I thought it might be nice to share some short biographies on our nations presidents. This will be a series that will take place over time and may be interrupted by other posts.
Our first commander in chief went on to become our first president. George Washington was a large man for his time, as he stood at six feet, two inches and weighed around 175 pounds. He was born on February 22, 1732 in Virginia to Augustine and Mary Ball Washington. Mary Ball was Augustine's second wife. George was born less than a year after their marriage. Augustine passed away when George was young and was more or less raised by his older half-brother Lawrence. When Lawrence passed away, George inherited his estate, Mount Vernon, which George loved.
At the age of 17, George became a surveyor. He then traveled around the wilderness of Virginia, surveying land and helping it to become civilized. Through his surveying, he was able to purchase his own land.
He married widow, Martha Dandridge Custis, who had four children. None of the children lived to be more than 27 years of age, but there were two grandchildren. George and Martha never had any children of their own. Today, there are no direct decendents of George Washington.
In 1752 through 1758, Washington was in the Virginia Militia, rising from Major to Colonel. Then in 1775 he became the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. But prior to that, he was involved in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). During this conflict, he delivered an ultimatum to the French at Fort LeBoeuf and oversaw the building of Fort Necessity. He left the army and then came back as an aide-de-camp to General Edward Braddock.
From 1759 to 1774, Washington was a member of the House of Burgesses. He left the House of Burgesses to become a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774. And in 1787, he was made the president of the Constitutional Convention. In 1789, he was unanimously elected President of the United States of America (the first and only president to be elected unanimously). His opponent, and the one who came in second place, became his vice president: John Adams. Washington went on to two terms as president.
As the first president, he had the job of building his cabinet from the ground up. As Secretary of State, he chose Thomas Jefferson, who was replaced by Edmund Jennings Randolph. Randolph was then replaced by Timothy Pickering. His Secretary of the Treasury was Alexander Hamilton who was then replaced by Oliver Walcott. He had three Secretary of Wars: Henry Knox, then Timothy Pickering, then James McHenry. And finally, he had to name an Attorney General. First it was Edmund Jennings Randolph, then William Bradford and finally Charles Lee (uncle of Robert E. Lee).
As president, Washington had to deal with Indian Affairs. He also was involved with the Proclamation of Neutrality, the Whiskey Rebellion of 1791 in western Pennsylvania, Jay's Treaty (which prevented another war with Britain), and Pinckney's Treaty.
December 14, 1799 was a sad day for the United States when George Washington got a severe throat infection and and passed away. Today, Mount Vernon is open to the public to see where our first president where and how he lived.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Shoot For The Moon
This is a paper that I wrote for my college English Comp 101 class. This is one of those papers that I found intriguing and thought I would share it. Please refrain from quoting anything from this paper without my permission. Thank you.
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued a seemingly impossible challenge to the United States. During a speech to Congress, Kennedy said, "...I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth" (Kennedy). On July 20, 1969 at 4:30pm Eastern Time, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin landed their lunar module on the moon. Six and a half hours later, millions were glued to their televisions to watch Armstrong take his first steps on the moon. After testing the firmness of the surface, he stepped onto the ground and made his famous remarks: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" (Wagener 145). They had realized their goal. For the first time a man was walking on the moon, but not without consequences. Those first men had a huge impact on the moon. Between their footsteps, tokens taken to be left behind, trash, and equipment, the signs of man were unmistakable.
In the planning stages for the mission, known as Apollo 11, NASA officials studied as much information as they could in advance, along with making educated guesses as to what they might discover on the moon. They were sure that when the astronauts landed, the ship, as well as the men, would sink several inches or more into the lunar dust. What they found was that the ship and the men only sunk a mere inch. They also had some doubts as to how much the men would be able to move due to the weight of the spacesuits that were critical to their survival in space. On earth, the spacesuits tipped the scales at 200 pounds. On the moon, the gravitational pull is less than on the earth, and makes everything approximately one-sixth the weight (Wilford). That brought the weight on the spacesuits down to about thirty pounds, making movement easier for the men.
One thing NASA was sure about was that the ship would get them to the moon, but the question remained: could it land them on the moon? The spaceship itself was made up of the Command Module (CM) and the Lunar Module (LM). The CM would remain in an orbit around the moon the entire time and would be piloted by astronaut Michael Collins. The LM, containing Armstrong and Aldrin, would separate from the CM and land on the moon. The LM was made up of two parts: the ascent stage and the descent stage. The descent stage, which would remain behind, would get them to the moon and then act as a launch pad for the ascent stage, which would get them back to the CM (Apollo). The LM was a strange looking machine. It looked like a giant space bug sitting on the moon with legs that spread out for about fifteen feet. The capsule that the men traveled in sat on the top. In between the two were the engines needed to both fly the machine and to launch it back to the CM.
During the landing, the men in the control center in Houston were holding their breath, waiting for the first sound from the astronauts. That was when Neil Armstrong said, "Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed" (Wagener 144). There was a collective sigh of relief. The LM landed on an area of the moon known as the Sea of Tranquility. This part of the moon experiences a daytime which lasts fourteen earth days and a nighttime that lasts another fourteen earth days. When the LM, also known as the Eagle, landed it was during the daytime phase.
It took Armstrong and Aldrin a few hours to go through a checklist to make sure they were ready to get to work on the moon and were prepared for the return trip. Neil Armstrong then left the capsule and made his way down to the surface of the moon. To climb out of the LM, he needed to depressurize the capsule, peel back the door, climb out onto a small porch, and then climb down the seven foot ladder before actually touching the surface. It took several minutes for Armstrong to leave the LM and actually reach the lunar surface. Aldrin climbed down to the moon about twenty minutes after Armstrong.
The astronauts found the surface to be bleak, kind of a brownish-gray color (Wilford). There were many small craters, small hills, ridges, deep cracks, lots of rubble, and many, many rocks of every shape and size. Neil Armstrong said that he found the soil to be "fine and powdery" (Wagener 145). Although the moon has very little atmosphere, there was no wind, no water, and no known microbes to cause erosion or decay. In the shadows, the temperatures could be as cold as -280 degrees Fahrenheit, and in the sun, it could get as high as 280 degrees Fahrenheit. When the men landed, it was zero degress, and by the time they took off, the temperature had reached ninety degrees (Wilford).
One of the initial things that the men did on the moon was to collect samples. The thought was that if something went wrong and they needed to quickly leave, at least the mission would not be futile as they would still have some samples. They grabbed a shovel and started digging up some of the lunar soil. They were able to dig up about thirty pounds of soil and collected around fifty rocks weighing in at about twenty pounds (Apollo). Scientists later determined that the rocks were both basalt and breccias. The basalt rocks are volcanic and are very similar to the kind found in Hawaii. The breccias rocks are rocks that are made up of fragments of older rocks which are compressed together (Apollo).
Buzz Aldrin then grabbed the three by five foot American flag that they had brought with them and planted it on the moon. Due to the solidity of the soil and not being able to fully extend the pole, they were not able to securely plant it on the surface. It stayed in its position until they left, when the exhaust from the LM knocked it over.
The astronauts then set up three experiments (Wagener 146). The first experiment was a device to measre the seismic activity on the moon. This experiment shows that the moon is experiencing approximately 500 earthquakes a year, as opposed to the earth which has approximately 10,000 a year. The quakes on the moon usually range between one and two on the Richter scale, something that probably would not be felt (Seybold). The second experiment was a laser-ranging retroflector. This retroflector was made up of a hundred circular reflectors. A laser bean located in New Mexico bounces off these reflectors. Although only one out of a hundred beams actually hit the reflectors due to the size of the beam and the size of the reflectors, the experiment was working, and it gave an exact measurement of the distance between the earth and the moon (Seybold). It also helped measure the continental drift on the earth. The third and final experiment was a large sheet of aluminum foil that was set up to collect samples of the gases that were located within the lunar atmosphere. When the men returned to the earth, the only experiment that came back with them was the aluminum foil samples. The foil sheet was sent to a laboratory in Switzerland, and the scientists there were able to extract the gases and find out just what makes up the lunar atmosphere.
The astronauts also took along some symbolic tokens to be left for future explorers. Each of the astronauts, including Michael Collins who stayed behind in the CM, were married, and their wives sent along small keepsakes of their lives. None of the astronauts told anyone what those mementos were, and to this day, three items are sitting on the moon known only to the astronauts and their wives. A plaque from NASA was also left. This plaque is a tribute to the men behind the landing, all Americans, and all the citizens of the world by saying, "Here men from the planet eart first set foot upon the moon, July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind" (Wagener 148). A patch commemorating the Apollo I mission, a mission that, sadly, did not do what it set out to accomplish, was also taken (Wagener 148). Astronauts Ed White, Gus Grissom, and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire that occurred on that spaceship. Although they were on the ground when the fire broke out, the latch to the door would not open, and all three men died. A medal commemorating the Russian cosmonauts, Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov, who were the first to go into space, was left up there (Wagener 149). A silicon disc which carried statements from four United States Presidents and the leaders of seventy-three nations was left on the moon and a gold olive branch was left as a symbol of peace (Culp).
The astronauts spent about two and a half hours walking, jumping, working, and playing on the moon. When it was time to leave, they had to remove some of the weight from the LM. Something had to be left behind. Both Armstrong and Aldrin removed their boots and the life support packs and dumped them outside the capsule. Then they put empty food containers, filled urine and feces bags, and some other trash, placed them in a larger bag and tossed it outside the capsule (Wagener 153). Armstrong and Aldrin were officially the first to litter on the moon. Many of the tools that they used were also left behind. The New Mexico State University compiled a list of all the things left on the moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts, and the list exceeds 100 items (Culp). When they added the samples of soil and rocks to the LM, the weight was in excess of the launch weight, so things had to be left behind in order to lower the load to a weight that would accommodate liftoff.
As planned when the Lunar Module once again connected with the Command Module, all the samples and other items that they needed to save were transferred to the CM from the LM, it was then set free, and it crashed onto the moon's surface.
Once the astronauts were home again, scientists figured that the Apollo 11 flight increased the atmosphere of the moon by 30%. It took several weeks for the atmosphere to return to normal (Seybold). For each of the Apollo missions to the moon, they found that there was a similar increase to the atmosphere.
The New Mexico State University is trying to get the Apollo 11 landing site at the Sea of Tranquility preserved on the World Heritage List and the National Register of Historic Places. However, in 1967 the United States signed a United Nations treaty stating that no nation could claim any land on any celestial body. A nation can claim the items left behind, but cannot claim the land itself. There is a contest, which is sponsored in part by Google, with a prize of over $20 million, for the first person to put a robot on the moon and photograph one thing left behind by any of the Apollo missions (Milstein). A huge concern is that one of these sites will be disturbed. Neil Armstrong's footprint, which could, conceivably, be there for 10 million years could be run over with one of their robots, yet there is nothing to be done due to the United Nations treaty. When, or if, moon travel is available to the average person, these sites will be exposed to destruction. The New Mexico State University is doing everything they can do to preserve these sites, and the items left behind (including the trash) for posterity. It is a part of world history. Some of the ideas presented to preserve these areas include building domes over the sites or boardwalks around the sites. These ideas are just more ways to leave signs of man behind.
For the short time that man was actually on the moon, they made several changes to the lunar surface by leaving footprints, digging holes, removing rocks and soil, placing experiments into the soil, littering, and increasing the atmosphere. This was just the first moon landing. For each of the later five landings, more things were taken up and fewer things were brough back. Looking up at the moon today, a person will see a man in the moon, or wonder if the moon is made of cheese, but few will stop and think about the men that walked on that giant, glowing ball seen in the night sky, and even fewer will think about how those men affected it.
"Apollo 11 Mission." Lunar and Planetary Institute. Universities Space Research Association. n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
Culp, Justin, Dr. Beth O'Leary, John Versluis, and Ralph Gibson. Lunar Legacy Project. New Mexico State University. 8 Apr 2000. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.
Kennedy, John F. "Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs, May 25, 1961." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. n.d. Web. 15 Nov 2011.
Milstein, Michael. "DIGS Space Race II." Smithsonian Magazine. June 2008: 18+. Print.
Seybold, Calina C. Texas Space Grant Consortium. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Aug. 1995. Web. 15 Nov 2011.
Wagener, Leon. One Giant Leap: Neil Armstrong's Stellar American Journey. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 2004. Print.
Wilford, John Noble. "Men Walk on the Moon." New York Times. 21 July 1969: Sec 1+. Print.
On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy issued a seemingly impossible challenge to the United States. During a speech to Congress, Kennedy said, "...I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth" (Kennedy). On July 20, 1969 at 4:30pm Eastern Time, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin landed their lunar module on the moon. Six and a half hours later, millions were glued to their televisions to watch Armstrong take his first steps on the moon. After testing the firmness of the surface, he stepped onto the ground and made his famous remarks: "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" (Wagener 145). They had realized their goal. For the first time a man was walking on the moon, but not without consequences. Those first men had a huge impact on the moon. Between their footsteps, tokens taken to be left behind, trash, and equipment, the signs of man were unmistakable.
In the planning stages for the mission, known as Apollo 11, NASA officials studied as much information as they could in advance, along with making educated guesses as to what they might discover on the moon. They were sure that when the astronauts landed, the ship, as well as the men, would sink several inches or more into the lunar dust. What they found was that the ship and the men only sunk a mere inch. They also had some doubts as to how much the men would be able to move due to the weight of the spacesuits that were critical to their survival in space. On earth, the spacesuits tipped the scales at 200 pounds. On the moon, the gravitational pull is less than on the earth, and makes everything approximately one-sixth the weight (Wilford). That brought the weight on the spacesuits down to about thirty pounds, making movement easier for the men.
One thing NASA was sure about was that the ship would get them to the moon, but the question remained: could it land them on the moon? The spaceship itself was made up of the Command Module (CM) and the Lunar Module (LM). The CM would remain in an orbit around the moon the entire time and would be piloted by astronaut Michael Collins. The LM, containing Armstrong and Aldrin, would separate from the CM and land on the moon. The LM was made up of two parts: the ascent stage and the descent stage. The descent stage, which would remain behind, would get them to the moon and then act as a launch pad for the ascent stage, which would get them back to the CM (Apollo). The LM was a strange looking machine. It looked like a giant space bug sitting on the moon with legs that spread out for about fifteen feet. The capsule that the men traveled in sat on the top. In between the two were the engines needed to both fly the machine and to launch it back to the CM.
During the landing, the men in the control center in Houston were holding their breath, waiting for the first sound from the astronauts. That was when Neil Armstrong said, "Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed" (Wagener 144). There was a collective sigh of relief. The LM landed on an area of the moon known as the Sea of Tranquility. This part of the moon experiences a daytime which lasts fourteen earth days and a nighttime that lasts another fourteen earth days. When the LM, also known as the Eagle, landed it was during the daytime phase.
It took Armstrong and Aldrin a few hours to go through a checklist to make sure they were ready to get to work on the moon and were prepared for the return trip. Neil Armstrong then left the capsule and made his way down to the surface of the moon. To climb out of the LM, he needed to depressurize the capsule, peel back the door, climb out onto a small porch, and then climb down the seven foot ladder before actually touching the surface. It took several minutes for Armstrong to leave the LM and actually reach the lunar surface. Aldrin climbed down to the moon about twenty minutes after Armstrong.
The astronauts found the surface to be bleak, kind of a brownish-gray color (Wilford). There were many small craters, small hills, ridges, deep cracks, lots of rubble, and many, many rocks of every shape and size. Neil Armstrong said that he found the soil to be "fine and powdery" (Wagener 145). Although the moon has very little atmosphere, there was no wind, no water, and no known microbes to cause erosion or decay. In the shadows, the temperatures could be as cold as -280 degrees Fahrenheit, and in the sun, it could get as high as 280 degrees Fahrenheit. When the men landed, it was zero degress, and by the time they took off, the temperature had reached ninety degrees (Wilford).
One of the initial things that the men did on the moon was to collect samples. The thought was that if something went wrong and they needed to quickly leave, at least the mission would not be futile as they would still have some samples. They grabbed a shovel and started digging up some of the lunar soil. They were able to dig up about thirty pounds of soil and collected around fifty rocks weighing in at about twenty pounds (Apollo). Scientists later determined that the rocks were both basalt and breccias. The basalt rocks are volcanic and are very similar to the kind found in Hawaii. The breccias rocks are rocks that are made up of fragments of older rocks which are compressed together (Apollo).
Buzz Aldrin then grabbed the three by five foot American flag that they had brought with them and planted it on the moon. Due to the solidity of the soil and not being able to fully extend the pole, they were not able to securely plant it on the surface. It stayed in its position until they left, when the exhaust from the LM knocked it over.
The astronauts then set up three experiments (Wagener 146). The first experiment was a device to measre the seismic activity on the moon. This experiment shows that the moon is experiencing approximately 500 earthquakes a year, as opposed to the earth which has approximately 10,000 a year. The quakes on the moon usually range between one and two on the Richter scale, something that probably would not be felt (Seybold). The second experiment was a laser-ranging retroflector. This retroflector was made up of a hundred circular reflectors. A laser bean located in New Mexico bounces off these reflectors. Although only one out of a hundred beams actually hit the reflectors due to the size of the beam and the size of the reflectors, the experiment was working, and it gave an exact measurement of the distance between the earth and the moon (Seybold). It also helped measure the continental drift on the earth. The third and final experiment was a large sheet of aluminum foil that was set up to collect samples of the gases that were located within the lunar atmosphere. When the men returned to the earth, the only experiment that came back with them was the aluminum foil samples. The foil sheet was sent to a laboratory in Switzerland, and the scientists there were able to extract the gases and find out just what makes up the lunar atmosphere.
The astronauts also took along some symbolic tokens to be left for future explorers. Each of the astronauts, including Michael Collins who stayed behind in the CM, were married, and their wives sent along small keepsakes of their lives. None of the astronauts told anyone what those mementos were, and to this day, three items are sitting on the moon known only to the astronauts and their wives. A plaque from NASA was also left. This plaque is a tribute to the men behind the landing, all Americans, and all the citizens of the world by saying, "Here men from the planet eart first set foot upon the moon, July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind" (Wagener 148). A patch commemorating the Apollo I mission, a mission that, sadly, did not do what it set out to accomplish, was also taken (Wagener 148). Astronauts Ed White, Gus Grissom, and Roger Chaffee were killed in a fire that occurred on that spaceship. Although they were on the ground when the fire broke out, the latch to the door would not open, and all three men died. A medal commemorating the Russian cosmonauts, Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Komarov, who were the first to go into space, was left up there (Wagener 149). A silicon disc which carried statements from four United States Presidents and the leaders of seventy-three nations was left on the moon and a gold olive branch was left as a symbol of peace (Culp).
The astronauts spent about two and a half hours walking, jumping, working, and playing on the moon. When it was time to leave, they had to remove some of the weight from the LM. Something had to be left behind. Both Armstrong and Aldrin removed their boots and the life support packs and dumped them outside the capsule. Then they put empty food containers, filled urine and feces bags, and some other trash, placed them in a larger bag and tossed it outside the capsule (Wagener 153). Armstrong and Aldrin were officially the first to litter on the moon. Many of the tools that they used were also left behind. The New Mexico State University compiled a list of all the things left on the moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts, and the list exceeds 100 items (Culp). When they added the samples of soil and rocks to the LM, the weight was in excess of the launch weight, so things had to be left behind in order to lower the load to a weight that would accommodate liftoff.
As planned when the Lunar Module once again connected with the Command Module, all the samples and other items that they needed to save were transferred to the CM from the LM, it was then set free, and it crashed onto the moon's surface.
Once the astronauts were home again, scientists figured that the Apollo 11 flight increased the atmosphere of the moon by 30%. It took several weeks for the atmosphere to return to normal (Seybold). For each of the Apollo missions to the moon, they found that there was a similar increase to the atmosphere.
The New Mexico State University is trying to get the Apollo 11 landing site at the Sea of Tranquility preserved on the World Heritage List and the National Register of Historic Places. However, in 1967 the United States signed a United Nations treaty stating that no nation could claim any land on any celestial body. A nation can claim the items left behind, but cannot claim the land itself. There is a contest, which is sponsored in part by Google, with a prize of over $20 million, for the first person to put a robot on the moon and photograph one thing left behind by any of the Apollo missions (Milstein). A huge concern is that one of these sites will be disturbed. Neil Armstrong's footprint, which could, conceivably, be there for 10 million years could be run over with one of their robots, yet there is nothing to be done due to the United Nations treaty. When, or if, moon travel is available to the average person, these sites will be exposed to destruction. The New Mexico State University is doing everything they can do to preserve these sites, and the items left behind (including the trash) for posterity. It is a part of world history. Some of the ideas presented to preserve these areas include building domes over the sites or boardwalks around the sites. These ideas are just more ways to leave signs of man behind.
For the short time that man was actually on the moon, they made several changes to the lunar surface by leaving footprints, digging holes, removing rocks and soil, placing experiments into the soil, littering, and increasing the atmosphere. This was just the first moon landing. For each of the later five landings, more things were taken up and fewer things were brough back. Looking up at the moon today, a person will see a man in the moon, or wonder if the moon is made of cheese, but few will stop and think about the men that walked on that giant, glowing ball seen in the night sky, and even fewer will think about how those men affected it.
"Apollo 11 Mission." Lunar and Planetary Institute. Universities Space Research Association. n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.
Culp, Justin, Dr. Beth O'Leary, John Versluis, and Ralph Gibson. Lunar Legacy Project. New Mexico State University. 8 Apr 2000. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.
Kennedy, John F. "Special Message to the Congress on Urgent National Needs, May 25, 1961." John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. n.d. Web. 15 Nov 2011.
Milstein, Michael. "DIGS Space Race II." Smithsonian Magazine. June 2008: 18+. Print.
Seybold, Calina C. Texas Space Grant Consortium. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Aug. 1995. Web. 15 Nov 2011.
Wagener, Leon. One Giant Leap: Neil Armstrong's Stellar American Journey. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 2004. Print.
Wilford, John Noble. "Men Walk on the Moon." New York Times. 21 July 1969: Sec 1+. Print.
Friday, December 7, 2012
6th Wisconsin at Gettysburg
The Sixth Wisconsin was a member of the Iron Brigade. The Iron Brigade was a tough fighting brigade who earned their nickname at the battle of Antietam in September of 1862. When the battle started in Gettysburg, one of the first brigades on the scene was the Iron Brigade.
When they first arrived, the other regiments within the brigade arrived first. Once the 2nd WI, 7th WI, 19th IN, and 24th MI were in place and fighting their hearts out, the 6th WI was told to stand back and wait. Being held in reserve when their brothers were fighting, was a difficult thing for these men to do, but waiting didn't last long.
The men were told to change the direction they were facing and to look towards the north. To the north, Cutler's brigade was fighting a tough battle with the men of Davis' brigade. These men couldn't hold them off forever and they didn't. When Davis' men started to head towards the south, the 6th Wisconsin was waiting for them.
By this time, the 95th NY had joined the Wisconsin men and little known to the 6th, the 84th NY (14th Brooklyn) was right on the other side of them. When things started to get sticky, the 6th WI and 95th NY put their heads together and decided it was time to attack. So, a charge across the field was planned. Davis was heading straight for them, when suddenly it was as if the earth had swallowed them up. Davis and his men had just vanished.
What the men of the NY and WI regiments didn't know, was that about a 150 yards or so from the Chambersburg Pike was a railroad cut. The railroad tracks had never been lain, but the cuts were there. The Mississippians of Davis's brigade went down into the cut, thinking that this would be a great place to use as a rifle pit. However, the sides of the cut ranged from even with the surrounding ground, to about 15 feet high. Even the tallest men couldn't use the cut as a rifle pit.
In the meantime, the WI troops ran towards the cut and when they realized that these men were down in it they decided to take advantage of it. There were only two ways out: the east end of the cut and the west end of the cut. Rufus Dawes, the commander of the 6th WI took some of his men and cut off the escape of the east end. Then Dawes called down into the cut and demanded their surrender. When all was said and done, these three regiments were able to capture over 200 men from Davis' brigade.
Salem, Massachusetts
1691 was a time of turmoil for the residents of the sleepy little village of Salem, Massachusetts. The niece of the Rev. Samuel Parris, Abigail Williams, started acting up. Other girls in the village started to have the same problems: writhing in pain, convulsive twitching, and visions (1). These girls were examined by a doctor who could find nothing wrong with them and he determined that it was Satan who was causing these symptoms.
The Puritans (who resided in the town of Salem) believed that the Devil was a physical being who went around from person to person trying to get them to sign his book. If you signed the devil's book, it would give him permission to use your shape to go around harming other people. Those who signed the book were called witches (2). The girls started claiming that certain people (mostly women) were the witches that were causing all the symptoms.
Of the 19 people hanged, 14 of them were women (2). These "witches" were charged for these crimes because of spectral evidence. If they would confess that they were indeed a witch, they were freed, but if they refused to confess, they were either hung or, as in the case of Giles Corey, pressed to death.
Eventually the accusations died down and the residents of Salem were able to resume a normal life, but the fury of the witch trials will haunt that town for the rest of its days.
(1) Woolf, Alan. "Witchcraft or Mycotoxin? The Salem Witch Trials". Journal of Toxicology - Clinical Toxicology 38.4 (2000): 457-460. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.
(2) Reis, Elizabeth. Some Facts about the Salem Witch Trials. Rep. University of Portland, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2012.
The Puritans (who resided in the town of Salem) believed that the Devil was a physical being who went around from person to person trying to get them to sign his book. If you signed the devil's book, it would give him permission to use your shape to go around harming other people. Those who signed the book were called witches (2). The girls started claiming that certain people (mostly women) were the witches that were causing all the symptoms.
Of the 19 people hanged, 14 of them were women (2). These "witches" were charged for these crimes because of spectral evidence. If they would confess that they were indeed a witch, they were freed, but if they refused to confess, they were either hung or, as in the case of Giles Corey, pressed to death.
Eventually the accusations died down and the residents of Salem were able to resume a normal life, but the fury of the witch trials will haunt that town for the rest of its days.
(1) Woolf, Alan. "Witchcraft or Mycotoxin? The Salem Witch Trials". Journal of Toxicology - Clinical Toxicology 38.4 (2000): 457-460. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Dec. 2012.
(2) Reis, Elizabeth. Some Facts about the Salem Witch Trials. Rep. University of Portland, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2012.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Welcome
Welcome to my blog. From time to time, I will be posting about different events from our past. I could spend some time writing about the Ancient Egyptians or about the Space Race of the 1960's or anything that happened prior to yesterday. So, sit back and enjoy our travels to the past.
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