua Chamberlain

Through Blood and Fire

At Gettysburg, Chamberlain and his men were called into action on the second day of the battle, July 2, 1863. The 20th Maine, among the regiments in Colonel Strong Vincent's 3rd Brigade, was positioned at the far left of the line on Little Round Top. In an effort to claim this ground and decimate the Union line, Confederate General John Bell Hood's brigades advanced up the rocky hill. A number of Union officers were killed in the midst of the fray, including Colonel Vincent. Chamberlain was now left in a desperate situation. Having been given an order by Vincent to hold the Union's ground at all costs and not to retreat, yet learning that his men's ammunition was virtually depleted, he had to make a quick decision. Chamberlain decided to counterattack and thus ordered a bayonet charge down the hill. The Union's position was saved.

Lieutenant Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the Army of the Potomac near Falmouth, Virginia, on the chill, wintry evening of December 7, 1862

In his account, "Through Blood and Fire at Gettysburg," published by Hearst's Magazine in 1913, Chamberlain recalls the bravery of the Fifth Army Corps which fought that day on Little Round Top. In the chapter "To the Rescue or All is Lost!", he recognizes and commends the following officers: Brigadier General Gouverneur K. Warren, Chief of Engineers; Colonel Vincent of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division; Brigadier General Romeyn B. Ayres of the 2nd Division; Brigadier General Stephen H. Weed and Colonel Patrick O'Rorke of the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division; and Lieutenant Charles E. Hazlett of the 5th U.S. Battery D, Artillery Brigade. Chamberlain would receive the Congressional Medal of Honor many years after the war ended for his "daring heroism" on Little Round Top and for "carrying the advance position on the Great Round Top."

Chamberlain at Fredericksburg, Va.,
Dec. 13, 1862

Not long after the Union's victory at Gettysburg, Chamberlain was given command of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, Fifth Corps, and participated in the Culpepper and Centreville campaign in October. By now, after having undergone his baptism of fire and many trials with the 20th, Chamberlain had earned the respect and loyalty of his men. The soldiers admired his skill and bravery, and appreciated his acts of kindness and courtesy towards them. The attention he paid to the sick or wounded in his command, and the time and care he took in sending home the personal effects of those who died would long be remembered. Moreover, the men saw in him a humble man, as Chamberlain often chose to endure the same conditions as them, sleeping on the ground in the harshest of climates. But this practice was sometimes hazardous for the colonel. After a bivouac beside the Rappahannock in early November, having slept all night in the snow, Chamberlain suffered from pneumonia and a severe recurrence of malarial fever. He was sent to Georgetown in Washington, D.C. where he remained for treatment until spring.

Chamberlain at Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862

In early May 1864, Chamberlain returned to command his brigade during the Battle of Spotsylvania, but did not see action until the 20th's engagement at Pole Cat Creek at the end of the month. On June 2nd and 3rd, he and the 20th Maine fought at Bethesda Church, not far from Cold Harbor. As in other engagements Chamberlain threw himself into the thick of the battle, executing commands with a cool head and great composure but showing little regard for his own personal safety. This would be the last time he would lead the 20th, as General Warren reorganized the Fifth Corps. In a few days, Chamberlain would be appointed commander of the 1st Division's new 1st Brigade of Pennsylvania regiments.

Kershaw's Brigade at Fredericksburg
December 13, 1862

By mid-June, the Union army was in Petersburg, one of the key cities of the Confederacy. Chamberlain's 1st Brigade fought valiantly at Rives' Salient on June 18, 1864. At one point, he bore the flag after the color bearer was killed at his side, until he too was shot by a minié ball. Though the wound was severe, Chamberlain maintained his composure until every one of his men had passed from view. Even in his grave condition he refused preferential treatment, insisting that others with far more serious wounds be tended to first.

A HARD DAY FOR MOTHER
Joshua Chamberlain and his brothers react to a near miss by a bullet which almost caused "A Hard Day for Mother."

The belief that Chamberlain's wound was mortal led to his swift promotion to Brigadier General by General Ulysses Grant, in what is said to have been the only instance of a promotion on the battlefield given by Grant. Chamberlain was admitted into the Naval Academy hospital at Annapolis with little hope for his survival, but as his will to live was strong, he would not remain hospitalized for very long. By November he again reported for duty, despite the fact that he could not yet ride a horse or walk a great distance.

Chamberlain was now placed in command of a new 1st Brigade, 1st Division, comprised of two large regiments from Pennsylvania and New York. However, not yet fully recovered, he was hospitalized again in early December, this time in Philadelphia, after participating in a raid on Weldon Railroad. Following a month's sick leave, without his doctors' knowledge Chamberlain returned to service. But he did not see action until General Grant's final campaign.

On March 29, 1865, Chamberlain and his 1st Brigade headed up Quaker Road and engaged in a hot fight in which they employed their bayonets. Again wounded while having one of many horses shot under him during the war, Chamberlain was nearly taken prisoner but eluded his captors by posing as a Confederate officer. Despite his injury in this battle, Chamberlain remained in command. He ordered his men to capture enemy breastworks and drive the Confederates from their position, thus opening a path to the Boydton Plank and White Oak Roads. By exhibiting exceptional leadership and organizational skills, Chamberlain had attained that coveted lodgment on the White Oak Road. For this accomplishment, he would be breveted Major General by President Lincoln.

The Battle of Five Forks commenced on April 1, 1865, and would culminate in a significant Union victory. On the first day of the battle, Chamberlain's brigade captured more than 1000 soldiers, including 19 officers, and five battle flags. The second day found the 1st Brigade advancing on the South Side Railroad. Here they pushed back the enemy's cavalry and captured a train in addition to many prisoners. Then onward they marched to Appomattox Court House to assist General Philip Sheridan's cavalry.

By now, the Confederate army had been severely weakened, with the number of its troops and supplies rapidly dwindling. Finally, the next day, April 9, General Robert E. Lee called a truce to halt the four-year bloodshed between the two armies.

A Final Salute

Chamberlain felt deeply touched when he learned that he was selected to receive the formal surrender of arms and colors of Lee's army. At his request, he was reunited with the 20th Maine and members of the 3rd Brigade, whom he modestly believed should be the real recipients of this honor. On April 12, Confederate General John B. Gordon and his soldiers were met by Chamberlain and the Fifth Corps at Appomattox. Upon their arrival, the Confederates were astonished to be honorably welcomed by the marching salute. This gracious reception prompted Gordon and his soldiers to salute Chamberlain and his men in return. In his speeches and memoirs, Gordon would always remember Chamberlain as "one of the knightliest soldiers of the Federal Army." Chamberlain too often reminisced on this profound event with the greatest respect for Gordon and his men. In his book, The Passing of the Armies: The Last Campaign of the Armies, published in 1915 after his death, he recalls the noble spirit of the Confederate troops and their gallant and bittersweet surrender in his Chapter 6, "Appomattox."

Photo of Joshua Chamberlain after he became President of Bowdoin College.

The war had ended, and the Union Army of the Potomac held a grand review on May 23 in Washington, D.C. Chamberlain would never forget that moment of glory, nor the great deeds of the many soldiers who had fought or died for their country. Reflecting on this last parade, he pays a tribute to all members of the corps of the Army of the Potomac in Chapter 9, "The Last Review," of Armies. With sentimentality, he addresses the survivors of the war when he writes:

Sit down again together, Army of the Potomac! all that are left of us—on the banks of the river whose name we bore, into which we have put new meaning of our own. Take strength from one more touch, ere we pass afar from the closeness of old. The old is young to-day; and the young is passed. Survivors of the fittest,—for the fittest, it seems to us, abide in the glory where we saw them last,—take the grasp of hands, and look into the eyes, without words! Who shall tell what is past and what survives? For there are things born but lately in the years, which belong to the eternities.

[Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, The Passing of the Armies: the Last Campaign of the Armies (Pennsylvania: Stan Clark Military Books, 1994), p. 363.]

Govenor Chamberlain

Chamberlain's last days in the army are related in Chapter 11, "The Disbandment," of Armies. In his eloquent conclusion, he remarks on the final orders from the Army of the Potomac, expressing his interpretation of the command from a philosophical and religious viewpoint.

Now that the war had officially ended, Chamberlain would return once more to life as a civilian, often giving speeches about the war. But nothing would ever be the same again.

Life After the War After having lived through all the drama and excitement of the battlefield, Chamberlain would now find a professor's occupation at Bowdoin tame and uninspiring. Despite receiving an honorary doctor of law degree from Pennsylvania College in 1866, and later from Bowdoin in 1869, a restlessness prevailed within him.

The new statue of Joshua L. Chamberlain by Joseph Query, located in the park between Bowdoin College and the Chamberlain Museum, Brunswick, Maine.

Chamberlain decided to pursue a political career, and in September 1866 was elected governor of Maine by the largest majority in the state's history. He would serve four terms in all, concluding his last term at the end of 1870. As governor, he felt it was his duty to carry out the law and therefore addressed and enforced such controversial measures as capital punishment which brought about a bit of unrest to a governorship otherwise regarded as being an "era of good feeling."

In 1871, Chamberlain was elected president of Bowdoin by the trustees of the college. His presidency, which would conclude in 1883, found him introducing progressive and occasionally unpopular ideas to the conservative institution. He endorsed studies in science and engineering, which were relatively unheard of at the time, and also had students participate in military drills in preparation for the possibility of war.

While president at Bowdoin, Chamberlain received additional appointments in both education and government which occupied his time off campus. In 1878, he was named U.S. Commissioner of Education to the Paris Universal Exposition. For this event, he, his wife Fanny, and their now grown children embarked on a five-month stay in Europe. Chamberlain would be awarded a medal by the French government for his services in Paris. In 1880, as the appointed military commander of the state, he was called to step in to oversee the state's election crisis. A dispute erupted into an assassination plot against Chamberlain which he confronted and diffused. It had not been since the war that he had to face such adversity.

The later years of Chamberlain's career found him pursuing business ventures; serving as U.S. Surveyor of Customs at the Port of Portland, Maine; and writing about his wartime experiences. He would survive Fanny who died in 1905; then he passed away on February 24, 1914 at the age of 86, having died of the war wound he received so long ago in Petersburg.

Chamberlain, circa 1905. Image courtesy of the National Archives.

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain would be buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Brunswick, Maine, but the memory of this gallant soldier and citizen would live on in his words, memoirs of fellow soldiers and friends, and in the works of historians. His own detailed accounts of the battles in which he participated, and his powerful passages filled with his soulful spirit, will long be remembered and cherished in the hearts and minds of readers throughout the ages.

In great deeds something abides. On great fields something stays. Forms change and pass; bodies disappear; but spirits linger, to consecrate ground for the vision-place of souls. And reverent men and women from afar, and generations that know us not and that we know not of, heart-drawn to see where and by whom great things were suffered and done for them, shall come to this deathless field, to ponder and dream; and lo! the shadow of a mighty presence shall wrap them in its bosom, and the power of the vision pass into their souls.

Additional Sources:

www.state.me.us
users.ids.net/~tandem
brucebouley15.tripod.com
www.framery.com
www.me.ngb.army.mil
www.pf-militarygallery.com
www.nps.gov
www.dixieprints.com
www.americanmastersgallery.com
www.mortkunstler.com
www.civil-war-tribute.com
www.joshua.lurker00.com
www.bairnet.org

On his modest gravestone in a little cemetery behind Bowdoin College, sits a small stone with the quote penned upon it "Honor Abides Here". Scores of people, each day, come here to pay homage to this true "hero" of our "Civil War".

At twilight on July 1, 1863, Colonel Joshua L. Chamberlain and the troops of the 20th Maine set out on a forced all-night march down dusty Pennsylvania lanes. Their destination was the crossroads community of Gettysburg, where the greatest battle of the American Civil War was underway. It would not be their first combat - they had weathered the blaze of battle in bloody contests like Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville - but Gettysburg would be different.

At Gettysburg, glory awaited them.

Joshua Chamberlain, an unlikely hero, a college professor rather than a trained soldier, turned out to be a hero at Gettysburg as at Fredricksburg and later at Petersburg. His address to those gathered at Gettysburg in 1889 for the dedication of the 20th Maine Monument is extracted below. The words give you some insight into his character:

"A quarter of a century ago on this rugged crest you were doing what you deemed your duty, Today you come with modest mein, with care more for truth than for praise, to retrace and record the simple facts - the outward form - of your movements and actions. But far more than this entered into your thought and motive, and far greater was the result of the action taken than any statistical description of it could import.

Battle on Little Round Top

You were making history, the world has recorded for you more than you have written. The centuries to come will share and recognize the victory won here, with growing gratitude. The country has acknowledged your service. Your State is proud of it. This well earned and unsought fame has moved you already to acknowledge your deserts. Your own loyal and loving zeal for justice has indeed anticipated the State's recognition. At your own cost you set your monument here to mark the ground where faithful service and devotion wrought a result so momentous.

Today your historians have recalled the facts. On that line which has been so patiently and candidly investigated and as far as possible freed from doubt and unclearness, your admirable record leaves little to be desired. But as this is a suitable, if not final, opportunity for accurate and complete statement of these facts, I may be indulged in a remark or two germane to this matter, which recent visits and this occasion itself suggests.

"Hero of Little Round Top"
Col. Joshua Chamberlain July 1, 1863

I am certain that the position of this monument is quite to the left of the center of our regimental line when the final charge was ordered. Our original left did not extend quite to the great rock which now supports this memorial of honor. When we charged front with our left wing and extended it by the flank and rear, the color was brought to mark the new center, which was to become the salient of our formation; and it was placed, I was sorry to do it, on the smooth and open slope, and in a position completely exposed. Beyond this the left was refused and extended in a single rank, When the charge was made I was beside the color bearer, and I know well that we struck the enemy where their line was open to view, and the ground comparatively unobstructed. The color advanced in the direction of the proper front of the right wing, and passed the rock altogether to our left. I am not at all criticising the judgement of our comrades who selected the great boulder for the base of the monument.

It was entirely fitting to mark it with that honor, as it became so conspicious an object during the terrible struggle, the center and pivot of the whirlpool that raged around...

Col. Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine on Little Round Top defending the left of the Union line against the attack of Col. William Oates and the 15th Alabama.

Words elsewhere spoken by me today in our State's behalf strive to express the motive and purpose of this great struggle, and the character and consequences of the victory vouchsafed us. It is there I speak of country; here it needs only that I speak of you, and the ground made glorious by you and yours.

The lesson impressed on me as I stand here and my heart and mind traverse your faces, and the years that are gone, is that in a great, momentous struggle like this commemorated here, it is character that tells. I do not mean simply nor chiefly bravery. Many a man has that, who may become surprised or disconcerted at a sudden change in the posture of affairs. What I mean by character is a firm and seasoned substance of soul. I mean such qualities or acquirements as intelligence, thoughtfulness, conscientiousness, right-mindedness, patience, fortitude, long-suffering and unconquerable resolve.

The painting captures the moment, late in the afternoon of July 2, 1863, when Joshua L. Chamberlain led his famous bayonet charge.

I could see all this on your faces when you were coming into position here for the desperate encounter; man by man, file by file, on the right into the line. I knew that you all knew what was staked on your endurance and heroism. Some of you heard Vincent say to me, with such earnest and prophetic eyes, pointing to the right of our position and the front of the oncoming attack, "You understand, Colonel, this ground must be held at all costs!" I did understand; with a heavy weight on my mind and spirit. You understood: and it was done. Held, and at what cost! Held, and for what effect!

There is no need that I should recount to the friends who stand around us here, what would have happened had this little line - this thin, keen edge of Damascus steel been broken down from its guard. All can see what would have become of our Brigade; swallowed up, of Weed's struck in the rear; of Hazlett's guns, taken in the flank and turned to launch their thunderbolts upon our troops, already sore pressed in the gorge at our feet, and the fields upon the great front and right. Round Top lost - the day lost Gettysburg lost - who can tell or dream what for loss thence would follow!

Chamberlain commissioned to have this bracelet made it 1865. The bracelet lists the names of 24 battles in which Chamberlain participated

I do not know whether any friends who stand here on this calm and sunny day, comprehend how the weight of such responsibility presses upon the spirit. We were young then. We do not count ourselves old yet; and these things were done more than twenty-six years ago. We believe we could do them now; but we wonder how we could have done them. Doubtless the spring and elasticity of youth helped us to bear the burden and recover from the shock. But something more than youthful ardor and dash was demanded for such a test. And that was yours. In thought, in habit, in experience, in discipline, you were veterans. It was a matter, as I have said, of character. it was the soul of youth suddenly springing into the flush and flower of manhood. It was the force of the characters you had formed in the silent and peaceful years by the mother's knee and by the father's side, which you stood in such stead in the day of trial. And so it is.

Chamberlain received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1893 for his efforts at Gettysburg.

We know not of the future, and cannot plan for it much. But we can hold our spirits and our bodies so pure and high, we may cherish such thoughts and such ideals, and dream such dreams of lofty purpose, that we can determine and know what manner of men we will be whenever and wherever the hour strikes, that calls to noble action, this predestination God has given us in charge. No man becomes suddenly different from his habit and cherished thought. We carry our accustomed manners with us. And it was the boyhood you brought from your homes which made you men; which braced your hearts, which shone upon your foreheads, which held you steadfast in mind and body, and lifted these heights of Gettysburg to immortal glory."

The inscription on the back of the medal reads: The Congress to
Bvt. Maj. Gen.
Joshua L. Chamberlain
U.S. Vols.
Gettysburg
July 2, 1863

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.

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

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

Thanks to CholeraJoe for providing this link.

Iraq Homecoming Tips

~ Thanks to our Veterans still serving, at home and abroad. ~ Freepmail to Ragtime Cowgirl | 2/09/04 | FRiend in the USAF

PDN members and fans. We hope you will consider this simple act of patriotism worth passing on or taking up as a project in your own back yard. In summary:

Who They Are: Operation: Stitches Of Love was started by the Mothers of two United States Marines stationed in Iraq.

What They Are Doing: We are gathering 12.5"x12.5" quilt squares from across the country and assembling the largest quilt ever produced. When completed we will take the quilt from state to state and gather even more squares.

Why They Are Doing This: We are building this quilt to rally support for the Coalition Forces in Iraq and to show the service members that they are not forgotten. We want the world to know Nothing will ever break the stitches that bind us together as a country.

Ideas to start a local project:

Obtain enough Red, White and Blue material (cloth) for a 12.5 x 12.5 quilt square.
If you have someone in your family that sews, make it a weekend project and invite neighbors to join you.

Consider this tribute as a project for your civic group, scouts, church or townhall group.

Locate an elementary school with an after school program in your neighborhood or locate an after school program in your neighborhood not attached to a school and ask if you could volunteer one or two afternoons and create some squares with the kids.

Invite some VFW posts to share your project in honor of their post.

Send us webmaster@patriotwatch.com for digital photos of in progress and finished project for various websites, OIFII.com and the media.

PDN is making this appeal in support of Operation: Stitches Of Love
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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004

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

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on May 17:
1444 Sandro Botticelli Italian painter (Birth of Venus)
1741 John Penn US attorney (signed Declaration of Independence)
1749 Edward Jenner England, physician, discovered vaccination
1768 Caroline Brunswick, Queen Consort of King George IV
1812 Joseph Warren Revere Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1880
1836 Joseph Norman Lockyer discovered Helium/founded Nature magazine
1846 Edmund Bishop English secretary of Thomas Carlyle
1850 Antonio Scontrino composer
1867 Gerrit Mannoury Dutch mathematician/philosopher
1878 Conway Tearle US actor (Klondike Annie, Should Ladies Behave?)
1886 Alfonso XIII Borbón King of Spain (1902-31)
1900 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Iran's spiritual leader (1979-89)
1908 Zinka Milanov Zagreb Yugoslavia, soprano (Ljublama Opera 1927)
1911 Maureen O'Sullivan Boyle Ireland, actress (Tarzan, Pride & Prejudice, The Quiet)
1912 Archibald Cox 1st Watergate special prosecutor
1923 Peter Mennin[i] Erie PA, composer (Moby Dick)
1931 Dewey Redman jazz musician
1934 Earl Morrall NFL QB (Lions, Giants, Colts)
1936 Dennis Hopper Dodge City KS, actor (The Shining, Blue Velvet, Easy Rider)
1941 Malcom Hale trumpeter
1942 Taj Mahal New York NY, singer/songwriter (The Real Thing)
1945 D A S Pennefather Major-General/Commandant (General Royal Marines)
1953 Kathleen Sullivan Pasadena CA, newscaster (ABC-TV, CBS Morning Show)
1956 "Sugar" Ray [Charles] Leonard Palmer Park MD, welter/middle/light-heavyweight boxing champion (Olympics-gold-76)
1963 Brigitte Nielsen actress (Red Sonja, Rocky IV, Domino)
1974 Marcia Turner Cambridge MA, Miss America 1976 Peter Devine New York NY, fencer-foil (Olympics-96)

Deaths which occurred on May 17:
1050 Guido van Arezzo Italian music theorist, dies
1510 Sandro Botticelli [Alessandro di Mariano del Filpepi] painter (Birth of Venus), dies at about 65
1575 Matthew Parker archbishop of Canterbury (1559-75), dies at 68
1606 Forges Dimitri czar of Russia (1605-06), murdered
1727 Catherine I Empress of Russia (1725-27), dies
1729 Samuel Clarke theologian, dies
1838 Charles-Maurice duke of Talleyrand-Périgord French bishop, dies at 84
1930 Herbert David Croly US founder (New Republic), dies at 61
1964 Otto V Kuusinen President of Karelo-Finnish Soviet Republic (1940-56), dies 82
1969 Joseph Beran Czechoslovakia, archbishop of Prague/cardinal, dies at 80
1981 Jeannette Ridlon Piccard 1st US woman free balloon pilot, dies
1985 Bobby Ewing (Patrick Duffy) killed off on Dallas
1992 George Hurrell Hollywood photographer, dies of cancer at 87
1992 Lawrence Welk conductor/accordionist (Lawrence Welk Show), dies at 89
1992 Leonardo del Ferro [Keyser] US epic tenor, dies

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 DEERE DONALD T.---SNYDER TX.
1967 DODGE RONALD WAYNE---SAN DIEGO CA.
[PHOTO SEEN IN PARIS PAPER, REMAINS RETURNED 07/08/81]
1967 LEWIS CHARLIE G.---FAYETTEVILLE NC.
1968 YOUNG CHARLES L.---NEW YORK NY.
1969 STEWART VIRGIL G.---BATON ROUGE LA.
1970 WESTWOOD NORMAN P. JR.---WEST HARTFORD CT.
1971 PEARCE DALE A.---MENTOR OH.
1971 SOYLAND DAVID P.---RAPID CITY SD.

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

On this day...
0218 7th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet
0352 Liberius begins his reign as Catholic Pope replacing Julius I
0884 St Adrian III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
1527 Pánfilo de Narvaéz departs to explore Florida
1536 Anne Boleyn's 4 "lovers" executed
1544 Scottish Earl Matthew van Lennox signs secret treaty with Henry VIII
1579 Artois/Henegouwen/French-Flanders sign Treaty/Peace of Parma recognizing Spanish duke van Parma as land guardian
1620 1st merry-go-round seen at a fair (Philippapolis, Turkey)
1630 Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi, 1st to see 2 belts on Jupiter surface
1631 Earl Johann Tilly attacks Maagdenburg
1648 Emperor Ferdinand III defeats Maximilian I of Bavaria
1672 Frontenac becomes Governor of New France (Canada)
1673 Louis Joliet & Jacques Marquette begin exploring Mississippi
1733 England passes Molasses Act, putting high tariffs on rum & molasses imported to the colonies from a country other than British possessions
1742 Frederick great (Emperor of Prussia) beats Austrians
1756 Britain declares war on France (7 Years' or French & Indian War)
1787 English slave ship Sisters, from Africa to Cuba, capsizes
1792 24 merchants form New York Stock Exchange at 70 Wall Street
1803 John Hawkins & Richard French patent the Reaping Machine
1804 Lewis & Clark begin exploration of the Louisiana Purchase
1809 Papal States annexed by France
1814 Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden (National Day)
1814 Norwegian constitution passed by constituent assembly at Eidsvoll
1845 Rubber band patents
1846 Saxophone is patents by Antoine Joseph Sax
1862 Battle of Princeton WV, ends, about 128 casualities
1863 Battle of Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi
1864 Battle of Adairsville GA, Union forces Confederates to retreat
1872 Bohemian Club incorporated
1875 1st Kentucky Derby: Oliver Lewis aboard Aristides wins in 2:37.75
1876 7th US Cavalry under Custer leaves Fort Lincoln
1877 Edwin T Holmes installs 1st telephone switchboard burglar alarm
1881 7th Kentucky Derby: Jim McLaughlin aboard Hindoo wins in 2:40
1881 Frederick Douglass appointed recorder of deeds for Washington DC
1881 Revised version of New Testament
1883 Buffalo Bill Cody's 1st wild west show premieres in Omaha
1884 Alaska becomes a US territory
1890 Comic Cuts, 1st weekly comic paper, published in London
1904 Maurice Ravel's "Shéhérazade" premieres in Paris France
1909 White firemen on Georgia RR strike to protest hiring blacks
1915 Cubs George "Zip" Zabel relieves with 2 outs in 1st & winds up with 4-3 19-inning win over Brooklyn in longest relief job ever
1915 National Baptist Convention chartered
1916 British Summer Time (Daylight Savings), 1st introduced
1920 1st De Havilland double-decker flight (London) lands in Schiphol
1920 1st flight by Dutch airlines KLM (Koninklijke-Luchtvaart-Maatschappij)
1923 Fire during closing day ceremonies at Grover Cleveland School (South Carolina)
1924 50th Kentucky Derby: John Mooney aboard Black Gold wins in 2:05.2
1925 Cleveland Indian Tris Speaker gets his 3,000th hit
1926 Chiang Kai-shek is made supreme war lord in Canton
1930 56th Kentucky Derby: Earl Sande aboard Gallant Fox wins in 2:07.6
1932 Congress changes the name "Porto Rico" to "Puerto Rico"
1938 Congress approves Vinson Naval Act, which funds a two-ocean navy
1938 Radio quiz show "Information Please!" debuts on NBC Blue Network
1939 1st sports telecast-Columbia vs Princeton-college baseball
1940 Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium & begins invasion of France
1942 Dutch SS vows loyalty to Hitler
1944 Allied air raid on Surabaja, Java
1944 Chinese/US arm forces take Myitkyina Airport, Burma
1944 General Eisenhower sets D-Day for June 5th
1945 2 US P-47 Thunderbolts bomb Kiushu
1946 KVP Labor/Communists win 1st post-WW2 Dutch parliamentary elections
1946 President Truman seizes control of nation's railroads to delay a strike
1948 Israel liberates Acre, Nebi Yusha & Telel-Kadi
1948 Soviet Union recognized Israel
1949 British government recognizes Republic of Ireland
1953 Yanks & Browns use record 41 players in a game
1954 Supreme Court unanimously rules on Brown v Topeka Board of Education reversed 1896 "separate but equal" Plessy Vs Ferguson decision
1957 Prayer Pilgrimage, biggest civil rights demonstration to date (District of Columbia)
1958 Emergency crisis proclaimed in Algeria
1959 Sam Snead sets PGA record for 36 holes at 122
1960 1st atomic reactor system to be patented, JW Flora, Canoga Park CA
1961 Castro offers to exchange Bay of Pigs prisoners for 500 bulldozers
1963 Bruno Sammartino beats Buddy Rogers in New York, to become WWF champion
1967 Dylan's 1965 UK Tour is released as the film "Don't Look Back"
1969 Baltimore, Cleveland & Pittsburgh agree to go from NFC to the AFC in the NFL
1970 Hank Aaron becomes 9th player to get 3,000 hits
1970 Thor Heyerdahl crosses the Atlantic on reed raft Ra
1971 Stephen Schwartz' musical "Godspell" premieres off-Broadway
1971 Washington State bans sex discrimination
1973 Senate Watergate Committee begins its hearings
1973 Stevie Wonder releases "You are the Sunshine of my Life"
1975 NBC paid $5 million for rights to show "Gone with the Wind" one time
1977 Menahem Begins Likoed-party wins election in Israel
1978 Lee Lacy hits record 3rd consecutive pinch-hit homerun
1979 -12ºF (-11ºC), on top of Mauna Kea HI (state record)
1980 Major race riot in Miami FL - 16 killed, 300 injured
1983 Israel & Lebanon sign a peace treaty
1985 Les Anderson, catches record 97 lb 4 oz Chinook Salmon, off Alaska
1987 USS Stark hit by Iraqi missiles, 37 sailors die
1991 Lupita Jones, 23, of México, crowned 40th Miss Universe
1992 Expos Gary Carter is 3rd to catch 2,000 games (joins Boone & Fisk)
1993 Intel's new Pentium processor is unveiled
2000 Prosecutors in Birmingham, Ala., charged two longtime suspects in the deaths of four little girls in a church bombing in 1963 that became a watershed event in the civil rights movement.

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

Cuba : Agrarian Reform/Peasant Day
Norway : Independence Day/Constitution Day (1814)
US : Armed Forces Day (Saturday)
World Telecommunications Day
National Hospital Week ends
International Pickle Week (Day 2)
Cold Feet Monday
National Tavern Month

Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Dunstan, archbp of Canterbury, patron of jewelers
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Paschal Baylon, lay brother
Feast of St. John Nepomucenus.
St. Madron Feast Day

Religious History
352 Liberius was elected 36th pope of the Early Church. During this time the dispute between Arius and Athanasius was at its height, and after vacillating earlier, Liberius vindicated himself as a champion of Nicene orthodoxy.
1291 Scottish medieval Franciscan philosopher John Duns Scotus, 25, was ordained. He believed in "divine will" rather than "divine intellect," and founded a scholastic system called Scotism. In the Catholic Church he is known as "the Subtle Doctor."
1844 Birth of Julius Wellhausen, the German biblical scholar who, in his 1878 "History of Israel," first advanced the JEDP Hypothesis, claiming that the Pentateuch (i.e., the first five O.T. books) was a compilation of four earlier, literary sources.
1881 The Revised Version (EV or ERV) of the New Testament was first published in England. The Old Testament was completed in 1885. In 1905 the American Standard Version (ASV) ÀÀ based on the textual foundation of the ERV ÀÀ was published in the U.S.
1947 The Conservative Baptist Association of America (CBAA) was formally established at Atlantic City, NJ, as a breakaway movement from within the American Baptist Convention.

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

Thought for the day :
"The reason people blame things on previous generations? There's only one other choice!"

Actual Newspaper Headlines...
Enfields Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide

Why did the Chicken cross the Road...
Louis Farrakkan:
It wasn't one chicken, you lying white devils! It was TEN MILLION chickens!

Fun things to do when driving...
Look behind you frequently, with a very paranoid look.

What The Company Really Means...
"SEEKING CANDIDATES WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF EXPERIENCE:"
You'll need it to replace three people who just left.

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