The FReeper Foxhole Profiles The Irish Desert Fox - March 19th, 2005

Civil War Times Magazine | Thomas P. Lowry

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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 Irish Desert Fox



He turned terrified villagers into crack troops and mules into walking bombs. Paddy Graydon was the Union's secret weapon in New Mexico.

The Civil War was a study in contrasts -- Northerner and Southerner, slave and free, West Point professional and homespun volunteer. The contrast extended even to geography. The conflict was played out on battlegrounds as different as the forested hills and valleys of Virginia, the Mississippi River's mud flats, and the arid deserts of the Southwest. Some soldiers, transplanted from the familiar vistas of home, found their new environments more hostile than any human enemy. Others thrived in the unfamiliar climes and made the most of the opportunities they found there. Among these latter, more adaptable souls stood Union Captain James "Paddy" Graydon, an Irish immigrant who made the desert Southwest his home and became the proverbial burr under the saddle to a Confederate general and would-be conqueror.

Graydon was an unlikely desert-dweller. Having fled the green shores of Ireland because of the devastating Potato Famine, he arrived in Baltimore in 1853. Four months later, he enlisted in the 1st U.S. Dragoons. After brief training at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, Graydon traveled west and joined his unit at Los Lunas, some 20 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico Territory.



The boundless vistas of the Southwest, dotted with the bleached bones of horses, mules, and men, must have been a shock to the young Irishman's system. Nevertheless, the famine had prepared Graydon for suffering and cruelty, and his new commander easily made up for any misery that his life lacked.

Captain Richard S. Ewell, who would later achieve fame as a Confederate general, commanded Company G of the 1st Dra-goons. Ewell was such an iron disciplinarian that even frontier veterans were taken aback by his methods. Graydon's first nine months of duty included eight full months in the field, chasing the elusive Apache from the freezing heights of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the burning Sonora desert along the Mexican border. The next year, campaigning took his company east to the Pecos River, where deep snows and the Mescalero Apaches, highly competent warriors, took a heavy toll on Graydon's company. The Irishman learned not only to follow orders during these journeys, but also to speak fluent Spanish and to hate Indians.



From 1854 to 1856, Graydon was posted at Forts Thorn, Craig, and Union, usually in pursuit of the Mescalero. As a newly promoted corporal in September 1856, he followed his new commander, Major Enoch Steen, into the area around Tucson. There, in the recently acquired Gadsden Purchase (an area in what is now southern New Mexico and Arizona, purchased from Mexico in 1853), the settlers were beset by Indian raiders, Mexican horse thieves, and renegade American opportunists seeking gold and silver.

Duty at Fort Buchanan, 60 miles south of Tucson, was grim, and two years of pursuing the Chiracahua Apaches through the surrounding mountains -- for low wages -- grew tiresome. In 1858, Graydon received an honorable discharge and soon opened the United States Boundary Hotel, three miles from his former duty station. He was 26 years old.

Graydon's saloon attracted the toughest gamblers, prostitutes, filibusters, and gunslingers in the territory. He soon grew wealthy from his hotel and also thrived as a farmer, guide, interpreter, and horse-thief–catcher.

With the coming of the Civil War in 1861, the 1st Dragoons abandoned southern Arizona -- and Graydon -- to the Confederates. Graydon took action immediately. Drawing on his military experience, he led a wagon train with 70 fellow Union sympathizers through Apache ambushes to the comparative safety of the Rio Grande Valley. Then he hurried to Santa Fe, where Colonel Edward R.S. Canby, commander of Union forces in New Mexico, commissioned him as a captain in the newly organized New Mexico Volunteers. Graydon insisted on an independent command and received permission to raise a company for scouting duties. In October 1861, at the village of Lemitar, just north of present-day Socorro, he recruited 84 native Nuevo Mexicanos, who enlisted for 40 cents a day and provided their own horses and equipment.



The independent nature of Graydon's command was apparent in the unit's mustering-in ceremony. Graydon had prepared a blue silk battle flag, emblazoned with a cross. Each new applicant fell to his knees before the banner, swore by "Jesús Cristo y…Santa Maria" to support the Union in general and Paddy Graydon in particular, and then kissed the banner. This ritual completed, the recruit was a member of Paddy Graydon's Spy Company. The isolated hamlet of Lemitar seemed far away from combat, but Graydon and the other Union forces in New Mexico would soon have plenty of Confederate invaders in their back yard.



In the summer of 1861, a scouting party under Confederate Lieutenant Colonel John Robert Baylor entered New Mexico's Mesilla Valley from Texas. After brushing aside Federal resistance at Mesilla on July 25, Baylor took Fort Fillmore and captured 11 Union companies, including a company of New Mexico Volunteers. The war was on.

Graydon's scouts soon proved their worth, patrolling the roads along the Rio Grande and the so-called Jornado del Muerto (Journey of Death) -- a long waterless stretch between the Rio and the San Andres mountains. In late December 1861, Graydon and his men rode to the outskirts of El Paso, Texas, and returned with a full report on Confederate forces at Fort Bliss and Mesilla.

Eight years of Indian-fighting and service under Ewell had made Graydon a tough, even ruthless, disciplinarian. Company rosters rarely indicated the loss of a single soldier, but there were deaths and desertions, as in any unit. Whenever Graydon's first sergeant reported that a man had departed, Graydon made good the loss by riding up to the first male Nuevo Mexicano villager he saw that morning and saying in Spanish, "Juan Chacón [or the latest deserter's name], you useless deserter, get back on your horse. I ought to shoot you." The poor fellow would drop his hoe and say something like, "No, señor, yo soy Jesús Garcia, y no estoy soldado." Graydon paid no attention: "Sergeant, I'll forgive Juan this time. Give him a uniform and his horse and see that he does not desert again." Graydon's impromptu draft kept his company's numbers at a constant level.



Captured deserters received equally abrupt treatment. Graydon assigned one detail to hunt down the deserter and another to dig a grave, while he presided over the court-martial and pronounced the death sentence. In late January, when the first three-month enlistment for Graydon's troops expired, only 20 percent of his men reenlisted. The mustering-out officer made the following comments regarding the condition of the men and their equipment, making it clear that service with Captain Graydon was a no-frills affair:

Discipline: Good; Instruction: Good;
Military appearance: Good.
Arms: Bad;
Accoutrements: Bad;
Clothing: Bad.

But Graydon did more than exhaust his men and wear out his equipment. He also had a particular knack for harassing Rebel invaders.

Graydon's greatest challenge came in the person of Confederate Brigadier General Henry Hopkins Sibley. Sibley planned to assemble a band of Texans, march up the Rio Grande and capture Santa Fe, then strike northeast 60 miles to the huge Federal supply base at Fort Union. After disabling the Federal forces in northern New Mexico, he planned to move west, capture Arizona and California, then annex northern Mexico and join this vast territory to the Confederacy -- forming a nation extending from Texas north to the Potomac and from the Atlantic Ocean to California.

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On February 19, 1862, when Sibley's army of Texans appeared south of Fort Craig, Graydon greeted the enemy force with a bold act of defiance that foretold trouble for the invaders. With typical dramatic flair, the Irishman spurred his gray horse through the fort's gates, rode within musket shot of the Confederates, and put on a little circus show of horsemanship before returning to his cheering comrades.

The following night, as the Texans camped across the Rio Grande within earshot of the fort's adobe walls, Graydon worked on a weapon he hoped would bring the invasion to an abrupt end. It was something like a guided missile -- and yet nothing like it at all. He loaded boxes of 24-pounder howitzer shells on the backs of two old mules and led them through the icy waters of the river to the edge of the enemy camp. Assuming the mules would naturally join their Confederate counterparts tethered among the Rebel tents, he lit the fuses and sent the unsuspecting beasts trotting toward the Texans' campfires.

Graydon's assumption was dead wrong. The mules decided their fortunes lay with the last hands that had fed them: the Yankees. Graydon jogged toward Fort Craig, and the mules, with their sputtering fuses, trotted after him. He ran; they ran. Soon, explosions lit the night sky. Both Graydon and his intended victims escaped harm; the mules were not so lucky.

The next day, Sibley's men met Canby's small force at Valverde, a ford four miles upriver from Fort Craig. Graydon's irregular troopers began fighting before sunrise and went on to halt a Rebel advance by mid-morning, help burn part of the enemy's wagon train at midday, and repel an attack on Canby's left flank late in the afternoon. One of Graydon's men later recalled that "at the battle of Valverde we discharged our duty with…effort and perseverance, battling face to face from nine o'clock in the morning till six in the evening when we received orders to retire."



The battle ended in a stalemate. Canby retired behind the walls of Fort Craig and Sibley marched north, capturing Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Graydon's small company hung on Sibley's flanks, stealing hundreds of mules -- the non-exploding variety -- and sending Canby valuable intelligence. While the increasingly desperate Confederates foraged for food in the inhospitable desert, Graydon's Spy Company buzzed around them like an annoying swarm of mosquitoes, picking them off piecemeal. On March 9, Graydon rode into Fort Craig leading 60 head of cattle that he had "liberated" from the Rebels at Lemitar. At the end of the month, he arrived with 40 prisoners and 91 mules, and four days later he captured an entire Rebel picket of 10 men and an officer at Los Lunas. Graydon entered the fort on April 8 with 94 mules and two prisoners. At one point, he captured a Confederate quartermaster in Tijeras Canyon, where the Rebels had gone to forage.



Sibley's invasion was blunted in the Battle of La Glorieta Pass, March 26-28, 1862, and the Rebels began a 300-mile retreat to Texas. Canby followed cautiously, not giving battle, on the theory that he could not afford to feed any Rebel prisoners in that long, despoiled valley. Graydon was more active in urging the Texans southward -- harassing their rear guard, capturing their wagons, and making their lives generally miserable. One night at Socorro, Graydon and a single Federal soldier came upon a houseful of Rebels. Shouting commands to two imaginary companies of reinforcements, Graydon persuaded the Texans to surrender without firing a shot.



South of Socorro, Sibley's troops left the Rio Grande Valley and traveled southwest through the waterless canyons of the rugged Magdalena Mountains, apparently to avoid possible capture by Canby. Even here, Graydon's men hung on Sibley's flanks, urging the thirsty and starving Texans ever farther south in a desperate retreat through arid ravines and even drier mountain passes. As the fleeing Confederates struggled southward, their trail was littered with castoff equipment, including 19 wagons, 10 ambulances, six caissons, and three howitzers. Graydon found dozens of Confederate corpses in shallow graves; they were already being eaten by wolves as he passed by. Sibley's ragged survivors staggered into El Paso, never to return. In May 1862, Canby gave Graydon command of a company in the reorganized 1st New Mexico Cavalry. Graydon was assigned to fight the newly resurgent Mescalero Apaches in the mountains of central New Mexico, and he departed for Fort Stanton with his company in October 1862.



Later that month, in the Gallinas Mountains north of Fort Stanton, Graydon encountered the aged chief Manuelito and a small band of Mescalero Apaches on their way to Santa Fe to meet with Brigadier General James Carleton, who had replaced Canby as commander of the Department of New Mexico. What followed next is one of the many debated chapters in Graydon's life. Most accounts say he provided liquor to the Indians and, when they were thoroughly intoxicated, shot them and took their 17 horses with him back to Fort Stanton. Graydon's report, however, stated the opposite. Graydon claimed he had refused to give whiskey to Manuelito, who drew his gun and declared he would fight for it. At that point, said the report, Graydon gave the order to fire upon the Indians. What remains undisputed is that at least 11 Apaches were killed, and twice as many wounded. Graydon's extermination of this small band of Indians was not received well by his superiors, and both Carleton and Colonel Christopher "Kit" Carson, who had assumed command of Fort Stanton, expressed considerable annoyance. Graydon was reprimanded, and he accepted the rebuke with apparent equanimity. He was less gracious, however, about a letter that appeared shortly thereafter in a Santa Fe newspaper, denouncing his act as barbaric treachery.



A few weeks after the letter was published, Dr. John Marmaduke Whitlock, a friend of Carson's, rode into Fort Stanton on business. Graydon had just learned that Whitlock was the letter's author; when he learned that the doctor was at Fort Stanton and was calling him a "murderer and a thief," the Irishman determined to meet his accuser face to face.

On the evening of November 4, 1862, Whitlock was playing cards in the sutler's store at the fort. Graydon burst in, confronted Whitlock, and demanded to know if it was true he had called him "an assassinating cowardly son of a bitch." Whitlock coolly replied that he "could not recollect exactly having used such language," but that the general intent was correct. Graydon left the room and returned with a letter, presumably a written challenge. Whitlock continued his card game, stating, "Captain, you see I am engaged, let the matter rest until tomorrow and I will give you an explanation and satisfaction if you desire."

The next morning, Graydon confronted Whitlock again. "If you come to this post again and insult an officer, I will horsewhip you," he barked. "I am an officer and you are a pimp that follows the army."

The surgeon turned away, then suddenly drew his pistol and fired at Graydon, who immediately reciprocated. Both men missed. Graydon retreated behind a wagon, while Whitlock crouched behind a Sibley tent. The two men kept firing. Suddenly, Graydon clutched his chest and yelled, "The son of a bitch has killed me!"



Graydon's troopers, attracted by the gunfire, rushed to their wounded captain. Whitlock had been non-fatally wounded in his side and right hand; Graydon's men pursued him and gunned him down. The doctor's body was thrown into a ditch, and witnesses claimed that afterward, Graydon's soldiers continued to fire round after round into the lifeless corpse. Carson estimated that more than 100 shots had been fired at Whitlock.

Four members of Graydon's company -- Lieutenant Phillip Morris and Privates John Murry, Albert Overall, and Estevan Aguilar -- were charged with murder and sent to Santa Fe to stand trial. On January 1, 1863, Morris, Aguilar, Overall, and three other prisoners escaped from the jail. Overall was captured the next morning, but Morris and Aguilar remained at large until January 18, when they were apprehended by General Carleton himself.

Graydon died three days after his gunfight with Whitlock and was buried at Fort Stanton. A small collection taken up by his colleagues enabled his widow, Eliza, to travel from Santa Fe to pay her last respects. Twenty-four years later, Graydon's remains were moved to Santa Fe National Cemetery.

By today's standards, Paddy Graydon might be considered brutal and impulsive. In the harsh climate of wartime New Mexico, however, he was the right man at the right time. Contemporaries were quick to praise him as "always hovering around the foe, watching with eagle eye for a chance to strike a telling blow"; "an enterprising fearless leader of a desperate band"; and "a brave man…. No undertaking was too hazardous for him to attempt." Graydon died as he lived -- as an independent, sometimes reckless soldier who never backed down from a fight.

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

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Thanks to quietolong for providing this link.

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We here at Blue Stars For A Safe Return are working hard to honor all of our military, past and present, and their families. Inlcuding the veterans, and POW/MIA's. I feel that not enough is done to recognize the past efforts of the veterans, and remember those who have never been found.

I realized that our Veterans have no "official" seal, so we created one as part of that recognition. To see what it looks like and the Star that we have dedicated to you, the Veteran, please check out our site.

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NOW UPDATED THROUGH JULY 31st, 2004




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[Iris7]

"Paddy" Graydon certainly knew the art of war. Short on careful thought, choleric, and always aggressive, he lead loyal and obedient troops. Played very rough, and was obviously in the habit of shooting prisoners. I'll bet his interrogation technique would not be kosher these days.

[Iris7]

First IN!!! A cool guy.

[SAMWolf]

Good Night Snippy.

Maybe the Russians got the idea for the mine dog from old Paddy

A soviet dog mine in training, or so it would appear. What is interesting about this picture is that although the training tank does not have a real gun, its turret appears to be that of the T-34/85. The T-34/85 was not introduced until 1944, yet dog mines were supposed to have been withdrawn in 1942!

[SAMWolf]

Morning Iris7.

I guess panties on the head wouldn't bother Paddy too much.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[radu]

Good morning everyone!

To all our military men and women past and present, military family members, and to our allies who stand beside us
Thank You!

[E.G.C.]

Good Saturday morning to you, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

[alfa6]

A Tired Good Norning Bump for the Foxhole.

Friday was a great succes, with the help of my son and daughter we were able to get 98% of everything removed from the two rooms. Today we take it all to the dump, er excuse me"The Sanitary Landfill", pick up the sheetrock and insulboard from the BORG, and then spend the rest of the day cleaning up the rooms. LOTs & LOTS of litle nails to pull :-(

Y'all have a great day

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[The Mayor]

March 19, 2005

Riding A Rollercoaster

Read:
Galatians 6:1-10

Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. -Galatians 6:9

Bible In One Year: Judges 1-4

If you love someone who struggles with a substance-abuse problem, you know that your emotions and his can be like riding a rollercoaster-up and down. Today he wants help; tomorrow he's drinking or is high on drugs again. Today she's being honest; tomorrow she's running from the truth.

The Holy Spirit helps us learn how to love people like that, even in their sins and struggles. Here are a few principles we can put into practice:

• Treat the person with respect. Be gentle when trying to restore him (Galatians 6:1). But don't do for him what he should do for himself. Don't get in the way of the consequences that God can use to bring change.
  
• Remember that you do not have the power to change another person. Instead, ask God to help you become the person He wants you to be (vv.4-5).
  
• Reach out in love. Seek God's wisdom in what to say and do in each encounter (James 1:5). Then rebuke or be silent-in love.
  
• Depend on God. You will make mistakes. But anchor yourself in God's Word and continually commit yourself and your loved one to the Lord in prayer (Philippians 4:6).
  

  Making some of these choices can help to slow down the rollercoaster ride of changing emotions. -Anne Cetas

  Love is an attitude, love is a prayer
  For someone in sorrow, a heart in despair;
  Love is goodwill for the gain of another,
  Love suffers long with the fault of a brother. -Anon.
  

  Love helps people even when it hurts.
  

  FOR FURTHER STUDY
  When We Just Can't Stop
  When Help Is Needed

[GailA]

Good morning

[Wneighbor]

Good Morning!!!

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all the tips yesterday on checking out getting my concealed carry license straight in Alabama.

And SamWOLF, would you believe that the little town I was holed up in doesn't even have an internet connection in the library? Well, maybe it would be clearer if I also let you know that their "library" is only open 2 mornings a week. (Mostly for Sr. citizens to come by and chat and trade paperback books.)

Samwise - gotta catch up with you soon. Sorry I've been incommunicado all week. My daughter was tucked in safely with me all week. We can use prayers, she filed for divorce Tuesday. She is now safe, she was being abused as I suspected. Of course, I am a bundle of "motherly Texas justice" thoughts but I am relieved that she's safe.

[Iris7]

Enjoyed the Paddy story. Never heard it before.

Paddy was a real Dog of War. For all of you inexperienced folks reading this war recon is not the peacetime ideal of skulking in the bushes with binoculars and radio. The only way to gather real information is to get it from prisoners.

If there is time, the most common approach is for the first interrogator to talk nicely, promises the unfortunate fellow whatever rewards for cooperation that may work.

If that doesn't work then a second interrogator takes over. If there is time the two alternate.

As a general rule, the "nice guy" interrogator says he has no control over the "hard" interrogator, saying the "hard" interrogator is the commanding officer. This is usually not true. The "nice guy" interrogator is the boss, the "softening up" interrogator is under his orders.

What breaks the resistant is not pain but fear. Fear of death is considered fairly intense by most people, but is generally inadequate for interrrogation. Much greater fear than that is required. Let us stop short of detail.

An unpleasant business to contemplate.

Perhaps such a frank description of the truth behind the curtain has been unwise. I think not, however. We are Foxhole people here.

[PzLdr]

The battle of La Glorietta Pass was won, in large part, by Col. Chivington, of Sand Creek notoriety. Kit Carson went on to burn out the Navajo stronghold in the Canyon de Chelly and force them onto the reservation.

I tend to believe that Manuelito and his followers were murdered. First, it happened more than once on both sides of the border. Lt. Bascomb, in 1860 took Cochise and his party prisoner under a flag of parley. When Cochise escaped,Bascomb hanged his Berthe, and I believe, his nephew despite Cochise's offer to exchange prisoners (He captured a stage coach after his escape). Bascomb's actions led to the prisoners' murder and the opening of the the twelve year war the Army fought with Cochise and his father -in - law, Mangas Coloradus, chief of the Chihenne, or Warm Springs Apaches. Mangas was subsequently murdered after being captured under a flag of truce. He was decapitated, and his skull was sent to the Smithsonian.

Mexico paid bounty for Apache scalps, the amount of the bounty depending on whether the scalper was an adult male's, female's, or child's. Geronimo's wife, and most of his band were killed in a manner somewhat akin to Manuelito's band. So the border culture was conducive to such depredations(see also the Camp Grant Massacre of Ezkeminzin's Arivipa Apaches by civilians). Nor am I an apologist for the Apaches. They were both inventive and sadistic in the forms of torture they developed and used on prisoners. But they were also the toughest Indians the U.S army ever fought.

[Valin]

This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on March 19:
1503 Benedetto Varchi Italy, humanist/historian (Storia Fiorentina)
1589 William Bradford Governor of Plymouth colony for 30 years (baptized)
1629 Aleksei M Romanov 1st Romanov tsar of Russia
1734 Thomas McKean US attorney (signed Declaration of Independence)
1813 David Livingstone Scotland, explorer (found by Stanley in Africa)
1817 Lewis Henry Little Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1862
1819 David Henry Williams Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1891
1821 Francis Barretto Spinola Brigadier General (Union volunteers)
1821 Sir Richard Burton explorer/translator (Arabian Nights)
1827 Alexander Shaler Brevet Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1911
1837 Robert Daniel Johnston Brigadier General (Confederate Army),died in 1919
1848 Wyatt Earp Monmouth IL, marshall/con man/gambler-fought in Gunfight at the OK Corral
1860 William Jennings Bryan "The Great Commoner" orator/statesman
1883 Joseph W Stilwell US General (China)
1888 Josef Albers German/US graphic artist/painter/writer (Bauhaus)
1891 Earl Warren California, (Governor-Republican-CA)/14th supreme court chief justice (1953-69)
1894 Jackie "Moms" Mabley Brevard SC, comedienne
1900 [Jean] Frédéric Joliot-Curie French physicist (Nobel 1935)
1904 John J Sirica US federal judge (Watergate hearings)
1905 Albert Speer German architect/minister of Armament (NSDAP)
1906 Adolf Eichmann Ruhr Germany, (Architect of Nazi "Final Solution".
1912 Adolf Galland fighter Pilot
1916 Irving Wallace author (People's Almanac, The Man)
1923 Tige Andrews Brooklyn NY, actor (Captain Adam Greer-Mod Squad)
1925 Brent Scowcroft Ogden UT, Lieutenant General (USAF)/National Security Council
1928 Patrick McGoohan Astoria NY, actor (#6-Prisoner, Secret Agent)
1930 Ornette Coleman jazz composer (Downbeat Musician of Year 1966)
1933 Philip Roth Newark NJ, novelist (Goodbye Columbus, Portnoy's Complaint)
1936 Ursula Andress Berne Switzerland, actress (Dr No, She, Sensuous Nurse)
1937 Clarence "Frogman" Henry musician (You Always Hurt the One You Love)
1939 Joe Kapp NFL QB (Minnesota Vikings, Boston Patriots, Houston Oilers)
1944 Lynda Bird Johnson Robb LBJ's daughter
1946 Ruth Pointer singer (Pointer Sisters-I'm So Exicted)
1947 Glenn Close Greenwich CT, actress (The Big Chill, Fatal Attraction)
1948 William Gibson American writer of science fiction
1955 [Walter] Bruce Willis PennsGrove NJ, actor (Moonlighting, Die Hard)
1999 MoJo2001 brings forth a son, Timothy (aka Terrible Timmy, Scourge of the neighborhood and ruler of all he surveys)
A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun.
Enjoy the trip!

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Deaths which occurred on March 19:
1263 Hugo of St-Cher/a S Caro French cardinal, dies
1644 Si Sang last Ming-emperor of China, commits suicide
1687 Rene-Robert Cavelier La Salle French explorer (Louisiana), murdered in what is now Texas at 43
1721 Clement XI [Giovanni F Albani], Italian Pope (1700-21), dies at 71
1884 Alfonse Charles Renaud de Vilback composer, dies at 54
1897 Antoine T d'Abbadie French explorer (Ethiopia), dies at 87
1907 Thomas Bailey Aldrich US writer (Stillwater Tragedy), dies at 70
1930 Arthur J Balfour British theologist/premier (1902-05), dies at 81
1945 Fritz Fromm German supreme commander of Reserve army, executed
1946 Amir Hamzah Indonesian poet (Buah Rindu), dies at 35
1950 Edgar Rice Burroughs sci-fi author (Tarzan of the Apes), dies at 74
1974 Edward Platt actor (Chief-Get Smart), dies at 58
1979 Al Hodge actor (Captain Video), dies at 65

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1967 AUSTIN JOSEPH C.---MOUNDSVILLE WV.
1968 BLAIR CHARLES E.---CHATHAM VA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 04/06/88]
1968 ROMERO VICTOR---SAN FRANCISCO CA.
1970 AYERS DARRELL EUGENE---ALDERWOOD MANOR WA.
1970 PUGH DENNIS G.---SALINA KS.
1971 CRISTMAN FREDERICK L.---SALISBURY NC.
1971 GARCIA RICARDO M.---DRISCOLL TX.
1971 SPARKS JON M.---CAREY ID.

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

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On this day...
0721 BC 1st recorded lunar eclipse; Location, Babylon
1227 Count Ugolino of Segna elected Pope Gregory IX
1452 Frederick III of Hapsburg crowned Roman German Emperor
1524 Giovanni de Varrazano of France sights land around area of Carolinas
1563 Peace of Amboise; Rights for Huguenots
1571 Spanish troops occupy Manila
1628 Massachusetts colony founded by Englishmen
1644 200 members of Peking imperial family/court commit suicide
1702 James II's daughter Anne Stuart becomes queen of England
1748 English Naturalization Act passes granting Jews right to colonize US
1822 Boston MA incorporated as a city
1831 1st US bank robbery (City Bank, New York/$245,000)
1865 Battle of Bentonville-Confederates retreat from Greenville NC
1883 Jan Matzeliger invents 1st machine to manufacture entire shoes
1885 Louis Riel returns to Canada, proclaims provisional government, Saskatchewan
1915 Pluto photographed for 1st time (although unknown at the time)
1917 US Supreme Court upheld 8-hour work day for railroad employees (Adamson Act)
1918 Congress authorizes time zones & approves daylight saving time
1918 S Potter becomes 1st US pilot to shoot down a German seaplane
1920 US Senate rejects Treaty of Versailles for 2nd time refusing to ratify League of Nations' covenant (maintaining isolation policy)
1925 Angelo G Roncalli (Pope John XXIII) becomes a bishop
1927 Bloody battles between communists & Nazis in Berlin
1928 "Amos & Andy" debuts on radio (NBC Blue Network-WMAQ Chicago)
1931 Nevada legalizes gambling
1937 Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Divini redemptoris against communism
1940 French government of Daladier, falls
1942 FDR orders men between 45 & 64 to register for non military duty
1942 Thoroughbred Racing Association of US formed in Chicago
1945 800 killed as Kamikaze attacked USS Franklin off Japan
1945 Adolf Hitler issues Nero Decree: destruction of German facilities
1946 French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique & Réunion become overseas departments
1946 Nicolai Schwernik succeeds Kalinin as President of USSR
1947 Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek conquers Jenan
1948 Lee Savold KOs Gino Buonvino in 54 seconds at Madison Square Garden, New York NY
1949 1st museum devoted exclusively to atomic energy, Oak Ridge TN
1951 Herman Wouk's "Caine Mutiny" is published
1954 1st color telecast of a prize fight, Giardello vs Troy in Madison Square Garden, New York NY
1954 1st rocket-driven sled on rails was tested in Alamogordo NM
1956 Biggest NBA margin of victory: Minnesota Lakers-133, St Louis Hawks-75
1965 Chivu Stoica becomes President of the Council of Romanian People's Republic & Nicolae Ceausescu appointed 1st Secretary of Romanian communist party
1965 Indonesia nationalizes all foreign oil companies
1968 Howard University students seize administration building
1969 Chicago 8 indicted in aftermath of Chicago Democratic convention
1972 India & Bangladesh sign friendship treaty
1973 Dean tells Nixon, "There is a cancer growing on the Presidency"
1975 Pennsylvania is 1st state to allow girls to compete with boys in High School sports
1977 France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1978 50,000 demonstrate in Amsterdam against neutron bomb
1979 House of Representatives begins live TV broadcasts via C-SPAN
1984 John J O'Connor named 8th archbishop of New York
1984 Pitcher Denny McLain, indicted on various charges of racketeering
1985 Senate votes 55-45, to authorize production of the MX missile
1987 Bonnie Blair skates ladies world record 500 meter (39.43 seconds)
1987 PTL leader Jim Bakker resigns after sex scandal with Jessica Hahn
1988 2 British soldiers lynched in Belfast North Ireland
1989 Boeing V-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft makes maiden flight
1990 1st world ice hockey tournament for women held (Ottawa)
1991 NFL owners strip Phoenix of 1993 Super Bowl game due to Arizona not recognizing Martin Luther King Day
1994 Largest omelet (1,383² ft) made with 160,000 eggs in Yokohama Japan
1995 5 die by poison gas in Japanese subway
1995 Michael Jordan rejoins Chicago Bulls after 17 months, beats Pacers
1996 Winnie Mandela divorces Nelson after 38 years of marrage
1997 A federal judge in Phoenix, Az., began sentencing 10 members of a paramilitary group to prison after they pleaded guilty to various counts, including conspiracy to make and possess destructive devices.
2001 California officials declared a power alert, ordering the first of two days of rolling blackouts.

2003 President Bush ordered the start of war against Iraq. Because of the time difference, it was early March 20 in Iraq. Operation Iraqi Freedom began with a few US targeted strikes in Baghdad against Saddam Hussein, targeting him personally with a barrage of cruise missiles and bombs as a prelude to invasion. Iraq responded hours later, firing missiles toward American troops positioned just across its border with Kuwait.

2004 Yemen security forces capture Jamal Badawi and Fahd al-Quso (2000 bombing of the USS Cole)

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

Australia : Canberra Day
Italy, Spain, Canary Island : St Joseph Day
California : The day the swallows return to San Juan Capistrano Mission
US : Daffodil Days (Day 6)
US : Straw Hat Week (Day 6)
National Frozen Food Month

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Religious Observances
Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican : Solemnity of St Joseph, stepfather of Jesus
Ancient Rome : Quinquatrus (Feast of Minerva)

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Religious History
1563 The Edict of Amboise granted a limited amount of freedom to French Protestants, thereby ending the First Huguenot War.
1641 A General Court ended which declared the Colony of Rhode Island a democracy. The Court also adopted a constitution granting religious freedom to all its citizens.
1937 Pius XI declared in the encyclical "Divini redemptoris": 'There would be neither Socialism nor Communism today if the rulers of the nations had not scorned the teachings and material warnings of the Church.'
1944 German Lutheran pastor and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter: 'We can have abundant life, even though many wishes remain unfulfilled.'
1987 Jim Bakker, 48, stepped down as head of the PTL ministry amid disclosures of a 1980 sexual liaison with church secretary Jessica Hahn.

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

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Thought for the day :
"Philosophy, n. A route of many roads leading from nowhere to nothing"

[SAMWolf]

Take the day off, Snippy.

It'll probably be the only chance you get. ;-)

[w_over_w]

Morning Glory Folks~

Sibley's ragged survivors staggered into El Paso, never to return.

A tragic story for what was suppose to be high hopes and golden dreams of establishing a confederate territory of New Mexico. His final report to Richmond would state, "except for its geographical position, the Territory of New Mexico is not worth a quarter of the blood and treasure expended in its conquest . . .". This ended the CW in the far West.

It's interesting that Shelby Foote's Vol. 1 goes into great detail about the conquests between Canby and Sibley and never once mentions Graydon. I guess the guys who protect the flanks often get overlooked. IMHO.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

I just got back on line, my modem died last night.