Musings
and History
Quote
of the day:
“I
think that everybody should be rich and famous and have everything
they ever wanted then they would realize that that is not the
answer.”
Jim Carrey
I am
reading the history of pirates. In the Western hemisphere (Atlantic,
Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and the western Indian ocean) they were
prominent between about 1680 and 1805. In the Eastern hemisphere
(China, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, etc.) they were prominent much
longer. In addition to gold, silver, silk, slaves, etc., nearly all
pirate captain were seeking carpenters, coopers (wooden barrel
makers), anyone with medical knowledge and strangely
enough...musicians. But doctors by far were the most sought after.
In the Caribbean carpenters were especially important because the
warm waters promoted wood rot in addition to the rapid growth of
barnacles and seaweed on the hull seriously reducing their speed.
This called for frequent “careening” of the ship. This meant
that with the use of block and tackle in shallow water the ships were
tipped over and the hulls scraped clean, rotten planking replaced and
a coating of wax and tar applied. Pirate ships were the first
demonstration of democracy ever known. A pirate ships captain was
elected by the crew and the destinations was also up for a vote. The
captain could also be kicked out if the crew saw fit. It was a tough
life but a profitable one.
This
Day in History June 1
1779
On this day the trial of Benedict Arnold began in New York City.
This trial was the precursor to the most infamous betrayal in
American History. Arnold was a superb military field commander and
proved his worth on many occasions especially at the Battle of
Montreal and the Battle of Fort Ticonderoga but there were other
encounters where his brilliance came to the fore. He was on trial
for misuse of government wagons and the buying and selling of illegal
goods. I think I know why. His wife Peggy came from a privileged
family and was clearly high maintenance and Benedict was not a person
of wealth. Peggy was a member of the Shippen Family of Philadelphia,
a well known and well heeled group. Peggy was courted heavily by a
British officer named John Andre’ that played a role in the life of
Benedict Arnold. During the courtship of Peggy Shippen and Major
John Andre, Andre’ was captured by Colonial General Montgomery and
thrown in prison for 14 months. It was during this time that Arnold
made his successful move on Peggy. Anyway Arnold was cleared of most
of the charges but Washington gave Arnold a letter of reprimand. All
of this weighed heavily on the vain Arnold and he felt that he should
have been promoted for his actions in combat rather than get a letter
of reprimand. With his little scam of dealing in the black market
scuttled and Arnold, still smarting from the Court Martial, sought
other ways to get money to support Peggy in the lifestyle to which
she had become accustomed. He began secretly bargaining with the
British government suggesting he wanted to defect...for a price.
Arnold had been assigned the command of West Point, New York by the
Patriot army and the British countered his offer with making him a
General in the British army, paying him 20,000 pounds sterling if he
would deliver West Point and the 3,000 troops there to the British.
With the British in control of West Point and the Hudson River, it
would essentially split New England down the middle. The messenger
delivering these offers and counter-offers was John Andre’, who had
been recently paroled from prison. Two things happened that sent the
deal down the toilet. Andre’ was captured by Patriot Army
deserters and they found the plans for the betrayal in Andre’s boot
and delivered it to George Washington. And number two, the British
navy was sailing up the Hudson to take control of West Point and in
spite of Arnold telling his troops not to fire on the British ships,
the Patriot artillerists opened up and shattered the British
formation and they hauled ass back to New York City. When he found
that he had been discovered and the plan had gone to hell, Arnold and
Peggy got aboard a British warship HMS
Vulture to avoid capture. Arnold
joined the British army and fought with distinction against his own
countrymen. After the war, Arnold had no home so he went to England
where he died in 1801 and was buried without military honors. John
Andre’ was hanged as a spy. I have not chosen to pursue what
became of Peggy. She was aware of Arnold’s intentions and did not
prevent it from happening. As far as I am concerned, she is just as
culpable as Arnold and is deserving of no respect.
1864
US General Ulysses Grant and his gigantic Army of the Potomac had
been chasing CSA General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern
Virginia from one battle site to another but always finding the
Confederates there ahead of him. The same thing happened on this day
when Grant arrived at the small crossroads town of Cold Harbor,
Virginia. When Grant arrived the Confederate army was there and dug
in. Grant sent US General Phil Sheridan to take control of the
actual crossroad and he succeeded but could go no further. Lee
wanted control of the crossroad back and sent the young and
inexperienced South Carolinian Colonel Lawrence Keitt and the 20th
South Carolina Division to take it back. A sharp fight ensued and
Colonel Keitt was killed almost with the first shots fired and the
rest of the 20th
began melting away and the Yankees held. Grant decided to wait
another day to allow his full forces to arrive and be deployed. This
was a serious error in judgment because it allowed Lee and the
Confederates to continue to reinforce the breastworks bring up more
artillery and when Grant finally launched his all out attack....well,
y'all need to read about what happened next.
1871
Gunslinger John Wesley Hardin arrived in Abilene, Kansas where
Wild Bill Hickok is sheriff. By this time Hardin had been
responsible for at least 22 killings that began when he was 14. When
14 he killed his best friend in a dispute over a girl by stabbing him
twice with a knife. He killed a black man at the age of 16 when he
lost a wrestling match to him. Hardin had joined up with a trail
herd coming up the Chisholm Trail from Texas to Abilene. He needed
to get away because a few days before he had killed a Texas State
policeman who was taking him to Waco for trial. During the trail
drive, a herd of beef driven by a group of Mexicans began crowding
Hardin’s herd from behind. Hardin rode back and told the Mexican
trail boss to back off. The Mexican gave him shit, so Hardin shot
him through the heart killing him. When the herd finally arrived
outside Abilene, Hardin went to town and met with the renowned Wild
Bill Hickok and they became friends. Hickok was not interested in
murders committed outside his jurisdiction and I think he saw a
little of himself in Hardin. Hardin was staying in a boarding house
and one night a man in the next room began snoring loudly to the
point that Hardin got so aggravated that he shot twice through the
wall. The first shot was high and just woke the man up, but when he
rose up the second shot killed him. Hardin knew that even Hickok
would not sit still for this and he escaped out the window of the
boarding house, hid in a haystack, stole a horse and hot-footed it
back to Texas. Hardin was eventually captured and spent 15 years in
the Huntsville, Texas prison. After getting paroled he moved to El
Paso where the local sheriff was looking to build his reputation and
walked up behind Hardin while he was standing at a bar and shot him
in the head point blank. This ended the days of John Wesley Hardin.
It is documented that he was responsible for the deaths of 44 men.
Thanks
for listening I can hardly wait until tomorrow
