Know Southern History

Republic of West Florida – Today In Southern History

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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

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    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

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      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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      Desegregating Ole Miss – Today In Southern History

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      20 September 1961 

      On this date in 1961…

      James Lee Meredith was refused access as a student to the University of Mississippi because of his race.


      Other Years:

      1809 – Confederate General Sterling Price was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia.
      1967 – Hurricane Beulah hit the Texas-Mexican border, killing 38.

      1973 – Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match at the Houston Astrodome.
      1995 – The U.S. House of Representatives voted to drop the national speed limit, allowing states to decide their own speed limits.
      2007 – Between 15,000 and 20,000 protesters marched on Jena, Louisiana, in support of six black youths who had been convicted of assaulting a white classmate.

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        The Sandbar Fight – Today In Southern History

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        19 September 1827 

        On this date in 1827…

        Though shot three times, stabbed twice, and having a sword cane lodged in his chest, Jim Bowie killed Norris Wright and cut off Alfred Blanchard’s arm at the Sandbar Fight when a brawl broke out after a duel outside Natchez, Mississippi.

        Other Years:

        • 1796 – U.S. President George Washington’s farewell address was published. 
        • 1862 – Confederates under General Sterling Price confronted a large federal force at the Battle of Iuka, Mississippi. Both sides suffered a combined 1,700 casualties.
        • 1863 – The Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia began. Although it cannot accurately be determined, many historians consider this (instead of Sharpsburg) to be the deadliest day in U.S. military history.

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