A Very Historical Day...
We're going to shift gears today from my post yesterday, and focus on one of my personal passions...namely history, and more specifically, the history of AMERICA. Next life, I should see about becoming a history teacher...(among other things). ((Sherman, set the WAY-BACK MACHINE to the year 1861...the place, the United States of America, Charleston, SC.))
*** After more than several years of bickering and infighting between the states (both in and out of Congress) regarding rights of property and the slavery issue, the threat of secession was near at hand, and it all came to a head one Spring morning south of the "Mason-Dixon" line. The CIVIL WAR began in the early morning hours of 12 April, 1861 with the Confederate forces of P.G.T. Beauregard opening fire on the Union's Fort Sumter, commanded by General Robert Anderson.
Fort Sumter is located in the middle of Charleston harbor in South Carolina. Fort Sumter was a pretty important battle, but not because it was the most bloodiest, or the most people died in this battle. It was the most significant of the Civil war, because it started the war. This battle began at exactly 4:30 in the morning. At 3:20 that morning, General Beauregard sent a message to General Anderson warning him that they would open fire in an hours time. The first shot fired was ordered by Beauregard and it signaled the other Forts surrounding Fort Sumter to attack. No one in Fort Sumter lost a life during this battle at any time.
The Fort was on fire and General Anderson had no more food or supplies. The only mistake he made was not firing back right away.
He fired back at the Confederates three hours later at exactly 7:20 in the morning. The fighting continued and the Confederates did not cease firing until the next day, 13 April, 1861 in the morning. The battle was over and the Confederates had gained a victory. Anderson could no longer put his troops in danger so he did the only thing he could do, surrender when he raised the white flag. Beauregard allowed Anderson to leave the Fort with all his men and their belongings, also their weapons. Thus started the bloodiest war to ever happen upon our shores and among our people. A nation had been divided. Now begins the 150th ANNIVERSARY of our nation's CIVIL WAR.
*** With all the celebratory remembrances sure to occur, as well as reenactments for most every battle (throughout the next four years), we have to look beyond the pall of warfare, and of politics. We should remember, if nothing else that THIS war pitted family against family, brother against brother... NO other war has ever managed to do that in the numbers we saw all those years ago. And hopefully, NO other war yet waged will do that either. I know I plan to be sticking my nose in history books, rediscovering the reasons behind this war, why men fought in it, and many times why, after such a trauma has been levied against our nation, do we STILL find ourselves divided in OTHER ways. I believe there is SO much to learn from both sides of this conflict.
And I also plan (with God's grace) to highlight those events that occurred 150 years ago...much like a current event or perhaps a reflection to specific battles, people and places.
I hope you will find it enlightening.
*** Something else happened today, but not quite as long ago.
It was back on this day in 1961 that Russian pilot (later cosmonaut) Yuri Gagarin became the first man into space.
His trip aboard Vostok 1 lasted long enough to circle the earth.
Here's the WIKI on this space pioneer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin
Sadly, his life ended in 1968 during a training mission flying a MiG 15.
And another event a bit closer to home happened this day:
*** The first launch of the Space Shuttle occurred on 12 April 1981, exactly 20 years after the first manned space flight, when the orbiter Columbia, with two crew members, astronauts John W. Young, commander, and Robert L. Crippen, pilot, lifted off from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, at the Kennedy Space Center — the first of 24 launches from Pad A.
The launch took place at precisely 7 a.m. EST. A launch attempt 2 days earlier was scrubbed because of a timing problem in one of Columbia’s general purpose computers. Not only was this the first launch of the Space Shuttle, but it marked the first time that solid-fuel rockets were used for a NASA manned launch. (Note that all Mercury and Apollo astronauts had relied on a solid-fuel motor in the escape tower.)
It was also the first U.S. manned space vehicle launched without an unmanned powered test flight. The STS-1 orbiter, Columbia, also holds the record for the amount of time spent in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) before launch — 610 days, time needed for replacement of many of its heat shield tiles.
Primary mission objectives of the maiden flight were to check out the overall Shuttle system, accomplish a safe ascent into orbit and to return to Earth for a safe landing.
The only payload carried on the mission was a Development Flight Instrumentation (DFI) package which contained sensors and measuring devices to record orbiter performance and the stresses that occurred during launch, ascent, orbital flight, descent and landing. All of these objectives were met successfully, and the Shuttle vehicle spaceworthiness was verified. During Day 2, the astronauts received a phone call from Vice President George H. W. Bush. President Ronald Reagan originally intended to visit the Mission Control Center during the mission, but was still recovering from an assassination attempt two weeks before launch.
The STS-1 Shuttle reached an orbital altitude of 166 nautical miles (307 km). The 37-orbit, 1,074,567-mile (1,729,348 km)-long flight lasted 2 days, 6 hours, 20 minutes and 53 seconds. Landing occurred on Runway 23 at Edwards Air Force Base, California at 10:21 a.m. PST, 14 April 1981. Columbia was returned to Kennedy Space Center from California on April 28 atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.
I remember watching this...another "everyone stopped to see it" moment.
AND we cheered our heads off at the accomplishment by our country. Funny, we don't hear all that much cheering these days...more like a whole lot of "sighing" Be nice to have days such as that one back again.
Well, we all know that POLITICS has so much to do about everything, but hopefully, THAT will be amended in the near future. (unless fate dictates otherwise)
I believe we have stumbled off the path of greatness as a nation, but that does NOT mean we cannot reclaim that path and continue the journey.
For I feel that this nation must continue it's path of freedom and of liberty.
To negate such a repsonsibility is something I do not want to even consider.
It's our calling, our duty, to each other and to our future.
Be well, make a difference to someone, and...
Stay safe out there, America.