The FReeper Foxhole Remembers Sam R. Watkins, Confederate Soldier - Mar. 12th, 2003

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/6732/files/soldier_watkins.htm ^

[SAMWolf]

U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues

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Life of a Confederate Soldier
In the Words of Sam Watkins

Sam R. Watkins, born on June 26, 1839 near Columbia, Tennessee, attended Jackson College at Columbia prior to his enlistment as a private in the First Tennessee Infantry, Company H in the spring of 1861. Watkins served throughout the duration of the war, and was promoted to fourth corporal for picking up a Union flag from the battlefield during the Battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864. In 1881, 20 years after the war began, Watkins wrote his memoirs of the war, recounting his engaging saga in "Co. Aytch": A Side Show of the Big Show. Watkins died on July 20, 1901.

Selected excerpts from his engaging narrative on the war provide a glimpse into the life of the common Confederate soldier.

Sam R. Watkins

Thoughts on the Common Soldier
Reminiscences of Camp Cheatham, 1861:

A private soldier is but an automaton, a machine that works by the command of a good, bad, or indifferent engineer, and is presumed to know nothing of all these great events. His business is to load and shoot, stand picket, videt, etc., while the officers sleep, or perhaps die on the field of battle and glory, and his obituary and epitaph but "one" remembered among the slain, but to what company, regiment, brigade or corps he belongs, there is no account; he is soon forgotten. (p. 22)

After the battle on Cheat Mountain
(September 12-13, 1861):

After the fighting was over, where, O where, was all the fine rigging heretofore on our officers? They could not be seen. Corporals, sergeants, lieutenants, captains, all had torn all the fine lace off their clothing. I noticed that at the time and was surprised and hurt. I asked several of them why they had torn off the insignia of their rank, and they always answered, "Humph, you think that I was going to be a target for the Yankees to shoot at?" You see, this was our first battle, and the officers had not found out that minnie as well as cannon balls were blind; that they had no eyes and could not see. They thought that the balls would hunt for them and not hurt the privates. I always shot at privates. It was they that did the shooting and killing, and if I could kill or wound a private, why, my chances were so much the better. I always looked upon officers as harmless personages.... If I shot at an officer, it was at long range, but when we got down to close quarters I always tried to kill those that were trying to kill me. (pp. 29-30)

The Weariness of a Long March
After the Battle of Perryville (October 8, 1862):



Along the route it was nothing but tramp, tramp, tramp, and no sound or noise but the same inevitable, monotonous tramp, tramp, tramp, up hill and down hill, through long and dusty lanes, weary, wornout and hungry. No cheerful warble of a merry songster would ever greet our ears. It was always tramp, tramp, tramp. You might, every now and then, hear the occasional words "close up"; but outside of that, it was but the same tramp, tramp, tramp. I have seen soldiers fast asleep, and no doubt dreaming of home and loved ones there, as they staggered along in their places in the ranks. I know that on many a weary night's march I have slept, and slept soundly, while marching along in my proper place in the ranks of the company, stepping to the same step as the soldier in front of me did. Sometimes, when weary, broken down and worn out, some member of the regiment would start a tune, and every man would join in....



...the boys would wake up and step quicker and livelier for some time, and Arthur Fulghum would holloa out, "All right; go ahead!" and then would toot! toot! as if the cars were starting—puff! puff! puff and then he would say, "Tickets, gentlemen; tickets, gentlemen" like he was conductor on a train of cars. This little episode would be over, and then would commence the same tramp, tramp, tramp, all night long. Step by step, step by step, we continued to plod and nod and stagger and march, tramp, tramp, tramp. After a while we would see the morning star rise in the east, and then after a while the dim gray twilight, and finally we could discover the outlines of our file leader, and after a while could make out the outlines of trees and other objects. And as it would get lighter and lighter, and day would be about to break, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, would come from Tom Tuck's rooster. [Tom carried a game rooster, that he called "Fed" for Confederacy, all through the war in a haversack.] And then the sun would begin to shoot his slender rays athwart the eastern sky, and the boys would wake up and begin laughing and talking as if they had just risen from a good feather bed, and were perfectly refreshed and happy. We would usually stop at some branch or other about breakfast time, and all wash our hands and faces and eat breakfast, if we had any, and then commence our weary march again. If we were halted for one minute, every soldier would drop down, and resting on his knapsack, would go to sleep....



We march on. The scene of a few days ago comes unhidden to my mind. Tramp, tramp, tramp, the soldiers are marching. Where are many of my old friends and comrades, whose names were so familiar at every roll call, and whose familiar "Here" is no more? They lie yonder at Perryville, unburied, on the field of battle. They lie where they fell. More than three hundred and fifty members of my regiment, the First Tennessee, numbered among the killed and wounded—one hundred and eighty-five slain on the field of battle. Who are they? Even then I had to try to think up the names of all the slain of Company H alone. Their spirits seemed to be with us on the march, but we know that their souls are with their God. Their bones, today, no doubt, bleach upon the battlefield. They left their homes, families, and loved ones a little more than one short twelve months ago, dressed in their gray uniforms, amid the applause and cheering farewells of those same friends. They lie yonder; no friendly hands ever closed their eyes in death; no kind, gentle, and loving mother was there to shed a tear over and say farewell to her darling boy; no sister's gentle touch ever wiped the death damp from off their dying brows. Noble boys; brave boys! They willingly gave their lives to their country's cause. Their bodies and bones are mangled and torn by the rude missiles of war. They sleep the sleep of the brave. They have given their all to their country. We miss them from our ranks. There are no more hard marches and scant rations for them. They have accomplished all that could be required of them. They are no more; their names are soon forgotten. They are put down in the roll-book as killed. They are forgotten. We will see them no more until the last reveille on the last morning of the final resurrection. Soldiers, comrades, friends, noble boys, farewell! we will meet no more on earth, but up yonder some day we will have a grand reunion. (pp. 67-70)

Nicknames



Almost every soldier in the army—generals, colonels, captains, as well as privates—had a nick-name; and I almost believe that had the war continued ten years, we would have forgotten our proper names. John T. Tucker was called "Sneak," A.S. Horsley was called "Don Von One Horsley," W.A. Hughes was called "Apple Jack," Green Rieves was called "Old Snake," Bob Brank was called "Count," the colonel of the Fourth was called "Guide Post," E.L. Lansdown was called "Left Tenant," some were called by the name of "Greasy," some "Buzzard," others "Hog," and "Brutus," and "Cassius," and "Caesar," "Left Center," and "Bolderdust," and "Old Hannah"; in fact, the nick-names were singular and peculiar, and when a man got a nick-name it stuck to him like the Old Man of the Sea did to the shoulders of Sinbad, the sailor. (p. 71)

Foraging for Food
Swimming the Tennessee River with "Roasting-ears":

The Tennessee river is about a quarter of a mile wide at Chattanooga. Right across the river was an immense corn-field. The green corn was waving with every little breeze that passed; the tassels were bowing and nodding their heads; the pollen was flying across the river like little snowdrops, and everything seemed to say, "Come hither, Johnny Reb; come hither, Johnny; come hither." The river was wide, but we were hungry. The roastingears looked tempting. We pulled off our clothes and launched into the turbid stream, and were soon on the other bank. Here was the field, and here were the roastingears; but where was the raft or canoe?



We thought of old Abraham and Isaac and the sacrifice: "My son, gather the roastingears, there will be a way provided."

We gathered the roastingears; we went back and gathered more roastingears, time and again. The bank was lined with green roastingears. Well, what was to be done? We began to shuck the corn. We would pull up a few shucks on one ear, and tie it to the shucks of another—first one and then another—until we had at least a hundred tied together. We pulled the train of corn into the river, and as it began to float off we jumped in, and taking the foremost ear in our mouth, struck out for the other bank. Well, we made the landing all correct.

I merely mention the above incident to show to what extremity soldiers would resort. Thousands of such occurrences were performed by the private soldiers of the Rebel army. (p. 97)

Impressions after a Battle
After the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19, 1863):

We remained upon the battlefield of Chickamauga all night. Everything had fallen into our hands. We had captured a great many prisoners and small arms, and many pieces of artillery and wagons and provisions. The Confederate and Federal dead, wounded, and dying were everywhere scattered over the battlefield. Men were lying where they fell, shot in every conceivable part of the body.... In fact, you might walk over the battlefield and find men shot from the crown of the head to the tip end of the toe. And then to see all those dead, wounded and dying horses....



Reader, a battlefield, after the battle, is a sad and sorrowful sight to look at. The glory of war is but the glory of battle, the shouts, and cheers, and victory.

A soldier's life is not a pleasant one. It is always, at best, one of privations and hardships. The emotions of patriotism and pleasure hardly counterbalance the toil and suffering that he has to undergo in order to enjoy his patriotism and pleasure. Dying on the field of battle and glory is about the easiest duty a soldier has to undergo. It is the living, marching, fighting, shooting soldier that has the hardships of war to carry. When a brave soldier is killed he is at rest. The living soldier knows not at what moment he, too, may be called on to lay down his life on the altar of his country. The dead are heroes, the living are but men compelled to do the drudgery and suffer the privations incident to the thing called "glorious war." (pp. 109-110)

Promotion to Corporal
After the Battle of Atlanta (July 22, 1864):

"Why, hello, corporal, where did you get those two yellow stripes from on your arm?"

"Why, sir, I have been promoted for gallantry on the battlefield, by picking up an orphan flag, that had been run over by a thousand fellows, and when I picked it up I did so because I thought it was pretty, and I wanted to have me a shirt made out of it."

"I could have picked up forty, had I known that," said Sloan.

"So could I, but I knew that the stragglers would pick them up."



Reader mine, the above dialogue is true in every particular. As long as I was in action, fighting for my country, there was no chance for promotion, but as soon as I fell out of ranks and picked up a forsaken and deserted flag, I was promoted for it. I felt "sorter" cheap when complimented for gallantry, and the high honor of fourth corporal was conferred upon me. I felt that those brave and noble fellows who had kept on in the charge were more entitled to the honor than I was, for when the ball struck me on the ankle and heel, I did not go any further. And had I only known that picking up flags entitled me to promotion and that every flag picked up would raise me one notch higher, I would have quit fighting and gone to picking up flags, and by that means I would have soon been President of the Confederate States of America. But honors now begin to cluster around my brow. This is the laurel and ivy that is entwined around the noble brows of victorious and renowned generals. I honestly earned the exalted honor of fourth corporal by picking up a Yankee battle-flag on the 22nd day of July, at Atlanta. (p. 185)

The Field Hospital in Atlanta

It was the only field hospital that I saw during the whole war, and I have no desire to see another. Those hollow-eyed and sunken-cheeked sufferers, shot in every conceivable part of the body; some shrieking, and calling upon their mothers; some laughing the hard, cackling laugh of the sufferer without hope, and some cursing like troopers, and some writhing and groaning as their wounds were being bandaged and dressed....



Ah! reader, there is no glory for the private soldier.... The officers have all the glory. Glory is not for the private soldier, such as die in the hospitals, being eat up with the deadly gangrene, and being imperfectly waited on. Glory is for generals, colonels, majors, captains, and lieutenants. They have all the glory, and when the poor private wins battles by dint of sweat, hard marches, camp and picket duty, fasting and broken bones, the officers get the glory. The private's pay was eleven dollars per month, if he got it; the general's pay was three hundred dollars per month, and he always got his. I am not complaining. These things happened sixteen to twenty years ago. Men who never fired a gun, nor killed a Yankee during the whole war, are today the heroes of the war. Now, I tell you what I think about it: I think that those of us who fought as private soldiers, fought as much for glory as the general did, and those of us who stuck it out to the last, deserve more praise than the general who resigned because some other general was placed in command over him. A general could resign. That was honorable. A private could not resign, nor choose his branch of service, and if he deserted, it was death. (pp. 202-203)

[SAMWolf]

This is a true story written by Pvt. Sam R. Watkins a few years after he fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Private Watkins served in the First Tennessee Regiment, Company H, and this is his tale about seeing a Jack O Lantern! Although today's term for such a sight is a 'Will-o-the-wisp,' the tale is excellent nonetheless. This excerpt has been taken from Co. Aytch by Sam Watkins, republished by Simon and Schuster in 1997. It is readily available from any bookstore and/or online retailer and is an excellent read!

"In our immediate front, at Corinth, Mississippi, our men were being picked off by sharpshooters, and a great many were killed, but no one could tell where the shots came from.

At one particular post it was sure death. Every detail that had been sent to this post for a week had been killed. In distributing the detail this post fell to Tom Webb and myself. They were bringing off a dead boy just as we were going on duty. Colonel George C. Porter, of the 6th Tennessee, warned us to keep a good lookout. We took our stands. A minnie ball whistled right by my head. I don't think it missed me an eighth of an inch. Tom had sat down on an old chunk of wood, and just as he took his seat, a ball took the chunk of wood. Tom picked it up and began laughing at our tight place. Happening to glance up towards the tree tops, I saw a smoke rising above a tree, and about the same time I saw a Yankee peep from behind the tree, up among the bushes.

I quickly called Tom's attention to it, and pointed out the place. We could see his ramrod as he handled it while loading his gun; saw him raise his gun, as we thought, to put a cap on it. Tom in the meantime had lain flat on his belly and placed his gun across the chunk he had been sitting on. I had taken a rest for my gun by the side of a sapling, and both of us had dead aim at the place where the Yankee was. Finally we saw him sort o' peep round the tree, and we moved about a little so that he might see us, and as we did so, the Yankee stepped out in full view, and bang, bang! Tom and I had both shot. We saw that Yankee tumble out like a squirrel. It sounded like distant thunder when that Yankee struck the ground. We heard the Yankees carry him off. One thing I am certain of, and that is, not another Yankee went up that tree that day, and Colonel George C. Porter complimented Tom and I very highly on our success.

This is where I first saw a jack o'lantern (ignis fatui). That night, while Tom and I were on our posts, we saw a number of very dim lights, which seemed to be in motion. At first we took them to be Yankees moving about with lights, Whenever we could get a shot we would blaze away. At last one got up very close, and passed right between Tom and I. I don't think I was ever more scared in my life. My hair stood on end like the quills of the fretful porcupine; I could not imagine what on earth it was. I took it to be some hellish machination of a Yankee trick. I did not know whether to run or stand, until I heard Tom laugh and say, "Well, well, that's a jack o'lantern."

[SAMWolf]

Remembering Sam Watkins
Columbia, Tennessee ~~ July 20, 2001

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the passing of Samuel Rush Watkins. I suppose that most people have no idea who he is. Sam Watkins? Did he play in the major leagues? Maybe for the Braves? Was he the city manager back in the 60's?

It really does not matter if most people don't remember him because there are some people who will never forget him. People who are interested in the Civil War almost invariably have his little book on their shelf. They have read through it several times. Their copies are thumb-worn and usually have lots of toothpick, coffee-stirrer, paper scrap, yarn or post-it note bookmarks denoting favorite passages.

Several years after the war Mr. Sam began to write his story for his children to read. Someone showed it to the Herald editor and they began to run it as a serial. Finally Mr. Sam bundled it all together and published it as a book. He called it Company Aytch – A Side Show of the Big Show. It was his memoir of service in Company H (Aytch – sound it out), First Tennessee Infantry that fought throughout the war.



His little book is just as remarkable for what it is not as for what it is. In a day when writers delighted in painfully stilted writing styles and florid (often sappy) prose, Sam Watkins was plain spoken and direct. He did occasionally include a few passages of torrid language but only as quotes from the chronically self-important. Mr. Sam was a simple and uncomplicated man who wrote plainly and openly about the war.

There is no "snow-job" or "axe-grinding" within the pages of Company Aytch. He wrote simply of his friends and their adventures. He avoided discussions of tactics or grand strategy as he avoided lauding syrupy praise upon the "Big Bugs" as he called them.

In terms of the scope of the Civil War, Sam Watkins is a nobody and he delights in his low station. He refers to himself as a "high private" and terms his comrades "Webfoots" for all the marching they did. His book should be read aloud as it is written in a conversational style that has to be pure "Sam Watkins".

Mr. Sam's memoirs are funny sometimes and occasionally painful. In speaking of the fighting he tried to describe the indescribable. He reported on the battles that were fought by his unit and tried to convey a sense of the experience. This is as close as he ever came to stilted language.

Company Aytch is in its umpteenth reprinting since he published the first 2,000 copies all those years ago. No civil war student's education is complete without a thorough reading of it. If you can manage to read the last few pages without a tear in your eye and a lump in your throat then you must have a very strong constitution. It is as beautiful a passage as I know of in American literature.

They come every year. They never fail to show up. They come from all over the country and sometimes from overseas. They are young and old, women and men. They come looking for Mr. Sam's last resting place. He lies in the lovely old Zion Churchyard next to his beloved wife Jenny. When time permits, I try to take them myself. It is interesting to observe people who are so moved by one slim volume of memories.


Sam and Jenny's Resting Place
Zion Churchyard

If you have not read Company Aytch it is way past time for you to enjoy the wonderful experience of fighting the war at Mr. Sam's side. You will meet his friends, share his privations, thrill at his hair-breadth escapes, laugh at his shenanigans and share the overwhelming sadness of all that was lost during those terrible days.

Sam Watkins belongs to all of us here in Maury County. He returned to Maury County at the end of the war to find the area devastated. He rolled up his sleeves and, like others, worked to restore the area and his life. He was an ordinary citizen who spoke with an extraordinary voice in the telling his story.

The years of privation and suffering both in the army and in the years of Reconstruction worked its evil upon his body. He was crippled and prematurely old when he passed away on July 20, 1901. Mr. Sam was only 62 years old and he knew well beforehand that he was dying.

It has now been an even hundred years since he passed on into eternity but as long as his little book occupies the shelves, hearts and minds of Americans, his memory shall be ever green.

Bob Duncan

[SAMWolf]

'Heroism is latent in every human soul.... However humble or unknown, they (the veterans) have renounced what are accounted pleasures and cheerfully undertaken all self-denials; privations, toils, dangers, sufferings, sicknesses, mutilations, life-long hurts and losses, death itself—For some great good, dimly seen but dearly held.'

-- Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain,
Memorial Day 1897

[SAMWolf]

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[SAMWolf]

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[SAMWolf]

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[CholeraJoe]

Morning SAM. Enjoyable as always.

[SAMWolf]

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[Valin]

On This Day in History

Birthdates which occurred on March 12:
1336 Eduard Duke of Gelre (1361-71) husband of Catharina of Bayern
1479 Giuliano de' Medici monarch of Florence
1515 Caspar Othmayr composer
1685 George Berkeley Ireland, philosopher/bishop of Cloyne
1710 Thomas Augustine Arne English composer (Alfred, Rule Britannia)
1755 Georges Couthon French politician
1758 Leopold earl of Limburg Stirum Dutch General/politician [or March 22]
1768 Carolus Antonius Fodor composer
1788 Pierre J David [David d'Angers], French sculptor
1793 Augustin-Philippe Peellaert composer
1800 Louis-Prosper Gachard Belgian historian
1806 Jane Means Appleton Pierce 1st lady-Franklin Pierce (1853-57)
1808 Gerrit van der Linde Jz "Schoolmaster", Dutch poet
1816 David Stuart Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1868
1818 John Lorimar Worden Captain (Union Navy), died in 1897
1821 Luitpold von Bayern Prince-regent of Bayern
1821 Sir John Abbott Québec Canada, (C) 3rd Canadian Prime Minister (1891-92)
1823 William Flank Perry Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1901
1824 Gustav R Kirchoff Prussia, physicist (spectral analysis)
1826 Robert Lowry composer
1827 John Robert Jones Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1901
1827 William Richard Terry Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1897
1830 William Felix Brantley Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1870
1831 Clement Studebaker automobile pioneer (Studebaker)
1832 Charles Boycott Ireland, estate manager/caused boycotts
1835 Simon Newcomb US, scientist/mathematician/astronomer
1837 Felix Alexandre Guilmant composer
1838 William Perkin inventor (1st artificial dye)
1848 Cyrill Kistler composer
1855 John White composer
1859 Josef Cyril Sychra composer
1860 Salvatore Di Giacomo composer
1862 Jane Delano US, nurse/teacher/founder (Red Cross)
1863 Adolf A Wolfschoon Curaçao, poet
1863 Gabriele D'Annunzio Italy, writer/military hero (The Intruder)
1874 Edmund Eysler Austrian composer
1875 Julio Garreta composer
1877 Wilhelm Frick German protector of Bohemia/Moravia
1878 Gemma Galgani Italian saint
1878 Joseph Gustav Mraczek composer
1880 House Peters Bristol England, silent film actor (Kansas Territory)
1881 Daniel Webster Hoan Wisconsin (Mayor-Socialist-Milwaukee)
1881 Kemal Atatürk 1st President of Republic of Turkey
1881 Väinö A Tanner premier of Finland (1926-27)
1883 Judge Jackson composer
1885 Raphaël Verwilghen Flemish architect/urban developer
1888 Hall Johnson composer
1889 Philip Guedalla historian
1890 A Evert Taube Swedish writer/troubadour
1890 Vaslav Nijinsky Ukrainian/US ballet dancer (Petroesjka)
1891 Michael Polany Hungarian/English chemist/economist/sociologist
1896 Jesse "Lone Cat" Fuller San Francisco Blues Great
1898 Fredrik J "Frits" Bakker Jr Dutch actor (Sold Grandpa)
1900 David Croll QC senator
1900 Zoltan Vasarhelyi composer
1904 Ken James cricket wicketkeeper (New Zealand's 1st Test, later Northants)
1907 (Margaret Peggy McCrorie) Herbison politician
1908 David Saul Marshall diplomat lawyer/politician
1908 Inez Courtney New York NY, actress (13th Man, Crime Ring, Raven)
1910 Roger L Stevens producer (Giant)
1910 Tony "Two-Ton" Galento Orange NJ, boxer/actor (On the Waterfront)
1910 Wilhelmus L Reijers sculptor
1911 Gustavo Diaz Ordaz President of Mexico
1912 James McKay lord provost of Edinburgh
1912 Kylie Tennant novelist (Battlers, Lost Haven)
1912 Paul Weston Springfield MA, orchestra leader (Jim Nabors Hour)
1913 Harold Butler cricketer (England pace bowler late 40's)
1914 Jan Kapr composer
1915 Alberto Burri Italian physician/sculptor/abstract painter
1917 Googie Withers Karachi India, actress (1 of Our Aircraft is Missing)
1917 Tom Normanton British MP
1918 James Bracken race horse trainer
1921 Giovanni Agnelli CEO (Fiat Automakers)
1921 Gordon MacRae East Orange NJ, singer/actor (Oklahoma, Carousel)
1921 Max de Metz Dutch publisher/translator
1921 Ralph Shapey Philadelphia PA, composer (Fantasy, Rituals)
1922 Helen Parrish Columbus GA, actress (Hour Glass, Show Business)
1922 Jack Kerouac Beat writer (Dharma Bums, On the Road, Mexico Blues)
1922 Lane Kirkland union president (AFL-CIO)
1922 Thomas Hugh Eastwood composer
1923 Hjalmar Andersen Norway, speed skater-1500/5K/10K (Olympics-gold-1952)
1923 Norbert Brainin violinist
1923 Walter M Schirra Jr Hackensack NJ, Captain USN/astronaut (Mercury 8, Gemini 6, Apollo 7)
1925 Georges Delerue composer
1925 Harry [Maxwell] Harrison UK, sci-fi author (Deathworld Trilogy)
1925 Leo Esaki [Esaki Reona], Japan, physicist (Tunnel effect-Nobel 1973)
1925 Louison Bobet French cyclist (Tour de France 1953-55)
1925 William G Whitehurst (Representative-Republican-VA)
1926 David Oliver Williams trade unionist (COHSE)
1926 George R Ariyoshi (Governor-Democrat-HI)
1926 Gudrun Ure British actress (The Crow Road, Lady MacBeth, BBC Sorcerer)
1926 Hildy Park Washington DC, actress (To Tell the Truth)
1926 John C[lellon] Holmes US writer (Horn)
1926 Rolv Berger Yttrehus composer
1926 Ronald Alley art gallery manager (Tate Gallery)
1927 Mstislav Rostropovich Baku Russia, conductor/cellist (Cello Concerto)
1927 Raul Alfonsin President (Argentina)
1928 Edward Albee Washington DC, playwright (Virginia Woolfe, Zoo Story)
1928 Phil Jones principal (Trinity College of Music)
1928 Roland Moyle British deputy chairman (Police Complaints Authority)
1929 Bernard Costello US, double sculls (Olympics-silver-1956)
1929 Lupe Anguiano Mexican-American civil rights activist
1930 Antony Acland provost of Eton/British ambassador to US
1930 Robin Cavendish disabled campaigner
1930 Scoey Mitchill Newburgh NY, comedian (Barefoot in the Park, Rhoda)
1930 Stanko Horvat composer
1931 Geoffrey de Bellaigue director (Royal Collection)
1931 William "Buckwheat" Thomas actor (Little Rascals)
1932 Andrew Young US ambassador to UN (1977-79)/(Mayor-Democrat-Atlanta)
1934 Rudolph Agner CEO (Consolidated Gold Fields)
1935 Helga Pilarczyk German soprano (Salome, Lulu)
1935 John Gross author (Age of Kipling, Dickens & 20th Century)
1936 Anthony Loehnis vice chairman (S G Warburg & Co)
1936 Keith Slater cricketer (one Test for Australia 1958-59 series)
1936 Lloyd Dobbins Newport News VA, newscaster (NBC News Overnight)
1936 Patrick Procktor painter
1937 Elizabeth Vaughan opera soprano (Victor-Victoria)
1938 Dimitri Terzakis composer
1938 Johnny Rutherford auto racer (26 championship races)
1938 Karl Soderlund Duluth MN, Mr Sally Jesse Raphael
1938 Millie Perkins actress (Diary of Anne Frank, Table for 5, Shooting)
1938 Norman Hogg British MP
1938 Tona Scherchen-Hsiao composer
1938 Vijay Mehra cricketer (Indian Test batsman from age 17)
1939 Barbara Feldon Pittsburgh PA, actress (Agent 99-Get Smart)
1939 David Mlinaric British interior director
1940 Al Jarreau Milwaukee WI, jazz singer (Moonlighting)
1940 Albert Johanneson soccer star
1940 Millie Perkins actress (Diary of Anne Frank, Table for 5, Shooting)
1942 Bert Campaneris baseball player (Oakland A's)
1942 Brian O'Hara rocker
1942 Paul Kantner San Francisco CA, rock singer/guitarist (Jefferson Airplane-White Rabbit, Somebody To Love)
1942 Salvatore "the Bull" Gravano mobster (testified against Gotti)
1945 Hans van Emden Dutch guitarist (Les Baroques)
1946 Liza Minnelli Hollywood CA, singer/actress (Sterile Cuckoo, Cabaret)
1947 Jill O'Hara Warren PA, Broadway actress (Promises! Promises!)
1948 Dana Walden rock keyboardist (Champaign)
1948 James Taylor Boston MA, vocalist/guitarist (Up on the Roof)
1948 Kent Conrad (Senator-D-ND)
1948 Les Holroyd Oldham England, rocker (Barclay James Harvest)
1948 Virginia Bottomley British minister of state health/secretary (Heritage)
1949 Bill Payne Waco TX, rock keyboardist (Little Feat-Time Loves a Hero)
1949 David Mellor Secretary of the British treasury/MP
1949 Mary Alice Williams news reporter (NBC-TV)
1949 Mike Gibbons Swansea Wales, rock drummer (Badfinger)
1949 Sara Lane New York NY, actress (Elizabeth Grainger-The Virginian)
1950 Jon Provost actor (Timmy-Lassie)
1950 Willie Duggan rugby football player
1951 Caren Kaye New York NY, actress (My Tutor, Bambi-Blansky's Beauties)
1951 Jack Green rocker
1953 Joanna Kerns actress (Maggie-Growing Pains)
1953 Labamba [Richard Rosenberg], rocker (Asbury Jukes)
1956 Dale Murphy Portland OR, Atlanta Braves slugger (2 time National League MVP)
1957 Jerry Levine New Brunswick NJ, actor (Born on 4th of July)
1957 Marlon D Jackson Gary IN, singer (Jackson 5-Maybe Tomorrow)
1957 Steve Harris London England, hard rock bassist (Iron Maiden--Number of the Beast, Gypsy's Kiss)
1958 Debra Jensen Orange County CA, playmate (January, 1978)
1960 Courtney B Vance Detroit MI, actor (Hamburger Hill)
1960 Eldine Baptiste cricketer (West Indies all-rounder early 80's)
1962 Darryl Strawberry Los Angeles CA, right fielder (New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees)
1962 Gunde Svan Swedish long jumper (Olympics-gold-1984, 88)
1963 Candy Costie Seattle WA, synchronized swimmer (Olympics-gold-1984)
1963 Joaquim Carvalho Cruz Brazil, 800 meter runner (Olympics-gold-1984)
1963 John Andretti race car driver
1963 Julia Campbell Huntsville AL, actress (Opportunity Knocks)
1963 Paul Way British golfer
1964 Tony Terry rock producer (Tony Terry)
1965 Fran Harris WNBA guard (Houston Comets)
1965 Molly Van Nostrand West Islip NY, tennis star
1965 Randy Dixon NFL guard (Indianapolis Colts)
1965 Steve Finley Union City TN, outfielder (San Diego Padres)
1966 Alecia Stephenson North Vancouver British Columbia, softball shortstop (Olympics-96)
1966 Erich Fischer Dinuba CA, US Olympics water polo foward (Olympics-92)
1966 Grant Long NBA forward (Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks)
1967 Irvin Smith CFL cornerback (Montréal Alouettes)
1967 Rowelle Blenman WLAF cornerback/safety (London Monarchs)
1968 Merton Hanks NFL safety (San Francisco 49ers)
1969 Graham Coxon singer (Blur)
1969 J P Izquierdo CFL slot back (Calgary Stampeders)
1969 Karen Snelgrove London Ontario, softball pitcher (Olympics-96)
1969 Muhammad Oliver NFL cornerback/safety (Washington Redskins)
1970 Michael Bankston NFL defensive end (Arizona Cardinals)
1970 Rex Walters NBA guard (Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat)
1970 Rod Smith NFL cornerback (Carolina Panthers, Green Bay Packers)
1971 Greg Hansell Bellflower CA, pitcher (Minnesota Twins)
1971 Isaiah Rider NBA guard/forward (Minnesota Timberwolves, Port Trailblazers)
1971 Raul Mondesi San Cristobal Dominican Republic, outfielder (Los Angeles Dodgers)
1972 Alisa Castillo Miss Nevada-USA (1996)
1973 Antonio Banks cornerback (Minnesota Vikings)
1973 Gabriel Mendez Australian soccer midfielder (Olyroos, Olympics-96)
1973 Keif Bryant NFL defensive end (Seattle Seahawks)
1973 Louis Laros Dutch soccer player (Willem II, Vitesse)
1974 Chris Carr NBA guard (Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves)
1978 Cristina Teuscher New Rochelle NY, 4X200 meter freestyle (Olympics-gold-96)
1978 Tara Mounsey ice hockey defenseman (USA, Olympics-98)

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Deaths which occurred on March 12:
0417 Innocent I Italian Pope (401-417), dies
0604 Gregory I the Great Pope (590-604), dies at 64
1209 Djamal al-din Abu Mohammed Iljas Nizami Persian poet, dies
1471 Dionysius the Carthusian/van Rijkel Dutch scholastic theologist, dies
1496 Johannes de Lapide [Johan Heynlin], German philosopher, dies
1507 Cesare Borgia cardinal/soldier/politician, killed in battle at 31
1570 Jacob van den Eynden Grand Pensionary of Holland, dies
1628 John Bull thought to have composed British national anthem (God Save The King), dies
1648 Tirso de Molina Spanish author, dies at about 63
1681 French van Mieris the Elder, Dutch genre painter, dies at 45
1734 Antonius Schultingh [Schultingius], Dutch lawyer, dies at 74
1753 George Berkeley philosopher/bishop (Cloyne), dies on 68th birthday
1824 Heinrich Carl Ebell composer, dies at 48
1831 Johann Franz Volkert composer, dies at 64
1832 Daniel Friedrich Kuhlau German/Danish opera composer, dies at 45
1834 Karl W Feuerbach mathematician (circle of Feuerbach), dies at 33
1852 Juan Bros y Bertomel composer, dies at 75
1877 Crystobal Oudrid y Segura composer, dies at 52
1883 Murrumgunarriman [Twopenny], cricketer (Aboriginal team 1868), dies
1888 Henry Bergh founder (ASPCA), dies at 76
1889 Yohannes IV [Kasa], Emperor of Ethiopia (1872-89), dies in battle
1902 John Peter Altgeld German/US Governor of Illinois, dies at 54
1905 Rudolf von Alt Austrian painter, dies at 92
1908 Edmondo de Amicis Italian writer (L'idioma Gentile), dies at 61
1909 Johanna "Lena" Bakker Dutch actress/wife of Bruno Gerlach, dies at 34
1913 Joseph Bayer composer, dies at 61
1914 George Westinghouse US engineer (Westinghouse Electric), dies at 67
1916 M v Ebner-Eschenbach writer, dies at 39
1924 Hilaire Comte de Chardonnet inventor (rayon), dies
1925 Sun Yat-Sen Chinese revolutionary president, dies at 58
1932 Ivar Kreuger "Swedish Match King" industrialist, commits suicide
1937 Charles-Marie-Jean-Albert Widor French organist/composer, dies at 93
1937 Jeno Hubay composer, dies at 78
1941 Charles Sanford Skilton composer, dies at 72
1942 Enrique Morera composer, dies at 76
1945 Anne Frank diarist (Diary of Anne Frank), killed in Belsen Camp
1946 Philip Merivale dies at 59
1949 Maria "Beppie" Bakker Dutch actress/wife of Piet Vink Sr, dies at 95
1950 L Heinrich Mann German/US writer (Between the Races), dies at 78
1955 Charlie "Bird" Parker US jazz saxophonist, dies in New York NY at 34
1955 Theodor Plievier writer, dies
1957 Harry Dean cricketer (England left-arm bowler in 3 Tests, 1912), dies
1957 Josephine Hull actress (Harvey), dies at 71
1958 Princess Ingeborg of Sweden, dies at 79
1961 Belinda Lee actress (Joseph & his Brethren), dies in car crash at 25
1966 Estelita Rodriguez actor (Golden Stallion, Susanna Pass), dies at 37
1973 Esther Williamson Ballou composer, dies at 57
1973 Frankie "Fordham Flash" Frisch baseball player, dies at 74
1973 Manuel Rojas Sepulveda Chilean writer (Hijo de Ladron), dies at 77
1974 Billy Fox Protestant member of Dublin parliament, assassinated
1978 John Cazale actor (Dog Day Afternoon, Deer Hunter), dies at 41
1978 Tolchard Evans composer/conductor, dies
1982 Elisabeth Zernike Dutch writer (Course of Events), dies at 90
1983 Jevsei G Liberman Ukraine economist (Plan, profit, bonus), dies at 85
1984 Arnold Riley playwright/actor, dies at 88
1985 Eugene Ormandy [Blau] Hungarian/US conductor, dies at 85
1988 Billie Rhodes dies
1988 William Camp dies at 74
1989 Maurice Evans actor (Bewitched, MacBeth), dies at 87
1991 Etienne Decroux French mime (Voyage, Surprise), dies at 92
1992 Barbara Morrison actress (Proj Moonbase), dies of heart failure at 84
1992 Hans G Kresse Dutch cartoonist (Eric the Viking), dies at 70
1992 Ida Oosterbaan Dutch founder (Women Action Committee), dies
1992 Karel Poons father of Paul Deen, dies
1992 Philippe Soupault writer, dies
1992 Salvo Lima mayor (Palermo)/MP (christian-democrat), murdered
1993 Andreas J A I Bruggeman Dutch mayor (Leiderdorp), dies at 62
1993 June Valli singer (Crying in the Chapel), dies of cancer at 62
1993 Michael Kanin screenwriter (Woman of the Year), dies at 83
1993 Wang Zhen marxist/vice-premier of China (1988), dies
1994 Sandra Paretti German/Swiss author (Drums of Winter), dies at 59
1996 Charles Bruce Perry professor of medicine, dies at 92
1996 Gyula Kallai Prime Minister of Hungry (1965-67), dies at 85
1996 John Anthony Bowden Cuddon writer/teacher, dies at 67

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On this day...
0417 St Innocent I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0604 St Gregory I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1000 Odo of Lagery elected as Pope Urban II, replacing Victor III
1054 Pope Leo IX escapes captivity & returns to Rome
1144 Gherardo Caccianemici elected Pope Lucius II, succeeding Callistus II
1350 Orvieto city says it will behead & burn Jewish-Christian couples
1365 University of Vienna founded
1496 Jews are expelled from Syria
1572 Luís Vaz de Camoes publishes "Os Lusíados" in Portugal
1587 English parliament leader Peter Wentworth confined in London Tower
1594 Company of Distant established for business on East-Indies
1597 England routes troops to Amiens
1609 Bermuda becomes an English colony
1619 Dutch settlement on Java changes name to Batavia
1622 Ignatius of Loyola declared a saint
1642 Abel Tasman is 1st European in New Zealand
1664 1st naturalization act in American colonies
1664 New Jersey becomes a British colony
1689 Former English King James II lands in Ireland
1737 Galileo's body moved to Church of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy
1755 1st steam engine in America installed, to pump water from a mine
1773 Jeanne Baptiste Pointe de Sable found settlement now known as Chicago
1789 US Post Office established
1799 Austria declares war on France
1848 2nd republic established in France
1849 1st gold seekers arrive in Nicaragua en route to California
1850 1st US $20 gold piece issued
1857 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Simon Boccanegra" premieres in Venice
1860 Congress accepts Pre-emption Bill; free land in West for colonists
1865 Affair near Lone Jack MO
1867 Last French troops leave Mexico
1868 Congress abolishes manufacturer's tax
1868 Great Britain annexes Basutoland in Africa
1877 Great Britain annexes Walvis Bay at Cape colony
1884 Mississippi establishes 1st US state college for women
1888 2nd day of the Great blizzard of '88 in northeast US (400 die)
1889 Battle at Metema (Gallabad); Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV, defeated
1889 Start of South Africa's 1st Test, vs England, Port Elizabeth
1894 Pittsburgh issues free season tickets for ladies on Tuesday & Friday
1896 1st movie in Netherlands (Kalverstr 220)
1897 Vincent d'Indy's opera "Fervaal" premieres in Brussel
1900 President Steyn of Orange-Free state flees from Bloemfontein
1901 Ground is broken for Boston's 1st American League ballpark (Huntington Ave Grounds)
1903 New York Highlanders (Yankees) approved as members of American League
1904 1st main line electric train in UK (Liverpool to Southport)
1904 Andrew Carnegie establishes Carnegie Hero Fund
1906 Heavy storm ravages Dutch west coast
1908 Stanley Cup: Montréal Wanderers sweep Winnipeg Maple Leafs in 2 games
1910 Stanley Cup: Montréal Wanderers beat Berlin (Kitchener), 7-3
1912 Captain Albert Berry performs 1st parachute jump from an airplane
1912 Girl Guides (Girl Scouts) founded in Savannah, by Juliette Gordon Low
1912 Helen Hayes Theater opens at 238 W 44th St NYC
1913 Foundation stone of the Australian capitol in Canberra laid
1916 French airship sinks British submarine D3
1917 Russian Dumas sets up Provisional Committee; workers set up Soviets
1917 Stalin, Kamenev & Muranov arrive in St Petersburg
1919 Austrian National Meeting affirms Anschluss (incorporate into Germany)
1919 George Bernard Shaw's "Augustus Does His Bit" premieres in New York NY
1925 British government of Baldwin refuses to ratify Geneva agreement
1926 Denmark begins unilateral disarmament
1926 Pope Pius XI names J E van Roey archbishop of Malines Belgium
1930 Mohandas Gandhi begins 200 meter (300 km) march protesting British salt tax
1930 Stella Walsh sets record for the 220-yard dash (0 :6.1)
1933 FDR conducts his 1st "fireside chat"
1934 Acting President Constantine Päts commits coup in Tallinn Estonia
1934 Josip Broz (Tito) freed from jail
1934 Paul Hindemith's "Mathis der Maler" premieres in Berlin
1935 England establishes 30 MPH speed limit for towns & villages
1938 Nazi Germany invades Austria (Anschluss)
1939 Pope Pius XII crowned in Vatican ceremonies
1940 Finland surrenders to Russia during WWII, giving up Karelische Isthmus
1941 German occupiers confiscate AVRO studios in Netherlands
1942 British troops vacate the Andamanen in Gulf of Bengal
1943 Soviet troops liberate Wjasma
1945 30 Amsterdammers executed by Nazi occupiers
1945 Italy's Communist Party (CPI) calls for armed uprising in Italy
1945 New York is 1st to prohibit discrimination by race & creed in employment
1945 The British Empire celebrates its 1st British Empire Day
1945 USSR returns Transylvania to Romania
1946 Part of Petsamo province ceded by Soviet Union to Finland
1947 "Chocolate Soldier" opens at Century Theater NYC for 69 performances
1947 Belgian government of Huysmans resigns
1947 President Truman introduces Truman-doctrine to fight communism
1948 -5ºF lowest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in March
1950 Belgium votes (58%) for return of King Leopold III
1950 Pope Pius XII encyclical "On combating atheistic propaganda"
1951 Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler loses fight (9-7) to stay in office
1951 Communist troops driven out of Seoul
1954 1st performance of Arnold Schönberg's "Moses und Aaron"
1956 Dow Jones closes above 500 for 1st time (500.24)
1957 German Democratic Republic accepts 22 Russian divisions
1958 British Empire Day is renamed "Commonwealth Day"
1959 Dutch Liberal Party wins 2nd parliamentary elections
1959 US House joins Senate approving Hawaii statehood
1961 Mickey Wright wins LPGA Miami Golf Open
1962 Dutch Premier De Quay announces secret talks with Indonesia
1963 Beatles perform as a trio, John Lennon is ill with a cold
1963 Bob Dylan cancels "Ed Sullivan Show" television appearance
1964 6th Grammy Awards: Days of Wine & Roses, Streisand win
1964 Jimmy Hoffa sentenced to 8 years
1964 Malcolm X resigns from Nation of Islam
1964 S[amuel] N[athaniel] Behrman's "But for Whom Charlie" premieres in New York NY
1964 WKAB TV channel 32 in Montgomery AL (ABC) begins broadcasting
1966 Bobby Hull's 51st goal of season, sets record
1966 Jockey Johnny Longden retires after 40 years (6,032 wins)
1966 Love's 1st album released "Love"
1966 Pioneer Plaza dedicated [San Francisco]
1966 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1967 Austria's Reinhold Bachler ski jumps 505 feet
1967 Indonesian congress deprives President Sukarno of authority
1968 Mauritius gains independence from Britain (National Day)
1968 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1969 11th Grammy Awards: Mrs Robinson, By the Time I Get to Phoenix win
1969 120 joints found at George & Patti Harrison's home
1969 Paul McCartney marries Linda Louise Eastman in London
1970 US lowers voting age from 21 to 18
1971 Rolling Stone Mick Jagger marries Bianca Pérez Morena de Macias
1971 Syrian premier Hafez Assad elected President
1971 Turkish Government of Demirel forced to resign by Army
1972 Judy Rankin wins LPGA Lady Eve Golf Open
1972 NHL great Gordie Howe retires after 26 seasons
1974 Bundy victim Donna Manson disappears, Evergreen SC, Olympia WA
1975 Vietcong conquer Ban me Thuot South Vietnam
1976 South African troops leave Angola
1977 Chile President Pinochet bans Christian-Democratic Party
1977 Egypt's Anwar Sadat pledges to regain Arab territory from Israel
1978 Eric Heiden skates world record 1000 meter (1:14.99)
1978 Nancy Lopez wins LPGA Sunstar Golf Classic
1980 Jury finds John Wayne Gacy guilty of murdering 33 in Chicago
1980 New York Islanders 3rd scoreless tie, vs Pittsburgh Penguins
1981 Soyuz T-4 carries 2 cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station
1981 Stephen Sondheim's musical "Marry Me a Little" premieres in New York NY
1981 Walter R T Witschey installs world's largest sundial, Richmond VA
1982 1st-class debut of Courtney Walsh, Jamaica vs Leeward Islands
1982 PLO chief Yassar Arafat appears on "Nightline"
1983 Don Ritchie runs world record 50 mile (4 :1 :9)
1984 British ice dancing team, Torvill & Dean, become 1st skaters to receive 9 perfect 6.0s in world championships
1984 National Union of Mine Workers in England begin a 51 week strike
1985 Larry Bird scores Boston Celtic record 60 points
1986 210.25 million shares traded in New York Stock Exchange
1986 Giotto encounters Comet Halley
1986 Susan Butcher wins 1,158 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
1987 "Les Miserables" opens at Broadway/Imperial NYC for 4000+ performances
1987 David Robinson scores 50 points in a NCAA basketball game
1987 Federal judge dismisses lawsuits sought by Oliver North
1987 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk USSR
1987 World Ice Dance Championship in Cincinnati won by Bestemianova & Bukin (USSR)
1987 World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Cincinnati won by E Gordeeva & Grinkov (USSR)
1987 World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Cincinnati won by Katarina Witt (German Democratic Republic)
1987 World Men's Figure Skating Championship in Cincinnati won by Brian Orser (Canada)
1989 15th People's Choice Awards
1989 2 cyanide-contaminated Chilean grapes found (Philadelphia)
1989 Madagascar AREMA party wins parliamentary election
1990 Los Angeles Raiders announce they were returning to Oakland
1991 5th Soul Train Music Awards
1993 317 killed by bomb attacks in Bombay
1993 Cleveland radio station WMMS-FM/101.7 is bought by Disney
1993 Entertainment Tonight's 3,000th show
1993 Inkhata leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi begins 2½ week speech
1994 Church of England ordains 1st 33 women priests
1995 Congress party loses India national election
1995 Dottie Mochrie wins LPGA PING/Welch's Golf Championship
1995 Lara scores 139 in ODI vs Australia at Port-of-Spain
1995 Letitia Vriesde runs South America indoor record 800 meter (2 :0.35)
1995 World Ice Dance Championship in Birmingham UK won by Oksana Gritshuk & Evgeny Platov (Russia)
1995 World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Birmingham UK won by Radka Kovarikova & Rene Novotny (Czechoslovakia)
1995 World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Birmingham UK won by Chen Lu (China)
1995 World Men's Figure Skating Championship in Birmingham UK won by Elvis Stojko (Canada)
1996 Leeward Islands beat Trinidad by 73 runs to win Red Stripe Trophy
1998 "Sound of Music" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC

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

British Commonwealth : Commonwealth Day (formerly British Empire Day)
Gabon : Renovation Day (National Day)
Lesotho : Moshoeshoe's Day
Libya : King's Birthday
Mauritius : Independence Day (1968)
Venezuala : Flag Day
World : Girl Scouts Day (1912)
World : World Culture Day (non Leap year)
Memphis TN : Cotton Carnival (held for 5 days) - - - - - ( Tuesday )
New Mexico : Arbor Day - - - - - ( Friday )

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Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of Ss Peters Gorgonius & Dorothheus
Christian : Feast of St Alphege of Winchester
Christian : Feast of St Bernard of Capua
Christian : Feast of St Maximilian of Theveste
Christian : Feast of St Paul Aurelian of Leon
Christian : Feast of St Seraphina/Fina & St Theophanes the Chronicler
Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican : Commemoration of St Gregory I the Great, pope (590-604)

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Religious History
1607 Birth of Paul Gerhardt, German clergyman and hymnwriter. He lost four of his five children in childhood, yet also composed over 130 hymns, including "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded." (Gerhardt's music marks the transition in Lutheran hymnody from confessional and high_church hymns to hymns of devotional piety.)
1622 Gregory XV canonized Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits; Philip Neri, Italian co_founder of a medical religious order; Teresa of Avila, a Spanish Carmelite nun; and Francis Xavier, the Jesuit "Apostle of Eastern Asia."
1710 Birth of Thomas A. Arne, considered one of the outstanding English composers of the 18th century. Today, Arne is best remembered for his hymn tune ARLINGTON, to which we commonly sing, "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?"
1826 Birth of Robert Lowery, American Baptist clergyman and hymnwriter. He is chiefly remembered today for writing and composing the hymns "Christ Arose," "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus," "We're Marching to Zion," "All the Way My Savior Leads Me" and "I Need Thee Every Hour."
1904 Raphael Hawaweeny was ordained Eastern Orthodox bishop of Brooklyn, NY, at St. Nicholas Church. As a vicar under the Holy Synod of the Church of Russia, Hawaweeny thus became the first Russian Orthodox bishop ordained in America.

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Thought for the day :
"Truly great madness cannot be achieved without significant intelligence."

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Feather.

[SAMWolf]

1990 Los Angeles Raiders announce they were returning to Oakland

Where they belong!!

[CholeraJoe]

that I would have been here before Cholera Joe, if I didn't have to brave snowstorms and whiteouts to get here.

Quitcher bitchin', cote. We got 30 inches of snow in 24 hours over the weekend.

[SAMWolf]

P.S. I just wanted you to know, Foxhole SAM, that I would have been here before Cholera Joe, if I didn't have to brave snowstorms and whiteouts to get here. Postmen have nothing on me. Neither snow, nor blizzards, nor ....... the Foxhole poem must go on. ;-)

You dedication to bringing some culture to the Foxhole is noted and appreciated. It's tough to beat Feather and CholeraJoe though. Great poem today.

[SAMWolf]

I don;t think it wa the snow as much as Customs, You ever try to get something into or out of Canada?

[CholeraJoe]

You ever try to get something into or out of Canada?

No kidding. I got strip-searched once at the airport in Toronto by a large Jamaican lady because my knee brace set off the metal detector.

[SAMWolf]

My mom has the same problem with her artificial hip, keeps setting off alarms.