Unerased History – July 21st

Legal Drinking Age Day

 

 

 

Just Interesting (Strange and Weird but useless)

Months that begin with a Sunday will always have a “Friday the 13th.”

The dial tone of a normal telephone is in the key of “F”.

The Earth orbits the Sun at a speed of about 67,000 miles per hour or 18.6 miles per second (1/10000 of the speed of light.)

Non-dairy creamer is flammable.

The reason firehouses have circular stairways is from the days of yore when the engines were pulled by horses. The horses were stabled on the ground floor and figured out how to walk up straight staircases. They could not, however, walk back down.

There are at least a half-million more automobiles in Los Angeles than there are people.

Money isn’t made out of paper; it’s made out of cotton.

The oceans contain enough salt to cover all the continents to a depth of nearly 500 feet.

The “57″ on Heinz ketchup bottle represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks otherwise it will digest itself.

A duck’s quack doesn’t echo. No one knows why.

At any particular time, there are approximately 1,800 thunderstorms occurring in the Earth’s atmosphere.

A 2×4 is 1 1/2″ x 3 1/2″.

Chocolate kills dogs! True, chocolate affects a dog’s heart and nervous system. A few ounces are enough to kill a small sized dog.

Most lipstick contains fish scales.

During the California Gold Rush of 1849 miners sent their laundry to Honolulu for washing and pressing. Due to the extremely high costs in California during these boom years it was deemed more feasible to send the shirts to Hawaii for servicing.

There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.

The capital of Burkina Faso is Ouagadougou. This is just in case you want to bamboozle someone.

There are no words in the dictionary that rhyme with: orange, purple, and silver!

The original name for the butterfly was ‘flutterby’!

By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can’t sink in quicksand.

Celery has negative calories! It takes more calories to eat a piece of celery than the celery has in it to begin with.

In Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift described the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, giving their exact size and speeds of rotation. He did this more than 100 years before either moon was discovered.

At the equator the Earth spins at about 1,038 miles per hour.

The name Wendy was made up for the book Peter Pan, there was never a recorded Wendy before!

Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

Guinness Book of Records holds the record for being the book most often stolen from Public Libraries.

There are more than 250,000 rivers in the United States, which amounts to 3.5 million miles of rivers.

“If there are a hundred steps

In thy path to success

And ye have not reached it

In ninety-nine of them

Do not conclude

That the journey is a failure.”

~ Sir Lancelot

 

 

caveat \KAY-vee-at; KAV-ee-; KAH-vee-aht\, noun:

1.    (Law) A notice given by an interested party to some officer not to do a certain act until the opposition has a hearing.

2.    A warning or caution; also, a cautionary qualification or explanation to prevent misunderstanding

 

1669 – John Locke’s Constitution of the English colony of Carolina was approved.
1733 – John Winthrop was granted the first honorary Doctor of Law degree in the U.S., by Harvard College.
1823 – After pirate attack, LT David G. Farragut leads landing party to destroy the pirate stronghold in Cuba.
1846 – Mormons founded the first English settlement in the San Joaquin Valley of California.
1861 – Civil War: The first Battle of Bull Run was fought at Manassas, Virginia — a Confederate victory. Many folks, dressed in their Sunday best, came to watch and picnic as 60,000 men fought for over ten hours. When a shell destroyed a wagon blocking the main road of retreat, panic sent Union troops and picnickers scurrying back to Washington D.C.
1862 – U.S. steamers Clara Dolsen and Rob Roy and tug with troops,  embarked, arrived from Cairo, IL to protect Evansville, IN, at the request of Governor Morton. 
1865 - Wild Bill Hickok killed gunman Dave Tutt in Springfield, Illinois, in the first formal quick-draw duel.
1873 – A  train robbery, mistakenly called the first, in America was pulled off by Jesse James and his gang. They took $3,000 from the Rock Island Express after derailing it at Adair, IA.
1875 -  Mark Twain’s “The Adventure of Tom Sawyer” was registered.
1877 – The Baltimore and Ohio railroad strike turned bloody: the Maryland militia opened fire on the rail workers, leaving nine strikers dead and touching off a round of riots that engulfed Baltimore. The US Army & Marines broke the strike.
1896 – Mary Church Terrell founded the National Association of Colored Women in Washington, D.C.
1904 – Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson arrived in Cleveland with his mechanic Sewell Croker escorted by a fleet of new Winton automobiles. They were enroute to NYC from San Francisco
1904 – In a Gobron-Brilli, Louis Rigolly set a new land speed record of 103.58 mph at Ostend, Belgium. Built explicitly for land speed racing, it was the first vehicle to set record over 100 mph.
1918 – World War I: The German U-boat, U-156, fired at an American tug and four barges just off shore of Orleans, Massachusetts.
1919 – A dirigible crashed through a bank skylight killing 13 in Chicago.
1921 – Gen. Billy Mitchell flew off with a payload of makeshift aerial bombs and sank the former German battle ship Ostfriesland off Hampton Roads, Virginia; the first time a battleship was ever sunk by an airplane.
1925 – John T. Scopes was convicted of violating state law for teaching Darwin’s Theory of Evolution (later overturned).
1930 – The U.S. Veterans Administration was established by an executive order of President Herbert Hoover.
1931 – Ted Husing was master of ceremonies for the very first CBS-TV program. The first broadcast included Mayor James J. Walker, Kate Smith, and George Gershwin.
1941 – Roosevelt asks Congress to extend the draft period from one year to 30 months and to make similar increases in the terms of service for the National Guard.
1941 – Holocaust: Himmler ordered the building of the Majdanek concentration camp. The camp was built in eastern Poland as a principal site to exterminate Jews. It contained seven gas chambers.
1943 – World War II: The Allied advances continue. The British capture Gerbini, the Canadians take Leonforte and the Americans occupy Corleone and Castelvetrano.
1944 – World War II: Guam, in the western Pacific Ocean, which had been under Japanese occupation since Dec 1941, was retaken by U.S. Marines. The 3rd Marine Division establishes a beachhead at Asan, west of Agana. The 1st Marine Division comes ashore at Agat.
1944 – Harry S Truman accepted the Democratic party’s nomination for vice president.
1945 – World War II: American radio broadcasts call on Japan to surrender or face destruction.
1946  - CHART TOPPERS – “The Gypsy” by The Ink Spots, “They Say It’s Wonderful” by Frank Sinatra, “Surrender” by Perry Como and “New Spanish Two Step” by Bob Wills all topped the charts.
1946 – In first U.S. test of adaptability of jet aircraft to shipboard operations, XFD-1 Phantom makes landings and takeoffs without catapults from the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt. (CVB/CVA/CV-42)
1947 – Loren MacIver’s portrait of Emmett Kelly as Willie the Clown appeared on the cover of “LIFE” magazine.
1949 – The U.S. Senate ratified the North Atlantic Treaty.
1950 – Korean War: Major General William F. Dean was reported missing in action as his 24th Infantry Division fought its way out of Taejon. During that action, he set the example by single-handedly attacking a T-34 tank with a grenade and directing the fire of others from an exposed position.
1951 – “Too Young” by Nat ‘King’ Cole topped the charts.
1952 – A quake in the Tehachapi-Bakersfield area 50 miles north of Los Angeles, California, registers 7.7.
1954 – CHART TOPPERS – “Little Things Mean a Lot” by Kitty Kallen, “Sh-Boom” by The Crew Cuts, “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight” by The McGuire Sisters and  “Even Tho” by Webb Pierce all topped the charts.
1954 – Construction for Disneyland began. The spot was in the rural Anaheim, California area with a purchase of a 160-acre orange grove near the junction of the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) and Harbor Boulevard.
1954 – France surrendered North Vietnam to the Communists.
1955 – First sub powered by liquid metal cooled reactor launched-Seawolf.
1956 – “The Wayward Wind” by Gogi Grant topped the charts.
1957 – First Black to win a major US tennis tournament (Althea Gibson). She won the Women’s National clay-court singles competition.
1958 – “Hard Headed Woman” by Elvis Presley shares #1 with “Yakety Yak” by the Coasters. “Hard Headed Woman” became the first rock and roll single to earn the RIAA designation of “Gold Record.”
1958 – The last of “Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts” programs aired on CBS-TV.
1959 – First atomic powered merchant ship, Savannah, is christened in Camden NJ. The NS Savannah served until 1971.
1959 – A U.S. District Court judge in New York City ruled that “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” was not a dirty book.
1961 – Captain Virgil “Gus” Grissom became the second American to go into space on the final suborbital Mercury test flight aboard the Liberty Bell 7.
1962 – CHART TOPPERS – “Roses are Red” by Bobby Vinton, “The Wah Watusi” by The Orlons, “Johnny Get Angry” by Joanie Sommers and “Wolverton Mountain” by Claude King all topped the charts.
1962 – One hundred-sixty civil right activists were jailed after demonstration in Albany, Ga.
1965 – Gemini 5 launched atop Titan V with Cooper & Conrad.
1966 – Gemini X returned to Earth.
1968 – Arnold Palmer became the first golfer to earn a million dollars.
1969 – Neil Armstrong steps on the Moon at 2:56:15 AM (GMT).
1969 – Just one day after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Duke Ellington and a portion of his band performed a 10-minute composition on ABC-TV titled “Moon Maiden“. The work featured piano, drums, bass and vocals.
1969 – Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin blasted off from the moon aboard the lunar module.
1969 – Riots in York, Pa., left 2 people dead, Lillie Belle Allen (27) along with rookie officer Henry Schaad (22). Schaad was mortally wounded 3 days before Allen was killed.
1970 – CHART TOPPERS – “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)” by Three Dog Night, “They Long to Be) Close to You” by Carpenters, “Band of Gold” by Freda Payne and “He Loves Me All the Way”( by Tammy Wynette all topped the charts.
1973 – Hank Aaron becomes second major leaguer to hit 700 HRs.

1973 – “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce topped the “Billboard” pop-singles chart. Jim Croce died September 20^th.
1974 – US House Judiciary approved two Articles of Impeachment against Pres. Nixon.
1976 – “Legionnaire’s Disease” struck in Philadelphia, Pa. 29 people died from the disease. The disease was first identified after an outbreak at the Bellevue Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia.
1978 – CHART TOPPERS – “Shadow Dancing” by Andy Gibb, “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty, “Miss You by” The Rolling Stones and “Only One Love in My Life” by Ronnie Milsap all topped the charts.
1979 – “Bad Girls” by Donna Summer topped the charts.
1979 – National Women’s Hall of Fame (Seneca Falls, NY) dedicated
1980 – Jean-Claude Droyer climbs the Eiffel Tower in 2 hrs 18 mins.
1980 – Draft registration began for 19 and 20-year-old men.
1983 – The coldest temperature ever measured on Earth was -129 at Vostok, Antarctica.
1984 – “When Doves Cry” by Prince topped the charts.
1984 – In Jackson, Michigan, a male die-cast operator (34) was pinned by a hydraulic Unimate robot. He died after 5 days. This was the first documented case of a robot killing a human in US.
1986 – CHART TOPPERS – “Invisible Touch” by Genesis, “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel, “Nasty” by Janet Jackson and “Until I Met You” by Judy Rodman all topped the charts.
1989 – The State Department confirmed an ABC News report that Felix S. Bloch, a veteran U.S. diplomat, was being investigated as a possible Soviet spy. Bloch was never charged with espionage, but was fired from his job in 1990.
1990 – “She Ain’t Worth It” by Glenn Medeiros featuring Bobby Brown topped the charts.
1996 – At the Atlanta Olympics, swimmer Tom Dolan gave the United States its first gold, in the 400-meter individual medley.
1997 – The U.S.S. Constitution, which defended the United States during the War of 1812, set sail under its own power for the first time in 116 years.
1998 – Astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, died in Monterey, Calif., at age 74.
1998 – The Pentagon said it found no evidence to support allegations in a CNN report that U.S. troops had used nerve gas against American defectors in Laos.
1998 – In New York City a 48-story elevator scaffold collapsed at the construction site of the Conde Nast building on West 43rd St.
1999 – The missing plane of John F. Kennedy Jr. was found off of the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, MA. The bodies of Kennedy, his wife Carolyn Bessette and her sister Lauren Bessette were found on board. The plane had crashed on July 16, 1999.
2000 – NBC announced that they had found nearly all of Milton Berle’s kinescopes. The filmed recordings of Berle’s early TV shows had been the subject of a $30 million lawsuit filed by Berle the previous May.
2000 – Norm Mineta, the first Asian American to serve in a president’s cabinet, was sworn in as the 33rd US Secretary of Commerce.
2002 – Telecommunications giant WorldCom, Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection, shortly after disclosing it had inflated profits by nearly $4 billion through deceptive accounting.
2004 – The September 11 panel was harshly critical of the U.S. government in its voluminous report released after a 19-month investigation. The report called for sweeping changes in American intelligence agencies.
2005 – The House voted to extend the USA Patriot Act.
2005 – US and Canadian authorities reported the shutdown of a newly completed 100-yard border crossing tunnel outside Lynden, Wa., intended for smuggling marijuana.
2005 – In Phoenix, Az., a blistering heat wave was blamed for the deaths of eighteen people. Fourteen were thought to be homeless; three were elderly women.
2008 – Former Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic arrested after more than a decade on the run as one of the world’s most wanted war crimes fugitives for his role in atrocities committed during the 1990s Balkans conflict.
2008 – The US FDA issued an advisory for consumers to avoid eating uncooked jalapeno peppers after it found a jalapeno grown in Mexico tested positive for salmonella.
2008 – A US B-52 bomber that was due to fly in a Liberation Day parade in the US territory of Guam crashed into the Pacific Ocean soon after take-off. All of the bomber’s six-man crew was killed.
2009 – The US Senate voted to stop production of the F-22 fighter plane, handing President Barack Obama a victory as he tries to reduce the size of the military.
2009 -The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that police who tell investigators about alleged corruption in their departments have no constitutional protection for their statements and can be fired.
2010 – President Obama signed major financial overhaul legislation named after Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn) and Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass).
2010 –  Scientists said a huge ball of brightly burning gas in a neighboring galaxy may be the heaviest star ever discovered, hundreds of times more massive than the sun after working out its weight for the first time.
2010 –  A US federal jury found Beau Diamond of Sarasota, Fla., guilty of 18 counts of fraud and money laundering crimes in association with a $37 million Ponzi scheme between 2006 and 2009.
2011 –  Two dozen people have died this week in a heat wave in the United States.
2011 –  Space Shuttle Atlantis lands at the Kennedy Space Center, concluding its final mission and marking the end of the 30-year Space Shuttle program.
2011 –  Team owners in the National Football League have voted to approve a 10- year deal with the NFL Players Association and to end a lockout if players approve.

 

1864 – Frances Cleveland (Folsom) – Wife of 22nd U.S. President Grover Cleveland; (d. Oct 29, 1947)
1899 – Ernest Hemingway, American Pulitzer Prize and Nobel Prize-winning author.
1920 – Isaac Stern, American concert violin impresario.
1922 – Kay Starr (Katherine Starks) (singer: Rock and Roll Waltz, My Heart Reminds Me, Wheel of Fortune, Side By Side)
1924 – Don Knotts  American comedian, Emmy Award-winning actor: The Andy Griffith Show [1960-1967], Matlock, Three’s Company, The Don Knotts Show, The Steve Allen Show; died Feb 24, 2006)
1951 – Robin Williams (Academy Award-winning actor: Good Will Hunting [1997]; comedian and/or actor:

 

 

 

DEAN, WILLIAM F. KOREA

 

Rank and organization: Major General, U.S. Army, commanding general, 24th Infantry Division. Place and date: Taejon, Korea, 20 and 21 July 1950. Entered service at: California. Born: 1 August 1899, Carlyle, Ill. G.O. No.: 7, 16 February 1951. Citation: Maj. Gen. Dean distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the repeated risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. In command of a unit suddenly relieved from occupation duties in Japan and as yet untried in combat, faced with a ruthless and determined enemy, highly trained and overwhelmingly superior in numbers, he felt it his duty to take action which to a man of his military experience and knowledge was clearly apt to result in his death. He personally and alone attacked an enemy tank while armed only with a hand grenade. He also directed the fire of his tanks from an exposed position with neither cover nor concealment while under observed artillery and small-arm fire. When the town of Taejon was finally overrun he refused to insure his own safety by leaving with the leading elements but remained behind organizing his retreating forces, directing stragglers, and was last seen assisting the wounded to a place of safety. These actions indicate that Maj. Gen. Dean felt it necessary to sustain the courage and resolution of his troops by examples of excessive gallantry committed always at the threatened portions of his frontlines. The magnificent response of his unit to this willing and cheerful sacrifice, made with full knowledge of its certain cost, is history. The success of this phase of the campaign is in large measure due to Maj. Gen. Dean’s heroic leadership, courageous and loyal devotion to his men, and his complete disregard for personal safety.

Boiler Explosion on USS Bennington, 21 July 1905

At about 10:30 a.m. on 21 July 1905 the gunboat Bennington suffered one of the Navy’s worst peacetime disasters. She had arrived at San Diego, California, just two days earlier, after a difficult seventeen-day voyage from the Hawaiian Islands. Though both the ship and her men could have used a rest, they were soon ordered back to sea to assist the monitor “Wyoming“, which had broken down and needed a tow.

While steam was being raised, much of Bennington‘s crew, having completing the hard and dirty job of coaling, were cleaning their ship and themselves. Below decks, an improperly closed steam line valve, oily feed water and a malfunctioning safety valve conspired to generate steam pressures far beyond the boilers’ tolerance. Suddenly, one of them exploded. Men and equipment were hurled into the air, living compartments and deck space filled with scalding steam, and the ship’s hull was opened to the sea. But for quick work by the tug Santa Fe, which beached Bennington in relatively shallow water, the gunboat would probably have sunk. As it was, she was so badly damaged as to be not worth repairing. Even worse, more than sixty of her crew had been killed outright or were so severely injured that they did not long survive.

The number of casualties overhelmed the then-small city of San Diego’s hospitals, and badly burned Sailors had to be cared for in improvised facilities largely staffed by volunteers. Local morticians were hard pressed to prepare the Bennington‘s dead for burial. On the 23rd of July, the great majority were interred at the Army’s Fort Rosecrans, located on the Point Loma heights overlooking the entrance to San Diego Harbor and what would, years later, become the North Island Naval Air Station.

Despite the awful death toll, which far exceeded that sustained by the Navy in the Spanish-American War, and sometimes lurid rumors of misconduct on the part of some members of Bennington‘s engineering force, official investigations concluded that the tragedy had not resulted from negligence. Eleven surviving crewmen were awarded the Medal of Honor for ” extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion”. USS Bennington was raised, but remained inactive and unrepaired until sold in 1910.

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY — NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE — WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060

 

BOERS, EDWARD WILLIAM
INTERIM 1901- 1911

Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 10 March 1884, Cincinnati, Ohio. Accredited to: Kentucky. G.O. No.: 13, 5 January 1906. Citation: On board the U.S.S. Bennington, 21 July 1905. Following the explosion of a boiler of that vessel, Boers displayed extraordinary heroism in the resulting action.

 

BROCK, GEORGE F.
INTERIM 1901- 1911

 

Rank and organization: Carpenter’s Mate Second Class, U.S. Navy. Born: 18 October 1872, Cleveland, Ohio. Accredited to: California. G.O. No.: 13, 5 January 1906. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Bennington for extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion of that vessel at San Diego, Calif., 21 July 1905.

 

CLAUSEY, JOHN J.
INTERIM 1901- 1911

Rank and organization: Chief Gunner’s Mate, U.S. Navy. Born: 16 May 1875, San Francisco, Calif. Accredited to: California. G.O. No.: 13, 5 January 1906. Citation: On board the U.S.S. Bennington for extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego, Calif., 21 July 1905.

 

CRONAN, WILLIE
INTERIM 1901- 1911

Rank and organization: Boatswain’s Mate, U.S. Navy. Born: 23 October 1883, Chicago, Ill. Accredited to: Illinois. G.O. No.: 13, 5 January 1906. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Bennington, for extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego, Calif., 21 July 1905.

 

DAVIS, RAYMOND E.
INTERIM 1901- 1911

Rank and organization: Quartermaster Third Class U.S. Navy. Place and date: On board the U.S.S. Bennington, 21 July i905. Entered service at: Puget Sound, Wash. Born: 19 September 1885, Mankato, Minn. G.O. No.: 13, 5 January 1906. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Bennington, for extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego, Calif., 21 July 1905.

 

FREDERICKSEN, EMIL
INTERIM 1901- 1911

Rank and organization: Watertender, U.S. Navy. (Biography not available.) G.O. No.: 13, 5 January 1906. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Benington, for extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego, Calif., 21 July 1905.

 

GRBITCH, RADE
INTERIM 1901- 1911

 

Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 24 December 1870, Austria. Accredited to: Illinois. G.O. No.: 13, 5 January 1906. Citation: On board the U.S.S. Bennington, for extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego, Calif., 21 July 1905.

 

HILL, FRANK E.
INTERIM 1901- 1911

Rank and organization: Ship’s Cook First Class, U.S. Navy. Born: 31 July 1880, La Grange, Ind. Accredited to: Indiana. G.O. No.: 13, 5 January 1906. Citation: On board the U.S.S. Bennington, for extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego, Calif., 21 July 1905.

 

NELSON, OSCAR FREDERICK
INTERIM 1901- 1911

Rank and organization: Machinist’s Mate First Class, U.S. Navy. Born: 5 November 1881, Minneapolis, Minn. Accredited to: Minnesota. G.O. No.: 13, 5 January 1906. Citation: Serving on board the U.S.S. Bennington, for extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego, Calif., 21 July 1905.

 

SCHMIDT, OTTO DILLER
INTERIM 1901- 1911

Rank and organization: Seaman, U.S. Navy. Born: 10 August 1884, Blair, Nebr. Accredited to: Nebraska. G.O. No.: 13, 5 January 1906. Citation: While serving on board the U.S.S. Bennington for extraordinary heroism displayed at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego, Calif., 21 July 1905.

 

SHACKLETTE, WILLIAM SIDNEY
INTERIM 1901- 1911

 

Rank and organization: Hospital Steward, U.S. Navy. Born: 17 May 1880, Delaplane, Va. Accredited to: Virginia. G.O. No.: 13, 5 January 1906. Citation: For extraordinary heroism while serving on the U.S.S. Bennington at the time of the explosion of a boiler of that vessel at San Diego, Calif., 21 July 1905.

 

 

First Bull Run, Manassas, VA

In July, 1861, Abraham Lincoln sent Major General Irvin McDowell and the Union Army to take Richmond, the new base the Confederate government. On 21st July McDowell attacked the forces of Pierre T. Beauregard near the stone bridge over Bull Run at Manassas Junction, Virginia. The advance was blocked by Thomas Stonewall Jackson, who was described as standing like a “stone wall” against the enemy.

With the arrival of Confederate troops led by E. Kirby Smith, the inexperienced Union Army retreated. Attacked by armies led by Joseph E. Johnston, James Jeb Stuart, Jubal Early, and Braxton Bragg, the Union forces rushed back North. The South had won the first great battle of the war and the Northern casualties totaled 1,492 with another 1,216 missing. Nine men were given the Medal of Honor.

 

First Bull Run, Va.21 July 1861

 

AMES, ADELBERT
CIVIL WAR

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, 5th U.S. Artillery. Place and date: At Bull Run, Va., 21 July 1861. Entered service at: Rockland, Maine. Birth: East Thomaston, Maine. Date of issue: 22 June 1894. Citation: remained upon the field in command of a section of Griffin’s Battery, directing its fire after being severely wounded and refusing to leave the field until too weak to sit upon the caisson where he had been placed by men of his command.

 

COOKE, WALTER H.
CIVIL WAR

Rank and organization: Captain, Company K, 4th Pennsylvania Infantry Militia. Place and date. At Bull Run, Va., 21 July 1861. Entered service at:——. Birth: Norristown, Pa. Date of issue: 19 May 1887. Citation: Voluntarily served as an aide on the staff of Col. David Hunter and participated in the battle, his term of service having expired on the previous day.

 

HARTRANFT, JOHN F.
CIVIL WAR

Rank and organization: Colonel, 4th Pennsylvania Militia. Place and date: At Bull Run, Va., 21 July 1861. Entered service at: Norristown, Pa. Born: 16 December 1830, New Hanover Township, Montgomery County, Pa. Date of issue: 26 August 1886. Citation: Voluntarily served as an aide and participated in the battle after expiration of his term of service, distinguishing himself in rallying several regiments which had been thrown into confusion.

 

KNOWLES, ABIATHER J.
CIVIL WAR

Rank and organization: Private, Company D, 2d Maine Infantry. Place and date: At Bull Run, Va., 21 July 1861, Entered service at: ——. Born: 15 March 1830, LaGrange, Maine. Date of issue: 27 December 1894. Citation: Removed dead and wounded under heavy fire.

 

MERRITT, JOHN G.
CIVIL WAR

Rank and organization: Sergeant, Company K, 1st Minnesota Infantry. Place and date: At Bull Run, Va., 21 July 1861. Entered service at: ——. Birth: New York. Date of issue: 1 April 1880. Citation: Gallantry in action; was wounded while capturing flag in advance of his regiment.

 

MURPHY, CHARLES J.
CIVIL WAR

Rank and organization: First Lieutenant and Quartermaster, 38th New York Infantry. Place and date: At Bull Run, Va., 21 July 1861. Entered service at:——. Birth: England. Date of issue: 5 April 1898. Citation: Took a rifle and voluntarily fought with his regiment in the ranks; when the regiment was forced back, voluntarily remained on the field caring for the wounded, and was there taken prisoner.

 

WHEELER, HENRY W.
CIVIL WAR

Rank and organization: Private, Company A, 2d Maine Infantry. Place and date: At Bull Run, Va., 21 July 1861. Entered service at: Bangor, Maine. Born: 1842, Fort Smith, Ark. Date of issue: 5 April 1898. Citation: Voluntarily accompanied his commanding officer and assisted in removing the dead and wounded from the field under a heavy fire of artillery and musketry.

 

WILLCOX, ORLANDO B.
CIVIL WAR

Rank and organization: Colonel, 1st Michigan Infantry. Place and date: At Bull Run, Va., 21 July 1861. Entered service at: Detroit, Mich. Birth: Detroit, Mich. Date of issue: 2 March 1895. Citation: Led repeated charges until wounded and taken prisoner.

 

WITHINGTON, WILLIAM H.
CIVIL WAR

Rank and organization: Captain, Company B, 1st Michigan Infantry. Place and date: At Bull Run, Va., 21 July 1861. Entered service at: Jackson, Mich. Born: 1 February 1835, Dorchester, Mass. Date of issue: 7 January 1895. Citation: Remained on the field under heavy fire to succor his superior officer.

 

 

TRUELL, EDWIN M.
CIVIL WAR

Rank and organization: Private, Company E, 12th Wisconsin Infantry. Place and date: Near Atlanta, Ga., 21 July 1864. Entered service at: Mauston, Wis. Birth: Lowell, Mass. Date of issue: 11 March 1870. Citation: Although severely wounded in a charge, he remained with the regiment until again severely wounded, losing his leg.

 

 

 

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