Josiah Quincy: Boston's "Great Mayor"

Josiah Quincy was a lawyer, politician and abolitionist. As a lawyer, he rarely practiced. As a politician, he was largely disregarded, except for his time as "The Great Mayor" of Boston. As an abolitionist, he wrote papers on the subject and supported his abolitionist son Edmund. He is most famous in his hometown of Boston where his policies changed the face of the burgeoning city. Even today, nearly 200 years after his death, his contributions are a part of rich history of the city.

Josiah Quincy (not to be confused with the many other Josiah Quincys in his family) was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 4, 1772. He was the son of Josiah Quincy Jr. and Abigail Quincy nee Phillips. Both of his parents came from wealthy and influential families. The Quincy family was full of politicians, teachers and military (militia) men. His father was a well-known patriot who aided John Adams in the defense of the British soldiers involved in the "Boston Massacre."

When he was in his early thirties, Josiah Quincy Jr. died of tuberculosis. His son was just a toddler at the time, but he was left in the capable hands of Abigail and his grandfather–Josiah Quincy. He began attending the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts when he was six years old. Even there, he was under the influence of his family. His uncle, Reverend Samuel Phillips, was his teacher. From there, he went on to study at Harvard University like most great men in Boston at the time. He graduated from Harvard in 1793, but that was not the last he would see of the revered school.

After graduation, Josiah Quincy began his apprenticeship in law. He became a lawyer, but decided to spend his life in politics. Two years after his graduation from Harvard, Josiah Quincy was elected to the Boston Town Committee. (He was a Federalist.) He remained in that position for five years before running for Congress. He was not successful his first time around. However, he was elected in 1804, and he left for Washington, D.C.

While Josiah Quincy was a member of the Boston Town Committee, he married Eliza Susan Morton. The couple would go on to have seven children together, notably Edmund Quincy and Josiah Quincy Jr.  Edmund would go on to become a famous abolitionist periodical editor. Josiah Quincy Jr. would follow in his father's footsteps and become Mayor of Boston.

Things did not turn out well for Josiah Quincy in Washington. His ideas were becoming passé and his time in Congress was not noteworthy, except for his departure. In 1813, Josiah Quincy disagreed with the United States' latest war with England, so he returned home to Boston, where he was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate. He spent 12 years in that position. He was also a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in 1820 and a Massachusetts House of Representatives Judge in 1821. In 1823, Josiah Quincy was elected Mayor of Boston.

Josiah Quincy made Boston a cleaner, safer place to live. He focused on juvenile delinquent reform. He brought municipal water and sewage to the city. He organized the fire department and more. Most notably, he cleaned up the area where Quincy Market is today and established the market, which still stands facing Faneuil Hall. In a modern city, it is a rather awkward position for the building, but it makes for great historical atmosphere and street performer fun. Mr. Quincy probably never imagined Quincy Market as it is today, but he would surely be pleased to see how beloved it is by the city's residents.

Josiah Quincy served as Mayor of Boston for five years. On June 15, 1829, he became President of Harvard University. Despite his best efforts, his time there was marked with unrest in the student body. There were violent protests and the students openly disliked Josiah. Quincy did his best to punish the students responsible and put his efforts toward making the school better. He did make some great changes to the school, but he never did win over the students. He retired from his post on August 27, 1848.

In Josiah Quincy's twilight years, he wrote a great deal about the history of some famous Boston institutions. He also wrote about his son Edmund's passion–abolitionism. He died on July 1, 1864 and was interred at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Salem Poor: A Revolutionary War Hero Born a Slave

1975 U.S. Postal Stamp

Salem Poor was a Revolutionary War solider from Massachusetts. He was born in Andover in the late 1740s or the early 1750s. The story of how he made his way from a boy in Andover to a man who fought in Boston and beyond is poorly documented. However, we know Poor was a brave man who possessed an inordinate amount of patriotism for someone who was born into his life. You see, Salem Poor was born a slave.

Salem Poor's early life was presumably that of any slave born into servitude, but he somehow managed to buy his freedom in 1769. The price he paid for his freedom was 27 pounds. Soon after Poor became a free man, he married another free African-American. Her name was Nancy, and the couple had a son together.

In 1775, war broke out against the British. Salem Poor joined Colonel Frye's Regiment, leaving his wife and son to fight for the colonies. On June 17, 1775, he appeared with his regiment on Breed's Hill to build fortifications against the British. That day, he fought in the battle that would become known as the "Battle of Bunker Hill."

A document exists in the Massachusetts State Archives that describes Salem Poor as a "brave and gallant soldier." It also states that, on June 17, 1775, he "behaved like an Experienced officer, as well as an Excellent Soldier." [sic] It went on to say "to set forth the particulars of his conduct would be tedious." The document is dated December 5, 1775. No less than fourteen officers who witnessed Salem's deeds that day signed it.

The particulars of Salem Poor's service at the Battle of Bunker Hill are not known. However, one can assume that he went beyond what was expected of him to be spoken of in such a way by so many officers, one of whom was Colonel William Prescott. No other man who fought on Breed's Hill that day was honored in such a way. Salem went on to fight at the Battles of Valley Forge, Saratoga, White Plains and Monmouth. His deeds in these battles are unknown as well, but we can imagine that he was no bystander.

Salem Poor appears to have gone back to the life of a barely regarded African-American man in Massachusetts after the war. Despite his gallantry and the sacrifices he made for his country (leaving his family and fighting in a war that hardly benefited him), his life after the war has seemingly gone undocumented.

Dwight Hal Johnson: Medal of Honor Recipient

U.S. Army Medal of Honor

Dwight Hal Johnson was a distinguished soldier of the United States Army who fought valiantly during the Vietnam War. His bravery and caring for his fellow soldiers while in Vietnam earned him the Medal of Honor. Like many other recipients of the Medal of Honor, Dwight's story does not have a happy ending.

Dwight Johnson was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 7, 1947. He was drafted during the Vietnam War and went on to earn the rank of Specialist 5th Class. He was a tank driver. In this capacity, he found himself in a conflict with a North Vietnamese force on January 15, 1968.  He was 20 years old.

That day in the Kontum Province in Vietnam, Dwight Johnson was "a member of a reaction force moving to aid other elements of his platoon, which was in heavy contact with a battalion size North Vietnamese force." according to the official report. As soon as Dwight arrived, one of the tracks on his tank broke. He was a sitting duck, or at least his tank was; Dwight was not the sort of man to sit there. He took the only mobile weapon within his reach–a .45 caliber handgun–and exited the tank. He immediately went directly for the enemy. He used up his ammo dispatching several members of the opposing force, miraculously remaining unharmed.

When Dwight Johnson ran out of ammo for his .45, he went back to his tank, which was naturally the focus of much enemy fire. Against the odds, he managed to get in, get a sub-machine gun and get out without being killed. He went straight back into the midst of the enemy and killed a few more. He continued his attack until he ran out of ammunition once again. At this time, Dwight Johnson went to a different tank and saved a man's life.

Dwight Johnson's platoon sergeant had an injured man in his tank. Dwight, now unarmed, went to the tank and pulled his fellow soldier out. He then carried him to a personnel carrier. Johnson then returned to his platoon sergeant and helped him fire the tank's main gun until it jammed. Never one to stop when the odds were against him, Johnson returned to his tank one last time. There, he operated the tank's .50 caliber machine gun until the conflict was over. He was exposed the entire time.

This conflict lasted roughly half an hour. In that time, Johnson killed anywhere between 5 and 20 enemy soldiers. Unfortunately, this seems to have broken the man. After going home and receiving the highest award any member of the military can receive, he became unhappy. Doctors said that he suffered from nightmares, depression and survivor's guilt. Modern medicine tells us that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Sources say that when Dwight Johnson came home, he buried himself in debt, despite getting a job as a recruiter. He was also severely depressed, despite having a wife and a baby boy. Accounts of what happened as a result of this are conflicted.

Some say that Dwight walked in on an armed robbery at a liquor store and was shot. Many more sources say that Dwight was the man doing the robbing, but that he did not fire a single shot. Either way, he was shot to death by a liquor store clerk on April 30, 1971 in Detroit, Michigan. He was only 23-years-old. Dwight's mother reportedly felt like her son wanted to die, but needed somebody else to do the killing.

Dwight Hal Johnson was a hero, regardless of the manner of his death. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, where he belongs.

Sources

Johnson, Dwight, retrieved 8/31/10, cmohs.org/recipient-detail/3317/johnson-dwight-h.php

Dwight Hal Johnson, retrieved 8/31/10, findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&Grid=5758187

Paul Revere: Patriot and Craftsman

1813 Gilbert Stuart portrait of
Paul Revere

Paul Revere was an American patriot who is known for his legendary midnight ride to warn Massachusetts colonists that “The British are coming.” Oddly enough that is not what he would have said at all; the colonists themselves were still considered British at the time. Regardless of the misconceptions about his famous ride, Paul Revere was a dedicated patriot and he did play an integral role in warning the people of Massachusetts that fateful night. He lived in Boston during some of the most tumultuous times the city and the country have ever seen. He may not have known it then, but he was a witness to some of the most important moments in United States history.

Paul Revere was born in Boston in December of 1734. He was the son of Paul and Deborah Revere. Paul was one of eight of the couple’s children that survived to adulthood. Paul Sr. was a French immigrant who had come to America to seek his fortune and had become a goldsmith. His father changed his name from Apollos Rivoire to Paul Revere after coming to America. Paul Jr. attended the North Writing School for a few years and then his father took him as an apprentice in his goldsmith business.

In 1754, when Paul was nineteen years old, his father died, leaving him the business and the family to care for. In 1756, Paul Revere volunteered for the Crown Point Expedition. He went to Lake George, New York as an officer to fight the French troops there. The following year, he married Sarah Orne. Together, the couple had a total of eight children, two of which died in infancy.

During this time in Paul Revere’s life, tensions between the colonists and the British troops in Boston were rising. Taxes were increasing greatly and it was putting a strain on Boston’s economy. Paul became a freemason and was introduced into a secret organization called the “Sons of Liberty” by a fellow freemason named Dr. Joseph Warren. Paul Revere became a very active member of the “Sons of Liberty” and he also did what he could to help spread propaganda concerning the British. He began making engravings of political cartoons for publications and when the Boston Massacre occurred in 1770, Paul made his most famous engraving ever.

In May of 1773, Paul’s wife died shortly after giving birth to a daughter; the baby died not long after her mother. That fall, he married Rachel Walker, with whom he would have another eight children, three of which died before the age of four. The marriage took a lot of the strain off of Paul, who had been juggling his covert activities, his job and his children, since the death of his first wife.

In December of 1773, the British tax on tea had the people of Boston furious. When a large shipment of tea came into Boston and was sitting on ships in the Boston Harbor, some of the colonists decided that it would be a good idea to dress as Indians and dump the tea into the ocean. It is unknown if Paul Revere was directly involved in the Boston Tea Party (as the event would come to be called), but it is certain that his political cartoons helped spread animosity for the British among Bostonians. That year, Revere also became a messenger rider for the Committee of Correspondence and the Committee of Safety.

Delivering correspondence and news brought in a little extra money for Paul, which he could’ve used seeing that the British troops had closed off the port in Boston and effectively crippled the economy there. However, he was also helping his cause by delivering news as far as New York and Pennsylvania. He and other messengers like him were a critical line of communication for patriots throughout the colonies. In 1774, Paul took his patriotism to another level and began working with other patriots to spy on the movements of British troops in Boston.

On the night of April 18, 1775, these spies noticed that the some British troops were on the move. Dr. Warren asked Paul Revere to ride out and spread the news. He was also asked to get the message to Samuel Adams and John Hancock in Lexington. It was thought that the British troops meant to arrest them. Contrary to popular belief, Paul Revere was not alone in his mission that night. Two other men were sent on different routes with the same goal and their warnings prompted other men to spread the word as well. Because of these men, the Massachusetts militia and minutemen were able to prepare for the arrival of the British in Lexington and Concord.

In the early morning hours of April 19, 1775, the three original riders met up and were arrested. The other two riders were able to escape, but Paul Revere was detained for a while. He was eventually let go, but his horse was taken. He then traveled on foot to Lexington Green where he witnessed part of the first military engagement of the American Revolution.

After his famed ride and the Battle of Lexington and Concord, Paul Revere continued his printing and participated in the revolution as much as he could. He joined the Massachusetts militia and was eventually made a Lieutenant Colonel. He was given a post as the commander of Castle Island in Boston, but he saw virtually no action until he was sent to Maine with the Penobscot Expedition.

The battle in Penobscot ended disastrously for the Americans, troops and officers alike scattered, while disobeying orders. When the troops returned home, Revere and others were charged with insubordination and cowardice. Revere prided himself in his patriotism and was ashamed of this charge. He requested a court martial and was eventually given one. It was found that in light of the horrible planning and execution of the expedition and the subsequent battle, there was no way orders could have been given or received properly. The men were acquitted of all charges.

In 1785, the fledgling nation officially gained its independence. Paul Revere continued with his goldsmith business in Boston and met with some success, despite the economy, by crafting items that were attainable for average citizens and not just the wealthy. He also branched out and opened a foundry as well as a hardware store. His new businesses were also successful and by 1800 he could afford to branch out yet again and begin rolling copper. Once again, he met with success. In fact, his copper was used in the building of the USS Constitution, and the New State House.

In 1801 Paul built a second house for him and his wife in Canton, MA. Paul seems to have been happy at that home and even wrote a poem about living there. He continued being involved with his companies into his old age and spent a lot of time with his wife. Rachel Revere passed away in June of 1813 at the age of 68. Paul Revere followed his wife three years later on May 10, 1818; he was 83 years old.

Sources

Paul Revere: The Midnight Rider, Dave Pryke, A&E Television Network, 1995

James Bowdoin: Post-Revolution Governor of Massachusetts

Feke Painting of James Bowdoin

James Bowdoin was a Bostonian revolutionary during the tumultuous years of America' war for independence. Like many, his position of opposition against British rule was not his initial stance on the topic. His opinion slowly changed over the years and he eventually became a governor in post-war Massachusetts.

Bowdoin was perhaps not as popular as the governor who served before him,–John Hancock–but that may have had something to do with his apparent absence during the American Revolution. He was suffering from what modern historians believe was tuberculosis and was involved with the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, despite his illness. When he felt better, he got right back into politics on a bigger scale. As such, he belongs among the list of Boston patriots, regardless of how undecided and sick he may have been during the war.

James Bowdoin was born in Boston to Hannah and James Bowdoin on August 7, 1726. He was technically James Bowdoin II and is currently referred to as such, though his family didn't distinguish between the two in that manner. His parents were wealthy, thanks to his father's endeavors as a merchant. Bowdoin was able to attend Boston Latin and go on to further his education at Harvard College, from which he graduated in 1745.

Three years after graduation, James Bowdoin married Elizabeth Erving. Two children came from the marriage, one of which was James Bowdoin III, who played a role in starting Bowdoin College in Maine in his father's memory.

James Bowdoin was an active, thoughtful man. He was the owner of extensive tracts of land. He dabbled in being a merchant, science, politics and maritime rescue. He was the founder of the American Academy of the Arts and Sciences, of which he was the first president. He was a member of the Massachusetts Humane Society–the name of which today is associated with animals but that focused on rescuing survivors of shipwrecks during the American Revolution. He earned an honorary doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. Clearly, he was a well thought of man in many circles.

As for political endeavors, Bowdoin was involved with the royal government in Massachusetts as a member of the governor's council from 1756 to the start of the American Revolution. He was off for a brief period when he became vocal about his shifting political views. In 1770, he wrote, "A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre" about the so-called Boston Massacre. By then, he was clearly siding with the rebels.

Whether it had anything to do with his later political leanings or not is unclear, but James Bowdoin did befriend Benjamin Franklin. It is not known precisely when they met, but Bowdoin did know Franklin at least two years before his graduation from Harvard College. The two had an interest in science in common and would send letters back and forth about Franklin's experiments with electricity.

After the American Revolution ended, James Bowdoin recovered from a long flare up of tuberculosis and ran for governor of Massachusetts. He lost to John Hancock. Five years later in 1785, John Hancock resigned for the first time and James Bowdoin became governor. It is generally thought that Bowdoin lost the first campaign by a large margin because of his seeming disdain for the lower class. When Shay's Rebellion took place, he had no sympathy for the affected "common" people. This hurt his campaign, but clearly, he was popular enough to win the second time. Therefore, it may have simply been John Hancock's popularity that killed Bowdoin's first campaign. He was in office for two years before John Hancock became governor yet again. Bowdoin passed away just three years later on November 6, 1790.

James Otis: Lawyer and Patriot

James Otis is one of the Boston men who helped stoke the fires of revolution during the 1760s. In fact, some people may say that he is the man who lit the fire. He is not as well known and he was not as prolific in his speeches and political work as many of his fellow revolutionaries. However, he was among the most intelligent and dedicated of these men. Sadly, his years of dedication and public service ended tragically.

James Otis was born on February 5, 1725 in West Barnstable, Massachusetts to James Otis Sr. and Mary Otis nee Allyne. His father was in politics. James Otis Jr. attended Harvard College. He graduated in 1743, at the age of eighteen. From there, he went to study law under Jeremiah Gridley.

James Otis' career in law began in 1748. He practiced in Plymouth, Massachusetts. However, Plymouth did not have a great need for a lawyer at the time, so two years later, James Otis took his practice into Boston. There, he earned a name for himself as a great speaker and a highly intelligent man. During the 1750s, John won a case that earned him the largest sum ever paid to a lawyer in Massachusetts until that time. His career was looking very promising.

In 1755, James Otis married Ruth Cunningham. The couple would go on to have three children together, James, Elizabeth and Mary. At the time of their marriage, they were both loyalists. That would change for James. Ruth would remain loyal to England for the remainder of her life, which, as it turns out, was longer than James' was.

James Otis shared his wife's beliefs openly until 1961. Around that time, some British revenue officers were given the authority to search the homes and places of business of Boston merchants in search of smuggled goods. James Otis decided to leave his then current position as advocate-general and represent Boston's affected merchants, for free. When the case was heard in what is now known as the Old State House, James Otis gave a roughly five-hour-long speech, addressing this issue and much more. One of his focuses was the fact that colonists had to follow Parliament's laws when the colonists were not represented in Parliament. He lost the case. However, the impact his speech had can be summed up by what future president of the United States John Adams said later. He remarked that it was on that day in the Old State House that "the child independence was born."

Soon after James Otis gave his speech at the Old State House, he was elected to the Massachusetts General Court. In 1764, he became a leader of the Massachusetts Committee of Correspondence. That same year, he wrote his famous pamphlet, "The Rights of the Colonies Vindicated." A year later, he attended the Stamp Act Congress in New York City.

In 1769, James Otis made some negative comments in the Boston Gazette that were directed at a few revenue officers. One of those customs officers and some British military men found James a few days later and mercilessly beat him. He sustained a head injury that contributed to the decline of his mental health. James Otis was able to hold on to his sanity for long enough to sue his attacker. He was rewarded a sum of money, but he would not accept it. He also received a formal apology. He remained in public office for a few more years, but by the time the American Revolution began, he was insane and in the care of his sister, Mercy Otis Warren. His life would be dotted with a few brief periods of lucidity, but he was never the same man again. He did however contribute to the American Revolution in a way that you probably will not expect.

On June 17, 1775, James Otis, then 50-years-old, decided to procure a musket and walk to Breed's Hill. That day, on Breed's Hill, a battle was raging that would become known as the Battle of Bunker Hill. James Otis showed up for the battle, fought in it, and walked home. Obviously, his hopes for the future of the country followed him in his descent into insanity.

Most of the rest of James Otis' life was spent in Andover, Massachusetts. He was there on May 23, 1783 when he was struck by lightning and killed instantly. A brilliant and at times odd life ended there. James was buried at the Granary Burying Ground in Boston, Massachusetts.

Sources

James Otis, retrieved 5/22/10, famousamericans.net/jamesotis

James Otis, retrieved 5/22/10, u-s-history.com/pages/h1204.html

Samuel Adams: The Face of a Revolution

John Singleton Copley's
portrait of Samuel Adams

Samuel Adams was one of the founding fathers of the United States, a Boston revolutionary and the current face of Bostonian beer. He is inextricably linked with the Boston rebels who helped ignite the revolution in the years leading up to 1775 and the famous documents that severed the many ties between the colonies and England. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he was not a soldier, an inventor, a successful merchant, a tradesman or a plantation owner. His only interest and success was in politics, but it was not for lack of trying other things.

Samuel Adams was born in Boston on September 27, 1722. He was raised in Boston and schooled at Boston Latin, like most of his peers. Also like his fellow Boston patriots, he went to Harvard College, graduating with his masters in 1743. After graduation, he became a merchant, but he was terribly bad at it. He seemed uninterested in money, instead being interested in public service. His father was a politician, but also a successful businessman. Samuel would not follow his father's example in that regard.

In 1749, Samuel Adams married Elizabeth Checkley, who bore him two surviving children before dying in childbirth. In 1764, he married Elizabeth Wells, who cared for his children, but had none of her own. Elizabeth Wells is remembered in a way as the woman who put up with Samuel Adams. He made very little money in public service. He had some land and a house, but Elizabeth did some work from home to keep them with money while he gave speeches and attended to the masses. In 1756, he became a tax collector and actually lost money due to his ineffective tax collecting strategies.

When Samuel Adams' father died, Samuel also had to fight off the British over a banking scheme his father had. It was popular among the people, but deemed illegal by the British. Samuel Adams was on the brink of having to hand over his estate, but he prevailed and the British were eventually run out of town anyway. Samuel also received the run of his father's maltsing business after his death. That was another failure for Adams.

As history shows us, Samuel Adams was not some poor unfortunate who was just no good at anything. The brewing discontent in the colonies gave him the perfect opportunity to showcase his talents. When Christopher Sieder was shot, Samuel Adams was quick to publicize the incident. Some say his speeches were such that he was something of an agent provocateur, though on the same side as those provoked. Indeed, the Boston Massacre occurred little more than a week after the event. Samuel Adams was also giving speeches before the Boston Tea Party. Suspicious? Historians think so. One thing is certain, instigator or not, he was one of the best orators in Boston before the American Revolution.

In 1765–five years before the Boston Massacre–Samuel Adams became a member of the Massachusetts Assembly. As revolution became inevitable, he served on the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and later the Continental Congress. He was positioned politically to be one of the men instrumental in creating the new nation. He signed the Declaration of Independence and helped draft the Articles of the Confederation.

In 1781, Samuel Adams retired from Congress and helped develop the Massachusetts Constitution. Eight years later, he became Lieutenant Governor. Five years after that, he became the Governor of Massachusetts. He remained governor until his health dictated that he rest in 1797. He died in Boston on October 2, 1803.

Mary Hays McCauley: Revolutionary War Hero

Currier and Ives painting
of Molly Pitcher

Mary Hays McCauley was an American Revolution heroine who earned herself the nickname “Molly Pitcher” for her brave actions during the Battle of Monmouth. Her dedication and fearlessness are legendary.

Molly Pitcher was born near Trenton, New Jersey on October 13, 1754. Her parents were German immigrants, whose names are not known. Her maiden is not known for certain either, but it may have been Ludwig.

In 1769, at the age of fifteen, Mary Hays McCauley went to work for future Colonial Army colonel and Brigadier General, Dr. William Irvine. She worked in his household as a maid, but she was not happy in her position. She soon fell in love with a barber named John Casper Hays and left her place of employment to marry him. John soon enlisted in the artillery of the Continental Army. When John went off to war, Mary followed.

During the Revolutionary War, it was common for women to follow their men so that they may do chores such as washing and cooking for them. They were also handy for tending the wounded. Mary Hays McCauley was present with her husband at Valley Forge, but it was at the Battle of Monmouth that she proved that she could do far more than cook and clean. The temperature was very hot on the battlefield, so Mary decided to begin collecting pitchers of water from a nearby water source and bringing them to the men on the battlefield. This is what earned her the fond moniker Molly Pitcher.

At some point during the battle, Mary Hays McCauley’s husband collapsed beside his canon. Some reports say that he had been wounded but that Mary noticed that he would survive. The men around her watched as Molly Pitcher took up her husband’s post and began firing his canon. She supposedly did this for the remainder of the day. Joseph Plumb Martin, who had witnessed Mary’s bravery, wrote of her in his memoirs. He stated that an enemy canon ball had gone straight between Mary’s legs. She behaved as if nothing untoward had happened and continued firing her canon. She did however remark upon what would have happened had the canon ball been a little higher.

The story goes that, after the battle, brave Molly Pitcher was presented to George Washington himself, who commended her for her efforts. He supposedly also gave her a new nickname, “Sergeant.” She soon became legendary among the colonial troops.

After the war, Mary Hays McCauley and her husband moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania. John Casper Hays died there in 1789. Mary remarried shortly thereafter, to a man named George McCauley. Reportedly, McCauley was not particularly kind to his wife and treated her as if she were a servant. Their union was not a happy one and they were not well off financially.

An answer to some of Mary Hays McCauley’s troubles came in 1822. The local government decided that she earned herself a lifetime annuity for her services. She collected that annuity every year until her death in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on January 22, 1832.

Vincent Price: Horror's Most Iconic Actor

Vincent Price is one of film's most legendary actors. He was beloved for his haunting performances in numerous classic and modern horror films. However, there was much more to Price than an eerie voice and an unforgettable face. He was a philanthropist, author, chef, art collector and promoter of lesbian and gay rights. Behind the characters he played was a man with many and varied interests.

Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was born on May 27, 1911 in St. Louis, Missouri. His lineage can be traced to a baby born on the Mayflower off the coast of Massachusetts, making him as American as Thanksgiving. His immediate family was in the candy business and had done well for themselves, making it possible for young Vincent Price to attend private schools and eventually get a degree in art history from Yale. He would later collect art and donate thousands of pieces to the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College.

Price was initially a teacher, but he found his calling on the stage in London. While he is most memorable in horror roles, thanks to his distinctive features, he started out as a character actor in dramas and even a comedy or two. Horror roles did pop up early in his career. However, it wasn't until the 1950's, when he had roles in The Fly, House on Haunted Hill, House of Wax and others, that he became known for his abilities in the genre. In the 60s, he further cemented his place in horror history with a slew of Poe adaptations, including The Pit and the Pendulum and The Raven.

Even while making his mark in horror, Vincent Price branched out, landing roles on television– including the role of Egghead on Batman. He also continued to do stage roles until late in his career. Music gave him another outlet for his talent, gaining him a new generation of followers. He did a cover of Monster Mash and a voice over for Alice Coopers Welcome to My Nightmare. His most significant contribution to music was his narration of Michael Jackson's Thriller. If you didn't know him before Thriller was released, you knew his voice afterward.

Vincent Price married three times. His first wife was actress Edith Barrett. They married in 1938 and divorced about a decade later. They had one child­–a son named Vincent. The following year, he married his second wife, Mary Grant Price–a costume designer with whom he had a daughter they named Victoria. The couple also authored cookbooks together. Vincent's third wife was actress Coral Brown. They married in 1973, the year after his divorce from Mary. They stayed married until she passed away in 1991.

In 1990, Vincent Price played the role of the inventor in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. The pair worked together before on the short film Vincent in 1982. Unfortunately, the aging actor was so sick with emphysema and lung cancer by the time he did Edward Scissorhands opposite a young Johnny Depp that his work with the film was cut short. He died just a few years later at the age of 82. To this day, there is no one in horror who comes close to his reputation.

Abigail Adams: First Lady and Mother of a President

Abigail Adams by Gilbert Stuart

Abigail Adams was the wife of lawyer and politician John Adams. The couple met when Abigail was just a teenaged girl. John was ten years older than his future wife but the age difference meant little. Their 45-year marriage was apparently a very happy one, judging by the scores of letters the lovebirds sent each other. For the better part of their early married life, Abigail lived in Quincy and Boston without the company of her husband, but that did not stop them from starting a family.

Abigail Adams nee Smith married John Adams on October 25, 1764. Their first child, a daughter they named Abigail, came just shy of nine months later. Their second child and future President of the United States, John, was born in 1767. The following year, a daughter named Susanna was born to the couple. She passed away when she was two years old. Right around the time Susanna passed away, John and Abigail Adams had their second son, a boy they named Charles. A third son-Thomas- followed two years later.

Abigail Adams was well educated (by her mother). As such, she was suited for life as the wife of a lawyer, politician and eventual President of the United States. During the American Revolution, she wrote a letter to her husband that would become the first evidence of an early push for women's rights in the United States. In this letter, she wrote, ". . . in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors." During her time as First Lady, she stood up for the rights of a young African-American man to get his education in Massachusetts. She was not a pushy or aggressive woman, but her intentions were made clear and no one could question her morality.

Abigail Adams was the first First Lady to occupy the White House, if only for a few months. She was also the first First Lady to demonstrate an interest in politics and to hold something akin to political office. During the American Revolution, members of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress appointed her as one of the women sent to question female British loyalists.

Abigail Adams was as loyal, loving and dedicated as a woman can be. We know this about her through her correspondence with several individuals. She passed away on November 10, 1818 from complications of a stroke she suffered a few days prior.

Simo Hayha: A Finnish Sniper

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During World War II, Germany was not the only country on an invasive path. The Soviet Red Army was pushing west. On November 30, 1939, the Red Army invaded Finland. What ensued became known as the Winter War. The Red Army met with some serious opposition, which they likely did not expect. It is estimated that Finnish soldiers killed more than 100,000 Soviet soldiers. This number was exponentially higher than Finnish losses during the Winter War. One of the Finnish soldiers responsible for the amazing defense Finland put up was a small (little more than 5' tall) man by the name of Simo Hayha.

Simo Hayha was born in 1905 or 1906 in Rautajarvi, Finland. His was a simple life of farming and hunting with his family. He joined the Finnish Army in 1925 and completed his mandatory year in the service. By the time the year was over, Hayha was a corporal. When the Red Army invaded in 1939, Hayha was called up to serve with the 6^th Company of JR34.  He served on the Kollaa River during what became known as the "miracle of Kollaa." The Finnish Army was grossly outnumbered and yet the area was held for the duration of the conflict.

During the winter of 1939-1940, Simo Hayha served primarily as a sniper. He has said that his weapon of choice was a Mosin-Nagant Model 28. However, he has been photographed with a Mosin-Nagant Model 28/30. Either way, his sniper rifle was iron-sighted. This means that he did not use a scope, but essentially a couple of prongs of metal lined up on the top of the barrel. With this, he reportedly killed many Soviet soldiers, possibly hundreds, at a distance of more than 400 yards.

Another weapon that Simo Hayha was talented with was a Suomik 31 SMG (sub-machine gun). He is credited with killing roughly 200 men with this weapon. Nonetheless, Simo was a much more accomplished sniper. His skill and technique are still amazing us 70 years later.

Simo Hayha had hunting Soviets in Finland down to a science. He knew it was cold and that the bright sun will glint off glass, so he opted out of using a scope. The cold could have broken or fogged up the glass in his scope and the glint would have given away his position. In fact, this is how he spotted many of his targets. He would also pack his mouth with snow to keep his hot breath from giving him away in the freezing cold Finland winter. Simo Hayha was working in temperatures that were consistently below zero, after all. Another technique Simo had was to shoot from a sitting position. This is odd for a sniper, but he says it helped because he was so small.

Simo Hayha was so good at his job that he became known as the "White Death." His white camouflage (suitable for snowy battlefields) and insane kill count led to this arguably intimidating moniker. What kill count can be considered insane, you ask? Well, Simo Hayha is credited with killing at least 705 Soviet soldiers with his sniper rifle (remember, he killed roughly 200 with his SMG). This makes him the most successful sniper in history. Moreover, he was only fighting for close to 100 days. That means he killed an average of seven men per day with his sniper rifle alone.

The killing streak ended for Simo Hayha on March 6, 1940, when a Red Army sniper shot him in the face with an exploding bullet. Teams of snipers had been sent to kill Hayha before then and the Red Army had even resorted to using artillery against him. They had not so much as injured him. However, the exploding bullet that hit him in March tore off part of his face. He was carried away by his fellow soldiers, but not before killing the man who shot him, according to Hayha. He then drifted into a coma for a week. The day he woke up, March 13, 1940, was the day the Winter War came to an end.

Simo Hayha spent his later years breeding dogs and hunting moose. He died on April 1, 2002. He was 96-years-old.

Sources

Tuco, Simo Hayha, retrieved 8/4/10

Josiah Quincy: Lawyer, Politician and Abolitionist

Josiah Quincy

Josiah Quincy was a lawyer, politician and abolitionist. As a lawyer, he rarely practiced. As a politician, he was largely disregarded, except for his time as "The Great Mayor" of Boston. As an abolitionist, he wrote papers on the subject and supported his abolitionist son Edmund. He is most famous in his hometown of Boston where his policies changed the face of the burgeoning city. Even today, nearly 200 years after his death, his contributions are a part of Boston.

Josiah Quincy (not to be confused with the many other Josiah Quincys in his family) was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 4, 1772. He was the son of Josiah Quincy Jr. and Abigail Quincy nee Phillips. Both of his parents came from wealthy and influential families. The Quincy family was full of influential politicians, teachers and military (militia) men. His father was a well-known patriot who aided John Adams in the defense of the British soldiers involved in the "Boston Massacre."

When he was in his early thirties, Josiah Quincy Jr. died of tuberculosis. His son was just a toddler at the time, but he was left in the capable hands of Abigail and his grandfather--Josiah Quincy. He began attending the Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts when he was six-years-old. Even there, he was under the influence of his family. His uncle, Reverend Samuel Phillips, was his teacher. From there, he went on to study at Harvard University like most great men in Boston at the time. He graduated from Harvard in 1793, but that was not the last he would see of the revered school.

After graduation, Josiah Quincy began his apprenticeship in law. He became a lawyer, but decided to spend his life in politics. Two years after his graduation from Harvard, Josiah Quincy was elected to the Boston Town Committee. (He was a Federalist.) He remained in that position for five years before running for Congress. He was not successful his first time around. However, he was elected in 1804 and he left for Washington, D.C.

While Josiah Quincy was a member of the Boston Town Committee, he married Eliza Susan Morton. The couple would go on to have seven children together, notably Edmund Quincy and Josiah Quincy Jr. (Yes, another one.) Edmund would go on to become a famous abolitionist periodical editor. Josiah Quincy Jr. would follow in his father's footsteps and become Mayor of Boston.

Things did not turn out well for Josiah Quincy in Washington. His ideas were becoming passé and his time in Congress was not noteworthy, except for his departure. In 1813, Josiah Quincy disagreed with the United States' latest war with England, so he returned home to Boston, where he was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate. He spent 12 years in that position. He was also a delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in 1820 and a Massachusetts House of Representatives Judge in 1821. In 1823, Josiah Quincy was elected Mayor of Boston.

Josiah Quincy made Boston a cleaner, safer place to live. He focused on juvenile delinquent reform. He brought municipal water and sewage to the city. He organized the fire department and more. Most notably, he cleaned up the area where Quincy Market is today and established the market, which still stands facing Faneuil Hall. In a modern city, it is a rather awkward position for the building, but it makes for great historical atmosphere and street performer fun. Mr. Quincy probably never imagined Quincy Market as it is today, but he would surely be pleased to see how beloved it is by the city's residents.

Josiah Quincy served as Mayor of Boston for five years. On June 15, 1829, he became President of Harvard University. Despite his best efforts, his time there was marked with unrest in the student body. There were violent protests and the students openly disliked Josiah. Quincy did his best to punish the students responsible and put his efforts toward making the school better. He did make some great changes to the school, but he never did win over the students. He retired from his post on August 27, 1848.

In Josiah Quincy's twilight years, he wrote a great deal about the history of some famous Boston institutions. He also wrote about his son Edmund's passion, abolitionism. He died on July 1, 1864 and was interred at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sources

Josiah Quincy, retrieved 10/27/10, harvardaquarelibrary.org/HVDpresidents/quincy.php

Josiah Quincy, retrieved 10/27/10, uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/josiahquincy.html

Albert Cashier: Crossdressing Civil War Soldier

Albert Cashier was a member of the 95^th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War. He was present at many battles and marched thousands of miles with his comrades during his three years of service in the Union Army. He was known his bravery, despite being the smallest soldier in Company G. In fact, he was the shortest soldier in the entire regiment. However, Albert Cashier had a secret–a big secret. Albert Cashier was actually Jennie Hodgers. Yes, this brave soldier of the Union Army was born a woman.

Not much is known about Albert Cashier’s early life. We do know that ‘Jennie Hodgers’ was born in Ireland. She immigrated to the United States from Clogherhead. She was five feet tall and illiterate. There weren't many jobs she qualified for, unless she wanted to be a laundress or something of the sort. This is probably one of the reasons that Jennie Hodgers decided to dress herself as a man and join the Union Army.

During the Civil War, physical examinations for soldiers were perfunctory, at best. In fact, Albert Cashier was nowhere near the only soldier who was a woman masquerading as a man. However, he was one of the very few, that we know of, who wasn’t discovered while in service. A great sense of patriotism must have driven these women, as well as the promise of regular wages. The battlefields of the Civil War were notoriously savage. It had to have taken a very brave soldier to enter the battlefields voluntarily, regardless of whether that soldier was male or female.

During the war, Albert Cashier was present at the Siege of Vicksburg, the surrender of Mobile, the Red River campaign and Guntown, Mississippi. His comrades later told stories of his bravery on the battlefield. However, they also told stories about his private nature. It would seem, and this makes perfect sense, that Albert didn’t like to be alone with the other men very often. He didn’t share bunks with his comrades the way the others sometimes would. It was the only indication any of them ever had that he was a woman, though they never suspected.

Albert Cashier was discharged from the Union Army in 1865. After the war, Jennie Hodgers did not want to give up her newfound freedom as a man, so she continued to masquerade as Albert Cashier. With this identity, she could earn better wages and keep in touch with her war buddies. She even voted. Albert Cashier eventually moved to Sauremin, Illinois, where he picked up odd jobs and lived in a modest home.

Albert Cashier kept his secret for the next nearly fifty years. He would have kept it longer, but he was involved in an accident that occurred while he was working on his boss’ car. The injuries he sustained were crippling and when a doctor looked at him, the ruse was up. Despite his deceit, he was allowed to live at the Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Home for three years. However, his mental and physical health continued to decline and so he was sent to a state hospital in 1914.

While in the state hospital, workers forced Albert Cashier to wear skirts. This was very uncomfortable for him, obviously. However, he didn’t have to suffer for long. Albert Cashier died at the state hospital in October of 1915. Jennie Hodgers’ true identity is carved on her gravestone, which reads ‘Albert D.J. Cashier, Co. G, 95 Ill. Inf.’

Sources

Davis, Rodney O., Private Albert Cashier, retrieved 1/7/10, dig.lib.niu.edu/ISHS/shs-198summer10.pdf

Paul, Linda, In Civil War, Woman Fought Like a Man For Freedom, retrieved 1/7/10, npr.org.templates/story/story.php?storyId=104452266

Subhas Chandra Bose: Vanished Indian Activist

Portrait of Subhas Bose

Subhas Chandra Bose was an Indian nationalist who spent years as an activist and rebel leader while Britain was still in control of India. During World War II, he was first put on house arrest by the British and then escaped to seek help from the Nazis. His years of trying to make India an independent country and running from its foreign rulers eventually led to his mysterious disappearance.

Subhas Chandra Bose was born on January 23, 1897. He was one of 14 children. Despite this, he got a decent education from an early age and went on to study at Presidency College. However, he did not complete his studies. He attacked a professor who reportedly spoke out against India. Bose was expelled for the incident. He then studied philosophy at Scottish Church College and managed to secure a B.A. with assaulting anyone.

After graduating, Subhas Chandra Bose moved to Britain and attended Fitzwilliam College. He came home rather quickly because he did not want to work for Great Britain. His early sentiments foretold his future. He became involved in nationalist activities and found himself in tumbles with British authorities. While in jail in 1925, he came down with tuberculosis. This did not stop him from continuing his rebellious activities.

In 1927, Subhas Chandra Bose began working with the Indian National Congress as their general secretary. This led to even more trouble with the law, but did nothing to curb his success. He became mayor of Calcutta in 1930. He was even briefly president of the Indian National Congress. However, opposition from Mohandas Gandhi led to his resignation. It was not this, but rather his frequent protesting, that saw him put under house arrest by the British. Once he escaped, his strategy was to turn to Britain's enemies–the Axis powers.

Subhas Chandra Bose went to the Nazis for help, which only deepens the mystery surrounding his final years. With the help of many connections, he made it out of India through Afghanistan, Russia and Rome before he finally arrived in Germany in April of 1941. There, he had a great deal of support, or so it seemed. He was allowed to start the Special Bureau for India and raise an army of 4,500 Indian prisoners of war.

The soldiers of Subhas' army answered to Hitler. Their allegiance was to him, but they recognized Subhas Chandra Bose as the ruler of India. Though he had very little real power, he did manage to make many connections. He met with men like Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Hitler himself. Bose discovered through these meetings that his German support was for appearances. They were very unlikely to help him invade India and win it back from the British. Those of us who can see this in hindsight may find it surprising that it took him nearly three years to realize that. With Axis powers stretched to the brink and India being a much lesser target than the Soviet Union, it would have been foolish for the Nazis to invade there. Furthermore, it is surprising that a nationalist who loved his country would want the Nazis to invade it. They were not exactly known for quick withdrawals.

In response to his discovery that his work in Germany was in vain, Subhas Chandra Bose snuck away to Japan, leaving his small army behind. By a stroke of luck or genius, he was able to take control of the Indian National Army, which had already been formed in Japan. Unfortunately for him, that army's fate was tied to that of Japan. As Japan suffered defeat and surrendered, so did the Indian National Army. Then, suddently, Bose disappeared.

Subhas Chandra Bose's alleged disappearance only lasted five days before there was an explanation, but it was a shoddy one. It is said that his plane crashed in Taiwan. He survived the crash, but did not survive his injuries. Once he passed away, he was cremated, and the Japanese took him to the Renkoji Temple. Skepticism was immediate, though his death was confirmed by a British spy whose name has not been revealed. Is that really evidence?

Those who believe Subhas Chandra Bose lived fall mainly into two camps. Some believe he went into hiding in Russia and faked his own death. Others believe he was imprisoned in Russia. Bose certainly had a lot of friends and enemies in a lot of places. Either scenario is possible. Nonetheless, he is certainly dead by now.

Source

67 years on, govt can't continue sitting on secret Bose files, retrieved 8/18/12, http://www.rediff.com/news/special/govt-cannot-keep-netaji-subhash-chandra-bose-files-secret/20120818.htm

Robert Smalls: Former Slave Turned Congressman

Robert Smalls

Robert Smalls was one of the most influential African-American men to fight for freedom during the Civil War. He was born a slave and died as something of a national hero. His bravery and intelligence put him in the position to prove that not only were African-Americans capable of fighting for their own freedom, but that they were the equals of any white man who did the same.

Robert Smalls was born in South Carolina on April 5, 1839, in the back yard of the home where his mother was kept as a slave. Because his mother was a slave, he was born into slavery, even though he was the son of a white man. Who that white man was is not certain. He may or may not have been the boy’s own owner. Robert worked as a house slave until the age of twelve, when he was sent to Charleston to seek out paying work.

While in Charleston, Robert Smalls was able to find odd jobs as a laborer. He was allowed to keep one dollar of his wages. The rest was sent to his owner. However, when Robert turned eighteen, he was able to make a deal with his owner and from then on, he only had to send the man fifteen dollars per month. Smalls also met his wife, Hannah, while living in Charleston. He married her on December 24, 1856. He was seventeen years old. She was thirty-two.

Soon after Robert Smalls married Hannah, the couple had a child. Hannah was still the property of Samuel Kingman and therefore, so was their child. Robert saved up $800 and purchased his family from Mr. Kingman (if you can imagine such a thing as having to buy your own family). Not long after, they welcomed a son into the world, Robert Smalls Jr.

The same year that Smalls’ son was born (1861), Robert began working in the trade that would change his life forever, He became a deckhand on a transport steamer called Planter. He was soon promoted to pilot. In this capacity, he learned a lot about the Charleston harbor and about captaining a ship, both of which would come in handy the following year.

On May 13, 1862, the Planter’s officers were asleep onshore in Charleston when Robert Smalls and his family boarded the ship in the night. Also, on board was a crew of twelve slaves. With the help of the crew, Robert Smalls bravely took command of the ship and sailed it right out of the harbor, under the noses of all of the Confederates in the area. He then took the ship to the Commanding Officer of the Onward, a Union ship. Admiral Samuel DuPont accepted the ship as a gift for the Union, which was how Smalls and his men had presented it. They were all rewarded monetarily for their bravery by Abraham Lincoln.

In the fall of 1862, Robert Smalls, now working for the United States Navy, went to Washington, D.C. with a colleague. He and his colleague met with Secretary of War Stanton and President Lincoln and asked if they could recruit 5,000 black men for the cause. They were soon given permission to complete the task.

Robert Smalls became the first African-American to captain a United States Navy ship on December 1, 1863. His wife gave birth to a daughter that very same day. He served in this capacity for the remainder of the Civil War. After the war, he returned to the state in which he had been born and enslaved. He came back to South Carolina with a new found freedom and the intellect to do something with it.

Smalls became a major general in the South Carolina militia soon after his return. He served in the North Carolina Senate from 1868 to 1870. He was elected to Congress in 1875 and reelected five times. Following his time with Congress, he became a U.S. Customs Collector in South Carolina. While employed in this capacity, he lived in the very Beaufort home in which he and his mother had served as slaves. However, this time around, he was the master of the house. He passed away at the age of 75, on February 23, 1916.

Virginia Hall: World War II Spy

Hall receives the Distinguished
Service Cross

Virginia Hall was a spy for the U.S. and England during World War II. She conducted undercover operations that assisted the resistance in France and she aided in sabotage missions near the end of the war. She is known for being brave, resilient and intelligent. Despite her gender and a significant disability, she never walked away from her chosen profession.

Virginia Hall was born on April 6, 1906 in Baltimore, Maryland. She was the youngest daughter of theater owner Edwin Lee Hall and his wife, Barbara. Virginia’s early life was rather typical of a child of relatively wealthy parents. She attended Roland Park Country School and then decided that she wanted to study language in college. She first attended Radcliffe College. She went on to enroll in Bernard College and took classes there from 1924 to 1926. She became fluent in German, French and Italian.

Virginia Hall got her first government job in 1931. She went to Warsaw, Poland to work as a clerk at the American Embassy. While working in this capacity, she traveled to Tallin, Estonia, Vienna, Austria and Izmir, Turkey. Virginia was hunting in Turkey when she accidentally dropped her shotgun, which discharged into her foot. By the time medical help arrived, the wound was gangrenous. Her leg was amputated, and she was fitted with a wooden one.

Virginia Hall did not want to give up her work with the government, but the State Department had a policy that did not allow them to employ people with amputated limbs. She resigned in May of 1939. She went to work in France with the French Ambulance Service Unit. She had to leave the country when the Nazis invaded in May of 1940. She went from France to England, where she began working as a clerk at the embassy there.

While Virginia Hall was working in England, she was recruited for the Special Operations Executive. The SOE was a British group designed to infiltrate countries that were under the control of the Nazis and conduct spy operations, among other things, from the inside. The SOE sent her back to France. There she pretended to be a reporter for the New York Post while staying in Vichy. What she was really doing was aiding the organization of French resistance movements. She later went to Lyons and stayed there until 1942 when the Nazis began searching for her.

From France, Virginia Hall traveled to Madrid, an arduous journey done largely on foot. This must have been quite a trying task for a woman with one leg. Once she got set up in Madrid, she resumed her work as a spy. This time, she posed as a Chicago Times reporter. She disliked being there and asked her superiors if she might return to France. They sent to her back to England instead where she received further training. At the close of her training, she was moved to the U.S. Office of Strategic Services.

The OSS sent Virginia Hall back to France. This time she operated out of Haute-Loire. The Nazis had not forgotten the “woman with a limp,” however, which perhaps the OSS should have anticipated. Hall had to outsmart the Gestapo to avoid getting caught. Nonetheless, she managed to assist the resistance in the area and be the first person to report the change in location of the German General Staff Headquarters from Lyons to Le Puy to the Allies. In August of 1944, she became part of a team controlling three battalions of French forces. They were charged with sabotaging enemy communications. Virginia Hall and her comrades were successful.

Following her brave efforts in France, the OSS' European Theater Commander, Colonel James R. Forgan, nominated Virginia Hall for the Distinguished Service Cross. She was awarded the medal in 1945. Six years later, at the age of 45, Virginia Hall enlisted in the CIA. She worked for the CIA until her retirement in 1966. She passed away in 1982 at the Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Washington, D.C. She was buried in the Druid Ridge Cemetery in Pikesville, Maryland.

Pat Garrett: Wild West Sheriff

Pat Garrett

Pat Garrett is the legendary Wild West sheriff who killed Billy the Kid. There is a lot of controversy regarding whether or not Garrett truly was responsible and, if he was, if the killing was an act of cowardice. Nonetheless, this is what Pat Garrett is best known for and it is highly likely that he did kill Billy the Kid. Much of the derision regarding the death of Billy the Kid may have stemmed from the fact that the lanky lawman was known to have a surly demeanor and a sarcastic sense of humor. He was also known as a drunk, a gambler and a man who often embellished, if not outright lied.

Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett was born in Chambers County, Alabama, on June 5, 1850. His parents were John Lumpkin Garrett and Elizabeth Ann Jarvis. He had seven siblings. In 1853 the Garrett family acquired a plantation in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. The family moved there when Pat was three years old. He spent the rest of his childhood there.

In 1867, Pat Garrett’s mother died followed by his father the next year. The estate of Pat’s deceased father was handled by his brother-in-law. The house and land were sold and there was nothing left to keep Pat and his siblings. So, Pat Garrett left Louisiana for Texas on January 25, 1869. He was eighteen years old.

He found a job in Texas as a cowpuncher and a buffalo herder, among other things. By 1877, he was working as a buffalo hunter with a young man named John Briscoe. One day, when the men were in camp, John got angry at Pat and chased him with an ax. Pat attempted to avoid the man, but was forced to shoot him. By all accounts, Pat was remorseful. He turned himself over to authorities and was not charged with murder.

The next year, Pat Garrett moved to Fort Sumner. There, he began working for a man named Pete Maxwell. He also met William H. Bonney there. William H. Bonney is one of the several aliases used by Billy the Kid. It is known that the two men were acquaintances, but there is debate over whether they were friends or not and if they were, how close they were. Not long after they met, Billy and his gang became some of the most notorious men in the Wild West.

In 1880, Pat Garrett moved to Roswell, New Mexico and ran for sheriff there. He was twenty-nine years old. That same year he married his wife, Apolinaria, with whom he would have nine children. He became the sheriff of Roswell on November 2, 1880 and began searching for Billy the Kid shortly thereafter. He managed to capture Billy and two of his gang members in December, but after spending a few months in jail, Billy escaped.

Pat Garrett quickly arranged for the help of Pete Maxwell, who supposedly agreed to lure Billy to his home. When Billy arrived at the house on July 14, 1881, Pat reportedly shot him twice from the shadows when he opened the door to the darkened room in which Pat had waited for him. Opinions varied as to whether Pat should have fought Billy face to face or if he was a hero for killing the outlaw when he had the chance. Regardless of if it was brave or cowardly, the deed would follow Garrett for the rest of his life.

Pat didn’t return as the sheriff of Lincoln County after that term. In 1896, he went to Dona Ana County to serve as sheriff there. A politician and his son had been murdered and it was thought that the famous Pat Garrett could help solve the case. He was unable to help and the case remains unsolved. He never ran for sheriff anywhere again.

In 1901, Garrett went up for a job as customs collector in El Paso. President Roosevelt caught wind that Pat was a drunk and a gambler. However, Theodore Roosevelt himself recommended him for the position and he got the job on January 6, 1902. After a series of mishaps and possible deceptions, Roosevelt decided not to reappoint Garrett for another term. After the loss of this job, Garrett decided to go stay at his ranch in the San Andreas Mountains.

Soon after Pat returned to his ranch, he was forced to rent it out to a man named Wayne Brazel so that he could afford his mortgage. The men disagreed on what kind of livestock should be kept at the ranch and so Garrett found two other men to rent the property. Brazel refused to leave and so Pat went out to talk to him on February 28, 1908, with the two other men. An argument ensued, during which, Pat turned his back on two of the other men and was shot twice. His wounds were fatal.

Brazel confessed to the murder of Pat Garrett, but was later let off as it was deemed self defense. What exactly happened that day is still unclear and may never be known. Pat Garrett’s final resting place is in the Odd Fellow Cemetery in Los Cruces, New Mexico.

Sources

Perez, Antonio & Villalobos, Angel & Miranda. Jeremiah J., Pat Garrett Enjoyed Controversy, retrieved 10/9/09, epcc.edu/nwlibrary/borderlands/20_garrett.htm

The Alleged Killer of Billy the Kid, retrieved 10/9/09, angelfire.com/mi2/billy

William Chester Minor: Dictionary Contributor, Surgeon and Mental Patient

William Chester Minor was a surgeon who contributed to the Oxford English Dictionary. He was also severely mentally ill. He is remembered for the latter, but his contributions to the Oxford English Dictionary were significant, particularly given that he made those contributions from his room in an insane asylum.

William Chester Minor was born in June of 1834. He was born on the island that is currently Sri Lanka. He was one of two children that were born to a pair of Congregationalist Church Missionaries from New England. W.C.’s mother died of consumption when he was three years old. His father eventually remarried, a union which gave William at least one stepsibling–a brother. When he was fourteen years old, W.C.’s father sent him to New Haven, CT, where he moved in with his uncle and began attending Yale University.

William Chester Minor studied to be a surgeon at the prestigious school and graduated in 1863. He used his skill to become a surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil War. It is sometimes thought that his experiences during the war contributed to his mental illness. Whether or not this is true is a matter of debate. However, the symptoms of his disease were first noticed shortly after the war had ended.

Following the conclusion of the Civil War, William Chester Minor was stationed in New York City. Apparently, he developed an affinity for prostitutes while there. The Army did not consider this appropriate behavior, so they transferred him to a post in Florida. His behavior became even stranger (or more obvious) when he got there. He suffered paranoid delusions of persecution from other members of the military. The year after his arrival at his new post, he was taken to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C.

It took the staff of the hospital roughly a year and a half to decide that William Chester Minor was not going to get better anytime soon. In 1871, he was allowed to leave the hospital and the military. He was given retirement pay. Soon after he was discharged, he made his way to London. William’s paranoid delusions became a big problem for him there. At one point, he made a complaint at Scotland Yard that someone was breaking into his room and attempting to poison him at night. His complaint was dismissed because W.C. was obviously a madman.

On February 17, 1872, Minor shot and killed a man named George Merrett. At the time of his death, George had six children and one on the way. He was on his way to work when William murdered him. William was arrested on the spot. He told the police that he had mistaken George for the man who had been entering his room at night. A jury found William not guilty by reason of insanity.

William Chester Minor was taken to the Broadmoor insane asylum on April 17, 1872. He was placed in a nice area of the hospital because he was not seen as dangerous. He was also given the privilege of purchasing books with his retirement pension. He took advantage of the privilege and built up a small library for himself. It was this small library that led to his work on the Oxford English Dictionary.

The makers of the Oxford English Dictionary sought volunteers to help them gather instances of word usages and the like for use in the famous dictionary. William Chester Minor somehow heard of this and volunteered. He meticulously collected word usages from his books and sent them into the editors of the dictionary. Quite a lot of what he collected was used in the making of the dictionary. Unfortunately, despite this productive spell, W.C.’s delusions continued. In fact, they grew ever more grandiose.

The delusions of nighttime attacks continued and they gradually became not only threatening, but sexual in nature. William Chester Minor began complaining that men were sneaking into his room at night and raping him. Sometimes more than one man was present during these imagined attacks. Eventually he began to include women and even children in his delusions. He was never the attacker or a willing participant in these acts. He always explained them as forced and unpleasant.

The delusions got the better of him in time, and on December 3, 1902, he cut off his penis. William Chester Minor’s horrific act of self-mutilation did not stop the paranoia that he suffered or the imagined nightly sexual attacks. At the age of 68 and lacking a penis, the man continued to believe that he was being sexually assaulted.

Eight years after the incident, Minor was given into the custody of his stepbrother so that he could be taken back to St. Elizabeth’s. The date was April 15, 1910. He stayed there for nine years and was diagnosed with schizophrenia during that time. He was moved to the Retreat for the Elderly Insane in New Haven, CT in 1919, so that he may be closer to his family in his old age. He died there on March 26, 1920.