On July 4... --Part 2: A Real Bad Day for the Confederacy, A Starry Day for the Flag

1845--  Author Henry David Thoreau began his two-year experiment in simple living at Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts.

1863--  Union troops under Gen. Ulysses Grant defeated Confederate forces at Vicksburg, Mississippi, ending a 14-month siege in the Civil War.  Occurring one day after the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg.

1917--  In a ceremony in Paris, France honoring the French hero of the American  Revolution, U.S. Lt. Colonel Charles Stanton declared, "Lafayette, we are here!"

1946--  The Philippines became an independent republic after 48 years of U.S. rule.

1959--  America's 49-star flag was unveiled honoring Alaska's statehood.

1960--  America's 50-star flag was unveiled honoring Hawaii's statehood.

--CootDec