The FReeper Foxhole Remembers the Beginning of the Mexican-American War- Dec. 31st, 2002

http://www.rice.edu/armadillo/Past/Book/Part2/1846-48.html ^

[SAMWolf]

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The Battles of Palo Alto
and
Resaca de la Palma

In August, 1843, not long after the Mexican victory at Mier, plans were made in Mexico City for an invasion of Texas. The invasion was canceled, however, when Santa Anna was pressured by foreign governments into exploring the possibilities of peace with the new republic. A peace treaty was proposed in early 1844 whereby the two countries agreed to retain the territory they presently occupied.

One problem complicating relations between the republics of Texas and Mexico was the desire in Texas for annexation to the United States. This desire was not shared by many Americans, including the New England intellectual Ralph Waldo Emerson, who bitterly opposed any move toward annexation. "The annexation of Texas looks like one of those events which retard or retrograde the civilization of ages," Emerson wrote.

By 1844, the annexation of the Lone Star Republic had become a major political issue in the presidential campaign. The Democrat, James K. Polk of Tennessee, running on an expansionist platform calling for annexation, was swept into power. The lame-duck president, John Tyler, seeing the election as a clear mandate for annexation, maneuvered through Congress a joint resolution calling for Texas to become part of the Union.

General Zachary Taylor

In February, 1846, Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas, lowered the Lone Star flag in Austin and raised the Stars and Stripes. Mexico, which had previously agreed to recognize Texas if the infant republic remained independent, then broke diplomatic relations with the United States. Both the United States and Mexico rushed headlong into the bloody caldron of war.

Anticipating formal annexation, General Zachary Taylor, a thirty-eight year veteran at Fort Jesup, Louisiana, had already taken a position on the Nueces.

By August, 1845, General Taylor's "Army of Observation" had set up camp on the beaches at the village of Corpus Christi. There, the army remained camped from August, 1845 to March, 1846.

With the United States inheriting the Texas Republic's claim to the Rio Grande, President Polk ordered Taylor to take up a position on the river. Polk, a proponent of Manifest Destiny, was determined to take control of the disputed territory and, if possible, lay claim to California. Many Americans objected and believed the United States to be morally wrong. A young lieutenant in the expedition, Ulysses S. Grant, would later write that he had a "horror of the Mexican War" but did not have the "moral courage to resign."

On March 8, 1846, the United States Army marched south from Corpus Christi to the Rio Grande.

Water was scarce, and the march was regulated by the distance between water holes. At that time, not a single village existed between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. Along the way, the army came across a huge herd of wild horses. Grant, in his memoirs, estimated the herd to be the size of Delaware. "The country was rolling prairie," the future Civil War hero wrote, "and from the highest ground, the vision was obstructed only by the earth's curvature. As far as the eye could reach...the herd extended."



On the morning of March 28, 1846, the American Army came to the great river.

Taylor ordered one of his officers to cross the Rio Grande to Matamoros to inform the Mexican commander of the reasons for the American presence on the river. In response, the Mexican commander, referring to the army as intruders, demanded that the American flag be removed from the soil of Mexico. Mexican soldiers and civilians, clearly visible across the river, were seen preparing earthen works and pulling cannon into position. Taylor ordered his men to prepare for battle. War clouds were gathering. Almost every morning, new Mexican breastworks were visible across the river on the outskirts of Matamoros. Taylor, too, decided to fortify. Fort Texas, an earthen compound, was built across from the Mexican city.

"Old Zach," riding his horse, "Old Whitey," was everywhere. Often he rode among the men, encouraging them at their work. At other times, he was seen sitting at a table under a cottonwood tree where he had pitched his tent. To Taylor's cottonwood tree came the aides of General Pedro de Ampúdia, hero of the victory over the Texans at Mier, who told Taylor to retreat to the Nueces. Taylor replied that he had no intention of retreating to the Nueces and that the land north of the Rio Grande must be considered part of the United States.

Tension reached a breaking point when Mexican forces began to cross the river in large numbers below and above Fort Texas. The 2nd Dragoons, a crack cavalry unit, was ordered into the field to report on the movements of the Mexicans. Taylor feared that the new Mexican commander, Mariano Arista, a tall, red-headed veteran, might be attempting to cut the American supply lines to Point Isabel and Brazos Santiago, where a small American fleet was anchored.

On April 24, 1846, two companies of dragoons under Captain Seth B. Thornton were surprised at La Rosita, upriver from Fort Texas. The Americans were surrounded and defeated by 500 cavalry commanded by General Anastasio Torrejón. Sixty-three men were either killed, wounded, or captured. Taylor wrote Polk that "hostilities may now be considered as commenced."

Polk, who was preparing to ask Congress for a declaration of war, now reported that "a state of war existed notwithstanding all our efforts to avoid it."


President James Polk

Today a historical marker on U.S. Highway 281 at the La Rosita site quotes Polk's assertion that "American blood had been shed on American soil."

Many abolitionists, especially from the northeast, did not approve of the war and saw the struggle as an attempt by the South to extend slavery. A young congressman from Illinois named Abraham Lincoln even introduced a "spot resolution" in the House of Representatives in an attempt to force Polk to admit that the spot where the attack had come was not in the United States. Many others felt that the prairies and mesquite thickets of the area were not worth a war.

On the Rio Grande, rumors, later found to be false, reached Taylor that the American supply base at Point Isabel was under attack. Without hesitation, Taylor ordered his staff to make preparations for a march to relieve the vital port. Leaving Major Jacob Brown in command of Fort Texas with 500 men of the 7th Infantry, Taylor turned east for the coast with 2,300 men. Marching eighteen hours the first day, Taylor was able to complete the twenty-six-mile march to the coast by noon the following day. To their surprise, no Mexican force was in sight, and the men went into camp that evening without incident.

Early the next morning, as the sun began to break over the gulf, a distant rumbling could be heard far to the southwest, in the direction of Fort Texas. The thunder from the river could mean only one thing Fort Texas was under attack from Casamata, the military outpost in Matamoros.

As Major Brown continued to hold the fort, Taylor, with a baggage train of 250 wagons, began a counter march for the river. General Arista, who had crossed the river with a force of over 6,000 three times that of Taylor's army moved to meet the Americans. One day after leaving the coast, Taylor encountered the Mexican Army near a water hole on the prairie called Palo Alto.

General Arista had his army drawn up in impressive battle array across the main road leading to Fort Texas. For more than a mile, the Mexican Army, which consisted of cavalry on the right, infantry on the left, and artillery in the center, stretched across the dry, at, South Texas prairie. Taylor, too, prepared his army for battle. As Taylor gave the order for the troops to advance, the American lines surged forward. When they were seven-hundred yards from the Mexican position, the eerie, frightful atmosphere was abruptly broken by a burst of re from the Mexican artillery. The Battle of Palo Alto, the first of the Mexican-American War, was underway. The date was May 8, 1846.



Many of the Americans were surprised at the performance of the Mexican artillery, as some of the cannonballs fell short of their target and bounced along the prairie toward the American lines. More important, the American artillery squadrons had trained for quick mobility and rapid firing, which enabled their six-pounder guns to shoot three or four rounds per minute, as opposed to one or two rounds for the Mexican artillery.

By three o'clock in the afternoon, as the American artillery returned the Mexican fire, the temperature became unbearably hot. Arista moved to envelop the Americans and capture Taylor's baggage train, but Taylor countered by shifting his light and easily movable "Flying Artillery" to his flank. He opened fire on the charging Mexican cavalry, which took a terrible toll. A second attempt by the Mexican Army at envelopment was stopped by the fire of the American infantry. With artillery shells bursting in the ranks of both armies, the tall, dry grass of the Palo Alto prairie caught fire. Within a few minutes, a dense smoke belched skyward, obscuring both armies. When the smoke cleared, fighting continued to rage.

Only sunset brought an end to the bloodletting. As darkness crept across the battlefield, the Mexican Army, among the groans of the wounded and the silence of the dead, withdrew into the chaparral. Arista's casualties in the battle included 320 killed and 400 wounded, while Taylor had lost nine men killed and forty-seven wounded. Although victorious, the General realized his army was too fatigued to pursue Arista.

One of those killed in the Battle of Palo Alto was Major Samuel Ringgold, who had developed the rapid-ring techniques that had proven so effective in the fighting. Ringgold, Major Jacob Brown and Colonel James Simmons McIntosh, all victims of the war, would later have forts on the Rio Grande named in their honor. Today, on FM 1847, a small park at the edge of the battle site commemorates the events at Palo Alto.

On the morning after the battle, Taylor called his top officers together. Seven of his ten commanders voted to entrench and wait for reinforcements. Taylor, instead, ordered his army forward to relieve Fort Texas. Halfway down the road to the Rio Grande on May 9th, Taylor found Arista again.



This time, the Mexican general had chosen an excellent position for the battle the Resaca de la Palma (presently known as Resaca de la Guerra).

The Resaca, once part of the Rio Grande, was now a dry riverbed shaped like a sickle across the mesquite-infested landscape. Dismissing rumors of internal intrigue and sustaining his command after his defeat at Palo Alto, Arista still hoped his larger army would prevail and the Americans could be driven north. After resting his men briefly, Taylor threw his elite cavalry, the dragoons, at the center of the Mexican lines. Although the dragoons were able to capture several Mexican artillery pieces, they were unable to hold the guns. The dragoons did capture General Romualdo Díaz de la Vega, who had bravely attempted to defend one of the guns.

Taylor next ordered his infantry into the fray. Although great confusion prevailed in the ranks of both armies, neither side would retreat. Instead, each stood and fought. Fighting hand-to-hand in the dense chaparral, many of the officers lost contact with their men. Suddenly, the tide of battle began to turn. Small units of the Mexican Army began to fall back from the chaparral and the dry riverbed as the retreat became general. With Arista's right wing in complete collapse, defeat became inevitable. Arista even lost his personal papers in the fight. Among the items seized was a letter from Mexico City directing that Taylor be sent to the capital as a prisoner.



The Battle of Resaca de la Palma proved to be even more decisive than Palo Alto. The loss of life was also more frightening. Arista's losses were said to be several hundred, while Taylor counted thirty-three killed and eighty-nine wounded. "The enemy's loss was very great," Taylor wrote. "Nearly two hundred of his dead were buried by us on the day succeeding the battle. Our victory has been decisive. A small force has overcome immense odds against the best troops that Mexico can furnish. Eight pieces of artillery, several colors and standards, a great number of prisoners, including fourteen officers and a large amount of baggage and public property have fallen into our hands."

After bringing up additional supplies and reinforcements, Taylor made plans to cross the river and invade Matamoros. Arista, following his defeat, decided to give up Matamoros and retreated into the interior toward Linares.



On May 18, 1846, Taylor entered Matamoros without opposition. The American occupation of Texas had now become an invasion of Mexico. A war was underway that would redraw the political map of North America. Furthermore, old "Rough and Ready" had emerged from Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma as an American hero. The Whig Party was even considering nominating him for president.

In June, 1846, General Taylor began his advance from Matamoros. The army moved up the Rio Grande to Reynosa and then to Camargo, where it remained for six weeks. While several regiments moved upriver on foot or horseback, many others went by steamer. Although the troops were seriously plagued by disease and temperatures that reached 112 degrees at Camargo, Taylor continued to build his army with green recruits and headed south to Monterrey. The theater of the Mexican War had now moved away from the Lower Rio Grande.

[SAMWolf]

The Battle of Palo Alto

On May 8, 1846 U.S. General Zachary Taylor's army of 2300 men encountered, and fought against General Mariano Arista's 3200 men who were blocking the road to Fort Texas.

Approximately 25 men from Walker's Texas Rangers participated at the Battle of Palo Alto.

This was the first major battle between the two countries in the Mexican American War.

The U.S. Military had recently added an artillery school at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. General Taylor had some of these graduates from the artillery school assigned to his command, and they were able to advise him to use his cannons using Major Samuel Ringgold's tactics against the Mexicans. The Americans used two 18 pound cannons in the center, bronze 6 pound guns as part of the field artillery, and several 12 pound howitzers.

The Mexicans were outgunned at Palo Alto; they were using 4 pound, and 8 pound bronze cannons. Their cannons were ineffective since they were only able to fire short distances and were unable to cause a lot of casualties to the Americans.

Around noon a fire broke out in the grass causing the battle to stop for about an hour, allowing both sides to recover and treat their wounded.

General Taylor lost 9 men and 47 wounded.

General Arista lost 320 men and 380 wounded, a considerable loss at the hand of the American artillery .

The Mexicans retreated the following day.

Among the American Officers at Palo Alto was 2nd Lt. Ulysses S. Grant.

[SAMWolf]

The Battle of Resaca de la Palma

On May 9, 1846, following the Battle of Palo Alto, General Taylor arrived at Resaca de la Palma about five miles from Palo Alto, and met up with the entrenched Mexican Army.

The Mexican Army had dug into La Resaca de la Guerra, a small ravine.

The two armies confronted each other with small weapons fire, and hand to hand combat. The terrain and foliage did not allow for the effective use of cannon fire.

The Mexicans were disorganized and retreated to Matamoros on the opposite side of the Rio Grande.

The American casualties were: 33 dead, and 89 wounded.

The Mexican casualties were reported as 547 dead.

[SAMWolf]

'American blood had been shed on American soil'

-- President James K. Polk
asking Congress for a declaration of war, after the Battle at La Rosita

[Soaring Feather]

Good Morning SAM!

Great job again.

Thank you.

[Jen]

PING to the FReeper Foxhole, a new daily thread in the VetsCoR Forum.

If you would like to be removed from this ping list, it takes only two clicks. Click this link and send a BLANK FReepmail to AntiJen. You will be removed promptly.

If you have comments you would like me to read, use this link. Thanks!

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning, Bentfeather.

I thought you were going to sleep.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Jen.

[Jen]

Thanks for another great thread Sam. I learned today that the town of Ringgold, GA, was named after Major Samuel Ringgold who was killed in the Battle of Palo Alto.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Jen.

[Jen]

Good morning Aeronaut. Now it's time for this 'owl-gal' to get to bed!

[aomagrat]

Today's classic warship, USS Idaho (SP-545)

23-ton motor boat
Displacement. 23 t.
Lenght. 60'
Beam. 12'6"
Draft. 4"
Speed. 11 k.
Armament. 1 mg

The third Idaho (SP-545), a motor boat, was built in 1907 by Stearns & McKay, Marblehead, Mass.; acquired from her owner, W. W. Vensel of Pittsburgh, in June 1917; and commissioned at Cape May, N.J., 12 July 1917, Chief Quartermaster W. H. Naylor, USNRF, in command.

Idaho was assigned to the 4th Naval District for patrol and general duties, serving on harbor entrance patrol and submarine net patrol in the Cape May and Philadelphia areas. She was out of commission during the winter of 1917-18, and finally returned to her owner 30 November 1918.

[firewalk]

Good morning AntiJen, hope you have a nice day

[E.G.C.]

All the best for 2003 to all the Fox hole participants from E.G.C.

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on December 31:
1378 Callistus III [Alfonso the Borja] Pope (1455-58)
1514 Andreas Vesalius Brussels Belgium, anatomist (Fabrica)
1540 Silvio Antoniano Italian cardinal/theologist (Tre libri)
1550 Henri Guise [le Balafré] French duke/leader (Catholic League)
1668 Hermannus Boerhaave Dutch medical/botanist
1720 [Bonnie Prince] Charles Edward Stuart English pretender to throne
1724 Franz Joseph Oehlschlagel composer
1738 Charles Lord Cornwallis solider/statesman "fire when ready Gridley"
1799 Thomas Taglichsbeck composer
1805 Marie-C-S de Flavigny Agoult [Daniel Stern] French author (Knife)
1815 George Gordon Meade Major General (Union Army), died in 1872
1818 Maria J Small-Gartmann actress
1825 Francis Trowbridge Sherman Brigadier-General (Union volunteers), died in 1905
1826 Henry Hiles composer
1830 Ismail Pasha kedive of Egypt (1863-79)
1838 Emile Loubet premier/President of France (1892, 1899-1906)
1846 Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis vicar/Dutch anarchist (Right for all)
1846 Richard Kleinmichel composer
1855 Giovanni Pascoli Italian classicist/poet
1856 Charles A van Ophuysen orientalist (Maleisisch Volksrecht)
1859 Max Fiedler composer
1863 Alfredo Panzini Italian author (Dizionario Moderno)
1864 Robert G Aitken US astronomer (Binary Stars)
1869 Henri Matisse France, impressionist painter (Odalisque)
1870 Thomas Connolly baseball's major league umpire for 50 years
1874 Ernest Austin composer
1878 Horacio Quiroga Uruguayan author/poet (El Crimen del Otro)
1880 George C Marshall Uniontown PA, authored Marshall Plan (Nobel 1953)
1881 Colin G Fink US chemist (electro chemistry)
1881 Jacob Israel de Haan Dutch poet/writer (Pipelines, Jewish Song)
1881 Max Pechstein German "entartet" painter/graphic artist (The Bridge)
1882 Ben Jones Missouri, horse trainer (Citation, Whirlaway)
1882 David Cohen Dutch historian/chairman (Jewish Council)
1892 Jason Robards Sr Hillsdale MI, actor (Acapulco)
1893 J M Blankenberg cricketer (60 wickets in 18 Tests for South Africa)
1893 Max Lamberty Flemish sociologist/author (Flemish Resurrection)
1894 Ernest John Moeran British composer
1894 Pola Negri [Barbara A Chalupiec] Polish/US actress (Madame Dubarry)
1896 Ronald Adam Herefordshire England, actor (Phantom Shot)
1897 Rhys Williams Wales, actor (Nightmare, Okinawa, Cross My Heart)
1899 Gaston Glass Paris France, film executive
1899 Silvestre Revueltas Santiago Papasquiaro México, composer (Sensemaya)
19-- Buzz Adlam Chelmsford England, composer (Stage Two Revue)
19-- Sally Gracie actress (One Life to Live)
1904 Chuck Gardiner UK, NHL goalie (Vezina winner)
1904 Nathan Milstein Odessa Russia, concert violinist (Philadelphia Orchestra 1942)
1905 Guy Mollet (Socialist) French premier (1956-57)
1905 Jule Styne England, songwriter/composer (1954 Academy Award, 1968 Tony)
1905 Tadeusz Breza writer
1906 Erna Bogen Hungary, foils (Olympics-bronze-1932)
1908 Marko Rothmuller composer
1908 Simon Wiesenthal Polish/Austrian nazi hunter (Wiesenthal Center)
1910 Dick Kollmar Rigewood NJ, actor (Broadway Spotlight, Guess What)
1910 Roy Rowland film director
1914 Pat Brady Toledo OH, actor (Roy Rogers Show)
1916 Suzy Delair Paris France, actress (Utopia, White Paws)
1921 Rocky Graziano New York NY, boxer (Middleweight champion)/actor (Miami Undercover)
1922 Joan McCracken Philadelphia PA, actress (Claudie-The Story of a Marriage)
1922 Rex Allen Wilcox AZ, cowboy singer (Dr Baxter-Frontier Doctor)
1924 Victoria Draves US, platform/springboard diver (Olympics-gold-1948)
1927 Dieter Noll writer
1928 Hugh McElhenny NFL halfback (San Francisco, Minnesota, New York Giants, Detroit)
1928 Ross Barbour Columbus IN, singer (4 Freshmen)
1928 Veijo Meri writer
1929 Mies Bouman Dutch TV hostess (Open the Village)
1929 Peter Barker Howard cricketer
1929 Peter May cricketer (dashing English batsman of 50's)
1929 Sidney Greenbaum grammarian
1930 Odetta [Holmes] Birmingham AL, folk singer/actress (Sanctuary)
1931 Bob Shaw UK, sci-fi author (Orbitsville, Ragged Astronauts, Vertigo)
1932 George Schlatter TV producer (Laugh-in)
1935 Peter Allan cricketer (1 Test Australia vs England 1965, 2-58 & 0-25)
1935 Rolf Haufs writer
1937 [Philip] Anthony Hopkins Port Talbot West Glamorgan Wales, actor (Elephant Man, QB VII, Magic, Bounty)
1937 Nicolas Born writer
1938 Rosalind Cash Atlantic City NJ, actress (Omega Man, Wrong is Right)
1938 Atje Keulen-Deelstra Holland, speed skater (world champion)
1938 Henricus G Wijmans Dutch graphic artist
1939 Afaq Hussain cricketer (Pakistani off-spinner in 2 Tests 1961-64)
1939 Willye White US long jumper (Olympics-silver-56, appeared in 5 Olympics)
1940 Oleg Anatolyevich Yakovlev Russian cosmonaut
1941 Milkha Singh cricketer (brother of Kripal Singh India batsman in 4 Tests)
1941 Sarah Miles Essex England, actress (Ryan's Hope, Big Sleep, Venom)
1942 Andy Summers Blackpool England, rock guitarist (Police-Roxanne)
1943 Ben Kingsley Scarborough England, actor (Gandhi, Betrayal, Maurice)
1943 John Denver [Henry John Deutschendorf Jr] Roswell NM, singer/songwriter/actor (Rocky Mountain High, Thank God I'm a Country Boy, Oh God!)
1943 Pete Qualfe rocker
1945 Taylor Hackford director (Devil's Advocate)
1945 Taylor Hackford Santa Barbara CA, director (Idolmaker, Officer & a Gentleman)
1946 Barbara Carrera Managua Nicaragua, actress (Angelica-Dallas)
1946 Diane von Furstenberg Brussels Belgiums, fashion designer
1946 Patti Smith Chicago IL, singer (Radio Ethiopia)
1947 Burton Cummings rock guitarist (Guess Who-These Eyes)
1947 Tim Matheson California, actor (Animal House, Fletch, Up the Creek)
1948 Donna Summer Boston MA, singer (Love to Love You Baby, On the Radio)
1948 Joe Dallesandro Pensicola FL, actor (Heat, Trash, AW Frankenstein)
1948 Tony Hamilton rocker (Aerosmith)
1948 Viktor Mikhailovich Afanasieyv Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-11, TM-18)
1949 Claude Daniel Marks Buenos Aires Argentina, FALN member (FBI most wanted)
1950 Inge Helten German Federal Republic, sprinter (Olympics-bronze-1976)
1950 Robert Bryan Gilder Corvallis OR, PGA golfer (1980 Canadian Open)
1951 Fermin Goytisolo rocker (KC & Sunshine Band-Give It)
1951 Michael Allen Bantom Philadelphia PA, basketball player (Olympics-silver-1972)
1951 Tom Hamilton Colorado Springs CO, rock bassist (Aerosmith-Dream On)
1953 James Remar Boston MA, actor (48 Hours, Rent-a-Cop, Cotton Club)
1953 Jane Badler Brooklyn NY, actress (Fine Gold, Easy Kill, V)
1956 Martin Joseph Fettman Brooklyn NY, PhD/astronaut (STS 58)
1957 David Allen Ogrin Waukegan IL, PGA golfer (1994 Byron Nelson-2nd)
1958 Geoff Marsh cricketer (Australia opening batsman 1985-92)
1959 Val [Edward] Kilmer actor (The Saint, Top Gun, The Doors)
1959 Bebe Neuwirth Princeton NJ, actress (Lilith-Cheers, Damn Yankees)
1959 Paul Westerberg singer (The Replacements)
1960 Broderick Dyke Australia, tennis star
1961 Joanna Johnson actress (Caroline-Bold & Beautiful)
1961 Rick Aguilera San Gabriel CA, pitcher (Minnesota Twins)
1962 Don Diamont New York NY, actor (Brad-Young & Restless)
1962 Tyrone Corbin NBA forward (Miami Heat, Atlanta Hawks)
1963 Ed Simmons NFL tackle (Washington Redskins)
1963 Scott Ian US heavy metal guitarist (Anthrax-I'm the Man)
1964 Denis Hickey cricketer (fast bowler for Victoria, South Africa & Glamorgan)
1964 Klari MacAskill Budapest Hungary, kayaker (Olympics-5th-92, 96)
1964 Liz Masakayan Quezon City Philippines, WPVA volley (Best of Beach-3rd-1994)
1964 Winston Benjamin cricketer (West Indies righty quick 1987-95)
1965 Michelle Dobek Holyoke MA, golfer (1995 GHP Heartland Classic-45th)
1966 Paula Barbieri model/girlfriend of OJ Simpson/actress (Dangerous)
1967 Brad Daluiso NFL place kicker (New York Giants)
1969 Martha Byrne actress (Lily-As the World Turns)
1970 Bryon Russell NBA forward (Utah Jazz)
1970 Dan Howe Kingston Ontario, canoeist (Olympics-96)
1970 Dunstan Anderson NFL defensive end (Dolphins, New Orleans Saints, Rhein Fire)
1970 Edwin Huizinga Dutch soccer player (SC Heerenveen, Emmen)
1970 Michel Brunet Gatineau Québec, ice dancer (1996 Canadians-2nd)
1971 Brent Barry NBA guard (Seattle Sonics, Los Angeles Clippers)
1971 Erin Warren Winchester MA, luger (Olympics-1994)
1971 Heath Shuler NFL quarterback (Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints)
1972 Joe [Joseph Mulrey] McIntyre rocker (New Kids on the Block-Lovin You Forever)
1972 Chris Parker running back (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1972 Cole Ford NFL kicker (Oakland Raiders)
1972 Kelvin Kinney defensive end (Washington Redskins)
1973 Curtis Myden Calgary Alberta, 200 meter/400 meter swimmer (Olympics-2 bronze-96)
1973 George Jones running back (Pittsburgh Steelers)
1973 Hiroyuki Miura hockey defenseman (Team Japan 1998)
1975 Cole Ford kicker (Oakland Raiders)
1977 Ildiko Kecan Miss Hungary Universe (1997)

---

Deaths which occurred on December 31:
0192 Lucius Aurelius Commodus Emperor of Rome (180-192), murdered at 31
0406 Godagisel king of the Vandals, dies in battle
0439 Melania the Younger Roman monastery founder/saint, dies at about 56
1382 Daigaku Zen teacher/46th head of Engakuji, dies in Kamakura Japan
1384 John Wycliffe English religious reformer/bible translator, dies
1583 Thomas Erastus Switzerland, theologist, dies
1616 Jacques Le Maire pirate/explorer (Lemaire Strait), dies at 31
1647 Giovanni Maria Trabaci composer, dies
1652 Frances Cecil 2nd wife of English earl of Shaftesbury, dies
1659 János Apáczai Csere Hung theologist (Magyar Logikácska), dies at 34
1719 John Flamsteed 1st Astronomer Royal, dies at 73
1733 Hubert K Poot Dutch poet (Akkerleven), dies at 44
1775 General Richard Montgomery dies fighting the British
1802 Francis Lewis Welsh/US merchant/signer (Declaration of Independence), dies at 89
1802 Hugo Franz Karl Alexander von Kerpen composer, dies at 53
1809 Franz Ignaz Beck composer, dies at 75
1818 Jean-Pierre Duport composer, dies at 77
1848 Oliver Shaw composer, dies at 69
1859 Luigi Ricci composer, dies at 54
1862 James Edward Rains lawyer/Confederate Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 29
1862 Joshua Woodrow Sill US Union Brigadier-General, dies in battle at 31
1872 Aleksis Kivi [Stenvall] Finnish writer/poet (Kanervala), dies at 38
1877 Alberto Mazzucato composer, dies at 64
1877 JD Gustave Courbet French painter (Baigneuses), dies at 58
1882 Léon Michel Gambetta French attorney/premier (1881-82), dies at 44
1889 Ion Creanga Romanian (fairy tales) author, dies at 52
1893 Jacob G de Scheffer Dutch vicar/theologist, dies at 74
1894 Thomas J Stieltjes mathematician (Stieltjes-integral), dies at 38
1896 Leland Hone cricketer (scored 7 & 6 in only England Test 1879), dies
1899 Karl Millöcker Austrian conductor/composer (Try-out Kiss), dies at 57
1907 Jules de Trooz Belgium PM, dies at 63
1916 Ernst Rudorff composer, dies at 76
1920 Albert Roelofs Dutch painter/etcher, dies at 43
1921 József Kiss Hungarian literary (A hét), dies at 78
1936 Miguel de Unamuno Jugo Spanish philosopher/poet (Cancionero), dies at 72
1936 William F Ellison Irish clergyman/astronomer, dies at 72
1938 Richard N Roland Holst Dutch artist/painter, dies at 70
1941 Sigwart Aspestrand composer, dies at 85
1945 Donald Douglas II dies at 40
1946 Frits [Frederik H] Tartaud Dutch actor, dies at 89
1947 Franz X Ritter von Epp German general (SW Africa), dies at 79
1948 Malcolm Campbell English race driver, dies at 63
1950 Charles Koechlin French composer (Jungle Book), dies at 83
1950 Karl Renner Austrian Chancellor/President (1918-20, 45-50), dies at 80
1951 Maxim M Litvinov [Meyer H Wallach] Russian diplomat, dies at 75
1951 Philipp A Kohnstamm Dutch philosopher/physicist, dies at 76
1953 Albert Plesman Dutch aviation pioneer/founder (KLM), dies at 64
1954 Peter Van Anrooy conductor/composer (Piet Hein Rhapsodie), dies at 75
1958 Gustav Hermann Unger composer, dies at 72
1960 Germaine Loosveldt Flemish actress (Trees die Upright), dies at 69
1960 Semyon Semyonovich Bogatiryov composer, dies at 70
1963 Albert Plesman aviation pioneer, dies
1966 Chief Nipo Strongheart Native American actor (Pony Soldier), dies at 75
1966 Pieter C A Geyl historian (History of Dutch Race), dies
1967 Arthur Mailey cricketer (10-66 & Australia vs Gloucestershire 1921), dies
1968 Carl Oscar Ahues German International Chess Master (1950), dies at 85
1968 George Louis Francis Lewis composer, dies at 16
1968 Sabin V Dragoi composer, dies at 74
1969 Salvatore Baccaloni opera singer/actor (Full of Life), dies at 69
1970 Cyril M Scott English composer/author (Alchemist), dies at 91
1971 Peter Deuel actor (Gidget, Love on a Rooftop), commits suicide at 31
1972 Roberto Clemente Pittsburgh Pirate slugger, dies in a plane crash at 38
1975 Donal Michalsky composer, dies at 47
1977 Nora Marlowe actress (Sara-Governor & JJ), dies at 62
1980 Arthur Wellard cricketer (2 Tests for England, legendary 6-hitter), dies
1980 Marshall McLuhan Canadian cultural philosopher, dies at 69
1980 Raoul Walsh US director (High Sierra), dies at about 88
1981 Frantisek Chaun composer, dies at 60
1983 Frank Link actor (Burns & Schreiber Comedy Show), dies at 46
1983 Bill Hunt cricketer (Test for Australia, out 0, took 0-25 & 0-14), dies
1985 Rick Nelson singer/actor (Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet), dies at 45
1985 Alexander Matheson cricketer (2 wickets/2 Tests for New Zealand 1930-31), dies
1985 Sam Spiegel Academy Award winning producer (Betrayal), dies at 84
1986 Lloyd Haynes actor (Pete Dixon-Room 222), dies at 54
1986 Lester Albert Trimble composer, dies at 63
1987 [Gordon] Randall [P D] Garrett author (Lord Darcy), dies at 60
1990 Dalton Cathey dies of AIDS at 44
1990 George Allen US football coach (Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins), dies
1990 Vasily Grigoryevich Lazarev cosmonaut (Soyuz 12, 18A), dies at 62
1993 Arthur Dreifuss director/producer (Murder in Amsterdam), dies at 85
1993 Lambert Fokkema founder Dutch Export Combination, dies at 80
1993 Thomas J Watson Jr president of IBM (1956-71)/diplomat, dies at 79
1993 Zviad Gamsachurdia President of Georgia SSR (1991-1993), suicide at 54
1994 BAM "Bob" Schreiner airline owner (S Aviation Group), dies at 79
1994 Harri Webb poet, dies at 74
1994 Leigh Bowery designer, dies at 33
1994 Leo Fuchs Polish/US Yiddish actor (Story of Ruth), dies at 83
1994 Thomas J Watson Jr CEO (IBM), dies of a stroke at 79
1994 Woodrow "Woody" Strode US rugby player/black cowboy actor (Posse, Cotton Club, Vigilante, Oil), dies
1995 Calvin/Hobbes (comic strip), dies
1995 John Powell campaigner, dies at 75
1996 61 law enforcement officers killed by felons in US this year
1996 Ann Susan Hills freelance journalist, dies at 55
1996 David Sinclair actor (Love & Hate), dies at 62
1996 Frederico Davia opera singer, dies at 63
1996 Michael Roberts historian, dies at 88
1996 Phillip Edmund Clinton Manson-Bahr tropical mediciner, dies at 85
1997 76 law enforcement officers killed by felons in US this year
1997 Dominique de Menil arts patron/human rights advocate, dies at 89
1997 Floyd Cramer pianist (Nashville Sound), dies of cancer at 64
1997 Lillian Billie Dove Bohney actress, dies at 96
1997 Michael Kennedy son of Robert Kennedy, dies in ski accident at 39

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On this day...
0335 St Silvester I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0406 80,000 Vandels attack the Rhine at Mainz
0765 Coffin of Ho-tse Shen-hui interred in a stupa built in China
0870 Skirmish at Englefield: Ethelred of Wessex beats Danish invasion army
1492 100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily
1502 Cesare Borgia (son of pope Alexander VI) occupies Urbino
1564 Willem van Orange demands freedom of conscience/religion
1600 British East India Company chartered
1604 Admiral Steven van der Haghen's fleet reaches Bantam
1621 Hungarian King Bethlen Gábor/Ferdinand II sign Treaty of Mikulov
1669 France & Brandenburg sign secret treaty
1670 France & England sign Boyne-treaty
1680 Amsterdam opera at Leidsegracht opens
1687 1st Huguenots depart France to Cape of Good Hope
1688 Pro-James II-earl of Devonshire occupies Nottingham
1700 Frisia/Groningen adopt Gregorian calendar, tomorrow is 1/12/1701
1708 Great Alliance captures Bridge
1711 Duke of Marlborough fired as English army commander
1744 James Bradley announces discovery of Earth's motion of nutation (wobble)
1745 Bonnie Prince Charlies army meets with de Esk
1756 Russia joins the Alliance of Versailles
1758 British expeditionary army occupies Goree (Dakar) Senegal
1762 Mozart family moves from Vienna to Salzburg
1775 Battle of Québec; Americans unable to take British stronghold
1776 Rhode Island establishes wage & price controls to curb inflation: Limit is 70¢ a day for carpenters, 42¢ for tailors
1779 English fleet beat Dutch Merchant vessels
1781 Bank of North America, 1st US bank opens
1783 Import of African slaves banned by all of the Northern states
1805 End of French Republican calendar; France returns to Gregorianism
1841 Alabama becomes 1st state to license dental surgeons
1852 Future President & Mrs Rutherford B Hayes marry
1857 Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa as new capital of Canada
1859 Dutch colony in Dutch Indies counts 4,800 slaves
1861 22,990 mm of rain falls in Cherrapunji Assam in 1861, world record
1862 President Lincoln signs act admitting West Virginia to the Union
1862 Battle of Stone's River TN (Stone River, Murfreesboro)
1862 Skirmish at Parker Cross Roads TN
1862 Union ironclad ship "Monitor" sinks off Cape Hatteras NC
1870 J D Schneiter patents rocket mail in France, (not done)
1879 Cornerstone laid for Honolulu's Iolani Palace (only royal palace in US)
1879 Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp
1879 Gilbert/Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance" premieres in New York NY
1890 Ellis Island (New York NY) opens as a US immigration depot
1896 25th auto built in US
1897 Brooklyn's last day as a city, it incorporates into NYC (1/1/1898)
1902 Boers & British army sign peace treaty
1906 French/British/Italian treaty concerning rights on Abyssinia
1907 For the 1st time a ball drops at Times Square to signal the new year
1907 G Mahler conducts the Metropolitan Opera
1910 US tobacco industry produced 9 billion cigarettes in 1910
1911 Marie Curie receives her 2nd Nobel Prize
1914 Colonel Jacob Ruppert & Cap Huston purchase New York Yankees for $460,000
1917 Dutch Social-democratic trade union NVV counts 159,450 members
1918 Kid Gleason replaces Pants Rowland as White Sox manager
1920 Roy Park makes 1st-ball duck in only Test Cricket inning, vs England at MCG
1921 Last San Francisco firehorses retired
1923 1st transatlantic radio broadcast of a voice, Pittsburgh-Manchester
1923 BBC begins using Big Ben chime ID
1923 Harry Tierney/Joseph McCarthy's musical "Kid Boots" premieres in New York NY
1924 Edwin Hubble announces existence of distant galactic systems
1925 14th congress of CPSU decides to accelerate industry
1927 Ponsford scores 336 against South Africa, giving him 1146 for month
1929 Pope Pius XI publishes encyclical Divini illius magistri
1930 Pontifical encyclical Casti connubii against mixed marriages
1930 US tobacco industry produced 123 billion cigarettes in 1930
1932 John P O'Brien sworn-in as mayor of New York NY
1934 Helen Richey becomes 1st woman to pilot an airmail transport
1935 Charles Darrow patents Monopoly
1935 CPH becomes Dutch Communist Party
1938 Dr R N Harger's "drunkometer", 1st breath test, introduced in Indiana
1938 Dutch national debt hits ƒ3,986,629,805.70
1939 25 U boats sunk this month (81,000 ton)
1939 Dutch national debt hits ƒ4,218,553,180.99
1940 37 U boats sunk this month (213,000 ton)
1941 Young Park (2) in the Bronx named in honor of Samuel Young
1942 60 U boats sunk this month (330,000 ton)
1942 Battle in Barents Sea
1942 Potatoes rationed in Holland
1943 NYC's Times Square greets Frank Sinatra at the Paramount Theater
1944 48 people die in a train accident in Ogden UT
1944 Japanese army evacuates harbor city Akyab
1945 Ratification of UN Charter completed
1945 Bradman scores 112, his 1st post-War century, South Africa vs Australia Services
1946 French troops leave Lebanon
1946 President Truman officially proclaims end of WWII
1948 Dutch police actions up Java gone on strike
1949 18 countries recognize Republic Indonesia
1950 Jockeys Willie Shoemaker & Joe Culmone set record of 388 wins in a year
1951 1st battery to convert radioactive energy to electrical announced
1953 Hulan Jack sworn in as Manhattan Borough president
1953 Willie Shoemaker shatters record, riding 485 winners in a year
1953 WFBC (now WYFF) TV channel 4 in Greenville-Spartanburg SC (NBC) begins
1955 "Vamp" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 60 performances
1957 AAU awards Bobby Morrow, James Sullivan Memorial Trophy
1958 International Geophyscial Year ends
1958 Willie Shoemaker 1st jockey to win national riding championship 4X
1958 47th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Brisbane (3-2)
1958 Cuban dictator Batista flees
1961 1st performance of the Beach Boys
1961 Green Bay Packers shutout New York Giants 37-0 in NFL championship game
1961 Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than $12 billion
1961 "Irma La Douce" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 527 performances
1961 1st performance of Beach Boys
1961 Beach Boys play their debut gig under that name
1961 Failed coup by Syrian group in Lebanon
1962 American Basketball League announces suspension of operation
1962 Katanga becomes part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
1962 "Match Game" debuts on NBC with host Gene Rayburn
1962 Dutch leave New Guinea
1962 Ohio ends suit against Reds when they agree to stay in Cincinnati for 10 years
1963 Chicago Bears win NFL championship
1963 Dear Abby show premieres on CBS radio (runs 11 years)
1963 Jerry Garcia & Bob Weir played music together for the 1st time
1964 Donald Campbell (UK) sets world water speed record (276.33 mph)
1964 Indonesia proclaims expelled from the UN
1966 Monkee's "I'm a Believer" hits #1 & stays there for 7 weeks
1966 Pirate Radio 390 (Radio Invicata) off England, resumes transmitting
1966 Test Cricket debut of Bishen Singh Bedi, India vs West Indies Calcutta, 2-92
1966 Toboggan Chutes begin operation in Cleveland Metroparks
1967 Oakland Raiders beat Houston Oilers 40-7 in AFL championship game
1967 Packers beat Cowboys 21-17 in NFL championship game (-13ºF)
1967 "Henry, Sweet Henry" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 80 performances
1967 1st NBA game at Great Western Forum, Los Angeles Lakers beat Houston 147-118
1968 1st supersonic airliner flown (Russian Tupolev TU-144)
1968 New York Jets win AFL championship
1969 Congo-Brazzaville becomes People's republic, under Major Ngouabi
1970 Congress authorizes the Eisenhower dollar coin
1970 Paul McCartney files a lawsuit to dissolve the Beatles
1970 President Allende nationalizes Chilean coal mines
1970 Would have been start of Australia/England Test Cricket at MCG, washed out
1971 KAID TV channel 4 in Boise ID (PBS) begins broadcasting
1971 Lieutenant General Robert E Cushman, Jr, USMC, ends term as deputy director of CIA
1972 Leap second day; also in 1973-79, 1987, 1998
1972 Miami Dolphins beat Pittsburgh Steelers 21-7 in AFC championship game
1972 Washington Redskins beat Dallas Cowboys 26-3 in NFC championship game
1972 39th Sugar Bowl: Oklahoma 14 beats Penn State 0
1973 40th Sugar Bowl: Notre Dame 24 beats Alabama 23
1973 61st Australian Men's Tennis: John Newcombe beats O Parun (63 67 75 61)
1973 Johan Cruyff chosen European soccer Player of year
1974 Gold legal in US, Franklin Mint strikes Panama's Gold 100 balboa coin
1974 41st Sugar Bowl: Nebraska 13 beats Florida 10
1974 Free agent pitcher Catfish Hunter signs record $3.75 million 5 year New York Yankee contract
1974 Lindsey Buckingham & Stevie Nicks join Fleetwood Mac
1974 Popular Electronics displays Altair 8800 computer
1975 42nd Sugar Bowl: Alabama 13 beats Penn State 6
1976 TV soap "Somerset" ends 6 year run
1976 The Cars play their 1st gig
1977 Donald Woods, a banned white editor flees South Africa
1977 Ted Bundy escapes from jail in Colorado
1977 WFAT (Brooklyn NY pirate radio station) begins broadcasting on 1620 AM
1977 "Bubbling Brown Sugar" closes at ANTA Theater NYC after 766 performances
1977 "Man of La Mancha" closes at Palace Theater NYC after 124 performances
1977 Amir Sheikh Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah becomes leader of Kuwait
1977 Cambodia drops diplomatic relations with Vietnam
1978 Taiwan's final day of diplomatic relations with the US
1978 "Magic Show" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 1859 performances
1978 "Runaways" closes at Plymouth Theater NYC after 199 performances
1978 CIA director, Admiral Stansfield Turner retires from the Navy
1978 Iran shah names Chapour Bakhtiar premier
1979 Winterland Rock Concert Hall in San Francisco closes after 556 concerts
1980 A Jewish owned hotel in Nairobi Kenya is bombed killing 18
1980 New York Islanders greatest shutout margin (9-0) vs Chicago Black Hawks
1980 Senegal President Leopold Senghor resigns
1981 CNN Headline News debuts
1981 Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings stages coup in Ghana, suspends constitution
1981 Netherlands unemployment stands at record 475,000
1982 TV soap "The Doctors" ends 19 year run
1982 CBS Mystery Theater final episode on radio after 8 years
1982 NBC radio cancels almost all of its network daily features
1983 Brunei gains complete independence from Britain
1983 José Happart installed as mayor of Voeren Belgium
1983 Nigeria's National Assembly dissolves after military coup
1984 NYC subway gunman Bernhard Goetz surrenders to police in New Hampshire
1984 Rajiv Gandhi takes office as India's 6th PM succeeds his mom, Indira
1984 Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses his arm in a car crash
1984 Test Cricket debut of Mohammad Azharuddin, vs England at Calcutta
1984 US leaves UNESCO
1985 King Hussein of Jordan and President Assad hold talks
1986 Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in San Juan, Puerto Rico kills 97
1986 WIS-AM in Columbia SC changes call letters to WVOC (now WOMG)
1989 "Me & My Girl" closes at Marquis Theater NYC after 1420 performances
1989 "Threepenny Opera" closes at Lunt-Fontanne Theater NYC after 65 performances
1989 Actress Annabella Sciorra (Jungle Fever) weds Joe Petruzzi
1989 Fog Bowl: Heavy fog rolls in on Bears 20-12 victory over Eagles
1989 Jockey Kent Desormeaux sets record with 598 wins in a year
1990 Iraq begins a military draft of 17 year olds
1990 The Sci-Fi Channel on cable TV begins transmitting
1990 United Somali Congress seizes Presidential Palace
1991 Dow Jones closes at record high 3168.83
1991 CPN, Communist Party of Netherlands, last day of existance
1991 Daniel R McCarthy elected New York Yankee managing general partner
1991 J Donald Crump resigned as CFL Commissioner
1991 USSR, last day of existence
1992 Target date for Europe's single market
1992 WCBS TV news anchor Carol Martin weds Joe Terry
1993 "Loveboat" actress Jill Whelan (27) weds Brad St John (33)
1993 Barbra Streisand does her 1st live public concert in 20 years
1994 1st snowless December in Baltimore MD
1994 Anti Apartheid Group of Netherlands (AABN) disbands
1995 "Danny Gans on Broadway" closes at Neil Simon NYC
1995 "Having Our Say" closes at Booth Theater NYC after 308 performances
1995 "Heiress" closes at Cort Theater NYC after 340 performances
1995 "Paul Roebson" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 14 performances
1995 "Racing Demon" closes at Vivian Beaumont Theater NYC after 48 performances
1995 "Tempest" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 71 performances
1995 62nd Sugar Bowl: Virginia Tech beats Texas
1995 Cartoonist Bill Watterson ends his "Calvin & Hobbes" comic strip
1995 Matthew Elliott scores separate cricket century same day for Victoria
1997 Intel cuts price of Pentium II-233 MHz from $401 to $268
1997 Marv Levy retires as coach of Buffalo Bills
1997 Microsoft buys Hotmail E-mail service
1997 More Swedes died than were born in 1997, 1st time since 1809
1997 Orlando Hernandez, half-brother of pitcher Livan, defects from Cuba
1997 South Africa & US surgeons separate Zambian Siamese twins joined at the head
1998 US movie box office hits record $6.24 billion for year
1999 Control of Panama Canal reverts to Panama

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

Austria : Imperial Ball
Bangladesh, Brunei, India, México, Philippines, Sri Lanka : Bank Holiday
Benin : Feed Yourself Day
Congo : National Day
Indians at Mitla, Oaxaca : Noche de Pedimento/Wishing Night
Japan : Omisoka Day/Grand Purification
Lebanon : Evacuation Day (1946)
Mauritania : People's Party Day
Scotland : Hogmanay Day
World : New Year's Eve/Watch Night

---

Religious Observances
Roman Catholic : Memorial of St Sylvester I, 33rd pope (314-35) (optional)

---

Religious History
1687 The first shipload of emigrating Huguenots (French Protestants) left France for South Africa.
1712 Birth of Peter Bohler, the Moravian missionary who, at age 25, influenced the religious spirit of John Wesley. Bohler taught the founder of Methodism the joys of personal conversion and self_surrendering faith, and Wesley later incorporated these spiritual emphases within Methodist theology.
1823 Birth of William O. Cushing, American clergyman. He penned over 300 hymns, among them "When He Cometh," "Under His Wings" and "Hiding in Thee."
1837 Birth of John R. Sweney, American sacred chorister. He composed over 1,000 gospel tunes, including SUNSHINE ("There is Sunshine in My Soul Today") and SWENEY ("More About Jesus Would I Know").
1900 Birth of Stephen C. Neill, British clergyman and biblical scholar. A prolific writer, some of Neill's better_known titles are "A History of Christian Missions" (1964), "The Interpretation of the New Testament: 1871_1961" (1966) and "The Modern Reader's Dictionary of the Bible" (1966).

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Thought for the day :
"What greater grief than the loss of one's native land."

[vetvetdoug]

Good Morning on the last day of the year.......

[CholeraJoe]

Great post!

Back in '71, me and three buddies invaded Matamoros. The natives were much friendlier then.

[Lee'sGhost]

Great job, Sam. I named my son "Zachary Taylor" for a reason, thanks for reminding me why.

[MeekOneGOP]

Happy New Year's, AJ !

Happy New Year's ALL !!

[MeekOneGOP]

Happy New Year's ALL !!

[Cate]

Dear SAMWolf- thanks for the great thread this morning. Where was I in school? Surely some of this stuff must have come up during classes. Maybe being older I care more about history. Take Care.