The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Charge at San Juan Hill - Jan 7th, 2003

http://www.homeofheroes.com/wallofhonor/spanish_am/11_crowdedhour.html ^

[SAMWolf]

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The Crowded Hour
Among the regiments assembled and digging for shelter from the enemy guns at the foot of San Juan Hill was the 6th US Infantry, a part of General Kent's 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division under Brigadier General Hamilton S. Hawkins. Among the members of Hawkins' staff was an eager young lieutenant who had told a friend he would return from battle as either a colonel or a corps. As the enemy fire continued to rain upon the stalemated American soldiers, Lieutenant Jules Ord turned to his commander. Tired of the wait he informed General Hawkins, "General, if you will order a charge, I will lead it."

A veteran of Civil War assaults on fortified enemy positions, General Hawkins considered the young lieutenant's offer, weighing it against the high rate of casualties he knew such a charge would create. Lieutenant Ord broke the silence of the general's contemplation. "If you do not wish to order a charge, General, I should like to volunteer," he offered. "We can't stay here, can we?"

"I would not ask any man to volunteer," General Hawkins replied.

"If you do not FORBID it, I will start it," Ord implored. "I only ask you not to refuse permission."

Of a truth, it was an unusual conversation between a commanding general and a junior staffer. But the grizzled veteran also realized that Lieutenant Ord was right, the men couldn't stay where they were and continue to suffer at the mercy of the enemy guns above them. "I will not ask for volunteers, I will not give permission and I will not refuse it," the general finally responded ambiguously. "God bless you and good luck!"

Shirtless against the heat and armed with a pistol in one hand and saber in the other, Lieutenant Ord rose up and shouted to his men, "Come on, you men. We can't stay here. Follow me!". In the tension of the moment and inspired by the sight of the brave lieutenant, the men of General Hawkins' 6th Infantry rose to their feet to charge directly into the guns of the Spanish. Almost immediately, Lieutenant Ord was struck by enemy rounds and fell dead, but his shout had energized the moment and the 6th Infantry continued to rush the hillside.

To the right of the 6th, the men of the Rough Riders saw Lieutenant Ord and his men begin their assault and rose also, attacking the enemy above. To the rear the 10th US Cavalry became caught up in the excitement, rushing forward to join the attack. In the spontaneity and confusion of the moment, the all-black regiment split with part of the 10th joining the 6th Infantry to attack San Juan Hill, and the other half mingling with the Rough Riders to assault Kettle Hill.



Among the Buffalo Soldiers that mingled with the Rough Riders was the 10th Cavalry's regimental quartermaster, an 1886 graduate of West Point who had been an instructor at his alma mater when the Spanish-American War broke out. He had requested a combat assignment with the statement that, "If I did not make every effort to obtain an opportunity for field service I should never forgive myself."

When the young lieutenant was informed that all West Point instructors were frozen in their positions, and when repeated letters to the assistant secretary of war proved fruitless, he threatened, "I shall resign (the West Point position) and join some National Guard or volunteer unit that stands a chance of being sent to Cuba." Having previously served with the 10th US Cavalry, he also wrote his friend Colonel Guy V. Henry, commander of the 10th, requesting a return to service in his old unit. When Colonel Henry requested the assignment of the young lieutenant to the 10th as it prepared for duty in Cuba, the assistant secretary of war finally granted him permission to leave his teaching duties.

As a white officer among the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th, the lieutenant had been given a nickname. Though his first name was John, he was facetiously referred to as "BLACK JACK". It was a moniker that would follow him for life, long after his service with the 10th Cavalry ended, and nearly twenty years later would become one of the most famous names in military history when Lieutenant John J. Black Jack Pershing would become a general and lead the Untied States Expeditionary forces in The Great War.

As Lieutenant Pershing charged up Kettle Hill among the men of his 10th Cavalry and Colonel Roosevelt's Rough Riders, he was more than impressed by what he was witnessing. He later wrote:

"Each officer or soldier next in rank took charge of the line or group immediately in his front or rear and halting to fire at each good opportunity, taking reasonable advantage of cover, the entire command moved forward as coolly as though the buzzing of bullets was the humming of bees. White regiments, black regiments, regulars and Rough Riders, representing the young manhood of the North and the South, fought shoulder to shoulder, unmindful of race or color, unmindful of whether commanded by ex-Confederate or not, and mindful of only their common duty as Americans."



Precisely BECAUSE it was a spontaneous moment, the charge to drive the Spanish from San Juan and Kettle Hills lacked any semblance of military order. What it lacked in order, it more than made up for in valor. The inter-mixing of the 13 regular and 2 volunteer regiments that assaulted the two-in-one hillside would lead to centuries of debate among historians about "who did what", and how much credit Colonel Roosevelt and his Rough Riders really deserved for their role in events. While historians continue the debate even today, the record of valor and co-operation that would result in victory is unchallenged.

Colonel Roosevelt had planned to dismount at the foot of the hill and lead his Rough Riders to victory on foot. As the sea of young soldiers rose and attacked however, he quickly found he could cover more ground more quickly on horseback, leading and encouraging his men forward. As he spurred Texas among the ranks of his charging Rough Riders, he soon found himself well into the lead, ahead of the attacking forces. Armed only with a pistol, appropriately salvaged from the wreckage of the USS Maine, his courageous leadership...bordering on carelessness in the face of enemy fire...inspired those who followed and generated a snap-shot view that would become a historic image of the war in Cuba.

Forty yards from the top of the hill, Colonel Roosevelt still far to the front of his regiment, reached the last line of enemy barbed wire. He dismounted, turning Texas over to his orderly who had managed to keep up with his colonel's reckless charge, to continue his advance on foot.



Behind him swarmed hundreds of American soldiers, the mixed assortment of volunteer cowboys, lawmen and outlaws that comprised the Rough Riders, the regular Army professionals of the 1st, 3d, and 6th US Cavalry, and the Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry.

Color Sergeant J. E. Andrews of the 3rd Cavalry surged forward with the colors of his regiment when enemy fire struck him in the stomach. He called to his lieutenant to take the colors, but tumbled down the hill still clutching the flag, before a replacement could reach him. Sergeant George Berry of the 10th Cavalry was moving forward with the standard of his own regiment when he saw Andrews fall. Quickly he grasped the colors of the 3d Cavalry together with the colors of his own 10th Cavalry, raised them bravely and shouted "Dress on the colors, boys, dress on the colors!" and he valiantly carried BOTH standards up the hill.

As the Americans neared the blockhouse at the top of the hill the Spanish defenders quickly escaped down the opposite slope, retreating for the safety of Santiago. Quickly the Rough Riders planted their standards, while Sergeant George Berry planted the colors of both the 3d and 10th Cavalry. He became the only soldier in US military history to carry TWO standards through battle and plant them victoriously on the enemy's works.

The taking of Kettle Hill did not conclude the hostilities, or the ever present rain of enemy fire. From positions between Santiago and the heights, the Spanish now shelled the blockhouse and outbuildings they had occupied less than an hour earlier. Quickly fanning out across the hilltop, several soldiers took shelter behind a large kettle, presumed to have been used for processing sugar. Thus it was that the hill just to the north of San Juan Hill gained a name, KETTLE HILL. In the hours after their incredible victory, the American soldiers began digging in their own fortifications and preparing for an anticipated counter-attack. Except for Colonel Roosevelt, all senior officers of the six cavalry regiments had been killed or wounded either in the charge or by the enemy fire directed on the hill after it was taken, leaving the Colonel in command of the survivors of all six regiments.



From their vantage point on Kettle Hill the Rough Riders had an excellent view of the charge that was still in progress by General Kent's infantry on San Juan Hill. "Obviously the proper thing to do was to help them," Roosevelt later said, "and I got the men together and started them volley-firing against the Spaniards in the San Juan blockhouse and in the trenches around it."

Upward the infantry charged, the 9th, 13th and 24th Infantry leading the way and the 71st New York and 16th Infantry following from the river bottom below As the first elements neared the crest, Roosevelt ordered a halt to the firing lest the attacking American Infantry be subjected to danger from their neighboring units. The final stronghold was the yellow stucco home that had been converted into the blockhouse atop San Juan Hill. Inside 35 enemy soldiers remained barricaded as 19 Americans climbed onto the building's red, tile roof. Four dropped inside through a hole opened in the ceiling by an artillery round, all of them quickly overcome and killed by the Spanish defenders. The remaining 15 infantrymen jumped through the opening, engaging the enemy in hand-to-hand combat, subduing them and capturing their prize. It was 1:50 in the afternoon when Private Arthur Agnew of the 13th Infantry pulled down the Spanish flag.

But the fight was far from over as the retreating Spanish took up positions in their trenches across a ravine from the slope of the hill. Seeing this, and taking note of the heavy fire his own men were taking from those Spanish trenches, back on Kettle Hill Colonel Roosevelt ordered a charge and rushed in the lead towards the enemy position. Dodging enemy bullets, he leaped a barbed wire fence in his fearless assault, only to find that only five of his Rough Riders had followed him. One of them was killed, another wounded, and Roosevelt realized he could not continue to lead the remaining three men in the assault. Ordering them to cover, he raced back to the top of the hill, again leaping the fence, to angrily berate the bulk of his regiment for failing to follow his lead.

The failure of the assault was in no part a matter of cowardice by the Americans. In the confusion that reigned, only five men had heard the Colonel's order to attack. A short time later, leading the rest of his Rough Riders and elements of the other cavalry regiments, Roosevelt again jumped over the barbed wire fence to attack and drive the Spanish from their positions.

[SAMWolf]

THE CROWDED HOUR from the time Lieuteant Ord led the opening charge until Private Agnew pulled down the Spanish flag that flew over San Juan Hill was an amazing example of finding victory in chaos. In the years to come men of the various regiments would debate who was first to reach the crests of each hill, which regiment was foremost in battle, and who was first to plant their flag. Unquestionably Colonel Theodore Roosevelt would emerge in the American media as the hero of San Juan Hill. But the simple facts of the disorganized but united charge of the intermingled regiments of General Shafter's soldiers prove one undisputable thing. The charge at San Juan Hill was a victory that belonged not to any single soldier or commander, not to any particular regiment, not the the regular army or the volunteers, but to the entire conflagration of brave young Americans.

In addition to Sergeant Major Baker, 13 soldiers would receive Medals of Honor (six from the 21st US Infantry, five from the 10th US Infantry, and one each from the 13th US Infantry and the US Volunteers). All but Baker and Captain Albert Mills of the US Volunteers were cited simply for "GALLANTLY ASSISTING IN THE RESCUE OF THE WOUNDED FROM IN FRONT OF THE LINES AND WHILE UNDER HEAVY FIRE FROM THE ENEMY." Captain Mills was conspicuous for his courageous leadership in the charge, even after being shot in the head and blinded.

In all the battle at San Juan and Kettle Hills cost the American forces 124 killed and 817 wounded.

[SAMWolf]

'The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life.'

-- Theodore Roosevelt

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on January 07:
1528 Jeanne d'Albret queen of Navarra/mother of French King Henry IV
1539 Sebastián de Covarrubias Horozco Spanish lexicographer
1611 James Harrington England, political author (Commonwealth of Oceans)
1612 Paul de La Pierre composer
1634 Adam Krieger German composer
1652 Pavao Vitezovic Croatia, writer/historian
1653 Bernhard Albinus Germany, court-physician (Frederick of Prussia)
1685 Gerard George Clifford Dutch director of East India Company
1710 Josef Antonin Sehling composer
1799 Daniel Tyler Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1882
1800 Millard Fillmore Locke NY, (Whig) 13th President (1850-53)
1808 Jacob Ammen Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1894
1816 Stephen Miller Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1881
1821 Lucius Jeremiah Gartrell Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1891
1822 Lucius C M Bakker Frisian physician/author (Goethe)
1822 Theodor Aufrecht German indologist (Rigveda's Hymns)
1824 James Morrison Hawes Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1889
1830 Albert Bierstadt Germany, painter (US landscapes)
1830 (Samuel) Emerson Opdycke Bvt Major General (Union volunteers)
1842 Johan Lindegren composer
1844 Marie-Bernarde Soubirous [St Bernadette of Lourdes], saint/visionary
1845 Louis III last king of Bavaria (1913-18)
1845 Paul Deusen German philosopher (Schopenhauer-Gesellschaft)
1853 Nikolai Arkas composer
1855 Eliëzer Ben-Jehuda [Perelmann], Latvia, writer (1st Hebrew newspaper)
1860 Emanuil Mandlov composer
1868 Abraham M "Mark" Lidzbarski Polish/German orientalist
1873 Adolph Zukor Hungary, movie producer/director/executive (Paramount)
1873 Charles Pierre Péguy Orléans France, Catholic writer (God Speaks)
1875 Thomas Hicks English/US marathon runner (Olympics-gold-1904)
1876 William Yeates Hurlstone composer
1877 Johannes F Buziau Dutch cabaret performer (1 great dog)
1879 St Bernadette (Marie-Bernarde Soubirous) 1844, religious visionary
1883 Andrew Browne Irish/British admiral (WWII)
1890 Henny Porten Magdeburg Germany, silent screen star (Deception)
1890 Maurice E McLoughlin tennis champ (US Open-1912)
1892 Rudolf Moser composer
1894 Jose Rozo Contreras composer
1895 Marie-Dominique Chenu French Roman Catholic theologist
1896 Arnold Ridley Bath England, actor/dramatist (The Ghost Train)
1898 Art Baker New York City NY, TV host (You Asked For It)
1898 Geronimo Baqueiro Foster composer
1899 Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc Paris, composer/pianist (Les Biches)
1899 Kenneth Thomson Pittsburgh PA, actor (Broadway Melody, Little Giant)
1903 Alan Napier Birmingham England, actor (Alfred-Batman)
1903 Albrecht Haushofer writer
1903 Shalva Azmayparashvili composer
1903 Vladimir Alexandrovich Vlasov composer
1905 Francis Taylor builder
1907 Nicanor Zabaleta San Sebastian, Spain, harpist
1910 Alain de Rothschild France, banker/baron
1910 Jack Lovelock New Zealand/US surgeon/runner (Olympics-gold-1936)
1911 Butterfly [Thelma] McQueen Tampa FL, actress (Prissy-Gone With the Wind)
1911 Merv Waite cricketer (South Australian all-rounder)
1912 Charles Addams cartoonist (New Yorker, Addams Family)
1913 Francis De Wolff England, actor (From Russia With Love)
1913 Shirley Ross Omaha NE, actress (Cafe Society, Prison Farm)
1915 Herman Musaph Dutch psychiatrist/sexologist/founder (NVSH)
1916 Paul Keres USSR, chess grandmaster (1950)
1916 Gerrit Schulte [Le Fou Pedalant], Dutch 6 day bicyclist
1917 Ulysses Sipmson Kay composer
1918 Alessadro Natta Italian political leader (Communist Party)
1918 Colin Snedden cricketer (Test New Zealand vs England 1947, 0-46, did not bat)
1920 Albert Meltzer anarchist
1920 Aubrey Brabazon jockey/trainer
1920 Lionel Alexander Bethune [Alastair] Pilkington engineer/Industrialist
1921 John Lanigan tenor
1922 Vincent Gardenia Naples Italy, actor (All in the Family, LA Law)
1922 Jean-Pierre [Louis] Rampal Marseilles France, flutist
1923 Charles Russell Woolen composer
1924 Roloff Beny Alberta, painter/photographer (A Time of Gods)
1925 Gerald Malcolm Durrell Britain, zoologist/writer (Mockery Bird)
1928 William Peter Blatty New York City NY, author (The Exorcist)
1928 Rajindranath cricketer (4 stumpings in his only Test for India)
1929 Douglas Kiker NBC newsman (1970 Peabody Award)
1929 Kenneth Henry US, 500m speed skater (Olympics-gold-1952)
1929 Terry Moore [Helen Luella Koford], Los Angeles CA, actress (Little Sheba)
1931 Mack Mattingly (Senator-R-GA, 1981-86)
1933 Elliot Kastner New York City, NY, producer (Bobo, Big Sleep, Ffolkes)
1934 Charles Lamont Jenkins New York City, NY, 400m runner (Olympics-gold-1956)
1935 Noam Sheriff composer
1935 Valeri Nikolayevich Kubasov cosmonaut (Soyuz 6, 19, 36/35, Apollo-Soyuz)
1936 Eldee Young US bassist (Young Holt Unlimited-Hang on Sloopy)
1938 Jasperina de Jong Dutch cabaret performer (Jan Rao en z'n Maat)
1939 Maury Povich TV host (Current Affair, Maury)/Connie Chung's husband
1939 David Buchan ethno-musicologist
1939 Tom Kierman British rugby player
1940 William Elgin Swinton child psychiatrist
1941 Ann Susan Hills freelance journalist
1941 Frederick Drew Gregory Washington DC, Colonel USAF/astronaut (STS 51-B, 33, 44)
1941 Robert Hicks rocker (Paul Butterfield Blues Band)
1942 Paul Revere Boise ID, keyboardist (Paul Revere & Raiders-Fallin in Love, Good Thing)
1942 Vasili Alexeyev USSR, weightlifter (Olympics-gold-72, 76)
1943 Jim Lefebvre Hawthorne CA, baseball manager (Seattle Mariners)
1943 Leona Williams singer/songwriter (Ladies Get the Blues)
1943 Nicholas Warner test Pilot
1944 Mike McGear Liverpool, singer (Paul McCartney's brother)
1944 Ad [GB] Nijhuis Dutch MP (VVD)
1945 Tony Conigliaro Massachusetts, baseball outfielder (Boston Red Sox)
1946 Andy Brown rock drummer (Fortunes Birmingham)
1946 Jann S Wenner publisher (Rolling Stone)
1947 David Porcelijn Dutch composer/conductor
1948 Kaz Lux Poland/Netherlands, singer
1948 Kenny Loggins Everett WA, singer (Loggins & Messina-This is it, Footloose)
1949 John Christopher Parry rocker (Cure)
1949 Marshall Chapman Spartanburg SC, country singer
1950 Erin Gray Honolulu HI, actress (Silver Spoons, Buck Rogers)
1951 Talgat Amangeldyyevich Musabayev Russian Major/cosmonaut (TM-19, TM-27)
1952 Giuliano Ferrara
1953 Agha Zahid cricketer (open batting for Pakistan vs West Indies 1975, scored 14 & 1)
1953 Earl Wilber Force "Wire" Lindo rocker (Bob Marley & the Wailers)
1954 Alan Butcher cricketer (one Test England vs India, scored 14 & 20)
1955 Sandra Bernhard Arizona, (Follow That Bird, King of Comedy)
1956 Robin Walton Boise ID, LPGA golfer (1995 GHP Heartland Classic-15th)
1956 Rosalyn Bryant Chicago IL, 4x400m runner (Olympics-silver-1976)
1956 Trudie Styler England, wife of Sting/sponsor (Rainforest Concert)
1957 Kristen Meadows actress (Santa Barbara)
1957 Katie Couric [Katherine], Arlington VA, TV news host (Today)
1958 Donna Rice New Orleans La, model/Gary Hart's alleged lover
1958 Peter R Mokaba president (South African Youth Congress)
1959 Kathy Valentine rocker (Go-Go's-We Got the Beat)
1960 Tierre Turner Detroit MI, actor (Waverly Wonders, Cop & the Kid)
1960 David Marciano Newark NJ, actor (Detective Ray Vecchio-Due South)
1962 Hallie Todd actress (Check is in the Mail)
1962 Jeff Montgomery Wellston OH, pitcher (Kansas City Royals)
1963 Craig Shipley Australian/US baseball infielder (San Diego Padres)
1964 Nicolas Cage actor (Moonstruck, Racing with the Moon)
1964 Francisco Maciel Mexico, tennis star
1965 Mark Rushmere cricketer (South Africa opening bat in comeback Test 1992)
1966 Carolyn Bessette Kennedy model/wife of John Kennedy Jr
1966 Jennifer Luff Australian rower (Olympics-96)
1966 Randy Burridge Fort Erie, NHL left wing (Buffalo Sabres)
1967 Guy Hebert Troy, NHL goalie (Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Team USA 98)
1967 Scott Galbraith NFL tight end (Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys)
1968 Michael Rosati hockey goaltender (Team Italy 1998)
1968 Nathaniel Bolton WLAF running back (Frankfurt Galaxy)
1969 Chris Hatcher US baseball outfielder (Houston Astros)
1969 Doug E Doug actor (Cosby)
1969 Erric Pegram NFL running back (Pit Steelers, New York Giants, San Diego Chargers)
1969 Todd Kinchen NFL wide receiver (St Louis Rams, Atlanta Falcons)
1970 Darryl Williams NFL safety (Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals)
1970 Frank "Cliff" Mannon Amarillo TX, team handball (Olympics-1996)
1970 Paul McCallum CFL/WLAF kicker/punter (Claymores, Sask Roughriders)
1970 Todd Day NBA guard/forward (Boston Celtics)
1971 Bobby Hamilton NFL/WLAF defensive end (Amsterdam Admirals, New York Jets)
1971 Masato Itai WLAF wide receiver (Amsterdam Admirals)
1971 Todd Yeaman NFL defensive tackle (New York Giants)
1972 Aaron John Mcintosh Auckland New Zealand, sailboard yachter (Olympics-96)
1972 Chuck Levy kick returner/running back (San Francisco 49ers)
1972 Donald Brashear Bedford, NHL left wing (Montréal Canadiens)
1973 Bobby Engram wide receiver (Chicago Bears)
1973 Brian Milne fullback (Cincinnati Bengals)
1973 Ricky Wood Van Nuys CA, diver (Olympics-96)
1973 Robert Dunn Glenn Cove NY, team handball left wing (Olympics-1996)
1974 Jennifer LeRoy Craig CO, playmate (Feb, 1993)
1975 Robert Norman Waddell Cambridge New Zealand, Single scull rower (Olympics-96)
1977 Dustin Diamond San Jose CA, actor (Screech-Saved By Bell)
1996 Abbey Speakman England, born 19 days after her twin sister

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Deaths which occurred on January 07:
0312 Lucianus of Antioch theologist/saint, dies
1130 Baldricus Burgoliensis French historian/archbishop, dies at about 83
1285 Charles I of Anjou king of Naples/brother of King Louis IX, dies at 58
1325 Dionysius the justified, King of Portugal (1279-1325), dies
1451 Amadeus VIII last anti-pope Felix V (1439-49), dies at 67
1529 Peter Vischer the Old, German count of Sebaldus, dies
1536 Catherine of Aragon 1st wife of England's King Henry VIII, dies
1537 Alessandro de' Medici Italian monarch of Florence, assassinated
1566 Ludovicus Blosius [Louis de Blois "Dacrianus"], wrtier, dies
1590 Jacob Andreae German theologist (Formulae Concordiae), dies at 61
1591 Jacobus de Kerle French/Flemish composer, dies at about 59
1598 Theodorus I [Fedor Ivanovitch], czar of Russia (1584-98), dies at 40
1655 Innocentius X [Giambattista Pamfili], pope (1644-55), dies at 80
1678 Johannes Flittner composer, dies at 59
1695 Mary II Stuart queen of England, dies at 32
1721 Rochus Aerts Flemish sculptor, dies
1722 Antoine Coypel French painter/poet, dies at 60
1736 Ceslav Vanura composer, dies at 41
1755 Gallus Zeiler composer, dies at 49
1758 Allan Ramsay Sr Scottish poet (Gentle Shepherd), dies at 71
1790 Antonio Corbisiero composer, dies at 69
1810 Joseph Lipavsky composer, dies at 37
1830 Charlotte J T infant of Portugal's ex, dies at 53
1833 Ramon Felix Cuellar y Altarriba composer, dies at 55
1843 Franz Schoberlechner composer, dies at 45
1858 Willem Broes vicar/theologist (Textenrol), dies at 91
1868 William Batchelder Bradbury composer, dies at 51
1870 Karl Schwencke composer, dies at 72
1887 Abraham I van Lier Dutch actor/director (Gran Théâtre), dies at 74
1890 Augusta Maria L Katharina wife of Germ emperor Wilhelm I, dies at 78
1890 Hans Matthison-Hansen composer, dies at 82
1891 Carl Gottfried Wilhelm Taubert composer, dies at 79
1892 Tewfik Pasja viceroy of Egypt, dies at 39
1907 Anton Urspruch composer, dies at 56
1921 Benno Erdmann German philosopher (Logik I), dies at 69
1922 Antonio Scontrino composer, dies at 71
1929 Henry Arthur Jones English playwright (Silver King), dies at 77
1930 Rudolf Häpke historian (Entstehung Holländ Wirtschaft), dies at 45
1932 Henri Stroethoff Dutch actor (Bright Paradise), dies at 60
1936 Howard Francis cricketer (2 Tests South Africa vs England 1898-99, 39 runs), dies
1942 Henry Count of Baillet-Latour, president of IOC (1925-42), dies at 63
1943 Nikola Tesla Yugoslavian physicist (tesla motor), dies at 86
1944 J Verleun Dutch resistance fighter, executed
1948 Raoul Auernheimer writer, dies
1951 Johanna C H "Nelly" Bodenheim painter (Luilekkerland), dies at 76
1955 Gerald Hartigan cricketer (South African batsman in 5 Tests 1911-14), dies
1957 Al White choreographer (NBC Comedy Hour), dies
1958 Dr Petru Groza premier of Romania, dies at 74
1960 Luis da Costa composer, dies at 80
1961 Clarice Baright 1st woman admitted to American Bar Association dies at 74
1964 Colin C McPhee composer (H2O, Mechanical Principles), dies at 62
1967 Carl Schuricht composer, dies at 86
1967 Sid Emery cricket leg-spinner (New South Wales & Australia, 5 wicket in 1912 series), dies
1970 Robert [Harriot] Barrat actor (Bad Lands, Go West), dies at 81
1971 Dick Kollmar actor (Broadway Spotlight, Guess What), dies at 60
1971 Madame Spivy [LeVoe] actress (All Fall Down), dies at 64
1972 Clarence Passailaigue cricketer (487 for 6th wicket for Jamaica), dies
1972 John Berryman US poet (Imaginary Jew), dies
1979 Zbigniew Turski composer, dies at 70
1980 Carl White rocker, dies
1980 Sarah Selby actress (Tower of London), dies at 74
1981 Jose Ardevol composer, dies at 69
1982 Bert Oosterhuis Dutch motor racer (Paris-Dakar), dies in race crash
1983 August Cool Belgian trade union leader, dies at 79
1985 Johnny Guarnieri jazz pianist (Morey Amsterdam Show), dies at 67
1986 Juan Rulfo writer, dies
1986 M Rooi editor-in-chief (New Rotterdam Daily), dies at 79
1987 Larry Carr pianist (Flight to Rhythm), dies at 72
1988 Trevor Howard UK actor (Ryan's Daughter), dies of bronchitis at 71
1989 Hirohito Japan`s emperor (1922-89), dies of duodenal cancer at 87 after 62-year reign (1/2 Million line Tokyo streets)
1990 Bronislau "Bronko" Nagurski football hall of famer, dies at 81
1990 Horace Stoneham baseball owner (Giants), dies at 86
1990 Joseph Robbie lawyer/NFL owner (Miami Dolphins), dies at 73
1990 Gail Lucas entertainer, dies
1991 Joe Hicks baseball coach, dies of cancer at 64
1992 Jhean Burton entertainer, dies
1992 Richard Hunt puppeteer/actor (Muppet Movie), dies of AIDS at 40
1993 Richard Branda actor (2 Minute Warning), dies of colon cancer at 57
1994 Bobby Pratt jazz Trombone/Piano Player, dies at 67
1994 Jay Blackton broadway Conductor (Oklahoma!), dies at 84
1994 Lewis Boddington aerospace Engineer, dies at 85
1994 Lynn Blessing vibes Player, dies at 65
1994 Phoumi Vongvichit President of Laos (1986-91), dies
1994 Vittorio Mezzogiorno actor (Cafe Express), dies of heart failure 52
1995 Arthur Leavins violinist, dies at 77
1995 Harry Golombek chess Grandmaster, dies at 83
1995 Larry Grayson British entertainer (Generation Game), dies at 65
1995 Murray Newton Rothbard economist, dies of cardiac arrest at 69
1995 Viktor Vorobyov Russian General Major, dies in battle
1995 William Larry White Grayson comedian, dies at 71
1996 James Holland artist/exhibition organiser, dies at 90
1996 Karoly Grosz PM of Hungry (1987-88), dies at 65
1996 Robley D Evans nuclear physicist, dies at 88
1996 Seton Howard Frederick Lloyd archaeologist, dies at 93
1997 Desmond Flower publisher, dies at 89
1997 Sandor Vegh violinist teacher/conductor, dies at 84

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On this day...
0754 Pope Stefanus II arrives in Ponthion
1325 Afonso IV succeeds Dionysius as king of Portugal
1558 Calais, last English possession in France, retaken by French under Francois, Duke of Guise
1566 Antonio Michaele Ghislieri is elected Pope Pius V
1579 England signs an offensive & defensive alliance with the Netherlands
1584 Last day of the Julian calendar in Bohemia & Holy Roman empire
1598 Boris Godunov seizes the Russian throne on death of Feodore I
1601 Robert, Earl of Essex leads revolt in London against Queen Elizabeth
1608 Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia
1610 Galileo discovers 1st 3 Jupiter satellites, Io, Europa & Ganymede
1618 Francis Bacon becomes English lord chancellor
1622 Germany & Transylvania sign Peace of Nikolsburg
1630 Composer Pier Cavalli marries rich widow Maria Sosomeno
1654 Fire after heavy storm destroys 2/3 of De Rijp Netherlands, 1 dies
1698 Russian Czar Peter the Great departs Netherlands to England
1714 Typewriter patented by Englishman Henry Mill (built years later)
1761 Battle at Panipat India Afghan army beats Mahratten
1782 1st US commercial bank, Bank of North America, opens in Philadelphia
1784 1st US seed business established by David Landreth, Philadelphia
1785 1st balloon flight across English Channel (Blanchard & Jeffries)
1789 1st national (Presidential) election in US
1817 2nd Bank of the United States opens
1822 1st printing in Hawaii
1822 Liberia colonized by Americans
1830 Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Co begins carrying revenue traffic - 1st US Railroad Station (Baltimore MD)
1835 HMS Beagle anchors off Chonos Archipelago
1842 Gioacchino Rossini's opera "Stabat Mater" premieres in Paris
1861 Florida troops takeover Fort Marion at St Augustine
1862 Battle of Manassas Junction VA
1862 Romney Campaign-Stonewall Jackson march towards Romney WV
1868 Arkansas constitutional convention meets in Little Rock
1868 Mississippi constitutional convention meets in Jackson
1879 Dutch King Willem II marries Emma von Waldeck-Pyrmont
1888 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "The Valley of Fear" (BG)
1890 W B Purvis patents fountain pen
1892 Mine explosion kills 100, Krebs OK-blacks trying to help rescue white survivors, driven away with guns
1893 Hermann Sudermanns "Heimat" premieres in Berlin
1894 Motion picture experiment of comedian Fred Ott filmed sneezing
1896 Fanny Farmer publishes her 1st cookbook
1899 Walter Camp publishes his 1st All-American football team in Collier's
1903 Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier" (BG)
1903 Vincent d'Indy's opera "L'etranger" premieres in Brussel
1904 Marconi Co establishes "CQD" as 1st international radio distress signal
1907 Clyde Fitch' "Truth" premieres in New York City NY
1908 England beat Australia by one wicket at the MCG
1910 Ottawa Senators sweep Galt in 2 games for the Stanley Cup
1911 1st airplane bombing experiments with explosives, San Francisco
1911 Dutch Scouts Organization established in Amsterdam
1913 William M Burton patents a process to "crack" petroleum
1914 1st steamboat passes through the Panama Canal
1916 German troops conquer Fort Vaux at Verdun
1923 Baltimore Sun warns of Ku Klux Klan
1925 Musical "Big Boy" with Al Jolson premieres in New York City NY
1927 Commercial transatlantic telephone service inaugurated between New York & London
1927 Harlem Globetrotters play 1st game (Hinckley IL)
1929 "Buck Rogers", 1st sci-fi comic strip, premieres
1929 "Tarzan", one of the 1st adventure comic strips, 1st appears
1929 1st telephone connection between Netherlands & East Indies
1930 Edwin Justus Mayer's "Children of Darkness" premieres in New York City NY
1932 1st game played at Orchard Lake Curling Club, Michigan
1933 1st edition of People & Fatherland published in Netherlands
1934 "Flash Gordon" comic strip (by Alex Raymond) debuts
1934 Princess Juliana marries German prince Bernhard von Lippe-Biesterfeld
1935 Zöe Akins' "Old Maid" premieres in New York City NY
1936 Tennis champs Helen Moody & Howard Kinsley volley 2,001 times (1h18m)
1939 US worker's union leader Tom Mooney freed (jailed since 1916)
1942 WWII siege of Bataan starts
1944 Air Force announces production of 1st US jet fighter, the Bell P-59
1945 Lord Haw-Haw reports total German victory at Ardennen
1946 Cambodia becomes autonomous state inside French Union
1947 Australia vs England at MCG drawn in 6 days, 1st cricket draw in Australia since 1882
1948 US President Truman raises taxes for Marshall-plan
1949 1st photo of genes taken at University of Southern California by Pease & Baker
1950 Mental health wing of Mercy Hospital burns, kills 41 (Davenport IA)
1950 "Happy as Larry" closes at Coronet Theater New York City NY after 3 performances
1950 Hank Snow's 1st appearance on "Grand Ole Opry"
1952 French Plevin government falls
1953 President Truman announces development of the hydrogen bomb
1955 Marian Anderson becomes 1st black singer to perform at the Met (New York City NY)
1955 WCIQ TV channel 7 in Mt Cheaha AL (PBS) begins broadcasting
1956 Vinoo Mankad scores 231 vs New Zealand, 413 opening stand with Roy
1958 USSR shrinks army to 300,000
1959 US recognizes Fidel Castro's Cuban government
1961 1st NFL Playoff Bowl (runner-up bowl)-Detroit beats Cleveland 17-16
1961 Trucial States (now UAE) issue their 1st postage stamps
1962 AFL Pro Bowl West beats East 47-27
1962 Assassination attempt on Indonesian president Sukarno, fails
1962 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to John Hall Wheelock
1963 1st class postage raised from 4¢ to 5¢
1964 Bahamas achieves internal self-government & cabinet responsibility
1964 Dick Weber rolls highest bowling game in the air (Boeing 707)
1965 France announces it will convert $150 million of its currency to gold
1966 Dance Theatre of Harlem debuts
1966 Gene Kiniski beats Lou Thesz in St Louis MO, to become NWA champ
1967 "Newlywed Game" premieres on ABC TV
1968 1st class postage raised from 5¢ to 6¢
1968 Surveyor 7 lands on the Moon
1968 "GE College Bowl" quiz show premieres on NBC TV
1969 US Congress doubles presidential salary
1970 Farmers sue Max Yasgur for $35,000 in damages caused by "Woodstock"
1971 -40ºF (-40ºC), Hawley Lake AZ (state record)
1972 Iberian Airlines crashes into 800' peak on island of Ibiza, 104 die
1972 Lewis F Powell Jr becomes a Supreme Court Justice
1972 Los Angeles Lakers chalk up 33rd consecutive win (NBA record)
1972 William Hubbs Rehnquist, sworn in as Supreme Court Justice
1973 British Darts Organization founded in North London
1973 "Purlie" closes at Billy Rose Theater New York City NY after 14 performances
1973 Jo Ann Prentice wins LPGA Burdine's Golf Invitational
1973 Johnny Watkins bowls six overs 0-21 vs Pakistan Never again
1973 US poet James Merrill wins Bollingen Prize
1973 WNPB TV channel 13 in Marquette MI (PBS) begins broadcasting
1974 Dutch rations gasoline
1975 Bollingen Prize for poetry awarded to AR Ammons (Sphere)
1975 Gary Geld & Peter Udell's musical "Shenandoah" premieres at Alvin Theater New York City NY for 1050 performances
1975 Led Zeppelin fans riot before Boston concert, causing $30,000 damage
1977 Human Rights Charter '77 established in Prague
1978 Angola revises its constitution
1979 Vietnamese forces capture Phnom Penh from Khmer Rouge
1980 Minnesota ends Philadelphia Flyers' NHL record 35 game unbeaten streak ends
1982 "Fame" premieres on NBC TV
1982 Islander's Bryan Trottier's 10th career hat trick
1983 Reagan ends US arms embargo against Guatemala
1983 Australia regain the Ashes with a 2-1 series win vs England
1985 KHQ-AM in Spokane WA changes call letters to KLSN (now KAQQ)
1985 "King & I" opens at Broadway Theater New York City NY for 191 performances
1985 Japanese space probe Sakigake launched to Halley's comet
1985 Lou Brock & Hoyt Wilhelm, elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
1986 STS 61-C mission scrubbed at T -9m because of weather problems
1986 Netherlands Bank issues 250 guilder notes
1986 US President Reagan proclaims economic sanctions against Libya
1987 French airplanes harass Libyan positions in Duadi Doum
1987 Kapil Dev takes his 300th Test wicket, at 28 the youngest
1989 British Midland Boeing 737 crashes on Motorway
1989 International Conference on Limitation of Chemical Weapons opens in Paris
1989 NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers longest win streak (11); Cavaliers block 21 New York Knick shots tying NBA regulation game record
1989 Akhito becomes emperor of Japan
1989 Cleveland Cavaliers block 21 New York Knick shots tying NBA regulation game record
1990 Lynn Jennings runs world record 5K indoor at 15 22.64
1990 Tower Of Pisa closed to the public after leaning too far
1991 "Nia Peeples Party Machine" premieres on TV
1991 Haiti coup defeated
1991 Soviet paratroopers sent to Baltic Republics
1992 AT&T releases video-telephone ($1499)
1992 Last day of Test cricket for Imran Khan
1992 Tom Seaver & Rollie Fingers elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame
1994 South Africa beats Australia in the Sydney Test by 5 runs
1994 United Express commuter plane crashes in Ohio, killing 5
1994 US female Figure Skating championship won by Tonya Harding
1995 "Christmas Carol" closes at Richard Rodgers Theater New York City NY after 18 performances
1995 "Passion" closes at Plymouth Theater New York City NY after 280 performances
1996 "Crazy after You" closes at Shubert Theater New York City NY after 1622 performances
1996 "Fool Moon" closes at Ambassador Theater New York City NY after * performances
1996 16th United Negro College Fund raises $12,600,000
1997 Newt Gingrich, narrowly re-elected speaker of the House

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

Liberia : Pioneers' Day
Scotland : Handsel Monday - - - - - ( Monday )

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Religious Observances
Andorra : St Lucia's Day
Christian-Andorra : St Lucia's Day
Christian-Ethiopia : Ganna Christmas
Roman Catholic : Feast of St Vitalis
Russian Orthodox : Julian Calendar Christmas in 20th, 21st century
Roman Catholic : Memorial of Raymond of Penafort, priest (opt)

---

Religious History
1450 In Scotland, the University of Glasgow was founded.
1610 Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, 46, discovered four satellites of Jupiter with the aid of the newly invented telescope. His discovery revolutionized astronomy, and led Galileo to adopt the Copernican (heliocentric) model of the solar system in place of the older, less adequate, Ptolemaic (earth-centered) view.
1856 In London, famed English Baptist preacher Charles H. Spurgeon, 22, married Susannah Thompson, one of the parishioners at the New Park Street Baptist Chapel, where he was pastoring.
1934 Converted major league baseball player Billy Sunday, at age 72, began a two-week revival at Calvary Baptist Church in NY City. (Sunday was an evangelist from 1893 until his death in 1935.)
1941 In England, the four-day Anglican gathering known as the Malvern Conference opened. It was presided over by Archbishop William Temple.

---

Thought for the day :
"A free society is a place where it's safe to be unpopular."

[Fiddlstix]

Good Morning Everybody.

You Know The Drill
Click the Pics J

Coffee & Donuts J

[SAMWolf]

Current Military News
GodSpeed 3rd Infantry

Members of the 3rd Infantry Division match to a processing station Monday, Jan. 6, 2002, as they prepare to depart Fort Benning, Ga., for Warner Robins Air Force Base, where they will board planes for Kuwait. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)


Spc. Paul Yount, of Williamsburg., Va., reads Monday, Jan. 6, 2003, as he and other members of the 3rd Infantry Division prepare to depart Fort Benning, Ga., for Warner Robins Air Force Base, where they will board planes for Kuwait. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)


Sgt. William Bradley kisses his 4-year-old son Billy, Monday, Jan. 6, 2003, as he and other members of the 3rd Infantry Division prepare to depart Fort Benning, Ga


Pvt. Daniel Barnes, of Cincinnati, embraces his wife Camillia, Monday, Jan. 6, 2003, as he and other members of the 3rd Infantry Division prepare to depart Fort Benning, Ga

Pvt. Michael Ramos makes a phone call to his mother in Texas, Monday, Jan., 6, 2003, before deploying to Kuwait with the 3rd Infantry Division out of Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga. Ramos was part of approximately 250 soldiers that will join the division's command, which is already in Kuwait. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)


Spc. Jason Lemieux, center, and Staff Sgt. Barry Scott, of the 3rd Infantry Division, wait in line Monday, Jan. 6, 2003, to be processed and depart from Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Ga., as part of a mass deployment to Kuwait. The troops boarded a chartered flight as part of the first wave of more than 15,000 troops to deploy to the Middle East. (AP Photo/Stephen Morton)

[SAMWolf]

Current Military News

U.S. Army Specialist Paul Buchanan and his wife Shannon fight back tears as Buchanan prepares for deployment from Fort Benning, Georgia on January 6, 2003. Three hundred soldiers from the Third Brigade, Third Infantry Division at Fort Benning are being deployed to Kuwait. REUTERS/Tami Chappell


U.S. Army Sgt. First Class William Bradley hugs his four-year old son Billy as he prepares for deployment from Fort Benning, Georgia on January 6, 2003. Three hundred soldiers from the Third Brigade, Third Infantry Division at Fort Benning are being deployed to Kuwait. REUTERS/Tami Chappell


U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Bradley hugs his two-year old daughter Georjetta as he prepares for deployment from Fort Benning, Georgia on January 6, 2003.


U.S. Army Specialist Jason Holoday (R) of Jonesville, Michigan hugs his two-year old son Michael as he prepared for deployment from Fort Benning, Georgia on January 6, 2003.

[SAMWolf]

1992 AT&T releases video-telephone ($1499)

Darn! And I still don't have one.

[SAMWolf]

[top of the world ma]

The Rough Riders

Made for TV, but it's available on tape at video stores.

[SAMWolf]

I saw that. I thought it was pretty good and liked it, but them I'm a Sam Elliot Fan.

[SAMWolf]

(((Ping)))

[MistyCA]

Good report, Sam. Thanks. :)

[MistyCA]

Thanks, Valin! The thought for the day is interesting! :)

[MistyCA]

Oh, boy! I needed that! Thanks!!! :)

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Fairplay (Tinclad 17)

USS Fairplay, a 156-ton side-wheel "tinclad" river gunboat, was built in 1859 at New Albany, Indiana, for civilian employment. During the early part of the Civil War, she was used by the Confederacy as a transport and was captured in that role at Milliken's Bend, on the Mississippi River, on 18 August 1862. Taken over by the U.S. Army, she was commissioned in September 1862 and transferred to the Navy the following month.

Converted to a gunboat, Fairplay operated on the Cumberland, Tennessee and Ohio rivers during the rest of the Civil War. On 3 February 1863, she helped break up a Confederate Army attack on Federal forces at Dover, Tennessee. She engaged an enemy battery at Bell's Mill, near Nashville, on 3 December 1864 and captured two steamers on the following day. After brief post-war patrol activities on the Western Rivers, USS Fairplay was decommissioned and sold in August 1865. Renamed Cotile for civilian use, she was broken up in 1871.

[MistyCA]

Dittos!

Godspeed, 3rd Infantry!

May your mission be safe and your family well cared for. Your sacrifices are appreciated.

[Jen]

PING to the Freeper Foxhole.

If you would like to be removed from this daily ping list, send a BLANK FReepmail to AntiJen with "REMOVE" in the subject line. You'll be removed promptly. Thanks!

[MistyCA]

The children are so cute. Their little faces always get to me.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning ladies.

Oops, I posted the ping list just before you Jen. Sorry, I should have waited a few more minutes.

[MistyCA]

I keep looking for Souris to swoon at the mention of Sam Elliot! :)