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Post by Greg C. on Oct 19, 2007 20:59:17 GMT -5
Did it stop raining yet?
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Post by Greg C. on Oct 21, 2007 16:06:20 GMT -5
Keep the history coming Ted!
1000 posts now for this section!
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Post by neferetus on Oct 21, 2007 19:28:27 GMT -5
It hasn't rained here in New Braunfels since last week and even then, not that much to speak of. In Southern California, however, the Santa Ana Winds have hit, causing a lot of damage and fires. One man lost his life today in the Malibu fire. In Glendora, where I just moved from, the tree on the city parkway in front of my former house was felled by the winds. The city will have to clean it up tomorrow and then plant a new tree. I hope that the wind dies down soon, as much of of my family and friends still live in the area.
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Post by Cole_blooded on Oct 25, 2007 0:02:06 GMT -5
October 24 in Texas History Llanos-Cárdenas expedition begins mapping Matagorda Bay On this day in 1690, the ship Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación anchored off Cavallo Pass, the natural entrance to Matagorda Bay, and its crew began mapping the bay. The ship was under the command of Francisco de Llanos, and the mapmaking was assigned to the engineer Manuel José de Cárdenas y Magaña. The expedition had left Veracruz on October 12. Its mission was to evaluate the environs of the defunct French Fort St. Louis as a site for a Spanish presidio, to seek a water route to the new San Francisco de los Tejas Mission, and to map Espíritu Santo (i.e., Matagorda ) Bay. The expedition determined that neither the Lavaca River nor the Colorado afforded a water route to the mission. The reconnaissance map--one of a series of Spanish cartographic representations of the Texas coast--gave twentieth-century historian Herbert E. Bolton reason to place the site of Fort St. Louis on Garcitas Creek in Victoria County. ....Another chapter in Texas History;D
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Post by neferetus on Oct 25, 2007 15:47:47 GMT -5
Hey Ted, you're a day late. Where's today's installment?!
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Post by neferetus on Oct 25, 2007 15:53:14 GMT -5
It hasn't rained here in New Braunfels since last week... Well, Fall finally seems to be coming to New Braunfels. Just the other day, I awoke to the sound of heavy winds blowing a light drizzle into a swirling mist. The temperature was about 56, at mid-day! So, it's away with the shorts, tee-shirts and short sleeves and on with the sweaters and sweatpants. There'll be no more keeping the window open at night, either. So, just how is the weather shaping up in your neck of the woods?
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Post by Cole_blooded on Oct 26, 2007 16:09:03 GMT -5
Crisp and lightly cool during the day and a wee bit cooler at night of late! ;D October 26 in Texas History........ Camp Gates established in Coryell County On this day in 1849, Camp Gates, the predecessor of Fort Gates, was established by Capt. William R. Montgomery as a stockaded United States cantonment on the north bank of the Leon River above Coryell Creek, about five miles east of the site of present Gatesville. The installation was named for Bvt. Maj. Collinson Reed Gates of New York, who won distinction in the Mexican War. The last of a cordon of posts established in 1849 to protect settlers on the frontier from Indians, the fort was also the first of the line of posts to be abandoned. It was closed in March 1852, once the Indian threat had been removed. Lt. George Pickett, later a Confederate general and leader of "Pickett's Charge" at Gettysburg, was stationed at Fort Gates in 1850-51. .....Another chapter in Texas History ;D
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Post by Cole_blooded on Oct 27, 2007 19:40:11 GMT -5
October 27 in Texas History...........2 for 1 Orders: AUSTIN TO BOWIE 27 Oct 1835 Head Quarters Mission Espada October 27th, 1835. Colonel James Bowie,Volunteer Aid: You will proceed with the first division of Captain Fannin's company and others attached to that division and select the best and most secure position that can be had on the river, as near Bejar as practicable to encamp the army tonight, keeping in view in the selection of this position pasturage and the security of the horses, and the army from night attacks of the enemy. You will also reconnoiter, so far as time and circumstances will permit, the situation of the outskirts of the town, and the approaches to it, whether the houses have been destroyed on the outside, so as to leave every approach exposed to the raking of cannon. You will make your report with as little delay as possible, so as to have time to the army to march and take up its position before night. Should you be attacked by a large force send an express immediately with the particulars. By order S. F. Austin P W Grayson, Aid-de-camp .......................................................................................................... Orders: AUSTIN TO TRAVIS 27 Oct 1835 Head Quarters Mission Espada Odr. 27, 1835 Lieut. Travis is hereby authorized to raise a volunteer Company of Cavalry of not less than fifty or more than Eighty men- each man to be armed with a double barrell gun or Yager and brace of pistols. Without the Consent of the Capt. not more than one tenth of his Company shall be. permitted to volunteer in the proposed corps By order S F Austin Warren D C Hall Adjt Genl .....Another couple of chapters in Texas History ;D
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Post by Cole_blooded on Oct 28, 2007 16:00:58 GMT -5
October 28 in Texas History.... Description of Concepcion BRYAN TO PERRY 28 Oct 1835 2 mile from Bexar Oct 28th We arrived here about the middle of the day. A party of 90 men under Bowie and Capt Fannin who were sent here yesterday to pick out a position for the army were attacked by 300 cavalry and 100 infantry with two pieces of artillery the attack was made about day brake, 16 mexicans were left dead on the ground and several wounded and dead were taken off by the cavalry. Capt. Richard Andrews from the Colorado was shot in the stomach. It is supposed he will die one or two more were slightly wounded is all the injury we sustained. The main army did not arrive from the mission de Espada where it was stationed untill about one hour after the battle. The contest lasted 4 hours. We took an excellent brass piece, a long 6 pounder which will be of service to us, they succeeded in getting away with the other pieces. We have upwards of 400 men and provision tolerable plenty 4 waggons have arrived with Supplies, We are now near the Mission Concepcion on the San Antonio River. We occupy the banks of the river, plenty of bushes and trees which saved the lives of many of our soldiers 100 men will be here to morrow from Nacogdoches and 3 or 4 pieces of artillery shortly Bexar I think will fall shortly. An express was arrested yesterday with letters from Matamoros and other places by which we received letters directed to Cos etc stating that money and troops were scarce articles. The Montazuma now Bravo is ordered to the Arransas to cruiz but without troops, There are 6 cannon mounted in Bexar to recieve us, and about 650 men I think after hearing all the stories about the dead and wounded the enemy lost 50 men as to the dead I saw 15 or 16 myself on the ground and two prisoners badly wounded now in our camp. We have four prisoners. Joel is well so are the two McNeels and Hassell neither of them had a chance to distinguish themselves. Uncle is much better in fact he is will I hope the campaign will soon be over. I have written 2 or 3 times since I left San felipe The express is about starting Joel's and my love to all M. Austin Bryan N B I write on my lap and in a hurry M A B Somervell is Major he sends his respects [Addressed:] Mr James F Perry Peach Point Mr Gay will forward this by the first opportunity ......Another chapter in Texas History of old ;D
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 3, 2007 0:51:29 GMT -5
November 2 in Texas History.... Wightmans lead colonists to Matagorda On this day in 1828, Elias R. Wightman and his new bride Mary began their trek to Texas from New York leading a group of approximately fifty to sixty colonists. Wightman had come to Texas as early as 1824, and in 1826 he petitioned Stephen F. Austin for the establishment of Matagorda. Austin sent both Wightman and David G. Burnet to the United States to find potential settlers for his colony. When Wightman returned to his home state of New York he married Mary Sherwood, a former pupil, and thus their honeymoon became a migration to a new and wild land. Aboard the schooner Little Zoe, the Wightmans and their band of immigrants finally arrived at their fledgling settlement in January1829. Elias surveyed the town of Matagorda and also operated a salt works. During the community’s early days he and his wife taught school. Elias died in 1841, shortly after he and Mary had returned to New York state; Mary then married Meredith Helm, who helped found Connersville, Indiana, where they lived until her death in 1886. In 1884 Mary wrote about her journey with Elias and details of the settlement of Matagorda in Scraps of Early Texas History. .....Another chapter in Tecas History ;D
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Post by Bromhead24 on Nov 3, 2007 12:40:18 GMT -5
Keep em comming Ted...
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Post by Greg C. on Nov 3, 2007 12:41:14 GMT -5
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 4, 2007 1:00:43 GMT -5
November 3 in Texas History..... High bridge sees its dawn over the Sunset Route On this day in 1891, construction began on the Pecos High Bridge in Val Verde County. Completed in early 1892, this structure was actually the second bridge built to serve trains traveling on the Southern Pacific's Sunset Route, and the new crossing greatly shortened the route of the rail line. Located at a deep gorge of the Pecos River, the mammoth structure was an engineering marvel supported by twenty-four towers and spanning a total length of 2,180 feet. Rising 321 feet above the river, the bridge was the highest railroad bridge in North America and third highest in the world. Judge Roy Bean of nearby Langtry served as coroner for workers killed during its construction. The Pecos High Bridge towered as a landmark for many years until a new bridge, located 440 feet downstream, opened in 1944. .....Another chapter in Texas History!
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 5, 2007 0:44:56 GMT -5
November 4 in Texas History.... Texans engage Mexican force in battle of Lipantitlán
On this day in 1835, the battle of Lipantitlán was fought on the east bank of the Nueces River three miles above San Patricio in San Patricio County, directly across from Fort Lipantitlán. A Texas force of around seventy men under Adjutant Ira J. Westover engaged a Mexican force of about ninety men under Capt. Nicolás Rodríguez. The battle lasted thirty-two minutes, leaving twenty-eight Mexicans dead, including Lt. Marcellino García, second in command, who was mortally wounded and died two days later at San Patricio. The Texans suffered only one casualty, when a rifle ball cut off three of the fingers on William Bracken's right hand. .....Another chapter in Texas History ;D
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 5, 2007 15:10:48 GMT -5
November 5 in Texas History..... Border between Texas and Louisiana declared Neutral Ground On this day in 1806, the United States and Spain signed an agreement establishing the Neutral Ground. After the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 the United States and Spain were unable to agree on the boundary between Louisiana and Texas. In 1806, in order to avert an armed clash, Gen. James Wilkinson and Lt. Col. Simón de Herrera, the American and Spanish military commanders respectively, entered into an agreement declaring the disputed territory Neutral Ground. The boundaries of the Neutral Ground were never officially described beyond a general statement that the Arroyo Hondo on the east and the Sabine River on the west were to serve as boundaries. Ownership of the strip was awarded the United States by the Adams-Onís Treaty in 1821. .....Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Bromhead24 on Nov 6, 2007 11:26:12 GMT -5
.........Spoilers............................................ When was JFK's assination?
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 6, 2007 20:16:16 GMT -5
November 6 in Texas History.......
Cabeza de Vaca discovers Texas and the castaways amazing journey
On this day in 1528, some eighty survivors of the Narváez expedition washed up on an island off the Texas coast. The castaways included Álvar Núñez ,Cabeza de Vaca and three other men: the slave Estavanico, Alonso Castillo Maldonado, and Andrés Dorantes de Carranza. These "four ragged castaways" became the first non-Indians to tread on Texas soil and live to tell their remarkable story. Cabeza de Vaca, born about 1490 in Spain, recovered from an almost fatal illness shortly after landing on the coast and then traveled the Texas coast and interior as a trader with native groups, including the Karankawas. The Indians revered him as a medicine man. He eventually rendezvoused with the three other survivors, and their journey ended when they arrived at the Spanish outpost of Culiacán near the Pacific Coast of Mexico in 1536. Cabeza de Vaca’s account of his amazing odyssey in his Relación detailed valuable ethnographic, geographic, and biotic information on Texas. He died in Spain in the mid-1550s. .....Another chapter in Texas History ;D
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 9, 2007 23:48:50 GMT -5
November 9 in Texas History..... Pioneer Texas inventor born in New York On this day in 1801, Gail Borden, Jr., inventor, publisher, surveyor,and founder of the Borden Company, was born in Norwich, New York. He came to Texas in 1829 and became surveyor for Austin's Colony in 1830. In 1835-37 the ubiquitous Borden published the Telegraph and Texas Register, prepared the first topographical map of Texas, and helped lay out the site of Houston. In the middle 1840s he began inventing. He is supposed to have experimented with large-scale refrigeration as a means of preventing yellow fever and with a terraqueous machine, a sort of prairie schooner that would go on land or water. In 1849 he perfected a meat biscuit, made of dehydrated meat compounded with flour, which he tried to market on a worldwide scale in partnership with Ashbel Smith. In 1853 he sought a patent for his most famous invention, a process for condensing milk in vacuum. After several unsuccessful attempts, he opened a condensed milk factory in Connecticut in 1858. When the Civil War brought intensified demand for condensed milk, sales grew so much that Borden's success was assured. After the war he returned to Texas and founded the community of Borden, where he established a meat-packing plant. He died in Borden on January 11, 1874. ......Another chapter in Texas History
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Post by Cole_blooded on Nov 10, 2007 20:48:17 GMT -5
November 10 in Texas History.... Battle of Stone Houses
On this day in 1837, eighteen Texas Rangers fought 150 to 180 Kichai Indians in present-day Archer County in a conflict called the battle of Stone Houses. In mid-October 1837, a ranger company pursued the raiding Kichais up the Colorado River. Lt. A. B. Van Benthusen and seventeen men split from the main group and headed north to the Brazos. Eventually, they found the Kichais. Cherokee and Delaware Indians who were present attempted to act as peace agents, but when one ranger killed an Indian and took a plug of tobacco from the dead man’s body the infuriated Kichais attacked. The rangers sought cover in a shallow ravine, but after fierce fighting, the Kichais set fire to the prairie and smoked them out. In the ensuing chaos, some rangers escaped into the woods. Eight rangers survived the battle, which was so named after three stone mounds that looked like houses to the Indians. .......Another chapter in Texas History ;D
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Post by neferetus on Nov 10, 2007 23:38:38 GMT -5
Wow! What was a Delaware Indian doing so far West? And what sort of influence did the negotiators hope he could have on the other tribes?
I mean you wouldn't send a man from New York City to San Antonio to sell picante sauce, would you?
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