Little Rock Central High – Today In Southern History

25 September 1957 

On this date in 1957 …

With 300 paratroopers of the 101st Airborne standing guard, U.S. Marshalls escorted nine black children into class during the manufactured crisis at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas


Other Years:

1789 – The first U.S. Congress adopted the first 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. The first ten were ratified and became known as the Bill of Rights.
1845 – Future Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest married Presbyterian minister’s daughter, Mary Ann Montgomery in Hernando, Mississippi.

1847 – During the Mexican-American War, U.S. forces led by Virginia General Zachary Taylor captured Monterrey Mexico. 
1897 – Southern literary genius and Nobel Prize winner, William Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi.
1965 – Willie Mays of Westfield, Alabama became the oldest man to hit 50 home runs in a single season at the age of 34, after also setting the record for the youngest to hit 50 ten years earlier.
1992 – In Orlando, Florida a judge ruled in favor of 12-year-old Gregory Kingsley, who had sought a divorce from his biological parents
1995 – Ross Perot of Texas announced that he would form the Independence Party. 

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    Shenandoah Valley Torched – Today In Southern History

    24 September 1864 

    On this date in 1864…

    Federal armies began a campaign to burn all crops and civilian property in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.


    Other Years:

    1862 – Federal General W.T. Sherman ordered his subordinates to destroy every house in Randolph, Tennessee in retaliation for Confederate fire upon supply boats.
    1883– The first National Black Convention met in Louisville, Kentucky.
    1935 – Earl Bascom and Weldon Bascom produced the first rodeo ever held outdoors under electric lights at Columbia, Mississippi.
    1957 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower violated his day-old agreement with Governor Orville Faubus and sent federal troops to Little Rock, AR, to enforce school integration.
    1960 – The first nuclear powered aircraft carrier was launched from Newport News, Virginia. 
    2001 – U.S. President George W. Bush froze the assets of 27 suspected terrorists and terrorist groups after the 9-11 attack.

    2005 – Hurricane Rita made landfall on the Gulf Coast, devastating Beaumont, Texas and portions of southwestern Louisiana, while causing severe damage as far north as Arkansas.

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    Republic of West Florida – Today In Southern History

    23 September 1810 

    On this date in 1810…

    Florida rebels overran the Spanish garrison at Baton Rouge and unfurled the Bonnie Blue Flag over the new Republic of West Florida.


    Other Years:

    1561 – King Philip II of Spain prohibited Spanish settlements in Florida.
    1861 – Kansas jayhawkers and redlegs of the Kansas Brigade commanded by Sen. James H. Lane sacked the town of Osceola, Missouri and executed nine local citizens.
    1806 – The Corps of Discovery’s the Lewis and Clark expedition reached St. Louis, Missouri and ended exploration of to the Pacific Northwest.
    1875 – Henry McCarty also known as William “Billy the Kid” Bonney was arrested for the first time in Silver City, New Mexico.
    1957 – Protestors forced nine black students who had entered Little Rock’s Central High School in Arkansas to withdraw.
    1986 – Jim Deshaies of the Houston Astros sets a major league record by striking out the first eight batters he faces in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
    2010 – Murderer Teresa Lewis became the first female inmate to die by lethal injection in the state of Virginia.

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      To Hell and Back – Today In Southern History

      22 September 1955 

      On this date in 1955…

      Universal Pictures released To Hell and Back, the autobiographical movie of Southern hero Audie Murphy’s actions in WWII.  Murphy was reluctant to appear in the film, but was eventually convinced to do so by the studio in order to honor his fallen comrades.


      Other Years:

      1565 – A hurricane off Florida’s Atlantic coast sank several of a fleet of French warships.
      1711 – The Tuscarora War began in present-day North Carolina.
      1833 – Confederate General and author of the SCV Charge, Stephen D. Lee was born in Charleston, South Carolina.
      1862 – President Lincoln issued the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all slaves in Confederate-held territory should be free as of 1 January 1863.
      1913 – A coal mine explosion killed 263 miners at Dawson, New Mexico.
      1915 – Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas held its first day of classes.

      1969 – Willie Mays of Westfield, Alabama hit his 600th career home run.
      1993 – A barge struck a railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama causing the deadliest train wreck in Amtrak history, killing forty-seven passengers.

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        Battle of Wahab's Plantation – Today In Southern History

        21 September 1780 

        On this date in 1780…

        Militia Colonel William R. Davie launched a surprise attack on a Loyalist camp, which included elements of the British Legion commanded by Banastre Tarleton at Wahab’s Plantation, in present-day Union County, North Carolina.  Tarleton was absent and his troops fled with heavy losses.


        Other Years:

        1863 – Confederates under General Braxton Bragg stampeded federal troops to end the Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia.

        1981 – The U.S. Senate confirmed Sandra Day O’Connor of El Paso, Texas asthe first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.
        1996 – The board of all-male Virginia Military Institute voted to admit women.1996 – The Defense of Marriage Act passed the United States Congress by a landslide and prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
        2005 – Hurricane Rita became the third most intense hurricane to strike the South.

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