Winston-Salem left impression on Lombardi

“The [Packers’] final preseason game [of 1960] was held in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, against the lily-white Washington Redskins. According to Lombardi lore, an event took place there that solidified the coach’s decision to no longer submit his team to the segregation policies of the South. Lombardi, his naturally tawny skin further darkened by a month of practice under the summer sun, entered a local restaurant the night before the game and was refused seating by a hostess who mistook him for a black man.

“There are many apocrypha in the legend of St. Vincent of Green Bay, but this story rings true. Lombardi told it to his family later, and … the black players often joked among themselves that by the end of summer camp their coach was a secret ‘brother.’ ”

— From “When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi” (1999) by David Marannis

Wouldn’t ESPN do well to consider this scene for its recently announced “Lombardi” biopic? Robert De Niro has the title role.

Fatal error: Smallpox mailed to Tarboro

“[In 1813] Congress established a National Vaccine Agency as part of the Act to Encourage Vaccination (promoted by former president Jefferson). The Vaccine Agency was closed, however, and the Act to Encourage Vaccination repealed, in 1822, after [agency director James] Smith mistakenly mailed smallpox virus instead of cowpox to a vaccinator in Tarboro, North Carolina. Dr. Smith’s error caused at least 10 deaths.”

— From “The Greatest Killer: Smallpox in History” (2002) by Donald R. Hopkins

Is Paris burning? No, but Charlotte may be

charlottefrench

This is a nice example of why pinback buttons fall under the heading of ephemera.  Who (well, besides me) would have held onto this teasing question from officials at Raleigh-Durham International Airport after they added an American Airlines flight to Paris in 1988 — a direct connection then lacking at Charlotte/Douglas International.

American dropped the Paris flight in 1994 and shut its RDU hub a year later.

The ill-starred bird call of John Sprunt Hill

“Grey-haired John Sprunt Hill rose from his desk in the Senate chamber at Raleigh, hunched his venerable shoulders and sang out loud & clear: ‘Chickadee, chickadee, chickadee-dee-dee.’

“No sudden madness had gripped the distinguished Senator…. North Carolina was one of only five States without an official bird. Winner of a Statewide newspaper poll had been the Carolina chickadee, and the State Federation of Women’s Clubs asked the Legislature to elect the chickadee.

“Senator George McNeill of Fayetteville trooped over to the State museum, brought back a stuffed chickadee to enlighten his urban colleagues. Someone told Salisbury’s veteran Representative Walter Pete Murphy that the chickadee eats insects. ‘For God’s sake,’ cried he, ‘don’t turn the chickadee loose on this House.’

“When legislative wit had run its course both houses conferred official status upon the chickadee. Then it was the State’s turn to have fun. The chickadee is a member of the titmouse family. Editors remembered ‘Little Tommy Tittlemouse’ who ‘lived in a little house,’ began to refer to the ‘Tomtit Legislature.’ Clubs and societies stirred uneasily at the prospect of North Carolina’s becoming known as the ‘tomtit State.’

“The legislators withstood the waggish barrage for ten days. Then another bill was quietly introduced. With no voice raised in opposition, North Carolina’s Senate & House last week repealed the chickadee.”

— Time magazine, May 29, 1933

Hill was more successful, of course, in his munificent advocacy of the North Carolina Collection.

Hands Off My Book!

One of our catalogers recently pointed out the following…and of course, we felt like sharing—unlike Mr. Hillman!

VC345_2_1792copy5

Here’s my translation of the handwriting from the flyleaf (but please correct me if you think I am wrong!):

Saml. Hillman

Sandy Harris — Book

This is the property of Saml. Hillman and not Sandy Harris as he states — Why will men choose to claim that which does not belong to them

The “argument” over this book can be found in copy 5 of the following item:

A collection of the statutes of the Parliament of England in force in the state of North-Carolina / published according to a resolve of the General assembly by Francois-Xavier Martin … Newbern : From the Editor’s Press, 1792. VC345.2 1792

Interestingly enough, there is a list of subscribers to this publication at the end of the book–and neither Mr. Harris nor Mr. Hillman is listed.

In Raleigh, chief justice had to fend for himself

“As chief justice, [John] Marshall was assigned by the Judiciary Act of 1802 to [hold court on] the North Carolina circuit, which convened in Raleigh…. The state government had moved to Raleigh from coastal New Bern, and the new capital had all the trappings of a piedmont frontier town as it struggled to accommodate the various legislators and state officials who descended upon it. Jonathan Mason, a former United States senator from Massachusetts, described the town as ‘a miserable place, nothing but a few wooden buildings and a brick Court House.’

“In 1803 Raleigh’s population numbered fewer than 1,000. Marshall found lodging in the boardinghouse of Henry H. Cooke — a rickety frame building about a quarter of a mile from the courthouse.  The rooms were spartan, and Marshall had to gather his own wood and make his own fires. But for the next 32 years he stayed with Cooke whenever he held court in Raleigh.”

— From “John Marshall: Definer of a Nation” (1996) by Jean Edward Smith. Strange as it seems today, not until 1911 did Congress permanently free Supreme Court justices from circuit-riding duty.

Who can crack this Miscellany mystery?

This is a letter (with enclosure) that seems to reveal a plot against Rev. William Thomas Walker (1844-1895), a Disciples of Christ minister in Caswell County who ran for governor on the Prohibitionist Party ticket. Was Walker blackmailed? For what purpose? Did the doctor agree to attest to Walker’s opiate-induced stupor?

Can’t swear to the accuracy of my transcription, but I think I captured the gist. The letter is now in the collection, if anybody wants a first-hand examination.

Greensboro N.C. June 16 — 88

Dear —,

The importance of securing the signature of Dr. W.A. Drury [?] to a testimonial, a copy of which I herewith inclose, or something similar thereto, cannot be overestimated. For you can then write the communication and back it up with Dr. Drury’s affadavit. Of course it is not necessary for the affadavit to be published, and you can so state to Dr. Drury, but you may want it held in reserve to substantiate the charge after it appears, but I have no idea really that any of his friends will attempt a denial of the charge.

You re-write the affadavit or testimonial I send herewith before presenting it to Dr. Drury so that he will not detect my hand. Write me at once.

Frank [?] Whitehead
Brown’s Summit,N.C.

June — 1888

I hereby certify that I was called to see one Mr. W. T. Walker, the present candidate for Governor on the Third party ticket about [blank] years ago on a professional call to administer physic to a man who had taken laudanum for whiskey. Upon my arrival Mr. Walker stated without soliticitation on my part, that he had mistaken a bottle of laudanum for a bottle of whiskey that was in his valise and requested me to do something for him and do it quick. I administered physic to the afflicted man and had two men to walk him all night to keep him from going to sleep, one on each side. By this means his life was prolonged….

Mr. Walker stated that he regretted the circumstances on account of his family as much as anything else, remarking that they would certainly find it out. I prefer not to go any further into the details of the matter.

Respectfully,

[unsigned]

March 1781: Battle of Guilford Courthouse

This Month in North Carolina History

Map of Battle of Guilford Courthouse
In a clearing in the woods in Guilford County, North Carolina, in 1781, British soldiers led by General Charles, the Lord Cornwallis, clashed with Whig troops led by General Nathanael Greene in a battle that changed the course of the American Revolution in the southern colonies and contributed to the ultimate defeat of the British at Yorktown, Virginia.

In 1780 the British, stalemated in their attempt to subdue the northern and middle colonies, turned their attention to the south. Relying on their command of the sea, they quickly gained control of the coastal areas of Georgia and North Carolina. Whig forces responded by an attack on the British advance base at Camden, South Carolina, but were defeated and scattered. George Washington, disturbed by the deteriorating military situation in the south, entrusted command of Whig forces there to General Nathanael Greene, his quartermaster general. Faced immediately with a severe supply problem, Greene divided his army into several independent units which could supply themselves more easily. They were also rallying points for Whig militia.

From his base in Camden Cornwallis struck at Greene’s independent units, hoping to destroy them or drive them from the Carolina back country. British troops and loyalist militia were themselves defeated, however, at the battle of King’s Mountain in October, 1780, and the British Legion, sent to find and destroy a detachment of troops led by General Daniel Morgan, came to disaster at the battle of Cowpens in January, 1781.

Spurred on by the defeat at Cowpens and the capture or more than six hundred British soldiers, roughly a quarter of his troops, Cornwallis led his whole army into North Carolina in pursuit of Morgan and his prisoners. Cornwallis failed to take into account, however, the extreme difficulty of moving an army in the backcountry in winter, and Morgan stayed well ahead of him. On January 25th, at Ramsour’s Mill, North Carolina, Cornwallis burned his wagon train with all his supplies in an attempt to speed up his men.

Watching Cornwallis push on recklessly into North Carolina, Nathanael Greene saw a great opportunity to catch the British far from their base. He summoned the scattered units of his command to unite with Morgan, at the same time maintaining the withdrawal northward. In the end Greene withdrew all the way into Virginia, exhausting his pursuers. By early March 1781 Greene had pulled together more than four thousand of his men including 1500 troops of the continental line and was ready to offer battle. Greene prepared for Cornwallis at Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, organizing his forces in three lines. The first two comprised militia troops who were expected to fire only a couple of rounds before retiring. Greene’s continental regulars filled the third line. On the 15th of March, 1781, Cornwallis arrived at Guilford Courthouse. Although he was outnumbered two to one, Cornwallis attacked head on, pushing aside the militia lines and ultimately forcing the retreat of the third line as well. Left in possession of the field, Cornwallis claimed victory. The “victory,” however, had cost him more than 25 percent of his army, which was no longer fit to keep the field. Cornwallis began a slow and exhausting march to Wilmington, North Carolina, where he could be resupplied by the British navy. Greene, on the other hand turned south into South Carolina and Georgia where he began attacking the troops left behind when his opponent marched north.

Greene’s decision to move south proved a wise one as he gradually drove the inland British garrisons back to the coast. Cornwallis on the other hand elected to move north into Virginia. There, as in North Carolina, his regulars were the masters of the ground on which they stood, but their supply lines were constantly disrupted by Whig regulars and militia. Cornwallis again had to retreat to the sea at Yorktown and the protection of the navy. There he found that the navy had been driven off by the French fleet, and he was soon besieged and forced to surrender by the combined armies of Washington and Rochambeau.


Sources
Babits, Lawrence E. and Joshua B. Howard. Long, Obstinate, and Bloody: the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.

Davis, Burke. The Cowpens-Guilford Courthouse Campaign. Raleigh, NC: Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.