Gilbert M. Stack's Blog, page 135
May 31, 2018
Today in History: The Model T Rolls to a Halt
On this day (May 31) in 1927, Ford produced its last Model T. The Model T utilized assembly line production to make cars affordable by more than the rich. 15, 007,003 were produced. It’s estimated that some 50,000 of them still remain roadworthy.
May 30, 2018
Today in History: Pearl Hart Robs a Stagecoach
On this day (May 30) in 1899, Pearl Hart committed what may have been the last stagecoach robbery in the U.S. Pearl had been born to affluent parents who gave her the best education, but at 16 she ran off from her boarding school to elope. Unfortunately, her new husband was an abusive drunkard. They split and reconciled several times, having two children who were raised by Pearl’s mother. At the Chicago World Fair she saw Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and decided to become a cowboy. She left for the west, possibly with a man other than her husband. She had a variety of jobs, possibly including prostitution, but decided to rob a stagecoach to raise money when she learned her mother was ill and needed her. The rime earned $412 of which Pearl returned $1 to each passenger. A posse caught them eight days later and Peal became a media sensation due to the fact she was a female stagecoach robber.
On October 12th she escaped the room she was being confined in (they didn’t want to put a lady in a jail cell) by making a hole in a plaster wall. She was recaptured two weeks later. During her trial, Pearl pleaded with the jury to find her not guilty because she had needed the money to go to her mother’s side. The jury acquitted her (enraging the judge). Almost immediately thereafter, she and her partner were re-arrested for tampering with the mail. This time they were convicted. Boot, her partner, got thirty years, Pearl got five. She was the only woman in the prison and was given an oversized eight-by-ten foot cell with a small yard so she could entertain the numerous reporters who called upon her. She was pardoned in 1902. After getting out of jail, she worked for a time (under an alias) in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. She died in either 1955 or 1960.
A photograph of Pearl can be found on my Facebook page here.
May 29, 2018
Today in History: The English Restoration
On this day (May 29) in 1660, the English experiment in governing without a monarchy ended and Charles II, the son of the beheaded Charles I, was offered the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland. The Restoration would see a continued struggle between the crown and Parliament over how much power the king should wield.
May 28, 2018
Today in History: The French and Indian War
On this day (May 28) in 1754, Lieutenant Colonel George Washington led his troops to victory in the first battle of what would become the French and Indian War. Washington, commanding British forces, was responding to a group of Canadian militia who had driven a construction crew away from building a fort at modern day Pittsburgh. Washington, with Mingo allies, surrounded and ambushed the Canadians. Their leader, Joseph Coulon de Villiers de Jumonville, was killed in the fighting. The French forces counter-attacked, surrounding Washington and his men at Fort Necessity and forcing their surrender. As part of the surrender terms, the French forced Washington to sign a document (written in French which Washington could not read) that stated Washington had assassinated Jumonville. The 1754 incident was a major cause of the Seven Years War that broke out in 1756.
May 27, 2018
Today in History: The Bismarck Sinks!
On this day (May 27) in 1941 the Bismarck, the greatest German battleship ever built, was sunk. The Bismarck only conducted one offensive mission. In an eight day raid on allied shipping, it was confronted by the British battleships Hood and Prince of Wales. It sunk the first and badly damaged the second, but determined to retreat to Occupied France for repairs. Dozens of ships from the British navy swarmed after the Bismarck seeking revenge, but it was an attack by 16 Fairey Swordfish (obsolete warplanes) that crippled the battleship when one of them dropped the “lucky torpedo” which damaged the battleship’s ability to navigate by jamming the port rudder. Two more British battleships and two heavy cruisers then caught up with the Bismarck. In the ensuing battle, they hit the Bismarck 400 times but couldn’t sink it. Yet they had damaged it sufficiently for its commanding officer to order the Bismarck scuttled to keep it from falling into British hands. Unfortunately, communications breakdowns within the damaged vessel kept the order to abandon ship from circulating to all of the crew and many went down with the ship. Captain Lindemann, who gave the orders to scuttle the vessel, stood at attention at the stem of the Bismarck as she sank. Out of a crew that started with 2100 members, only 114 survived.
May 26, 2018
Today in History: Dracula
On this day (May 26) in 1897 Bram Stoker published Dracula essentially opening the subgenre of vampire stories and paving the way for books like Salem's Lot and series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Anita Blake and Twilight. My first completed novel (the never published, In the Dark) was a vampire story and a vampire plays a prominent role in my upcoming Occult-tober novel, Blood Ties (coming October 4, 2018). Anyone have a favorite vampire book or movie?
May 25, 2018
Today in History: A Missing Child
On this day (May 25) in 1979, Etan Patz disappeared on his way to school in New York City. He was six years old. He was the first child to have his photo placed on a milk carton as part of a campaign to help find missing children. In the 1980s the boy’s murderer, Pedro Hernandez, apparently confessed in open church to the crime and in 2012 his brother-in-law finally came forward and told the police. Hernandez confessed again, but lawyers wrangled over whether his confession was valid. His first trial was declared a mistrial, but in his second trial he was found guilty and sentenced to 25 years to life.
May 24, 2018
1000 SALES!!!!!
I'm very excited to announce that the Legionnaire series has now sold over 1000 copies!!!! I'm so grateful to all of you who have purchased the books. Sharing these adventures with you is a tremendous honor.
Today in History: The Telegraph
On this day (May 24) in 1844 Samuel Morse sent the first message by telegram. “What hath God wrought”. The telegraph transformed society and laid the groundwork for the modern information age. Suddenly news could travel faster than a running horse. Economic, military, political and social news began to move like lightning across the country and eventually around the world.
May 23, 2018
Today in History: Joan of Arc
On this day (May 23) in 1430, Joan of Arc was captured by the Burgundians as she led the rearguard covering the retreat of her force into the city of Compiegne. The governor of Compiegne, Guillaume de Flavy, ordered the city gates closed before the rearguard entered the city. Whether this was an act of treachery to keep Joan from reaching safety or an act of prudence to keep the Burgundians from overwhelming the rearguard and capturing the city has been debated ever since. The Burgundians would eventually turn Joan over to the English who burned her death for alleged heresy—as the only way they could explain how a woman could lead an army and reverse the military fortunes of the English and their allies was to link her success to the enemies of God.
