Today in History, August 1: 1864 – Over the objections of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who thought he was too young for the command of an army, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant names Gen. Phillip Sheridan as commander of the Army of the Shenandoah. Throughout the war, each time the Union began to encroach on the Confederate capitol at Richmond, Virginia, the South would send an army through the Shenandoah Valley to threaten Washington, DC, forcing the Union to protect it’s own capitol. Grant didn’t fall for this, however as he lay siege to Petersburg, which protected Richmond. The Confederacy sent Gen. Jubal Early through the Valley to threaten DC. The Shenandoah was not only the route north for the Confederate armies, it was the “bread basket” for the south, much as the midwest is for the country now. Grant sent Sheridan to command a new Valley of the Shenandoah, and ordered him, “The people should be informed that so long as an army can subsist among them recurrences of these raids must be expected, and we are determined to stop them at all hazards. … Give the enemy no rest … Do all the damage to railroads and crops you can. Carry off stock of all descriptions, and negroes, so as to prevent further planting. If the war is to last another year, we want the Shenandoah Valley to remain a barren waste.” The Confederates called Sheridan’s campaign “The Burning”, precursor to the scorched earth campaign that Sherman enforced in Georgia. Sheridan not only drove Early from the valley, but lay waste to all resources in the Shenandoah, depriving the South of the much needed resources. Lincoln, Stanton, and Grant sang his praises, as did the nation.
Today in History, July 31: 1976 – The Big Thompson Canyon Flood. While Colorado was celebrating its Centennial, a highly unusual thunderstorm broke out high in the mountains, near the source of the Big Thompson Canyon in northern Colorado. The storm deluged the canyon with the equivalent of 3/4’s of the area’s annual rainfall in a matter of hours. It sent a wall of water 20 feet high racing down the canyon, filled with deadly debris.
Residents and tourists miles away from the storm near the mouth of the canyon had no idea there was a storm higher up, much less a torrent of flood water headed their way. 144 died.
Colorado State Trooper Sgt. W. Hugh Purdy and Estes Park Officer Michel O. Conley were advised of the approaching flood. Remember that this before cell phones and other mass media, most of which wouldn’t have worked in the canyon anyway. These men drove their patrol cars up the canyon, telling people to flee using their public address systems, with full knowledge of what they were doing….until they met the water and were killed.
The Arch de Triomphe
Today in History, July 29: 1836 – Originally designed in 1806, the Arch de Triomphe in Paris, France is inaugurated on this date in 1836 to commemorate French victories, mostly during the French Revolution and by Napoleon Bonaparte.
Intended for French armies to march through after military victories, it has since been used also by foreign armies celebrating their conquest of France. The Germans marched through (or around) the arch twice, the French have taken the march also, as have American and British forces liberating France after it’s conquest.
After WWI, the French tomb of the unknown soldier was entombed beneath the arch; as a sign of respect, armies have since marched around rather than through the Arch, including Hitler’s armies in 1940.
After WWI in 1919, Charles Godefroy flew his French Nieuport biplane through the Arch, giving us an idea of it’s size.
Tragedy on the 79th Floor
Today in History, July 28: 1945 – A US Army Air Corps B-25 “Mitchell” bomber, lost in the fog over Manhattan, crashes into the Empire State Building. The same type aircraft had been utilized in the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo in 1942. The airplane had missed the Chrysler Building, but in diverting from impact with that skyscraper, turned into the Empire State Building, then the tallest building in the country. The aircraft’s high octane fuel severely damaged the structure, several of her parts landed on or in nearby buildings, and one of her engines caused an elevator to fall. the safety features in the elevator stopped it’s free-fall, and the woman occupying it was saved just before the engine landed upon it. All three crew members and 11 workers in the building were killed.
Retreat and Die….
Today in History, July 27: 1943 – Cowardice outlawed. As the German Wehrmacht overtook Stalingrad, Josef Stalin issued Order 227, “Panic makers and cowards must be liquidated on the spot. Not one step backward without orders from higher headquarters! Commanders…who abandon a position without an order from higher headquarters are traitors to the Fatherland.” or, “Not one step backward”. The order created “barrier detachments”, units that would position themselves behind the units at the front…and if any of the troops retreated, if they ran, the barrier detachments would shoot them down on the spot. In addition to this, soldiers with no weapons were expected to join the charge and simply pick up the weapons of the dead. The History channel tells us that the order was not necessary because of the inherent patriotism of the Russians. How silly. It was however, short lived, because the Russian commanders realized the waste of having entire units positioned to kill their own men.
The Kitchen Debate
Today in History, July 24: 1959 – The Kitchen Debate. In ’59 Richard Nixon was Vice-President, and Nikita Khrushchev was the Premier of the Soviet Union, a post he could only gain by being more ruthless that his contemporaries. The two nations put on exhibits on each other’s turf in an “effort” to get to know each other.
Nixon was giving Khrushchev a tour of the American exhibit in Moscow, showing him American technology that far out classed Soviet advances. The hot-headed Russian began an argument with Nixon…very publicly.
Nixon, while in a foreign country and debating a man known for his temper and ruthlessness, traded shot for shot and didn’t back down. I’m not a Nixon fan; “you won’t have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore” and Watergate glaringly reveal his weaknesses. But on July 24, 1959, he showed his mettle.
The Kitchen Debate was a series of impromptu exchanges (through interpreters) between then U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrush…
Kellogg – Briand Treaty
Today in History, July 24: 1929 – The Kellogg – Briand Pact between the United States and France, and signed by 62 nations, goes into effect. The Treaty, which is still in effect, stated that conflicts between nations would no longer be solved by war, but by negotiation. Well. That worked.
Death in the Twilight Zone
Today in History, July 23: 1982 – Twilight Zone: The Movie met with success, including the “Nightmare at 20,000 ft” segment which included a terrific performance by John Lithgow, but it came at a terrific price. On this date in 1982, on the last date of filming, veteran actor Vic Morrow (Combat!) and two small children were running from a Vietnam era helicopter shooting a scene. Special effects explosives caused the pilot to lose control, and the aircraft crashed into the actors, killing them. It would be the first time movie producers were charged with negligent homicide, a charge they would defeat. However the producers, including Steven Spielberg, settled for an undisclosed amount in the civil suits. I couldn’t find any photos of the child actors, but their loss (Renee Shinn Chen and Myca Dinh Le) was not less than that of Vic Morrow,
Wiley Post and Winnie Mae
Today in History, July 22: 1933 – After a 7 day, 18 hour, 49 minute flight, Wiley Post completes the first SOLO around the world flight in his already famous Lockheed Vega, Winnie Mae, greeted by a crowd of 50,000 at New York’s Floyd Bennett Field. He beat his own time from an earlier non-solo around the world flight in the same airplane. He was honored with his second New York ticker tape parade.
Post also used Winnie Mae to set high altitude flight records, designing a pressurized flight suit to do so. He also made use of the Jet Stream in his flight tests.
In 1935 he and another of Oklahoma’s favorite sons, Will Rogers, would die together in a plane crash at Point Barrow, Alaska.
Winnie Mae can be visited at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
Fame at Any Cost…
Today in History, July 21: 356 – “Fame at any cost”. The Ephesians had built the Temple of Artemis (Diana in Greek) to honor the goddess. It made it’s home of Epheus (in modern day Turkey) famous, being one of the 7 wonders of the world. It would be destroyed and rebuilt at least 3 times, first by flood, then by arson, and then by war. The second time, it had just been rebuilt when an arsonist set fire to the timbers supporting it’s roof, destroying it again. When captured, the arsonist admitted openly that he had committed the act to secure his name in history. It was ruled that he would be put to death, his name was not to be spoken on pain of death, and his name was removed from all records. He got his wish, however, when the historian Theopompus recorded his name in the next century. Thus we have the term Herostratic Fame…fame at any cost.
Mark Loves History! 