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The Crisis
by Thomas Paine

1793 engraving made by William Sharp after the portrait by painter George Romney painted the prior year. Both artists were English and both close asssociates of Paine. This is the portrait said to be the best likeness of Thomas Paine.

December 23, 1776

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but "to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER" and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.

Whether the independence of the continent was declared too soon, or delayed too long, I will not now enter into as an argument; my own simple opinion is, that had it been eight months earlier, it would have been much better. We did not make a proper use of last winter, neither could we, while we were in a dependent state. However, the fault, if it were one, was all our own [note]; we have none to blame but ourselves. But no great deal is lost yet. All that Howe has been doing for this month past, is rather a ravage than a conquest, which the spirit of the Jerseys, a year ago, would have quickly repulsed, and which time and a little resolution will soon recover.

I have as little superstition in me as any man living, but my secret opinion has ever been, and still is, that God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or leave them unsupportedly to perish, who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent method which wisdom could invent. Neither have I so much of the infidel in me, as to suppose that He has relinquished the government of the world, and given us up to the care of devils; and as I do not, I cannot see on what grounds the king of Britain can look up to heaven for help against us: a common murderer, a highwayman, or a house-breaker, has as good a pretence as he.

'Tis surprising to see how rapidly a panic will sometimes run through a country. All nations and ages have been subject to them. Britain has trembled like an ague at the report of a French fleet of flat-bottomed boats; and in the fourteenth [fifteenth] century the whole English army, after ravaging the kingdom of France, was driven back like men petrified with fear; and this brave exploit was performed by a few broken forces collected and headed by a woman, Joan of Arc. Would that heaven might inspire some Jersey maid to spirit up her countrymen, and save her fair fellow sufferers from ravage and ravishment! Yet panics, in some cases, have their uses; they produce as much good as hurt. Their duration is always short; the mind soon grows through them, and acquires a firmer habit than before. But their peculiar advantage is, that they are the touchstones of sincerity and hypocrisy, and bring things and men to light, which might otherwise have lain forever undiscovered. In fact, they have the same effect on secret traitors, which an imaginary apparition would have upon a private murderer. They sift out the hidden thoughts of man, and hold them up in public to the world. Many a disguised Tory has lately shown his head, that shall penitentially solemnize with curses the day on which Howe arrived upon the Delaware.

As I was with the troops at Fort Lee, and marched with them to the edge of Pennsylvania, I am well acquainted with many circumstances, which those who live at a distance know but little or nothing of. Our situation there was exceedingly cramped, the place being a narrow neck of land between the North River and the Hackensack. Our force was inconsiderable, being not one-fourth so great as Howe could bring against us. We had no army at hand to have relieved the garrison, had we shut ourselves up and stood on our defence. Our ammunition, light artillery, and the best part of our stores, had been removed, on the apprehension that Howe would endeavor to penetrate the Jerseys, in which case Fort Lee could be of no use to us; for it must occur to every thinking man, whether in the army or not, that these kind of field forts are only for temporary purposes, and last in use no longer than the enemy directs his force against the particular object which such forts are raised to defend. Such was our situation and condition at Fort Lee on the morning of the 20th of November, when an officer arrived with information that the enemy with 200 boats had landed about seven miles above; Major General [Nathaniel] Green, who commanded the garrison, immediately ordered them under arms, and sent express to General Washington at the town of Hackensack, distant by the way of the ferry = six miles.

Our first object was to secure the bridge over the Hackensack, which laid up the river between the enemy and us, about six miles from us, and three from them. General Washington arrived in about three-quarters of an hour, and marched at the head of the troops towards the bridge, which place I expected we should have a brush for; however, they did not choose to dispute it with us, and the greatest part of our troops went over the bridge, the rest over the ferry, except some which passed at a mill on a small creek, between the bridge and the ferry, and made their way through some marshy grounds up to the town of Hackensack, and there passed the river. We brought off as much baggage as the wagons could contain, the rest was lost. The simple object was to bring off the garrison, and march them on till they could be strengthened by the Jersey or Pennsylvania militia, so as to be enabled to make a stand. We staid four days at Newark, collected our out-posts with some of the Jersey militia, and marched out twice to meet the enemy, on being informed that they were advancing, though our numbers were greatly inferior to theirs. Howe, in my little opinion, committed a great error in generalship in not throwing a body of forces off from Staten Island through Amboy, by which means he might have seized all our stores at Brunswick, and intercepted our march into Pennsylvania; but if we believe the power of hell to be limited, we must likewise believe that their agents are under some providential control.

I shall not now attempt to give all the particulars of our retreat to the Delaware; suffice it for the present to say, that both officers and men, though greatly harassed and fatigued, frequently without rest, covering, or provision, the inevitable consequences of a long retreat, bore it with a manly and martial spirit. All their wishes centred in one, which was, that the country would turn out and help them to drive the enemy back. Voltaire has remarked that King William never appeared to full advantage but in difficulties and in action; the same remark may be made on General Washington, for the character fits him. There is a natural firmness in some minds which cannot be unlocked by trifles, but which, when unlocked, discovers a cabinet of fortitude; and I reckon it among those kind of public blessings, which we do not immediately see, that God hath blessed him with uninterrupted health, and given him a mind that can even flourish upon care.

I shall conclude this paper with some miscellaneous remarks on the state of our affairs; and shall begin with asking the following question, Why is it that the enemy have left the New England provinces, and made these middle ones the seat of war? The answer is easy: New England is not infested with Tories, and we are. I have been tender in raising the cry against these men, and used numberless arguments to show them their danger, but it will not do to sacrifice a world either to their folly or their baseness. The period is now arrived, in which either they or we must change our sentiments, or one or both must fall. And what is a Tory? Good God! What is he? I should not be afraid to go with a hundred Whigs against a thousand Tories, were they to attempt to get into arms. Every Tory is a coward; for servile, slavish, self-interested fear is the foundation of Toryism; and a man under such influence, though he may be cruel, never can be brave.

But, before the line of irrecoverable separation be drawn between us, let us reason the matter together: Your conduct is an invitation to the enemy, yet not one in a thousand of you has heart enough to join him. Howe is as much deceived by you as the American cause is injured by you. He expects you will all take up arms, and flock to his standard, with muskets on your shoulders. Your opinions are of no use to him, unless you support him personally, for 'tis soldiers, and not Tories, that he wants.

I once felt all that kind of anger, which a man ought to feel, against the mean principles that are held by the Tories: a noted one, who kept a tavern at Amboy, was standing at his door, with as pretty a child in his hand, about eight or nine years old, as I ever saw, and after speaking his mind as freely as he thought was prudent, finished with this unfatherly expression, "Well! give me peace in my day." Not a man lives on the continent but fully believes that a separation must some time or other finally take place, and a generous parent should have said, "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace;" and this single reflection, well applied, is sufficient to awaken every man to duty. Not a place upon earth might be so happy as America. Her situation is remote from all the wrangling world, and she has nothing to do but to trade with them. A man can distinguish himself between temper and principle, and I am as confident, as I am that God governs the world, that America will never be happy till she gets clear of foreign dominion. Wars, without ceasing, will break out till that period arrives, and the continent must in the end be conqueror; for though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire.

America did not, nor does not want force; but she wanted a proper application of that force. Wisdom is not the purchase of a day, and it is no wonder that we should err at the first setting off. From an excess of tenderness, we were unwilling to raise an army, and trusted our cause to the temporary defence of a well-meaning militia. A summer's experience has now taught us better; yet with those troops, while they were collected, we were able to set bounds to the progress of the enemy, and, thank God! they are again assembling. I always considered militia as the best troops in the world for a sudden exertion, but they will not do for a long campaign. Howe, it is probable, will make an attempt on this city [Philadelphia]; should he fail on this side the Delaware, he is ruined. If he succeeds, our cause is not ruined. He stakes all on his side against a part on ours; admitting he succeeds, the consequence will be, that armies from both ends of the continent will march to assist their suffering friends in the middle states; for he cannot go everywhere, it is impossible. I consider Howe as the greatest enemy the Tories have; he is bringing a war into their country, which, had it not been for him and partly for themselves, they had been clear of.

Should he now be expelled, I wish with all the devotion of a Christian, that the names of Whig and Tory may never more be mentioned; but should the Tories give him encouragement to come, or assistance if he come, I as sincerely wish that our next year's arms may expel them from the continent, and the Congress appropriate their possessions to the relief of those who have suffered in well-doing. A single successful battle next year will settle the whole. America could carry on a two years' war by the confiscation of the property of disaffected persons, and be made happy by their expulsion. Say not that this is revenge, call it rather the soft resentment of a suffering people, who, having no object in view but the good of all, have staked their own all upon a seemingly doubtful event. Yet it is folly to argue against determined hardness; eloquence may strike the ear, and the language of sorrow draw forth the tear of compassion, but nothing can reach the heart that is steeled with prejudice.

Quitting this class of men, I turn with the warm ardor of a friend to those who have nobly stood, and are yet determined to stand the matter out: I call not upon a few, but upon all: not on this state or that state, but on every state: up and help us; lay your shoulders to the wheel; better have too much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake. Let it be told to the future world, that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet and to repulse it. Say not that thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thousands; throw not the burden of the day upon Providence, but "show your faith by your works," that God may bless you. It matters not where you live, or what rank of life you hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all. The far and the near, the home counties and the back, the rich and the poor, will suffer or rejoice alike. The heart that feels not now is dead; the blood of his children will curse his cowardice, who shrinks back at a time when a little might have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

My own line of reasoning is to myself as straight and clear as a ray of light. Not all the treasures of the world, so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an offensive war, for I think it murder; but if a thief breaks into my house, burns and destroys my property, and kills or threatens to kill me, or those that are in it, and to "bind me in all cases whatsoever" to his absolute will, am I to suffer it? What signifies it to me, whether he who does it is a king or a common man; my countryman or not my countryman; whether it be done by an individual villain, or an army of them? If we reason to the root of things we shall find no difference; neither can any just cause be assigned why we should punish in the one case and pardon in the other. Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul by swearing allegiance to one whose character is that of a sottish, stupid, stubborn, worthless, brutish man. I conceive likewise a horrid idea in receiving mercy from a being, who at the last day shall be shrieking to the rocks and mountains to cover him, and fleeing with terror from the orphan, the widow, and the slain of America.

There are cases which cannot be overdone by language, and this is one. There are persons, too, who see not the full extent of the evil which threatens them; they solace themselves with hopes that the enemy, if he succeed, will be merciful. It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf, and we ought to guard equally against both. Howe's first object is, partly by threats and partly by promises, to terrify or seduce the people to deliver up their arms and receive mercy. The ministry recommended the same plan to Gage, and this is what the tories call making their peace, "a peace which passeth all understanding" indeed! A peace which would be the immediate forerunner of a worse ruin than any we have yet thought of. Ye men of Pennsylvania, do reason upon these things!

Were the back counties to give up their arms, they would fall an easy prey to the Indians, who are all armed: this perhaps is what some Tories would not be sorry for. Were the home counties to deliver up their arms, they would be exposed to the resentment of the back counties who would then have it in their power to chastise their defection at pleasure. And were any one state to give up its arms, that state must be garrisoned by all Howe's army of Britons and Hessians to preserve it from the anger of the rest. Mutual fear is the principal link in the chain of mutual love, and woe be to that state that breaks the compact. Howe is mercifully inviting you to barbarous destruction, and men must be either rogues or fools that will not see it. I dwell not upon the vapors of imagination; I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as A, B, C, hold up truth to your eyes.

I thank God, that I fear not. I see no real cause for fear. I know our situation well, and can see the way out of it. While our army was collected, Howe dared not risk a battle; and it is no credit to him that he decamped from the White Plains, and waited a mean opportunity to ravage the defenceless Jerseys; but it is great credit to us, that, with a handful of men, we sustained an orderly retreat for near an hundred miles, brought off our ammunition, all our field pieces, the greatest part of our stores, and had four rivers to pass. None can say that our retreat was precipitate, for we were near three weeks in performing it, that the country might have time to come in. Twice we marched back to meet the enemy, and remained out till dark. The sign of fear was not seen in our camp, and had not some of the cowardly and disaffected inhabitants spread false alarms through the country, the Jerseys had never been ravaged.

Once more we are again collected and collecting; our new army at both ends of the continent is recruiting fast, and we shall be able to open the next campaign with sixty thousand men, well armed and clothed. This is our situation, and who will may know it. By perseverance and fortitude we have the prospect of a glorious issue; by cowardice and submission, the sad choice of a variety of evils -- a ravaged country -- a depopulated city -- habitations without safety, and slavery without hope -- our homes turned into barracks and bawdy-houses for Hessians, and a future race to provide for, whose fathers we shall doubt of. Look on this picture and weep over it! and if there yet remains one thoughtless wretch who believes it not, let him suffer it unlamented.

The Crisis: PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 12, 1777

THOSE who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it. The event of yesterday was one of those kind of alarms which is just sufficient to rouse us to duty, without being of consequence enough to depress our fortitude. It is not a field of a few acres of ground, but a cause, that we are defending, and whether we defeat the enemy in one battle, or by degrees, the consequences will be the same.

Look back at the events of last winter and the present year, there you will find that the enemy's successes always contributed to reduce them. What they have gained in ground, they paid so dearly for in numbers, that their victories have in the end amounted to defeats. We have always been masters at the last push, and always shall be while we do our duty. Howe has been once on the banks of the Delaware, and from thence driven back with loss and disgrace: and why not be again driven from the Schuylkill? His condition and ours are very different. He has everybody to fight, we have only his one army to cope with, and which wastes away at every engagement: we can not only reinforce, but can redouble our numbers; he is cut off from all supplies, and must sooner or later inevitably fall into our hands.

Shall a band of ten or twelve thousand robbers, who are this day fifteen hundred or two thousand men less in strength than they were yesterday, conquer America, or subdue even a single state? The thing cannot be, unless we sit down and suffer them to do it. Another such a brush, notwithstanding we lost the ground, would, by still reducing the enemy, put them in a condition to be afterwards totally defeated.

Could our whole army have come up to the attack at one time, the consequences had probably been otherwise; but our having different parts of the Brandywine creek to guard, and the uncertainty which road to Philadelphia the enemy would attempt to take, naturally afforded them an opportunity of passing with their main body at a place where only a part of ours could be posted; for it must strike every thinking man with conviction, that it requires a much greater force to oppose an enemy in several places, than is sufficient to defeat him in any one place.

Men who are sincere in defending their freedom, will always feel concern at every circumstance which seems to make against them; it is the natural and honest consequence of all affectionate attachments, and the want of it is a vice. But the dejection lasts only for a moment; they soon rise out of it with additional vigor; the glow of hope, courage and fortitude, will, in a little time, supply the place of every inferior passion, and kindle the whole heart into heroism.

There is a mystery in the countenance of some causes, which we have not always present judgment enough to explain. It is distressing to see an enemy advancing into a country, but it is the only place in which we can beat them, and in which we have always beaten them, whenever they made the attempt. The nearer any disease approaches to a crisis, the nearer it is to a cure. Danger and deliverance make their advances together, and it is only the last push, in which one or the other takes the lead.

There are many men who will do their duty when it is not wanted; but a genuine public spirit always appears most when there is most occasion for it. Thank God! our army, though fatigued, is yet entire. The attack made by us yesterday, was under many disadvantages, naturally arising from the uncertainty of knowing which route the enemy would take; and, from that circumstance, the whole of our force could not be brought up together time enough to engage all at once. Our strength is yet reserved; and it is evident that Howe does not think himself a gainer by the affair, otherwise he would this morning have moved down and attacked General Washington.

Gentlemen of the city and country, it is in your power, by a spirited improvement of the present circumstance, to turn it to a real advantage. Howe is now weaker than before, and every shot will contribute to reduce him. You are more immediately interested than any other part of the continent: your all is at stake; it is not so with the general cause; you are devoted by the enemy to plunder and destruction: it is the encouragement which Howe, the chief of plunderers, has promised his army. Thus circumstanced, you may save yourselves by a manly resistance, but you can have no hope in any other conduct. I never yet knew our brave general, or any part of the army, officers or men, out of heart, and I have seen them in circumstances a thousand times more trying than the present. It is only those that are not in action, that feel languor and heaviness, and the best way to rub it off is to turn out, and make sure work of it.

Our army must undoubtedly feel fatigue, and want a reinforcement of rest though not of valor. Our own interest and happiness call upon us to give them every support in our power, and make the burden of the day, on which the safety of this city depends, as light as possible. Remember, gentlemen, that we have forces both to the northward and southward of Philadelphia, and if the enemy be but stopped till those can arrive, this city will be saved, and the enemy finally routed. You have too much at stake to hesitate. You ought not to think an hour upon the matter, but to spring to action at once. Other states have been invaded, have likewise driven off the invaders. Now our time and turn is come, and perhaps the finishing stroke is reserved for us. When we look back on the dangers we have been saved from, and reflect on the success we have been blessed with, it would be sinful either to be idle or to despair.

I close this paper with a short address to General Howe. You, sir, are only lingering out the period that shall bring with it your defeat. You have yet scarce began upon the war, and the further you enter, the faster will your troubles thicken. What you now enjoy is only a respite from ruin; an invitation to destruction; something that will lead on to our deliverance at your expense. We know the cause which we are engaged in, and though a passionate fondness for it may make us grieve at every injury which threatens it, yet, when the moment of concern is over, the determination to duty returns. We are not moved by the gloomy smile of a worthless king, but by the ardent glow of generous patriotism. We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men to live in. In such a case we are sure that we are right; and we leave to you the despairing reflection of being the tool of a miserable tyrant.

Today's Educational Sources and suggested further reading:

http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/p/paine.htm#Life
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/B/tpaine/paine.htm http://www.ushistory.org/paine/crisis/index.htm http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/ www.thomaspaine.org/

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on July 18:
1635 Robert Hooke Isle of Wight, physicist (Micrographia)
1720 Gilbert White "father of British naturalists"
1796 Feargus O'Connor County Cork, leader of the English Chartists
1811 William Makepeace Thackeray England, Victorian novelist (Vanity Fair)
1848 William Gilbert Grace Victorian England's greatest cricketer
1853 Hendrik Antoon Lorentz Holland, physicist (Nobel 1902)
1865 Laurence Housman England, author/playwright (Victoria Regina)
1887 Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian politician and Nazi collaborator during World War II.
1890 Charles Wilson Pres of General Motors (1940-53)/Sec of Def (1953-57)
1891 Gene Lockhart NYC, actor (Going My Way)
1894 Bernard Wagenaar Arnhem Holland, composer (3 Songs for the Chinese)
1903 Chill Wills Seagoville Texas, actor (Fronteir Circus, Rounders)
1906 Clifford Odets US, dramatist (1961 Award of Merit-Golden Boy)
1906 S.I. Hayakawa (Sen-R-CA) educator (Language in Action)
1909 Andrei Gromyko USSR, diplomat/USSR President (1985-89) [7/5 OS]
1909 Harriet Nelson Des Moines, actress (Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet)
1910 Red Skelton comedian (Clem Kadiddlehopper, Freddie the Freeloader)
1911 Hume Cronyn London Ontario, actor (World According to Garp, Cocoon)
1913 Marvin Miller St Louis Mo, actor (Space Patrol, Millionaire)
1914 Mack Robinson US, 200m dash (Olympic-silver-1932)
1916 Harriet Hilliard Nelson singer/actress (Ozzie & Harriet)
1918 Jane Frazee Duluth Minn, actress/singer (Alice-Beulah)
1918 Nelson Mandela Qunu South Africa, political prisoner (ANC)
1918 Pamela Brown England, actress (Alice in Wonderland, Dracula)
1921 John H Glenn Jr Cambridge Ohio, Col USMC astronaut (Mer 6, Sen-D-Oh)
1924 Howard Roberts Burlington NJ, choral director (Leslie Uggams Show)
1924 Inge S”rensen Denmark, 200m breaststroke (Olympic-bronze-1936)
1925 Shirley Strickland de la Hunty Austria, 100m dash (Oly-bronze-1948)
1926 Jane Hylton London England, actress (Adv of Sir Lancelot)
1929 "Screamin Jay" Hawkins Cleveland, rocker (I Put a Spell on You)
1929 Dick Button commentator/figure skater (Olympic-gold-1948, 1952)
1933 R Murray Schafer Sarnia Ontario, Canada, composer (Patria)
1933 Yevgeny Yevtushenko Russia, poet (Bratsk Station)
1935 Tenley Albright US, doctor/figure skater (Olympic-gold-1956)
1938 Britt Leach Gadsen Ala, actor (Mickey-Spencer's Pilots)
1939 Brian Auger London, fusion keyboardist (Befour, Genesis)
1939 Dion DiMucci Bronx, rocker (Dion & the Belmonts-Teenager in Love)
1939 Hunter S Thompson writer (Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas)
1940 James Brolin LA Calif, actor (Dr Kiley-Marcus Welby, Peter-Hotel)
1940 Joseph Torre outfield/manager (Braves, Mets, 1971 NL MVP)
1941 Lonnie Mack Aurora Indiana, rocker (Baby What's Wrong)
1941 Marcia Jones Smoke Okla, 500m kayak (Olympic-bronze-1964)
1941 Martha Reeves Detroit Mich, singer (& the Vandellas-Dancing in St)
1943 Bobby Sherman Santa Monica Calif, singer (Shindig, Here Comes Brides)
1943 Calvin Peete black PGA golfer
1944 Jonelle Allen NYC, actress (Bessie-Palmerstown USA, Berringers)
1947 Ayn Rumen Bkln NY, actress (Janet-McLean Stevenson Show)
1947 Kurt Mann Roslyn NY, actor
1954 Ricky Skaggs singer (Toy Hearts, 2 Different Worlds)
1955 Teresa Ann Savoy London England, actress (Caligula)
1958 Nigel Twist rocker (The Alarm-In the Summertime)
1959 Audrey Landers Phila, actress (Afton-Dallas, Chorus Line)
1961 Elizabeth McGovern Evanston Ill, actress (Once Upon a Time in Amer)
1970 Patrick Dancy TV rocker (Guys Next Door-I Was Made For You)

Deaths which occurred on July 18:
1374 Francesco Petrarch Italian poet, dies at 69
1650 Christoph Scheiner German astronomer, dies at 74
1792 American naval hero John Paul Jones died in Paris at age 45.
1872 Benito Ju rez Cuban justice/general (battle of Acapulco), dies at 66
1899 Horatio Alger Jr American clergyman & author, dies
1966 Bobby Fuller rocker (I Fought the Law), found dead
1969 Barbara Pepper actress (Doris Ziffel-Green Acres), dies at 57
1973 Jack Hawkins actor (Ben Hur, Bridge Over River Kwai), , dies at 62
1984 James Oliver Huberty shot by police after killing 21 in McDonalds
1989 Rebecca Schaeffer actress (My Sister Sam) is shot by a fan at 21
1990 Karl Menninger psychatrist (Menninger Clinic), dies at 96 from cancer

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 AVORE MALCOLM A. HALLWELL ME.
[AFT SANK AFTER LAUNCH FROM CVA 34]
1965 DENTON JEREMIAH A. MOBILE AL.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1965 TSCHUDY WILLIAM M. HIGHLAND IL.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 HARTMAN RICHARD D. CLARK NY.
[03/06/74 REMAINS RETURNED]
1968 SEABLOM EARL F. ISHPEMING MI.
1971 ASTON JAY S. ROCKY RIVER OH.

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

On this day...
64 Great Fire of Rome begins (Nero didn't fiddle)
390 -BC- Battle of Allia-Gauls inflict heavy casualties on Romans
1290 King Edward I of England orders expulsion of Jews
1536 Pope's authority declared void in England
1716 Jews are expelled from Brussels Belgium
1753 Lemuel Haynes, escapes from slaveholder in Framingham Mass
1814 British capture Prairie du Chien (Wisc)
1853 1st train to cross the US-Canada boundary, Portland, Me.-Montr‚al, PQ
1853 Completion of Grand Trunk Line, Americas 1st intl railroad
1872 Britain introduces secret ballot voting
1877 Inventor Thomas Edison records the human voice for the first time.
1904 P Gotz discovers asteroid #538 Friederike
1913 After 68 straight innings Christy Mathewson gives up a walk
1914 US army air service 1st comes into being, in the Signal Corps
1915 Boston Braves start move from last place to become world series champs
1918 US & French forces launch Aisne-Marne offensive in WW I
1927 Ty Cobb's 4,000th career hit
1931 1st air-conditioned ship (Mariposa) launched
1932 US & Canada signed a treaty to develop St Lawrence Seaway
1936 Spanish Civil War begans, Gen Francisco Franco led uprising
1938 Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan arrives in Ireland-left NY for Calif
1940 1st successful helicopter flight, Stratford, Ct
1942 1st legal NJ horse race in 50 years; Garden State Park track opens
1942 Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe, 1st jet fighter, takes 1st flight
1947 Tigers shut out Yanks 2-0, end 19 game win streak
1947 US receives UN trusteeship over Pacific Islands
1948 Pat Seerey of Chicago White Sox hits 4 HRs in a game
1951 Jersey Joe Walcott at 37 becomes oldest to win heavyweight champion
1951 Jersey Joe Walcott KOs Ezzard Charles in 5 for heavyweight belt
1951 Uruguay accepts its constitution
1954 Cards losing 8-1 to Phillies begin stalling in 5th, they forefeit game
1955 1st electric power generated from atomic energy sold commercially
1959 1st black to win a major golf tournament (William Wright)
1960 Baseball's NL votes to add Houston & NY franchises
1964 Race riot in Harlem (NYC); riots spread to Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bkln)
1965 Zond 3 launched to fly by Moon, enters solar orbit
1966 Carl Sagan turns 1 billion seconds old
1966 Gemini 10 launched
1967 Silver hits record $1.87 an ounce in NY
1968 C Torres discovers asteroid #2654 Ristenpart
1968 Intel incorporates
1969 Joe Namath agrees to sell interest in Bachelors 3, to stay in NFL
1969 Mary Jo Kopechne & Sen Kennedy plunge off Chappaquiddick bridge
1970 Arthur Brown arrested for stripping on stage in Palemo Sicily
1970 Ron Hunt gets hit by a pitch for a record 119th time
1970 Willie Mays hits # 3,000
1972 200,000 attend Mt Pocono rock festival in Penns
1974 World's tallest structure, 646-m Polish radio mast, completed
1975 Jury can't decide on trial of Dave Fopbes of Boston Bruins (1st athlete indicted for excessive violence during play)
1976 Thiokol conducts 2-min firing of space shuttle's SRB at Brigham, Ut
1978 Billy Martin suspends Reggie Jackson for not bunting
1978 Egyptian & Israeli officials begin 2 days of talks
1979 Gold hits record $303.85 an ounce in London
1980 Billy Joel's Glass Houses album tops charts
1980 Rohini 1, 1st Indian satellite, launches into orbit
1984 James Huberty kills 21 McDonalds patrons in San Ysidro Calif
1984 Walter F Mondale wins Democratic presidential nomination in SF
1986 Videotapes released showing Titanic's sunken remains
1987 Molly Yard elected new pres of Natl Org for Women
1987 Yanks Don Mattingly ties major league record of HRs in 8 cons games

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

Spain : Labor Day/National Day
Uruguay : Constitution Day/Jura de la Constituci¢n (1951)
Antibigot Day.
International Railroad Day
National Lamb and Wool Month

Religious Observances
Old Catholic : Feast of St Camillus de Lellis, confessor

Religious History
1504 Birth of Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss reformer. He continued Zwingli's work afterhis death at Kappel (1531), and composed the Second Helvetic Confession in 1566.
1753 Birth of Lemuel Haynes, colonial American Congregational clergyman. In 1785,Haynes, 32, was ordained to a church in Torrington, Connecticut, making him the firstAfrican-American to pastor a white church.
1870 The Vatican I Ecumenical Council issued the proclamation 'Pastor Aeternus,'declaring the pope's primacy and infallibility in deciding faith and moral matters. (FewProtestants agree with this doctrine.)
1876 American philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson noted: 'Great men are theywho see that spiritual is stronger than material, that thoughts rule the world.'
1944 German theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote from prison: 'Thereligious act is always something partial; "faith" is something whole, involving the wholeof one's life. Jesus calls us not to new religion but to life.'

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

Thought for the day :
"The greatest programming project of all took six days; on the seventh day the programmer rested."

Today's 'You Might Be A Redneck If' Joke...
"Bikers back down from your momma."

Murphy's Law of the Day...
"The degree of technical competence is inversely proportional to the level of management."

Air Power
Boeing B-47 "StratoJet"

B-47 research and development began in 1945 with the first prototype flight in December 1947. The Air Force wanted a high-altitude, medium-range, subsonic bomber. At that time, four contractors were developing bombers. Two designs were conventional bombers in the mold of the B-29, while the more radical designs were the Northrop flying wing and the Boeing swept wing jet. In this era before the SAM, fighter aircraft were considered the main threat to bombers. World War II had shown that stripped down B-29's with near-fighter speed and a higher altitude ceiling could only be successfully intercepted from the rear.

With the speed and maneuverability of the fighters of the late forties, Boeing's swept-wing XB-47 won the bomber competition and swiftly transformed the XB-46 and the XB-48 into aviation footnotes. Six Allison J35-2 turbojet engines slung in pods beneath the swept-back wings gave the prototype Stratojet nimble performance, and helped to validate a design concept still widely used today. Although uprated J47-GE-3s were soon substituted, the B-47 also carried mountings for 18 solid-fuel booster rockets in the aft fuselage to shorten the takeoff roll. Flight testing continued through 1951, and B-47's began entering the inventory in 1952. ICBMs and SLBMs did not yet exist, and the penetrating bomber was the only nuclear strike vehicle available. A total of 2,039 B-47's were funded and built in a serial production that lasted until 1956.

Although heavier than the heaviest World War II bomber, the B-47 was designed to be a medium-range penetrator with approximately a 3,500-nm range. This was not a problem in the early 1950's since forward basing was available in the United Kingdom, Spain, Morocco, Guam, and Alaska. In addition, the B-47 was equipped with an air refueling capability and, on several occasions, 36-hour missions were flown. Thus, when it initially entered the inventory, its range was sufficient.

The aircraft's payload capacity was limited to 20,000 pounds internally. Since nuclear weapons were large in the early 1950's, the bomb bay was limited to one or two of high yield. But this lack of payload capacity was compensated for by the large numbers of B-47's that were purchased (at a cost of less than $2 million per airplane) which resulted in an acceptable overall weapon delivery capacity. The B-47 was also capable of carrying 13 500-pound or 8 1,000-pound conventional bombs.52 Although no B-47 squadron was ever equipped with any type of missile, the B-47 was used on several occasions as a test aircraft for missile launches. The biggest aid to the B-47 payload was nuclear weapon technology which developed smaller weapons.

Serial production made incorporating changes easier; the most numerous models were the B and E series. There were many production improvements made to include more powerful engines with water injection, the addition of tail guns, ejection seats, increased maximum gross weight, and bomb bay modifications for new weapons technology. Once deployed, modifications were numerous. The most significant was the structural revision to convert the B-47 from a high to a low altitude penetrator due to the development of Soviet SAMs in the mid 1950's. In May 1960, Gary Powers' U-2 was shot down by a Soviet SAM, vividly demonstrating Soviet high altitude defense capabilities.

Besides structural modifications, ECM and other avionics were updated. Some B-47's were modified into reconnaissance and other specialized aircraft. Since space was a limitation, most aircraft modified for reconnaissance and special missions were not capable of carrying bombs. However, the RB-47B could be converted back to a bomber. The B-47 had the capability to be modified but was restricted by space limitations.

The Air Force accepted a grand total of 2,041 B-47s (including the first 2 experimental planes and the prototype of a never-produced configuration). All other B-47s in the Air Force operational inventory, be they weather reconnaissance aircraft (WB-47Es), ETB-47E combat crew trainer, QB-47 drones, or others, were acquired through post-production reconfiguration.

In December 1953 SAC had 8 B-47 Medium Bomber Wings, and a year later the SAC inventory counted 17 fully-equipped B-47 wings. By early 1956 a total of 22 medium bombing wings had received the B-47 while another 5 wings were undergoing conversion to the B-47. Thus, by the end of 1956, SAC had 27 combat-ready B-47 wings, with 1204 combat-ready B-47 crews assigned. By 1956, B-47 deployment had reached its peak with 1,306 aircraft assigned to SAC. In addition about 250 RB-47s were in SAC at that time. In all, SAC had 30 Bomb Wings (Medium), each with four squadrons of 15 aircraft per squadron, along with four Strategic Reconnaissance Wings (Medium), one Combat Crew Training Wing and four Support Squadrons/Post-Attack Command and Control Squadrons which also flew different types of B-47s.

The final B-47E was delivered on 18 February 1957 to the 100th Bomb Wing at Pease AFB, New Hampshire. This was the 29th and last SAC bomb wing to be equipped with B-47s. The beginning of the phase-out of the B-47E coincided with the delivery of the last example in 1957. In 1960 there were still almost 1,100 B-47s. This dropped to about 400 in 1964. SAC's last two B-47s went to storage on February 11, 1966. A few RB-47s were retained until 1967. In March 1961 President Kennedy had requested funding to support an increase in the number of SAC aircraft on 15-minute ground alert from one-third to one-half the total force. At this time the B-47 phase-out was accelerated to provide the aircrews needed to support the higher alert rate of B-47 and B-52 bomber forces [which was attained by July 1961].

In the strategic bombing role for which the B-47 was designed, weapons delivery at the target was originally intended to take place from high altitudes. By the mid-1950's, however, the increasing effectiveness of methods for detecting aircraft at high attitudes, as well as the growing capability of surface-to-air missiles and fighter aircraft, required the development of new methods of weapons delivery. As a means of avoiding detection by radar, penetration of enemy airspace was to take place at high speed and at an altitude of only a few hundred feet. At the target, the aircraft was to execute an Immelmann turn with weapons delivery taking place in near vertical flight. (An Immelmann turn consists of a half loop followed by a half roll from inverted to normal flight attitude at the top of the loop. A change of 180° in direction coupled with a gain in altitude are accomplished during the maneuver.) This method of weapons delivery was known as LABS (low altitude bombing system) and was intended to provide the aircraft a means for escaping destruction from the blast effects of its own weapon.

Constant practice of the LABS technique subjected the B-47 fleet to the severe gust-load environment of high-speed low-altitude flight, as well as the maneuver loads associated with weapons delivery. The aircraft was not designed for this type of service. As a consequence structural fatigue problems were encountered, and several aircraft were lost as a result of structural failure. At one point, the entire B-47 flee was grounded for inspection and incorporation of necessary design modifications. Both the structural fatigue problem and the much greater capability of the Boeing B-52, which began entering the inventory in 1955, played a part in the retirement of the B-47 from first-line service. Its life with the Strategic Air Command began in 1951 and ended 15 years later in 1966.

The phase out of the B-47 medium bomber coincided with the rapid build up of ICBM and SLBM deployment by the US. The B-47 had shown flexibility in adapting to a low level mission profile that was required by the introduction of SAMs. But modifications to a large fleet (especially structural modifications) cost vast sums of money. Moreover, forward basing of strategic nuclear forces was becoming unpopular with US allies, and there was not enough tanker support to make up the range difference for CONUS basing of all the B-47's. The B-58, planned as a replacement for the B-47, started entering the inventory in 1960. Also, the B-52, designed as an outgrowth of the B-47, was proving to be a very capable strategic bomber. Thus, the combination of mission profile changes, which limited B-47's usefulness and the emergence of a replacement medium-range bomber and a truly long-range strategic bomber, led to the retirement of the B-47's after 14 years of service.

In summary, the B-47 was a technological innovation in bomber aircraft design with swept wings, jet engines, the ability to be air refueled, and an operational envelope equal to the fighter aircraft of the early 1950's. The Stratojet was also one of the more beautiful airplanes to grace America's skies. However, it was a medium-range bomber that had limitations on space, payload, and range. When deployed, the B-47 was adequate to perform its designed mission. While it was able to adapt to changes in the threat at significant cost, it was not able to keep up with a heightened threat and greater range requirements, thus making other available aircraft that did the job better more viable.

Specifications:
Manufacturer: Boeing Aircraft Company (primary), Douglas and Lockheed
Designation: B-47
Version: B-47E-IV (Heavyweight modification)
Nickname: Stratojet
Type: Bomber
Crew: 3 - Pilot, Copilot, Navigator

Dimensions:
Weights: Empty - 79,074 / Combat - 133,030 / Takeoff - 230,000 (limited by landing gear strength)
Powerplant: 6 General Electric J-47-GE-25 turbojet engines 7,200 lbs thrust each
JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) using auxiliary rocket motors that are jettisoned after take-off.
Takeoff ground run: (feet) Sea level - 10,400
Sea level, jet assisted - 7,350
Over 50-ft obstacle - 12,000
Over 50-ft obstacle, jet assisted - 8,800

Performance :
Combat Speed: 557 mph at 38,500 ft - 435 mph (average)
Max Speed: 600 mph
Rate of climb: Sea level - 1,850 feet per minute
Combat rate: (Maximum power) - 4,350 feet per minute
Service Ceiling: 40,500 ft
Combat radius: 2,050 nautical miles

Armaments:
Tail Guns: 2 - 20mm cannons in remote tail turret
Bombs (internal) 20,000 - 25,000 lbs