America’s 14th president, Franklin Pierce, was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, on November 23, 1804. Despite his early popularity, Pierce only served one term due to his poor handling of the growing slavery issue.
On October 30, 1629, the Carolina Province was named, and plans were made for early settlement. That settlement would be delayed for many years, but the name was retained.
The Civil War Battle of Ball’s Bluff was fought in Loudoun County, Virginia on October 21, 1861. Though a minor battle and loss for the Union, it had some long-lasting effects on the war and some interesting historical connections.
Winfield Scott Schley was born on October 9, 1839, near Frederick, Maryland. He served with distinction in the Civil War and Spanish-American War, most notably claiming victory at the Battle of Santiago.
On September 17, 1862, Union and Confederate troops assembled at Antietam Creek for a 12-hour battle. By sunset, one in five men had become a casualty of the bloodiest one-day battle ever fought on American soil.
On September 16, 1893, some 100,000 people raced to claim 6 million acres of land in former Indian Territory in Oklahoma. It was the largest land run into Oklahoma and resulted in the establishment of 40,000 homesteads.
On September 7, 1813, a newspaper referred to the United States as “Uncle Sam.” The name reportedly came from Troy, New York’s Uncle Sam Wilson, and has since become one of America’s most enduring national symbols.
The Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park was established in Vermont on August 26, 1992. It’s the first national park in the country created to honor the history of conservation.
Phoebe Yates Levy Pember was born on August 18, 1823, in Charleston, South Carolina. During the Civil War, she directed the care and dietary needs of over 15,000 soldiers at Richmond’s Chimborazo, one of the CSA’s largest hospitals. She later recounted her experiences in her memoir, A Southern Woman’s Story.