Dail history

Good morning from Paradise,




Quote of the day:



“I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.”

Maya Angelou



As expected the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives but failed to take control of the Senate. This means that many if not all of the Democrat’s give-away programs will not be enacted. In my home state of South Carolina the voters swept out the Democrats that they swept in two years ago. By the way, the “RNC” stands for the Republican National Committee and was not meant to embarrass anyone to ashamed to recognize it. The dumb-ass voters in Nevada did not kick out the most stupid person in the US Senate, Harry Reid. There is no accounting for stupidity.



Here on Pensacola Beach there is a cross that has been erected on the highest sand dune (about 15 feet). The legend is that one of the Spanish explorers (I presume to be Tristan De Luna) was sailing west just off shore. It was Easter Sunday in the approximate year of 1558. The Catholic priest aboard (all Spanish ships had a priest aboard, especially the explorers) felt the need to hold an Easter Mass service. So all the ships in De Luna’s expedition hove to and anchored and row boats shuttled the sailors ashore to witness the service. The priest crawled up to the top of this particular dune and delivered Easter Mass service to the amassed sailors. I don’t know if it is true or not but there is no question that Spanish explorers were in this area in this time frame. Wrecks of their supply ships have been found and explored not to mention the foundations of buildings built in an attempt to colonize Pensacola. They lasted about three years but their stay was cut short when a hurricane destroyed a fleet of supply ships that had sailed up from Vera Cruz, Mexico.



Lunch on Tuesday:

Three large stewed pork ribs on a bed of steamed carrots, onions and sauerkraut along with a tossed salad, English peas, cornbread, unsweetened tea and a fair sized slice of coconut cream pie. This dish came from the Coffee Cup on west Cervantes Street. I normally only have one meal a day and nibble a little bit later on.


This date in history November 3



1816 Jubal Anderson Early was born in 1816 in Franklin County, Virginia. Little is known of little Jubal’s early life but it is known that he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1833. He graduated four years later ranked 11th in a class of 50. He participated in the Seminole War and resigned in 1838 and began a law practice. He was prosecutor for Franklin and Floyd counties in Virginia but his law practice was interrupted by the Mexican-American war of 1846-1848. Early was a Whig and opposed to secession but changed his mind when Lincoln called for 75,000 soldiers to begin suppressing the rebellion and offered his services to the Confederacy. He was given the rank of Colonel in the Virginia Militia and sent to Lynchburg, Virginia to begin recruiting. He was able to raise three regiments and commanded one of them, the 24th Infantry. He commanded a regiment at the Battle of 1st Manassas and was impressive to his commander, CSA General P.T.G. Beauregard who saw fit to promote him to Brigadier General. He was present at nearly all of the important battles in the eastern theatre. He was at the battles of The Seven Days, 2nd Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg plus several major skirmishes in the Shenandoah Valley. Jubal was known to CSA General Robert E. Lee as “my bad old man” because of Jubal’s irascible attitude and quick temper especially form anyone of less rank. But he was a superb combat organizer, planner and tactician. During the Battle of Gettysburg he was assigned the task of capturing York, Pennsylvania and eventually attacking the US forces at Gettysburg from the northeast. He indeed did capture York but was unable to launch a successful attack and ended up covering the rear of CSA General Lee’s retreat. Early was wounded in 1862 at the Battle of Williamsburg while personally leading an infantry charge against preposterous odds. He convalesced in Rocky Mount, Virginia and returned to action two months later only this time he would be commanded by CSA General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson just in time for the Battle of Malvern Hill. This time Early did not shine as usual. His navigation was faulty and he and his division got lost in thick woods and was late arriving at the battle. In spite of this he excelled at the Battles of Spotsylvania Court house and The Wilderness and was promoted to Major General. It was his actions in the Shenandoah Valley that he made his mark. During the siege of Petersburg, Lee sent Early and an army of 14,000 to patrol the Valley and to prevent the Yankees from capturing it. The Shenandoah was where the majority of the food for the CSA Army of Northern Virginia came from. Early was also tasked with threatening Washington so as to draw some troops away from Petersburg. On his way to Washington he defeated several Union armies. His tactics worked and US General U.S. Grant sent troops to counter Early but it was not enough to weaken the US position around Petersburg. Grant sent US General Philip Sheridan and 40,000 troops to neutralize Early. Early lost two major battles against Sheridan but launched a ferocious surprise attack at Cedar Creek and drove those Yankees back several miles. It was only by Sheridan’s personal direction that the Yankees were able to counterattack and win the battle. When the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered in 1865, Jubal rode to Texas on horseback trying to find any units still fighting. From there he went to Mexico then to Cuba and finally sailed to Canada and settled in Toronto. He wrote his memoirs while there. He named it “The Memoirs of the Last Year of a War for Independence, the Confederate States of America.” After US President Andrew Johnson declared a general amnesty in 1869, Early returned to Virginia and resumed his law practice. After falling down a flight of stairs, Early died at the age of 77. He remained unreconstructed (loyal to the Confederate cause) to the day he died. He is buried in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia. Here is a quote about Jubal A. Early:

Honest and outspoken, honorable and uncompromising, Jubal A. Early epitomized much that was the Southern Confederacy. His self-reliance, courage, sagacity, and devotion to the cause brought confidence then just as it inspires reverence now.

—James I. Robertson, Jr., Alumni Distinguished Professor of History, Virginia Tech

I have a read several books by Mr. Robertson. He is considered an expert on the Civil War.

1984 Serial killer rapist Bobby Joe Long is arrested in Tampa, Florida. His capture was engineered by the bravery and courage of his last victim, Lisa McVey. Lisa was riding home from school on her bicycle when she was attacked and captured by Long. After Long forced her into his car, Lisa began taking mental notes about what she could see in the car. She also mentally timed the length of the ride when Long stopped at an ATM. He took her to a motel room and ravaged her for most of the day but agreed not to kill her. After releasing her, Lisa went to the police and told them about what she had observed in the car the police had a good idea what model and year the car was. And when she told them about the length of time it took to get to the ATM, the police had a radius to search. In that time ATM’s were not that plentiful and the police narrowed the possible ATM’s to a very few. And when Lisa told them the approximate time it took to get to the motel, the rest was easy. Bobby Joe went to meet his maker with puncture marks in his arms.



1979 The Communist Workers Party held a demonstration against a Ku Klux Klan rally in Greensboro, North Carolina. The demonstration turns violent and both sides produce hand guns and an old fashioned gunfight ensued. It ended up with five Communists killed and a few injured. The strange part was that the Greensboro PD had long known that this encounter was coming, but on this day there was not a cop in sight. Hmmmmmm.



1941 The Japanese War Ministry led by General Tojo meets and sets the final day for the attack on the United States Naval installations in Hawaii. There was little doubt that war was coming because the Japanese had already made preparations for the attack on the Philippines and The United States knew it. The Philippines was an American protectorate at the time. They decided it would be December 5 but the Japanese fleet was delayed by weather and the attack materialized on the 7th. A date that will live in infamy.



Born today:



1794 US writer William C. Bryant. He said “The press is a mill that grinds all that is put in its hopper. Fill the hopper with poison grain and it will grind it into meal, but there is death in the bread.” Be careful what you read and believe.



1918 US baseball pitcher Bob Feller. He said about his autobiography “There is not one curse word in there; I don’t go for that bullshit.” Bob just keep your mind on baseball please.



1949 US boxing champion Larry Holmes. He said “It is hard being black. Have you ever been black? I was black once when I was poor.” Larry, you absorbed one to many uppercuts, just shut up.



Thanks for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow