Five Things You Might Not Know About the U.S. Flag (in Honor of Flag Day)-- Part 4: Star-Spangled Banner Flag Had 15 Stripes

The flag immortalized by "The Star-Spangles Banner" had 15 stripes-- not 13!

In 1791, Vermont was admitted to the Union and Kentucky joined in 1792.  Congress passed the second Flag Act on January 13, 1794, authorizing a new national flag with 15 stars and stripes.

During the War of 1812, Mary Pickersgill, her daughter, two nieces and an indentured black girl made a giant flag for Baltimore's Fort McHenry.

On September 14, 1814, after withstanding a heavy British bombardment, the fort raised the giant flag.  This triumph inspired Francis Scott Key to write a poem which has since become known as our National Anthem.

--Cooter

Deaths in Oct. 2022: Fuller, Lynn, Lansbury and Coltrane

CHARLES FULLER, 83

The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of the searing and acclaimed "A Soldier's Play" who often explored and exposed how social institutions can perpetuate racism.  

Died October 3.

LORETTA LYNN, 90

The Kentucky coalminer's daughter whose frank songs about life and love as a woman in Appalachia pulled her out of poverty and made her a pillar of country music.  

Died October 4.

ANGELA LANSBURY, 96

British actor who kicked her heels in the Broadway musicals "Mame" and "Gypsy" and solved endless murders as crime novelist Jessica Fletcher in the TV series "Murder, She Wrote."  

Died October 11.

ROBBIE COLTRANE, 72

Comedian and character actor whose hundreds of roles included a crime-solving psychologist on the TV series :Cracker and the gentle half-giant Hagrid in the "Harry Potter" movies.

Died October 14.

What?  No More Hagrid?

Charles Floyd-- Part 4: Significance

From the National Park Service

SERGEANT CHARLES FLOYD

SIGNIFICANCE:  Member of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.    Only expedition member to die on the journey.

DATE OF BIRTH:  1782

PLACE OF BIRTH:  Likely born at Floyd's  Station, just east of Louisville, Kentucky, a log fort established in 1789 by his uncle,  John Floyd.

PLACE OF DEATH:  Near today's Sioux City, Iowa.

DATE OF DEATH:  August 20, 1804

PLACE OF BURIAL:  The sergeant's remains are buried  under the 100-foot obelisk near Sioux City, Iowa, which stands  in a location near the original site, a lasting tribute to this outstanding young soldier and member of the Corps of Discovery.

--Cooter

History Wears a White Suit-- Part 2: Col. Harlan Sanders

Harlan Sanders was born in southern Indiana and moved to Corbin, Kentucky in the early days of the Great depression to work a service station where he sold fried chicken to travelers as a side job.  Word spread of how good his chicken was and business boomed.

He eventually expanded the gas station to include a larger cafe and a motel.  The restaurant has been restored to its 1950s appearance but customers order KFC in a modern addition.  The place also has lots of memorabilia.

Starting in the 1950s, Col. Harlan Sanders began going around to places selling bags of his secret eleven herbs and spices along with customized pressure cookers.  Joe Ledington, a nephew of the Colonel's said: "He'd put four or five in the trunk of his car and head out selling those pressure cookers.  he never had a penny to his name until he was 65 years old."

--CooterColonel

History Wears a White Suit-- Part 1: Col. Sanders and KFC

From the September 11, 2016, Chicago Tribune  by Jay Jones.

"You might not have heard of Harland Sanders Cafe, but   you certainly know the famous fried chicken first served here more than 75 years ago.

"This  unassuming restaurant in a small town in southeast Kentucky is where Col. Harland Sanders perfected his secret blend of 11 herbs and spices and launched what would become Kentucky Fried Chicken, a corporate giant with nearly 20,000 outlets around the globe."

The white frame restaurant was built in 1940 in Corbin, Kentucky, and is on the NRHP.  We were driving on I-75 through the area and saw a sign for the place and just had to pull off the road and visit it.  I'm a fan but I do like Popeye's Chicken and Jewel chicken better.

The restaurant itself has been restored to its 1950s look and you can buy some chicken to eat in an addition to the place, which we had to do.

--ColCooter

Little Known Facts About the First Barbary War-- Part 2: Hyms, Scimitars and A Few Good Men

In 1801, Tripoli declared war on the United States.  President Thomas Jefferson sent the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to the Mediterranean Sea to battle them.  After a four year war, the U.S. finally won.

HYMNS AND SCIMITARS:  After the Battle of Derna, the phrase "To the Shores of Tripoli" was added to the Marine Corps battle hymn.

The Marine Corps officer sword, adopted in 1826, was modeled after the Marmaluke scimitar given to Lt. O'Bannon in honor of his role in the march to Derna.

A FEW GOOD MEN:  In 1799, the Marine Corps consisted of 25 officers and 58 enlisted men.  Lt. O'Bannon continued to serve aboard the USS Argus and retired in 1807.  He moved to Kentucky where he served in both houses of the state legislature before dying in 1850 in Russellville.

A Frankfort, Kentucky, memorial to him that has the inscription "As captain of the United States Marines, he was the First to Plant the American Flag on Foreign Soil."

--DaCoot

84th Infantry Division: Went Overseas But Saw No Action in World War I

I have been writing about two Indiana World War II veterans who fought in this division in my Tattooed On Your Soul World War II blog the last four days.  You can view it by clicking on My Blog List.

From Wikipedia.

During World War I, men enlisting from the states of Illinois, Wisconsin and Kentucky were put into this new division, established in 1917.  They ere organized at Camp Taylor in Kentucky.  because of their being from those states, they chose the nickname "Railsplitters" in honor of Abraham Lincoln (and designed the distinctive patch).

They remained in training at Camp Taylor until August 1918 and deployed to France where the units would be used for replacements and would be sent to the Western Front.  The war ended with the 84th seeing no combat.

They returned to the United States and the unit was deactivated in January 1919.

--Cooter

D.A.R.'s Monument Dedication for Nancy Hart-- Part 3

"Nancy Hart was first cousin of Daniel Boone, and was possessed with the same indomitable pioneer spirit.  She was also of the same family as Gen. Daniel Morgan of New Jersey, being an own cousin of his.  Gen. Morgan, with his militia, served through the Revolution, all through the history of the war was read:

"Washington sent for Gen. Morgan and his militia."

"Gen. Morgan received the thanks of the Nation and Congress awarded him a gold medal for his brilliant victory at Cowpens, in which the British were completely routed and pursued for twenty miles.

"No doubt had  Nancy Morgan Hart been a man, she would have been in the front of  battle. leading her men to victory or death, but being a woman she did 'her bit' in a different way."

--Cooter

The DAR's Monument Dedication for Nancy Hart-- Part 2: Her Descendants Still Living

"Her last years were spent in the home of her son, John Hart, on this very farm, in a stone's throw of where she so peacefully slept for over one hundred years.

"Her descendants in the Gen. Samuel Hopkins Chapter D.A.R. have the unique distinction of being descended, lineally, from a woman patriot; all others in our chapter are descended from men who performed some patriotic duty during the Revolution."

A great granddaughter, Mrs. Mary Dixon, 94, is still alive in Henderson.

A list was then read of 13 women who are or have been members of the D.A.R. chapter, including two members still living in Henderson and five others living in Kentucky.  Others lived in Louisiana, Nevada, Nebraska, Chicago, Texas and California.

Nancy Hart, American Revolution Heroine-- Part 8: Another Famous Hart in Kentucky

More On her:

**  Hart Graveyard on Frog Island Road, is ten miles south of Henderson, Kentucky.  We just drove through there earlier this month coming back from Panama City Beach, Florida.  Wish I'd known about her as I might just have taken a detour and looked for her grave.

**  There is also a Hart County in Kentucky, which I thought might have been named for her, but it wasn't.  It was named for Captain Nathaniel G.S. hart, a Kentucky militia officer in the War of 1812.  he was wounded at the Battle of Frenchtown and died at the Massacre of the River Raisin in 1812.

I'll write about him more in my War of 1812 blog, Not So Forgotten.

Nancy Hart, American Revolution Heroine-- Part 7: Some Confusion About Burial

Find-A-Grave.

She is buried in what is now called the Book Cemetery near Henderson, Kentucky.  There are 82 internments listed there.  She is not mentioned as an important person buried there, which is surprising.

I've also seen it called the Hart-Book Cemetery.

A lot of people with the Book family name (26 of them) are buried there.  This land was probably initially owned by the Hart family and then the Book family took it over.

From Saving Graves site.

The Book Cemetery is privately owned by Steve Reed and neglected and overgrown.  It is located near US Highway 60 on Frog Island Road.

Under a Hart Brook Cemetery in Henderson, Ky., I the oldest grave was that of Nancy Hart, died 1837, DAR.  It also says this one is owned by Steve Reed and neglected with overgrown trees, ground cover and vines.

Another source mentioned that the Hart Graveyard is on Frog Island Road, ten miles from Henderson.

--Cooter

Nancy Hart, American Revolution Heroine-- Part 5

From Find-A-Grave.

NANCY ANN MORGAN HART

1747-1840

One of 4 Harts buried in the Book Cemetery.

Her son, John Hart is buried there as well.

Her son Mark is buried in Mount Juliet Cemetery in Tennessee.

There is the Nancy Hart Highway established in 1928 through the efforts of the Georgia DAR.  A marker stone was erected by the Stephen Heard Chapter DAR.

--DaCoot

Nancy Hart, American Revolution Heroine-- Part 4

She is buried at the Hart Family Cemetery, near Henderson, Kentucky.

On the approximate site of the Hart cabin in Elbert County, the DAR has erected a replica cabin, its chimney using the stones from the original.

--Cooter

Eating With History

From American Profile "10 of America's Oldest Eateries" by Marti Attoun.

These taverns, inns and restaurants have been serving great food for at least 150 years. I am listing them here, but will have more detail in my RoadDog's RoadLog Blog.

OLD '76 HOUSE-- Tappan, NY-- 1686
KING GEORGE II INN-- Bristol, Pa. 1681
THE PIRATES' HOUSE-- Savannah, Ga. 1734

OLD TALBOTT TAVERN-- Bardstown, Ky. 1779
THE GOLDEN LAMB-- Lebanon, Ohio 1803
THE LOG INN--Warrenton, Ind. 1825
UNION OYSTER HOUSE-- Boston, Mass. 1826

ANTOINE'S RESTAURANT-- New Orleans, La. 1840
TADICH GRILL-- San Francisco, Cal. 1849
HAYS HOUSE-- Council Grove, Kan. 1857.

And, Several Are Over 150 Years. --DaCoot

Some More on Jack Jouett, Unknown Hero of the Revolution

Back on Nov. 28th, (Speaking of New England) I wrote about Jack Jouett who rode to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature that the British were coming to capture them at Charlottesville. I'd never heard of him before.

While browsing some blogs, I came across that name again, this time in one about the back roads of Kentucky. For some reason, I recalled the name.

There were pictures of a historical marker and his home in Woodford County, Kentucky, where he moved after the war.

The marker reads that Captain John (Jack) Jouett (1754-1822) built the home around 1797 and that he was a hero of the Revolution having ridden all-night to warn the Virginia legislature including Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry as well as three signers of the Declaration of Independence about an approaching British force intent on their capture and possibly worse.

he was also a member of the Kentucky Separation Convention and father of famous portrait painter Matthew Jouett.

The house is located off McCowan's Ferry Road in Woodford County.

And You've All Heard of Paul Revere. --Cooter