The British, too, found the weather a problem. Dampness and mud slowed the movement of artillery through the forest above the river, and it was difficult getting even the lighter cannons to the top of the hill across from Fort Meigs. The largest guns, two 24-pounders, required hundreds of men and oxen to pull them a single mile in six hours.
SITE OF THE BRITISH BATTERIES FROM FORT MEIGS
Most of the British artillery was in position by the night of April 29, but no shots were fired then or the next day. Crossing to the American side of the Maumee, Tecumseh led hundreds of warriors and a detachment of Royal Engineers to set up a battery against the east angle of the fort. The Americans responded by placing several guns at that point, to harass the British with solid shot, and the Indians with grapeshot and canister.
On the night of April 30, a British gunboat fired 30 rounds into Fort Meigs with little effect, then withdrew. The rain-drenched dawn on May 1 found all quiet on both sides of the Maumee, save for an occasional exchange of musket fire between American sentries and Indians.
The standoff ended at 11 a.m., when the rumble of Proctor's artillery filled the air. Before the smoke from the first British salvo rolled away, however, the row of tents was pulled down to reveal what Harrison called a "grand traverse," a 12-foot-high earthen embankment rising from a 20-foot base running 300 yards across the length of the compound and parallel to the British batteries to shield American troops, horses, mules and supplies. It was a frustrating sight to Proctor, who had hoped that Harrison would surrender after a few hours of heavy bombardment. The next few British salvos only served to satisfy Harrison that his grand traverse would absorb the cannonballs and shrapnel, while allowing men and supplies to move anywhere within the walls, with cover near at hand. In a rare display of pride, Harrison called to his quartermaster, Colonel William Christy, and told him, "Sir, go and nail a flag on every battery where they shall wave as long as an enemy is in view."
The first attack on Fort Meigs, May 1813
For 12 hours, the British hurled about 250 heavy and light rounds at the wall embankments and traverses, while mortars lobbed fused bombs to explode over the defenders' heads. Soon the rain-softened quagmire of the compound was filled with craters from spent cannon shot. When the guns fell silent a little before midnight, only two Americans were dead, but the four wounded included Major Stoddard, who died of his injuries 10 days later.
Shortly after dawn on May 2, Proctor reopened the bombardment, and during that day and the next more than 1,000 rounds were fired at Fort Meigs. Huddling behind their muddy traverse walls, the defenders became more concerned about their water supply, since the fort's well had not been completed. With the Indians lurking so close at hand, getting water from the Maumee, as the garrison had done up to that time, became impossible, and several Americans were captured trying. Most of them had no recourse but to drink brackish rainwater skimmed from puddles.
From the beginning, Fort Meigs' gunners returned fire sparingly, taking precise bearings before firing each piece, since they had relatively little ammunition -- 360 rounds for the fort's five 18-pounder guns, 360 for its six 12-pounders, and little more than that for six 6-pounders and three howitzers. Noting that most of the British guns were 6-pounders, Harrison offered a reward of a gill of whiskey for each salvageable enemy cannonball of that size turned over to the fort magazine and delegated Captain Wood to oversee the collection. With puddle water the only other available beverage, that incentive inspired hundreds of troops to brave enemy fire and recover more than 1,000 British rounds for reuse.
On May 3, British artillery observers got the range of Fort Meigs' magazine. Noting the increase in enemy fire being directed there, Wood called for volunteers to heap dirt all over the magazine. Again, whiskey was passed around, this time to fortify the volunteers' courage. After several hours of labor and many pulls on the keg, the Americans were defying the British with clenched fists to try and strike them down; but they also completed the task of shielding the magazine just as Proctor's gunners began to fire glowing, heated balls in a belated, ultimately vain attempt to ignite the gunpowder. Proctor's gunners fired 516 rounds into the fort on May 3. On the American side of the Maumee, the British had emplaced a light cannon and a mortar 300 yards from the east end of Fort Meigs, subjecting the garrison to cross-fire. The greatest danger, however, still came from the heavier batteries across the river.
On May 4, British fire slackened to periodic salvos. Although nothing of importance had been destroyed, the entire American "hive" seemed to smolder from the three days of punishment it had endured. Yet each time the British guns ceased firing, the Americans cheered and whistled as if they had won the entire war. During one of the quiet intervals, Proctor sent a major under a white flag with a surrender demand. With visions of the Raisin River massacre still fresh in his memory, Harrison replied, "Tell General Proctor that if he shall take the fort it will be under circumstances that will do him more honor than a thousand surrenders." The siege resumed.
Late that night, Harrison's messengers returned with good news -- they had found General Clay at Fort Defiance, 45 miles to the west along the Maumee, and reinforcements were on the way. Upon learning of Fort Meigs' situation, Clay ordered 18 large flatboats fitted with raised sides for protection against Indian musket fire from the shore. Loading them with 1,200 militia, including Colonel William Dudley's brigade and a rifle company under Captain Leslie Combs, Clay set out immediately. Harrison's couriers accompanied them to within 20 miles of Fort Meigs, then sped ahead to deliver the news. Knowing what Clay's position would be before dawn on May 5, Harrison devised a plan to attack the main British batteries. Again, he dispatched a messenger to pass through the Indians by canoe. The courier carried a brief note on paper verifying his trustworthy character, but the attack plan was held in memory alone. Slipping past the Indians, he reached Clay at the river rapids and explained the plan, which called for 800 of Clay's men to land on the British side, a mile west of their batteries on the heights. From there, the force was to get behind, as well as flank, the battery positions. Once they had taken the positions, the Americans were to spike the guns and withdraw back across the Maumee. The garrison would then attack the smaller batteries on their own side in force.
Clay agreed to the plan, and Dudley led the assault force from the rapids, with Combs' company attached as rangers. In all, 846 troops in 12 boats veered toward the north bank, while Clay led his remaining Kentuckians to land on the south side and engage the Indians on his way to Fort Meigs.
Dudley's boats swiftly reached the north bank, and his men sprang into the lower forest, driving the Indians back as they swarmed up the heights. Forming three hasty columns with Major James Shelby leading the leftmost, Captain John C. Morrison leading the center as a reserve, and himself at the head of the right column, Dudley led them toward the batteries, which they charged from the west, yelling and howling. After a brief struggle the outnumbered British gunners surrendered, except for a few who escaped into the forest to the east. Half of Dudley's men pursued them through the trees and pushed several bands of Indians down the east slope, while others tore the Union Jack flying over the batteries from its mast. Meanwhile, Captain Combs' 30 riflemen and several friendly Indians advanced north of the captured batteries to prevent a rear attack.
Unwilling to wait for the spikes being sent from Fort Meigs, Dudley's men used broken musket ramrods and anything else at hand to plug the firing holes of the cannons. When their work was completed, they wandered carelessly around the battery sites, awaiting the rest of the regiment's return. By then, however, the Kentuckians chasing the British gunners had scattered themselves widely throughout the woods. Dudley ordered them to retire to the high ground of the batteries, but few heard or obeyed. Several militiamen pursued the gunners and Indians to within sight of the main British camp.
As the alarm reached Proctor's camp, Tecumseh rallied hundreds of Indians in the wooded ravines between his soldiers and the batteries. Other Indians maneuvered to face Combs to the north and attacked his riflemen. Combs was expected to fall back if he came under heavy attack, but he had not been given the complete plan. Therefore, the rifle company tried to hold its ground and was soon in desperate need of help.
WELL AT FORT MEIGS
Hearing the struggle, Dudley gathered as many troops as he could and charged into the woods to rescue Combs, but he was pressed back toward the batteries by growing numbers of Indians. Dudley was wounded and quickly overwhelmed by a rush of warriors as his and Combs' men tried to get down to the river. He was killed and scalped. The other Kentucky troops on the east slope were also in retreat as more Indians gathered, and three companies of the 41st Foot and some Canadian militia advanced toward the batteries in skirmishing order.
By the time the Kentuckians reached the battery clearings, the Indians had them surrounded. Some managed to escape down the south slope to the river, but with Colonel Dudley dead most of the Americans were caught in the confusion of war whoops and musket fire, unable to muster a defense.
Another massacre was prevented only by the presence of British troops, who later took the prisoners to their camp. There, Combs later testified that the enraged Indians forced the prisoners to run the gantlet through two lines of braves who struck at them with tomahawks, clubs and pistol butts. More than 20 scouts were killed and scalped, and all the Americans might have been slaughtered had Tecumseh not intervened, shouting angrily, "Are there no men here?"
Finding Proctor in the vicinity, Tecumseh asked why he had allowed the warriors such free rein, to which the British general replied, "Your Indians cannot be controlled, cannot be commanded." "You are not fit to command," said Tecumseh contemptuously. "Go put on petticoats!" For the prisoners' safety, the British placed them inside the old stockade at Fort Miami.
Of the 846 men that Colonel Dudley started out with, less than 170 escaped across the Maumee to Fort Meigs. Harrison, who had been so cautious after the Frenchtown debacle, watched in horror from the fort's Grand Battery as his plan collapsed only a mile away. By then, General Clay had reached Fort Meigs with 50 men. The rest of his troops had been separated during the landing, but Colonel William E. Boswell took command and formed skirmish lines. Suffering few casualties considering the circumstances, Boswell reached the fort with more than 250 men. He was met, amid cheers from the walls, by another force of 250 troops, led by Major John B. Alexander of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, coming out of the gates. They were to join and attack the Indians from whom Boswell had just escaped.
With fixed bayonets, the Americans plunged back into the woods and underbrush, driving the Indians back several hundred yards. The attack was halted, however, by a messenger who bore news that more Indians had been moving swiftly around to the south, trying to cut them off from the fort. The troops fell back just before the Indians could assemble in sufficient strength to oppose their withdrawal.
Boswell's and Alexander's forces were reinforced shortly after by 350 soldiers detached from the 17th and 19th U.S. regiments, as well as Captain Uriel Sebree's company of Kentucky militia, with orders to destroy the British batteries harassing Fort Meigs from the east. The troops passed through the wooded ravine under the fort's southeast walls and emerged on a narrow plain. Before them, the grenadier and light companies of the 41st Foot and two companies of Canadian militia formed a defensive line in front of the batteries.
As the Americans assembled, the 41st Foot fired a volley but inflicted few casualties. Colonel John Miller, leading the 17th and 19th U.S. Infantry detachments, ordered his men forward from 200 to 50 yards, then had them close ranks and charge. The Redcoats stood fast as the Americans rushed across the open field, but they began scattering as the attackers crashed through their line and clambered into the gun emplacements. At that point, some of the 500 Indians that Tecumseh had brought up to support the British attacked the American flanks, allowing most of the Redcoats to fall back and form again. Sebree's company became locked in desperate hand-to-hand combat, but disaster was averted when a fresh company of 19th Infantry, dispatched by Harrison, came to their rescue. Harrison's troops then pressed the British line until it broke, sending Redcoats and Indians fleeing to the east except for a few warriors who sniped at the Americans as they retired to the fort. About 30 Americans were killed and 90 wounded, but they succeeded in spiking the enemy guns and brought back 42 British prisoners to Fort Meigs.
By then, the siege had all but run its course. With the batteries on the south shore destroyed, Proctor had to rely solely on the larger guns on the north bank. The improvised spikes Dudley's men had driven into them had proved to be ineffective, and the British had them operational by evening. The Indians, however, had suffered many more casualties than Proctor's troops, and most of them, disillusioned with British military prowess, wandered off. Although Tecumseh remained with Proctor, he was bitterly disappointed with the general's performance.
The British continued bombarding the fort through May 8, but with diminishing fury. With a nod from Harrison, Fort Meigs' north batteries hurled a thunderous reply across the river that day, hastening Proctor's withdrawal. After the British abandoned the siege, the fort was strengthened against future invasions.
On July 21, Proctor -- who had been promoted to major general -- and Tecumseh returned, leading an army of British troops, Canadian militia and Indians even larger than the first to the Maumee. After an unsuccessful ruse to draw Fort Meigs' garrison out of the fort and into an ambush, however, Proctor abandoned the second siege on July 28. Instead, he divided his forces and advanced to the Sandusky River, more than 30 miles to the east. On August 1, Proctor laid siege to Fort Stephenson, defended by 160 troops under the command of 21-year-old Major George Croghan of the 17th U.S. Infantry, and by one 6-pounder cannon. After a fierce but ineffective cannonade on the first day, on August 2, 400 troops of the 41st Foot advanced to within 50 yards of the fort, only to suffer almost 100 casualties in two assaults, compared to one fatality and seven slightly wounded among Croghan's command. After that, the British limped back to Fort Malden.
The battles at Fort Meigs and along the Maumee marked a turning point in the war on the Northwestern frontier. On September 10, Commodore Perry eliminated the British fleet on Lake Erie. Taking the offensive, Harrison ordered Fort Meigs dismantled, leaving only a small, square stockade with 100 soldiers to serve as a supply base while he advanced into Upper Canada. On October 5, Harrison ended British supremacy in the region for the duration of the war when he caught the Redcoats on the Thames River near Moraviantown. Tecumseh was killed in the battle, and Proctor fled -- even as his troops struggled to put up a meager defense.
After some calamitous first months, Harrison's Army of the Northwest gave the United States its first major land successes of the War of 1812 and ended the British invasion threat to Ohio and the Northwestern frontier. Re-created as it was during the pivotal siege of May 1813, Fort Meigs and its seven blockhouses can now be visited off State Route 65, near Perrysburg, Ohio.
Additional Sources: www.whitehouse.gov
www.americanpresident.org
www.ohiohistorycentral.org
www.galafilm.com
www.pc.gc.ca
members.tripod.com/ ~war1812
freepages.history.rootsweb.com
www.library.toledo.oh.us
www.windsorpubliclibrary.com
1812 is another war with my relatives shooting at each other. On my Dad's side "Chippewas" fought with the British, and on my mother's, her g-g-great grandfather fought as an American under Harrison.
In 1861 on my father's side a big bunch were in Ohio regiments, and their brothers, cousins, and uncles went to Kentucky and later Tennessee. Most of those families had moved to the frontier early, before the mobs of "settlers" arrived.
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on March 31:
1499 Pius IV [Gianangelo de' Medici], Italian lawyer/pope (1559-65)
1596 René Descartes France, philosopher (he thought, therefore he was)
1675 Benedict XIV [Prospero L Lambertini], Italy, Pope (1740-58)
1732 Franz Joseph Haydn Austria, composer
1809 Edward FitzGerald England, writer (Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam)
1809 Nikolai Gogol father of 19th-century Russian realism (Dead Souls)
1811 Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen Germany, chemist (Bunsen Burner)
1837 Robert Ross McBurney 1st paid secretary of the YMCA
1837 Stephen Dodson Ramseur Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1839 Nikolay Przhevalsky naturalist, explorer of east central Asia
1840 John Herbert Kelly Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1854 Sir Dugald Clerk inventor (2-stroke motorcycle engine)
1872 Arthur Griffith Irish journalist, founder of Sinn Féin
1878 Jack Johnson 1st black heavyweight boxing champion (1908-1915)
1892 Stanislav Wladyslaw Maczek Polish/British General-Major/commandant
1903 Arthur Godfrey New York NY, TV host (Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts)
1914 Octavio Paz Mexico, writer/diplomat (Salamandra, Topoemas)
1915 Henry Morgan New York NY, comedian/TV panelist (I've Got a Secret, Dragnet, MASH)
1924 Leo Buscaglia Los Angeles CA, "Dr Hug", psychologist (Love)
1927 Cesar Chavez Yuma AZ, farm labor leader (United Farm Workers)
1927 William Daniels Brooklyn NY, actor (Dr Mark Craig-St Elsewhere, 1776)
1928 Gordie Howe Floral Saskatchewan, NHL right wing (Detroit Red Wings)
1929 Liz Claiborne Brussels Belgium, fashion designer
1933 Shirley Jones Smithton PA, actress (Partridge Family, Elmer Gantry)
1934 Grigori Grigoyevich Nelyubov Russia, cosmonaut (Vostok 1 backup)
1934 John D Loudermilk rock drummer/vocalist (Language of Love, Norman)
1935 Herb Alpert bandleader/trumpeter (Tijuana Brass)/CEO (A & M)
1935 Richard Chamberlain Beverly Hills CA, actor (Dr Kildare)
1943 Christopher [Ronald] Walken Astoria Queens NY, actor (Deer Hunter, Brainstorm)
1946 Gabe Kaplan Brooklyn NY, comedian/actor (Welcome Back Kotter)
1948 Albert Gore Jr Washington DC, (Senator-Democrat-TN, 1985-92)/45th US Vice President, Alpha male, Honorary Freeper (1993- )
1948 David Eisenhower Eisenhower's grandson (married Julie Nixon)
1948 Mick Ralphs Hereford & Worcester England, guitarist (Bad Company, Mott the Hoople)
1948 Rhea Perlman Brooklyn, actress (Zena-Taxi, Carla-Cheers)
1950 Ed Marinaro New York NY, actor (Joe-Hill St Blues, Sonny-Laverne & Shirley)
1957 Patrick G Forrester El Paso TX, Lieutenant Colonel Army/astronaut
1974 Carol Ann Plante actress (Sara Henderson-Harry & the Hendersons)
1974 Nina Georgala Miss Greece-Universe (1996)
Deaths which occurred on March 31:
1621 Felipe III King of Spain (1598-1621), dies at 42
1631 John Donne Metaphysical poet, dies (birth date unknown)
1809 Franz Joseph Haydn composer, dies on 77th birthday
1837 John Constable English painter/water colors painter, dies at 60
1850 John Calhoun dies at 68 (VP under two presidents, John Quincy Adams in 1824 and Andrew Jackson in 1828.)
1855 Charlotte Brontë English author (Jane Eyre), dies at 38
1877 Antoine A Cournot French mathematician (rule of C), dies at 75
1880 Henryk Wieniawski Polish violist/composer, dies at 44
1913 John Pierpont Morgan US banker/CEO (US Steel Corp), dies at 75
1931 Knute Rockne football player/coach, dies in a plane crash at 43
1944 Mineichi Koga Admiral of Japanese fleet, dies
1945 Hans Fischer German physicist (Nobel 1930), dies at 63
1945 Maurice Rose 1st US General in Nazi Germany, killed in action at 45
1961 Seerp Anema Dutch poet/writer (Modern Art & Degenerating), dies at 85
1967 Don Alvarado actor (Morning Glory, Big Steal), dies at 62
1980 Jesse Owens of 1936 Berlin Olympics fame, dies in Arizona at 66
1986 Harry Ritz comedian/actor (Ritz Brothers), dies at 79
1986 Jerry Paris director/actor (Jerry-Dick Van Dyke Show), dies at 60
1986 O'Kelly Isley US, singer (Isley Brothers), dies of heart attack at 48
1991 John Carter US jazz clarinetist (Roots & folklore), dies
1993 Brandon Lee US actor (Crow)/son of Bruce Lee, accidentally shot at 28
1993 Jose Maria Lemus President of El Salvador (1956-60), dies
1995 Carl M Story fiddler, dies at 78
1995 Selena [Quintanilla Perez] Mexican Grammy winning singer, killed by a fan at 24
1997 Edwin Alberian TV celebrity (Clarabell), dies at 76
2002 Barry Took (73), British comedian and comic writer, died. (co-produce “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.”)
GWOT Casualties
31-Mar-2003 3 | US: 2 | UK: 1 | Other: 0
US Specialist William Andrew Jeffries Rota Non-hostile - illness - acute pancreatitis
US Specialist Brandon Jacob Rowe Ayyub Hostile - hostile fire
UK Staff Sergeant Chris Muir Southern part Non-hostile - ordnance accident
31-Mar-2004 5 | US: 5 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US 1st Lieutenant Doyle M. Hufstedler Malahma (nr. Habbaniyah) Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Specialist Sean R. Mitchell Malahma (nr. Habbaniyah) Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Specialist Michael G. Karr Jr. Malahma (nr. Habbaniyah) Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Private 1st Class Cleston C. Raney Malahma (nr. Habbaniyah) Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Private Brandon L. Davis Malahma (nr. Habbaniyah) Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
Afghanistan
A Good Day
http://icasualties.org/oif/ Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White
On this day...
1084 Anti-pope Clemens crowns German emperor Hendrik IV
1492 Queen Isabella of Castilia & Ferdinand of Aragon expels Jews
1547 Henry II succeeds François I as king of France
1644 Pope Urbanus VIII & duke of Parma signs Peace of Ferrara
1651 Great earthquake at Cuzco Peru
1683 Emperor Leopold I/Poland signs covenant against Turkey
1745 Jews are expelled from Prague
1808 French created Kingdom of Westphalia orders Jews to adopt family names
1814 Forces allied against Napoleon capture Paris France
1831 Québec & Montréal incorporated
1836 First monthly installment of The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens was published in London
1850 US population hits 23,191,876 (Black population: 3,638,808 (15.7%))
1854 Treaty of Kanagawa: Commodore Perry forces Japan to opens ports to foreign trade
1861 Confederacy takes over mint at New Orleans
1862 Civil War action at Island #10 on the Mississippi River
1865 Battle of Boydton, Virginia (White Oaks Roads, Dinwiddie Court House)
1865 General Pickette moves to 5 Forks, abandoning the defense of Peterburg
1880 1st town completely illuminated by electric lighting (Wabash IN)
1889 300 meter Eiffel Tower officially opens (commemorates French Revolution)
1896 Whitcomb Judson, Chicago IL, patents a hookless fastening (zipper)
1906 George Bernard Shaw's German version of "Caesar & Cleopatra" premieres in Berlin
1907 Romanian Army puts down Moldavian farmers' revolt
1909 Baseball rules players who jump contracts are suspended for 5 years
1909 Gustav Mahler conducts New York Philharmonic for his 1st time
1917 US purchases Danish West Indies for $25M & renames them Virgin Islands
1918 1st daylight savings time in US goes into effect
1921 Albert Einstein lectures in New York on his new theory of relativity
1921 British coal miners goes on strike
1923 1st dance marathon-NYC-Alma Cummings sets record of 27 hours
1923 French soldiers fire on workers at Krupp factory in Essen; 13 die
1926 German Special Court of Justice for state security disbands
1932 Ford publicly unveils its V-8 engine
1933 1st newspaper published on pine pulp paper, "Soperton News" (Georgia)
1933 Congress authorizes Civilian Conservation Corps
1933 German Republic gives power to Hitler
1939 Britain & France agree to support Poland if invaded by Germany
1940 Karelo-Finnish SSR becomes 12th Soviet republic (until 1956)
1943 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!" opens on Broadway
1943 US errantly bombs Rotterdam, kills 326
1944 Hungary orders all Jews to wear yellow stars
1945 Tennessee Williams' "Glass Menagerie" premieres in New York NY
1948 Congress passes Marshall Aid Act to rehabilitate war-torn Europe
1949 Newfoundland becomes Canada's 10th province
1951 US tanks exceed 38º of latitude in Korea
1953 Department of Health, Education & Welfare established
1953 UN Security Council nominates Dag Hammarskjöld Secretary-General
1954 US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs CO, established
1954 The siege of Dien Bien Phu, the last French outpost in Vietnam, begans
1954 USSR offers to join NATO
1955 Chase National (3rd largest bank) & Bank of the Manhattan Company (15th largest bank) merge to form Chase Manhattan
1958 US Navy forms atomic sub division
1958 USSR suspends nuclear weapons tests, & urges US & Britain to do same
1963 Los Angeles ends streetcar service after 90 years
1965 US ordered the 1st combat troops to Vietnam
1966 25,000 anti war demonstrators march in New York NY
1966 USSR launches Luna 10, 1st lunar orbiter
1967 Jimi Hendrix begins his tradition of burning his guitar
1968 LBJ announces he will not seek re-election
1971 William L Calley Jr sentenced to life for My Lai Massacre
1972 Official Beatles Fan Club closes down
1973 Ken Norton defeats Muhammad Ali in a 12 round split decision
1976 New Jersey Court rules Karen Anne Quinlan may be disconnected from respirator
1980 President Jimmy Carter deregulates banking industry
1981 1st Golden Raspberry Awards: Can't Stop the Music wins
1982 Rock group Doobie Brothers split up
1983 Earthquake in Colombia kills some 5,000 people
1985 El Salvador's President Duartes Christian-Democrats win election
1985 Wrestlemania I at Madison Square Garden New York, Hogan & Mr T beat Piper & Orndorf
1990 Dionisio Castro cycles world record 20 km (57:18.4)
1990 Riots began in London over the new poll tax laws
1990 Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev warned the defiant Baltic republic of Lithuania to annul its declaration of independence or face "grave consequences."
1991 Albania offers 1st multi-party election in 50 years
1991 Danny Bonaduce attacks a transvestite prostitute in Phoenix AZ
1991 Soviet Republic of Georgia endorsed independence; Warsaw Pact dissolves
1992 UN Security Council voted to ban flights & arms sales to Libya
1995 Federal judge orders injunction to end baseball strike
1996 1st Opening Day in history in March takes place in Seattle
1996 Pres. Clinton and Monica Lewinsky resumed their (non)sexual relationship
1997 Pioneer 10, ends its mission
1997 Scientists announced the first artificial human chromosomes that work properly inside living cells.
2000 The UN Security Council decided to let Iraq spend more money to repair its oil industry—an investment intended to boost the amount of food and medicine Baghdad could buy through the UN humanitarian program
2002 Connecticut beat Oklahoma 82-70 to conclude its second unbeaten season with a third women's national championship.
2003 13th day of Operation Iraqi Freedom US-led troops fought pitched battles with Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard within 50 miles of the capital. B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers struck communication and command centers in Baghdad, and cruise missiles set Iraq's Information Ministry ablaze. Casualties from the war to date US total: 40 dead, 7 captured, 18 missing; British total: 25 dead. Of 8,000 precision bombs dropped since the war began, 3,000 fell in the last 3 days. Port operations at Umm Qasr looked to be delayed for weeks.
2004 Air America Radio went live in 3 of largest US markets with a left-leaning, round-the-clock, talk format featuring Al Franken and Janeane Garofalo.
Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Malta : Republic Day/National Day (1974)
Devonshire, England : Blind Days (- it is unlucky to sow seed during the last 3 days of March).
World : Bunsen Burner Day
US : National Clam on the Half Shell Day
National Pothole Month
Religious Observances
Anglican, Lutheran : Commemoration of John Donne, priest
Religious History
1787 English founder of Methodism John Wesley wrote in a letter: 'When the witness and the fruit of the Spirit meet together, there can be no stronger proof that we are of God.... Were you to substitute...reason for the witness of the Spirit, you would never be established.'
1816 Death of Francis Asbury, 70, pioneer Methodist bishop. Sent to America in 1771 by John Wesley, he saw the new denomination grow from under 500 members to over 200,000 by the time of his death.
1950 American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'How the Savior suffered in the sinner's place! What tormented him in time menaces the sinner for eternity.'
1958 English apologist C. S. Lewis wrote in "Letters to an American Lady": 'What most often interrupts my own prayers is not great distractions but tiny ones things one will have to do or avoid in the course of the next hour.'
1976 American Presbyterian apologist Francis Schaeffer wrote in a letter: 'You must not lose confidence in God because you lost confidence in your pastor. If our confidence in God had to depend upon our confidence in any human person, we would be on shifting sand.'
Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.
Thought for the day :
"Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils."
Four times in 1 Samuel 18, the writer tells us that David "behaved wisely" (vv.5,14,15,30). In fact, he behaved "more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed" (v.30). 
