J.E.B. Stuart dapper and daring Cavalry General
On June 12, 150 years ago, the Confederate Cavalry ran a 100 mile long reconnaissance raid. They went full circle around the Union Army of the Potomac of General McClellan.
J.E.B. Stuart, the Confederate Cavalry General, accomplished this feat by eluding the northern cavalry commanded by his father-in-law, Philip St George Cooke.
My favorite breakfast spot while stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina, was the golf course snack bar. The routine was to appear around 0930 just as breakfast was closing. After awhile, the ladies knew my order and the portions started to increase as did the frequency of my visits.
As I left the building, feeling pretty content with my belly full of a Western omelet and home fries that would have buckled anyone under the weight of 200 pounds, I ran into Sheila Van Dyke. [Read more…]
On June 11 1937, the NKVD (old style KGB) executed eight Soviet high ranking officers (one Red Army Marshal included). A military court found them guilty of anti-Soviet conspiracy.
In order to keep the purge productive and secret, most members of the court later died of pneumonia caused by cold bullets. [Read more…]
Illustration of a scene in Henry Wardsworth Longfellow's play "Giles Corey of Salem Farms" as Mary Warren points to the ghost of a man Giles Corey is accused of killing.
Starting on June 10, 1692, the Puritan community of Salem, Massachusetts, ‘tried’ and executed 20 innocents for witchcraft.
The ‘prosecution’ based their case on the ‘fits and hallucinations’ caused by the defendants. Such a faultless argument resulted in 19 hangings.
The accusations originated with the inexplicably bizarre behavior of a group of young girls. Convulsive seizures, blasphemous screaming, and trance-like states afflicted them. Physicians had no answers so the belief that Satan was at work through others in their community took hold.
Giles Corey, one of the alleged sorcerers, refused to enter a plea in the judicial proceeding. [Read more…]
James Edward Oglethorpe (1696-1785)
On June 9 1732 a British philanthropist received a royal charter to establish the colony of Georgia. James Edward Oglethorpe intended to settle the new land with English debtors from the overcrowded London prisons.
In the end it was the Scots who made up the bulk of the settlers. Oglethorpe, however, made the land available to many persecuted groups. [Read more…]
Image from cvsflags.com
Leaders…
Volunteer spirit:
Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State. This is due to the record number of Tennesseans fighters the state provided during both the War of 1812 and the Mexican War.
On June 8 1861, the state of Tennessee voted to join the Confederacy. True to their tradition, the men from Tennessee provided more troops for the Confederacy than any other state and more volunteers for the Union than any southern state. [Read more…]
Veni, Vidi, Ouch: A fitting motto for Japanese Navy after the Battle of Midway. The Japanese tried to eliminate the American naval threat with another surprise attack. Their plan backfired. On June 7 the Japanese withdrew after heavy losses. It was the turning point of the WWII in Pacific.
Carol Schultz Vento in her book, “The Hidden Legacy of World War II: A Daughter’s Journey of Discovery” details the generational impact of war trauma. The author’s father, Arthur “Dutch” Schultz, had previously been immortalized in the film. “The Longest Day” and also by famed historian Stephen Ambrose in his book “Citizen Soldiers.” As noted in Carol’s work, the narrative of the “Good War” is dispelled when the families share the reality of being in the sphere of a combat veteran. [Read more…]
Few days conjure so much emotion as the 6th of June, 1944. D-Day, the “Greatest Generation’s” greatest moment, still inspires. And rightly so! American citizen-soldiers were bedecked with glory, from the 82nd Airborne paratroopers dropped over Sainte-Mère-Église, to the infantry crawling on beaches swept by machinegun fire. [Read more…]
Serious topics of military interest served up with a light touch
In The Swim:
On the set of The Longest Day, the extras refused initially to jump from the Landing Craft Personnel boats. Their reason: the water was too cold. Luckily, Robert Mitchum led by example and the extras followed him. [Read more…]