The FReeper Foxhole Remembers the 37th North Carolina Infantry (1861-1865) - Aug. 15th, 2005

America's Civil War Magazine | May 2003 | Michael C. Hardy

[SAMWolf]

Lord,

Keep our Troops forever in Your care

Give them victory over the enemy...

Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

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

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Tar Heel Tenacity:
37th North Carolina Infantry Regiment

The service of the 37th North Carolina epitomized the grit and determination of Tar Heel fighters.

The 37th North Carolina Infantry Regiment had a tempestuous beginning. Shortly after it was mustered into state service in November 1861, the regiment was issued flintlock muskets and blocks of lead for its members to melt down for their bullets. From private to regimental Colonel Charles C. Lee, the men protested the outdated weaponry. One of the newly elected officers wrote home, "We have Recd flint Lock Muskets but Lee says he will not Leed his Men in to battle without Number One arms."

Sixty percent of the regiment's troops came from the mountain counties of North Carolina; the other 40 percent came from the counties around Charlotte. Most of the men already realized that the concept of a "six-month's war" was an illusion. When the regiment was mustered into Confederate service in January 1862, it was for three years or the duration of war. Colonel Charles Lee was a native North Carolinian who, like his father, Colonel Stephen Lee of the 16th North Carolina, and a cousin, General Stephen Dill Lee, graduated from West Point (class of '56). Charles had pre-viously served with future generals Daniel Harvey Hill and James H. Lane in the 1st North Carolina Volunteers, which had earned the nickname the "Bethel Regiment" for its role in the June 10, 1861, Battle of Big Bethel.

Unfortunately, the .69-caliber arms that replaced the flintlocks were no great improvement. Originally flintlocks, they had been converted to percussion, probably comprising some of the 37,000 stands of antiquated muskets, some dating back to the War of 1812, that had been captured with the Federal arsenal in Fayetteville.

The 37th carried those arms in its first battle, at New Berne, N.C., on March 14, 1862. Colonel Lee had been placed in command of a demi-brigade, and Lt. Col. William M. Barbour, a Wilkesboro lawyer, commanded the regiment at New Berne. The defenders lost the battle, however, due mostly to factors all too common for the Confederacy. Their overall commander, Brig. Gen. Lawrence O'Bryan Branch, was given a large area to defend with too few troops, and the Federals he faced were still flush from victory at Roanoke Island.


Brig. Gen. Lawrence O'Bryan Branch

Soon after the battle, the 2nd North Carolina Brigade was created and General Branch was made its commander. The brigade was composed of the 7th, 18th, 28th, 33rd and 37th North Carolina Infantry regiments. The nephew of Governor John Branch, the brigadier had recently represented North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives. Throughout his tenure in the Confederate Army, Branch would carry a grudge against the service's prewar Regular Army officers, often disdainfully referring in private correspondences to fellow generals and commanders as "West Point Lieuts." Although Branch was controversial, few observers questioned the mettle of the fighting men in his brigade. By May 1, 1862, the brigade was on its way to central Virginia as part of the plan to increase the size of the Confederate forces in that state. Not long after its arrival, two companies of the 37th traded in their smoothbore muskets for British-made Enfield rifle-muskets. By late May, Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac had pushed Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston's army to the eastern outskirts of Richmond. Branch's brigade, which had been augmented with a battery of artillery, cavalry and two more infantry regiments, was deployed to guard the Virginia Centtral Railroad about a dozen miles north of Richmond. In response to a report of a large Confederate concentration at Hanover Court House, a couple of miles north of Branch's position, McClellan sent Brig. Gen. Fitz-John Porter's V Corps to investigate on the morning of May 27.

The previous night, Companies D and E of the 37th had been sent out to picket the Pamunkey River, to the east. In the morning, the Federals cut off the two companies, along with the 28th North Carolina, from the rest of Branch's force. While the 28th managed to fight its way out, most of the men in the two 37th companies were captured. Wagons were sent out to pick up the exhausted men who did escape.

The 37th was further weakened when Company B was detailed to guard an ammunition wagon and ambulance. Colonel Lee was once again placed in charge of two regiments, his diminished 37th and the 18th. Advancing through some woods, the 37th encountered the Federals, according to a 37th officer, "concealed behind logs, trees and in the cut of the road way which [was] bordered by a fence...." The Federal force was vastly superior to the 37th, but the same officer recalled that "Coln Lees men stood like victorious officers & men stood as firm as rocks within 15 or 20 paces of the Yankee line. Volley after volley of grape from their cannon & Minie Balls from there Infantry Mowed Down our men...." After a vicious fight, the bulk of Porter's corps arrived and the Confederates retreated, leaving many of their dead and wounded. The 37th suffered 26 killed, 61 wounded and 167 captured, about one in three men engaged that day.



Even while the battle raged north of Richmond, Branch's brigade was being assigned to a newly created division under the leadership of Maj. Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill. In a letter to Branch, A.P. Hill described his command as the "Light Division," and the 37th would spend the rest of the war as a member of that famous organization.

The regiment rendered good service during the Seven Days' battles. At Mechanicsville, it acted as a liaison between the newly named Army of Northern Virginia, under General Robert E. Lee, and the tardy Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. At Gaines' Mill, the regiment charged the Federal works several times before the Yankees retreated from their position. On June 30 at Frayser's Farm, the 37th was once again engaged. As Colonel Lee yelled "On, my brave boys!" he was mortally wounded by an artillery shell. When told of his death, the men of the 37th wept. William Barbour assumed command of the regiment and was promoted to full colonel on July 1.

The 37th next fought in the August Battles of Cedar Mountain and Second Manassas. After participating in the capture of Harpers Ferry, the regiment and the rest of Hill's Light Division made the exhausting and critical march from there to the Sharpsburg battlefield. The 37th then took part in Hill's famous counterattack that stopped the Federal IX Corps' drive toward the rear of Lee's army. Toward the end of the fighting, Branch was raising his field glasses to his eyes when a Federal bullet ended his life. Colonel James H. Lane of the 28th then assumed command of the brigade and was promoted to brigadier general.

[SAMWolf]

At the Battle of Fredericksburg, the 37th was on the left of a gap in the line created by a swamp at the base of Prospect Hill when the Federals were able to push through the gap. Colonel Barbour reacted by refusing his three right companies and fighting fiercely until his troops ran out of ammunition and were forced to retreat.

On May 2, 1863, the 37th participated in Jackson's famous flank march at Chancellorsville. The regiment was at the front that evening as Jackson reconnoitered the Federal position beyond the lines. And the 37th would fire the first shots of the infamous volley that rippled down the line to its left and mortally wounded Jackson. The next day, the 37th suffered the most casualties of any regiment engaged in the battle when its troops assaulted Federal entrenchments west of the Chancellor house. Barbour later called it "the bloodiest battle that I have ever witnessed."

The rest of the regiment would soon trade their smoothbores for Enfield and Springfield rifle-muskets. The 37th's troops put their new weapons to good use in the Gettysburg campaign. They drove elements of the Federal cavalry off the field on July 1, and fought again on July 3 in support of Brig. Gen. James J. Pettigrew's division during the grand assault commonly known as Pickett's Charge. After Gettysburg, the 37th fell back to Virginia, later fighting at Kelly's Ford and Mine Run.



Spring 1864 brought a new campaign launched by the Army of the Potomac.

Although not heavily engaged in the Wilderness, the 37th suffered high casualties in the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. During that fight, on the morning of May 12, the brigade helped seal the breach in the Confederate lines caused by a Union assault against the notorious Mule Shoe.

That afternoon, General Lee personally ordered a detachment of Lane's sharpshooters, commanded by a captain in the 37th, to reconnoiter a Yankee battery that was enfilading the Confederate position. When the sharpshooters reported back that the battery was unsupported, Lee ordered two brigades, including Lane's, to capture it. The 37th emerged from the woods just as a division from Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's IX Corps passed on the opposite side of the cannons. The 37th captured the battery, then slammed into the flank of the 17th Michigan and 51st Pennsylvania. A brief melee ensued, with Lane's brigade capturing three Federal flags, two by members of the 37th. But the Federals fought valiantly, earning three Medals of Honor during the fight and capturing Colonel Barbour.

Due to a lack of support, the Tar Heels were unable to continue the fight. Nevertheless, the force of their attack had halted Burnside's advance. The troops of the 37th could proudly say that they had saved the Confederate lines in the Mule Shoe.

After his capture, Colonel Barbour was taken to Old Capital prison in Washington. On June 15, he and 49 other Confederate officers were sent to Charleston, S.C., to be used as human shields by the Federal Army. Earlier, the Confederates had housed 50 Union officers in Charleston where, along with civilians, they came under fire from Federal artillery. After three tense weeks, an exchange agreement was made and the 50 Confederate officers managed to avoid being used as shields. Barbour was back with the 37th by the first week of August.


Brig. Gen. James H. Lane

As the summer of 1864 wore on, the 37th was seriously engaged along the North Anna River, but not at Cold Harbor. On August 16, Colonel Barbour was wounded in the left leg and submitted his resignation, but returned to his regiment before it was accepted. On September 30, at the Battle of Jones Farm, near Petersburg, he was again wounded, this time in the right hip. He was taken to Petersburg, where he died on October 1. Command devolved to Major Jackson L. Bost, a doctor from Union County. Bost would lead the regiment for the rest of the Petersburg campaign.

On March 24, 1865, Lane's brigade went into position as a reserve for Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon's attack on Fort Stedman. The attack failed, and the 37th went back into the trenches near its winter quarters. On March 29, the 37th's troops were forced to extend their intervals due to the redeployment of other brigades. The soldiers were spread so thin, according to Maj. Gen. Cadmus Wilcox, that they were 10 feet apart from each other.

A Federal attack on the morning of April 2 overwhelmed the 37th's thinned ranks, and during the short fight a member of the 37th Massachusetts captured its flag. The North Carolinians scattered, some falling into the works at Fort Gregg, where they helped halt the Federal advance and provide time for Lt. Gen. James Longstreet to arrive from Richmond. The war was all but over for members of the 37th. Many had been captured on April 2; many others started to work their way home. On April 12, when the 37th stacked its rifle-muskets, only 115 officers and men were left to surrender out of the 2,000 that had served with the regiment.

Additional Sources:

www.geocities.com/gaston_blues
www.37nc.org

[SAMWolf]

37th North Carolina Infantry

Assignments :

District of the Pamlico, Department of North Carolina (November 1861 -March 1862)
Branch's Brigade, District of the Pamlico, Department of North Carolina (March 1862)
Branch's Brigade, Department of North Carolina (April-May 1862)
Branch's Brigade, Department of Northern Virginia (May 1862)
Branch's Brigade, A. P. Hill's Division, Department of Northern Virginia (May-June 1862)
Branch's Brigade, A. P. Hill's Division, Ist Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (June-July 1862)
Branch's-Lane's Brigade, A. P. Hill's Division, 2nd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (July 1862-May 1863)
Lane's Brigade, Pender's-Wilcox's Division, 3rd Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (May 1863-April 1865).

Principal Engagements with Casualty List :

Date	Engagement	Killed	Wounded	Captured	Missing
17 Mar 1862	New Bern, NC	1	6	2	0
27 May 1862	Hanover Court House, VA	26	67	151	0
26 Jun 1862	Mechanicsville, VA	0	3	1	0
27 Jun 1862	Gaines Mill, VA	10	45	1	1
30 Jun 1862	Frayser's Farm, VA	6	21	3	0
1 Jul 1862	Malvern Hill, VA	1	2	0	0
9 Aug 1862	Cedar Mountain, VA	3	13	0	0
28-30 Aug 1862	2nd Manassas, VA	13	75	0	0
1 Sep 1862	Ox Hill, VA	2	18	1	0
13-16 Sep 1862	Harpers Ferry, WV	0	0	0	0
17 Sep 1862	Sharpsburg, MD	0	2	1	0
20 Sep 1862	Shepardstown, WV	0	6	0	0
13 Dec 1862	Fredericksburg, VA	19	92	31	2
1-4 May 1863	Chancellorsville, VA	34	206	6	0
1-3 Jul 1863	Gettysburg, PA	14	102	111	7
10 Jul 1863	Falling Waters, MD	0	0	2	0
18 Oct 1863	Bristoe Station, VA	0	0	1	0
5-6 May 1864	The Wilderness, VA	0	17	28	1
8-21 May 1864	Spotsylvania C. H., VA	17	41	47	2
22-26 May 1864	North Anna, VA	1	15	9	0
31 May-1 Jun 1864	Bethesda Church, VA	1	3	0	0
1 Jun 1864	Cold Harbor, VA	0	3	0	0
28 Jul 1864	Gravel Hill, VA	1	9	17	1
16 Aug 1864	Fussell's Mill, VA	1	4	10	0
25 Aug 1864	Reams' Station, VA	2	10	1	1
30 Sep 1864	Jones' Farm, VA	3	8	1	0
25 Mar 1865	Fort Stedman, VA	0	0	21	0
2 Apr 1865	Petersburg Final Assault, VA	5	6	174	0
5 Apr 1865	Amelia Court House, VA	0	1	2	0

[SAMWolf]

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



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Good Monday Morning Everyone.

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Ping for an AM read tomorrow . . .

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[Darksheare]

Morning!

[snippy_about_it]

First in again. Goodnight sweets.

[snippy_about_it]

You're up late. I'm up for a minute, hoping to give it another try and get some sleep.

[radu]

Good morning y'all!

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

[Aeronaut]

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[alfa6]

Monday Morning Bump for the Freeper Foxhole

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[GailA]

Good morning Snippy, Sam and ALL. Going to be another hot, hot day here, the AC was out at work yesterday, they should have shut the place down, to cheap to pay the AC man double time to come in and fix it.

[The Mayor]

August 15, 2005

It's Beautiful!

Read:
Mark 14:3-9

Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me." —Mark 14:6

Bible In One Year: Jeremiah 33-36

After being away on business, Terry wanted to pick up some small gifts for his children. The clerk at the airport gift shop recommended a number of costly items. "I don't have that much money with me," he said. "I need something less expensive." The clerk tried to make him feel that he was being cheap. But Terry knew his children would be happy with whatever he gave them, because it came from a heart of love. And he was right—they loved the gifts he bought.

During Jesus' last visit to the town of Bethany, Mary wanted to show her love for Him (Mark 14:3-9). So she brought "an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard" and anointed Him (v.3). The disciples asked angrily, "Why this waste?" (Matthew 26:8). Jesus told them to stop troubling her, for "she has done a good work for Me" (Mark 14:6). Another translation reads, "She has done a beautiful thing to Me." Jesus delighted in her gift, for it came from a heart of love. Even anointing Him for burial was beautiful!

What would you like to give to Jesus to show your love? Your time, talent, treasure? It doesn't matter if it's costly or inexpensive, whether others understand or criticize. Whatever is given from a heart of love is beautiful to Him. —Anne Cetas

With thankful hearts give praise to Jesus
For His blessings without end;
Let's give to Him our full devotion—
He's our Savior and our Friend. —D. De Haan

A healthy heart beats with love for Jesus.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
What Does It Take To Follow Christ?

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-Gram.

[Peanut Gallery]

mornin... smooch.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on August 15:
1432 Luigi Pulci Italy, poet (Morgante)
1688 Frederick-William I king of Prussia (1713-1740)
1769 Napoleon Bonaparte resident of Elba (emperor 1804-13, 1814-15)
1771 Sir Walter Scott Scotland, novelist/poet (Lady of Lake)
1785 Thomas De Quincey Eng, writer (Confessions of English Opium Eater)
1803 Sir James Douglas father of British Columbia
1845 Walter Crane England, painter/illustrator (Beauty & Beast)
1856 J Keir Hardie 1st Labour representative in British Parliament
1875 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor London, composer (Hiawatha's Wedding Feast)
1879 Ethel Barrymore Phila, actress (Constant Wife, Corn is Green)
1888 T.E. Lawrence Tremadoc Wales, soldier/writer (aka Lawrence of Arabia)
1890 Jacques Ibert Paris France, composer (Escales)
1892 Louis-Victor due de Broglie France, physicist (Nobel 1929)
1893 Harlow H Curtice pres of General Motors (1953-8)
1898 Lillian Carter Pres Carter's mom
1901 Arias Arnulfo 3 time president of Panama (1940-41, 49-51, 68)
1904 Bill Baird Grand Is Nebr, puppeteer (Kukla Fran & Ollie, Muppet Show)
1912 Julia Child Pasadena Calif, chef (French Chef)
1920 Huntz Hall actor (Cyclone, Gas Pump Girls, The Rating Game)
1922 Lukas Foss (Fuchs) Berlin Germany, composer (Prairie)
1923 Rose Marie NYC, actress (Sally Rogers-Dick Van Dyke Show)
1924 Phyllis Schlafly St Louis, Eagle Forum president
1924 Robert Bolt playwright (Man for All Seasons, Dr Zhivago)
1925 Mike Connors Fresno Calif, actor (Joe Mannix-Mannix, Night Kill)
1926 Georgiann Johnson Decorah Iowa, actress (Marge-Mr Peepers)
1931 Janice Rule Norwood Ohio, actress (Alvarez Kelly, Doctor's Wife)
1935 Abby Dalton Las Vegas NV, actress (Joey Bishop Show)
1935 Jim Dale Broadway entertainer (Barnum, My One & Only)
1935 Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr civil rights activist
1941 Don Rich Olympia Wash, guitarist/country singer (Hee Haw)
1943 Barbara Bouchet Reichenberg Czech, actress (Casino Royale)
1944 Linda Ellerbee Bryan Texas, newscaster (NBC News Overnight)
1945 Gene Upshaw NFL guard (Oakland), NFLPA leader
1946 Jimmy Webb Elk City Okla, songwriter (MacArthur Park, Up Up & Away)
1946 Kathryn Jean Whitmire Houston Texas, (4 time Mayor-Houston)
1947 Gerald Velez congas (Spyro Gyra-Morning Dance)
1947 Manley Lanier "Sonny" Carter Jr Macon Ga, USN/astro (STS 33)
1950 Princess Anne England (daughter of Queen Elizabeth II)
1950 Tess Harper actress (Amityville 3D, Tender Mercies)
1955 Larry Mathews Burbank Calif, actor (Ritchie-Dick Van Dyke Show)
1957 Zeljko Ivanek Yugoslavia, actor (Mass Appeal)
1960 Maureen "Peanut" Louie Harper SF, tennis player (Denver-1985)
1960 Tommy Aldridge heavy metal rocker (Ozzy-Diary of a Mad Man)
1967 F DeLorme Roche Jr. Roanoke, Virginia. Bartender extrodinaire (Guru of life, love & Libation)

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Deaths which occurred on August 15:
0069 Servius Sulpicius Galba, 6th emperor of Rome (68-69), murdered
1935 Wiley Post & Will Rogers killed in plane crash in Alaska
1975 Sheikh Mujibur Rahiman of Bangladesh killed in a military coup
1983 Anthony Costello actor, dies at 42
1988 Mohammed Zia ul-Haq, President of Pakistan, killed in plane crash
1991 Marietta Tree (UN Comm of Human Rights), dies at 74
1995 John Cameron Swayze Pioneering TV journalist and Timex watch pitchman dies 89
2000 Edward Walker (82), inventor of the lava lamp and promoter of nudism, died

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Take A Moment To Remember
GWOT Casualties

Iraq
15-Aug-2004 7 | US: 6 | UK: 0 | Other: 1
UKR Captain Yuriy Ivanov As Suwayrah (near) - Wasit Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US Private 1st Class Geoffrey Perez Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire
US Private 1st Class Fernando B. Hannon Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire
US Sergeant Daniel Michael Shepherd Ramadi - Anbar Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US 2nd Lieutenant James Michael Goins Najaf Hostile - hostile fire
US Specialist Mark Anthony Zapata Najaf Hostile - hostile fire
US Private 1st Class Brandon R. Sapp Najaf Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack


Afghanistan
A GOOD DAY


http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White
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Go here and I'll stop nagging.
http://www.taps.org/
(subtle hint SEND MONEY)

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On this day...
0636 Battle at Yarmuk, east of the Sea of Galilee, Islamic forces defeat Byzantine army gain control of Syria
0778 Battle at Roncevalles: Basques defeat Charlemagne
1057 Macbeth, King of Scotland, slain by son of King Duncan
1096 1st crusade crosses the Bosphorus
1261 Constantinople falls to Michael VIII of Nicea and his army.
1519 Panama City founded
1534 St. Ignatius of Loyola founds Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in Paris
1535 Asuncion, Paraguay founded
1549 Francis Xavier, Portuguese Jesuit missionary, lands in Kagoshima, Japan
1598 Hugh O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, leads an Irish force to victory over the British at Battle of Yellow Ford
1620 Mayflower sets sail from Southampton with 102 Pilgrims
1748 United Lutheran Church of US organized
1824 Freed American slaves forms country of Liberia
1832 Gregory XVI encyclical On liberalism & religious indifferentism
1843 National black convention meets (Buffalo NY)
1848 M Waldo Hanchett patents dental chair
1858 Regular mail to the Pacific coast begins
1863 Submarine "HL Hunley" arrives in Charleston on railroad cars
1864 Off New England coast, CSS Tallahassee captures 6 yankee schooners
1867 2nd Reform Bill extends suffrage in England
1870 Transcontinental Railway actually completed
1893 US no longer allowed exclusive rights in Bering Sea
1899 Louisville's Henry Dowling struck out 5 times in a game
1899 Henry Ford (36) quits job with the Edison Illuminating Company to start the Detroit Automobile Company, with himself as chief engineer.
1901 Arch Rock, danger to Bay shipping, blasted with 30 tons of nitro
1906 1st freight delivery tunnel system begins, underneath Chicago
1912 Yankee Guy Zinn sets record by stealing home twice in a game
1914 Panama Canal opens (under cost)
1918 1st full length cartoon (The Sinking of the Lusitania)
1918 US & Russia sever diplomatic ties
1931 Ernest Lassy completes longest canoe journey without port (6,102 mi)
1931 Roy Wilkins joined NAACP as asst secretary
1934 Bathysphere Explorers Charles William Beebe and Otis Barton were lowered in a spherical chamber called the "Bathysphere" to more than half a mile below the ocean's surface off the Bermuda Islands
1939 "Wizard of Oz" premiers at Grauman's Chinese Theater, Hollywood
1942 Japanese submarine I-25 departs Japan with a floatplane in its hold. It was assembled upon arriving off the West Coast of the US, and used to bomb U.S. forests
1944 Operation Dragoon begins. American 7th Army, British and French forces landed on the southern coast of France, between Toulon and Cannes
1945 South Korea liberated from Japanese rule
1945 US wartime rationing of gasoline & fuel oil ends
1947 India becomes independent, Islamic part becomes Pakistan
1948 Republic of Korea (South Korea) proclaimed (National Day)
1950 8.6 quake kills over 1,000 in Assam, India
1950 Battle of the Bowling Alley North Korean Army defeats 2 US Army divisions
1952 9" of rain fall creates a 20' wave in Lynmouth, England killing 34
1957 David Simons reaches 30,942 m in Man High 2 balloon
1957 USAF Capt Joe B Jordan reaches 31,513 m in F-104 jet fighter
1960 Congo (Brazzaville) gains independence from France (Natl Day)
1960 Mil Brave Lew Burdette no-hits Phila Phillies, 1-0
1960 UFO is sighted by 3 California patrolmen
1962 Shady Grove Baptist Church burned in Leesburg Georgia
1964 Phillies triple-play NY Mets
1964 Race riot in Dixmoor (Chicago suburb) Ill
1964 Ralph Boston of the US, sets then long jump record at 27' 3¬"
1965 Beatle's Shea Stadium concert
1966 Radio Free Asia (South Korea) begins radio transmission
1967 England's Marine Offense Bill making pirate radio stations a crime goes into effect, pirate station Radio 355 closes down
1968 Pirate Radio Free London, begins transmitting
1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair opens in NY State (Max Yasgur's Dairy Farm)(Don't take the brown acid)
1970 Patricia Palinkas becomes 1st woman pro football player (Orlando)
1971 Pres Nixon announces 90-day freeze on wages, prices & rents
1973 Black September kills 3 wounds 55 Athens
1974 Longest team (6) trampoline bouncing marathon (1,248 hours (52 days))
1974 South Korean President Park Chung-Hee escapes assassination
1975 Joanne Little acquitted of murder charges
1978 House of Reps approves (233-169), 39-month extension for ERA
1979 Andrew Young resigns as UN ambassador
1981 Robin Leamy of US swims record 7.98 kph for 50 m
1986 Pres Reagan decides to support a replacement for the Challenger
1987 US beats Cuba in the Pan-Am baseball
1988 NYC begins $70 million program to rebuild 900 Bronx apartments
1991 750,000 attend Paul Simon's free concert in Central Park
1991 UN Security Council, vote 13-to-one to authorize Iraq to export one-point-six billion dollars’ worth of oil in a tightly controlled sale to pay for desperately needed food, medicine (and new palaces, expanded raperooms for saddam).
1997 The Justice Department decided against prosecuting senior FBI officials in connection with an alleged cover-up that followed the deadly 1992 Ruby Ridge siege in Idaho.
1998 6,000 mink from a fur farm in Ringworm had been released by animal rights activists. The released mink caused a wildlife disaster as they preyed on all wildlife .(WOW who knew that minks are carnivores! Why couldn't they just eat tofu and bean sprouts?)
1999 Tiger Woods wins the PGA Championship, becoming the youngest player to win two majors since Seve Ballesteros.
2001 Israeli undercover troops in Hebron kill Emad Abu Sneiheh (25), a terrorist in the Tanzim militia

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

Chad, Congo-1960, India-1947 : Independence Day
Costa Rica : Mother's Day
Grenada, Liechtenstein, Corsica : National Day
Laos : Memorial Day
South Korea : Liberation Day (1945, 1948)
Hawaii : Admission Day (1959) (Friday)
Mich : Montrose-Blueberry Festival (Friday)
Yukon : Klondike Gold Day (1896) (Friday)
National Relaxation Day
Elvis International Tribute Week Begins
American Artists Appreciation Month

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Religious Observances
Ang, Luth : Commemoration of St Mary, virgin, mother of Our Lord
RC : Solemnity of the Assumption of the Virgin
Buddhist : Day of the Dead

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Religious History
1096 The armies of the First Crusade set out from Europe to deliver Jerusalem from the occupying forces of Islamic Turks. Championed by Peter the Hermit in 1093, Pope Urban II had sanctioned the crusade at the Council of Clermont in 1095.
1534 The Society of Jesus (Jesuits) was founded by Ignatius of Loyola, 43. Created to foster reform within Catholicism, and to undertake education and missionary work, this colorful religious order was formally approved by Pope Paul III in 1540.
1549 The first Christian missionaries to reach Japan landed at Kagoshima (on the coast of Kyushu, southernmost of the four main islands of Japan). They were a band of Spanish Jesuits, led by pioneer Catholic missionary Francis Xavier, 43.
1613 Birth of Jeremy Taylor, Anglican clergyman and devotional writer. Two of his works became classic expressions of Anglican spirituality: "The Rule and Exercise of Holy Living" (1650) and "The Rule and Exercise of Holy Dying" (1651).
1790 Father John Carroll, 55, was consecrated by Pius VI as the first Roman Catholic bishop (later, in 1811, the first archbishop) of the United States.

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

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Thousands of toads hop into Montana town

BIG SANDY, Mont. -- Thousands of quarter-sized toads have invaded this north-central Montana farming community, causing slippery streets and raising the entrepreneurial spirits of some.
The toads started showing up in the southeast portion of town in the past couple of weeks.


"I have no idea how many thousands of toads are in town," said Charlie Foussard. "At times, you just about can't take a step."
Karen Jesperson said some lawns in town are filled with so many toads, it looks like the grass is moving.
"They're pretty cute," she said.

Breezy Baumgarn, who works at the grocery store on Main Street, said driving in town is a little sticky because the roads are filled with tiny, smashed toads.
"Poor little toads," she said. "Everyone keeps running them over. They have nowhere to go."

Some are collecting the toads with plans to sell them to pet stores. Others are talking about trying them out as fish bait.

Larry Ophus, chief of the volunteer fire department, said the toads seem to be migrating from east to west and believes they will soon be on their way.
It was just two years ago that the town's streets were blocked by 10-foot drifts of tumbleweeds. Firefighters hauled the tumbleweeds away and burned them.
"The tumbleweeds were a hazard," Ophus said. "The toads are just a nuisance."

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Thought for the day :
"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
Napoleon Bonaparte

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Good morning everyone.

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our HERO-MARTYRS of 37th NC INF are REMEMBERED.

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MORNING GLORY FOLKS!