By Linda Goin on 11 September 2009
This post was scheduled for publication on 9:59 on 11 September 2009. At that time eight years ago, the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed, and the collapse was viewed and heard by a vast television and radio audience. It stood for 56 minutes 10 seconds after the impact of Flight 175 into [...]
Posted in Today in History | Tagged 9/11, 9/11 Day of Service, President Bush, President Obama
By Linda Goin on 29 August 2009
Four years ago today on 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, destroying communities over a wide path in Louisiana and Mississippi. Its winds and heavy rains breached the levies protecting New Orleans, and within two days, 80 percent of the historic city was under water. An estimated 1 million people were evacuated during and after the storm, the largest movement of people in the U.S. since the Great Depression and the Civil War. Full reconstruction of the devastated areas is expected to take many years. The death toll was over 1,300, compared with 388 in eight hurricanes spread over seven years.
Posted in Events, Today in History | Tagged Hurricane Katrina, Waveland
By Linda Goin on 28 August 2009
For the first time, The Museum of the Confederacy’s (MOC) entire collection of 685 flags is available in a new searchable database located on the flag page of the museum’s Web site. Flags are arranged by accession number, with War Department captures toward the end of the 94-page document. Each entry includes a color photograph for most of the flags as well as its identification, history (when known), pattern, material, measurements, inscriptions, and battle honors, where present.
Posted in Feature | Tagged flags, Museum of the Confederacy
By Linda Goin on 25 August 2009
The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to grant a special permits to Walmart after 100 speakers stated they favored moving the nation’s largest retailer within shot of the Wilderness Battlefield. Opposition to the move could not sway officials, despite a nearly year-long fight by sites such as No Wilderness Walmart and Civil War Preservation Trust.
Posted in News | Tagged Orange County, WalMart, Wilderness Battlefield
By Linda Goin on 24 April 2009
Today in 1800, the Library of Congress was born when President John Adams approved the appropriation of $5,000 for the purchase of “such books as may be necessary for the use of congress.” According to the Library of Congress:
Posted in Today in History | Tagged John Adams, Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson
By Linda Goin on 23 April 2009
Today in 1887, the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, published a piece that denied a rumor that General Lee and his family were impoverished after the Civil War ended. The short article, reprinted below, offers a quote by then-Governor of Virginia, Fitzhugh Lee.
Posted in Today in History | Tagged Fitzhugh Lee, Gen. Adam Badeau, General Robert E. Lee, Havana
By Linda Goin on 22 April 2009
On this day in 1966, emergency crew workers found a “pretty remarkable catch” in the Appomattox River. On the front page of The Progress-Index out of Petersburg, a photograph showed these emergency workers poking, rather than fishing, at an object in the river. According to the headline, the “fish” had large shining eyes and did not resemble any known form of sea life.
Posted in Today in History | Tagged Appomattox River, Petersburg
By Linda Goin on 21 April 2009
When I’m searching for articles about Appomattox, I often give up and just relax with a newspaper’s front page. Such is the situation with this day in 1896 with The Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. But, to stay within this topic’s reach, the front page of this newspaper did carry information about Virginia and about Appomattox in two separate opinion blurbs.
Posted in Today in History | Tagged Civil War, Fitzhugh Lee, Hollywood Cemetery, Robert E. Lee, William McKinley
By Linda Goin on 20 April 2009
On this day in 1871, The Petersburg Index remarked on the fine fishing in the Appomattox River the previous day
Posted in Today in History | Tagged Angling, Appomattox River, Fishing, Recreation and Sports
By Linda Goin on 16 April 2009
In April 1995, a campaign to create a driving tour of Lee’s retreat during the last week of the Civil War was finalized. The tour still is alive, and interested individuals can contact the city of Petersburg for more information.
Posted in Today in History | Tagged Civil War, Confederate States Army, Joseph E. Johnston, Union Army
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