“Most Awful and Most Lamentable Catastrophe - President John Tyler and the U.S.S. Princeton" Pt. 3

The Princeton was about 2 miles below Alexandria when the gun was fired.  Sykes later wrote, “The report was not so loud as at the previous discharges,” but the smoke was heavy, “the deck was completely enveloped in smoke for some moments…”  Sykes, whose attention was directed down river in order to watch the ball strike the water, said “I observed some ten or a dozen hats and various pieces of canvass floating on the water at which I was surprized – being utterly unconscious that the gun had burst.”

In fact, the gun had burst as soon as Stockton had pulled the lanyard to the trigger the gun’s lock.  The whole ship shook with the force of the great explosion, with almost everyone on board believing it to be the result of the gun blast.  As the smoke cleared the scene that revealed itself was one of carnage.  “A solemn deathlike and dreadfully awful silence prevailed at the moment neither sigh, groan or shriek being heard.”

The scene upon the deck may more easily be imagined than described . . . what words can adequately depict a scene like this?

            The “Peacemaker” had burst along its left side, shattering into flying fragments of over several thousand pounds of iron.  Stockton lay on the deck, luckily only stunned, with a big peace of metal lying on his chest.  Others were not as fortunate as Stockton, Secretary of the Navy Gilmer, Secretary of State Upshur, along with two members of the gun crew were killed instantly.  Sykes recorded the grisly state of Captain Kennon and Virgil Maxcy, who were killed instantly as well, “Kennon was mangled in the most dreadful manner his breast was completely mashed in, both legs and both arms were broken in several places and one of his feet came off in attempting to get his boot off.  Maxcy’s arm came off about halfway between his arm and wrist as a gentleman took hold of the hand to assist in laying him out…”  His other severed arm struck a lady in the head, covering her face with blood and knocking off her bonnet.  President Tyler’s servant, who had been leaning against the gun, was killed by the concussion as “neither surgeon of the Princeton could discover the slightest wound or injury about him.”  In addition, nine seaman who were around the gun had some of their limbs or bones broken (one had both legs broken).  Ms. Gardiner’s father was also among those who were killed during the accident.

Many other guests suffered serious bruises and lacerations.  Unconscious guests with open head wounds seeping dark, venous blood lay near the destroyed gun.  Senator Thomas Hart Benton, who had been seated on another gun six feet away, felt a blast to the face, and knew nothing more until he woke up a few minutes after the explosion, suffering from shock and a burst ear drum.  The woman who had been holding his arm was blown into the rigging, although amazingly, she was unhurt.  After his initial shock, Stockton brought everything under control and had the ship steaming under full-speed for Alexandria in a very short time.  Surgeons worked on the wounded while crew members laid the dead on mattresses and shrouded them with flags.  The excursion that had begun so joyfully ended with sobs, hushed commiserations, and hysterics.

Honor Saves America Pt. 1

“I heard the bullets whistle, and believe me, there is something charming in the sound.” George Washington

George Washington, commander of the Continental Army, was respected by friend and foe alike for his physical courage.  He was uncommonly, though not uniquely brave.  Washington typified the model of the “lead from the front” officer of the late 18^th century.  The habit of placing himself in front his men in battle often put Washington in real danger of being wounded or killed during battle.  However, Washington’s honor presented no other option; the sound of gunfire drew him like a magnet.  This put him in positions where he could make quick decisions and encourage his troops.  Fortunately for Washington, his courage coincided with remarkable luck.  The battle of Brandywine (Sept. 11, 1777) presented the ultimate test for his good fortune.

The battle of Brandywine was the first major engagement between the British (led by Lieutenant General Sir William Howe) and Washington’s army since the British victory at Long Island in August 1776.  That defeat had resulted in the loss of New York to the Colonial cause for the rest war.  Howe had spent the summer of 1777 attempting to draw Washington into battle, but the American commander had stubbornly refused.  In a final attempt to draw Washington into the open (for what he hoped would be the last battle of the war), Howe embarked 16,000 men at Sandy Hook, NJ, where he hoped to sail his men up the Delaware River to threaten Philadelphia.

Howe’s plans changed when he received faulty intelligence concerning obstructions in the Delaware and as a result decided to enter the Chesapeake Bay, landing at the northernmost point possible and approach Philadelphia overland.   Washington moved to intercept Howe and took up positions at Brandywine Creek, which was the last natural line of defense before the Schuylkill River and Philadelphia.

Among Howe’s officers was Captain Patrick Ferguson.  Ferguson had a brilliant reputation as an officer and inventor.  After becoming interested in musketry, he invented a weapon far superior to the standard Land Pattern (“Brown Bess”) musket.  His weapon was breech loading and weighed a mere 7.5 pounds (compared to the Brown Bess’s 14 pounds).  He demonstrated his rifle’s capabilities to the senior officers in England by firing at a rate of 4 rounds per minute at a target 300 yards away.  He increased the rate of fire to six rounds a minute at a target 100 yards off.  He so impressed his Majesty, King George III, that he was sent to North America with orders to Lord Howe to establish a “Sharp Shooters Corps” to be commanded by Ferguson. Ferguson and his “corps” (consisting of 100 men) were an experimental formation to be tested using the new rifles for one campaign and then returned to their original regiments. They were serving alongside the Queen’s Rangers during the battle of Brandywine. 

Capt. Patrick Ferguson

“Most Awful and Most Lamentable Catastrophe - President John Tyler and the U.S.S. Princeton" Pt. 2

The Princeton conducted her sea-trial on October 17 in which she engaged in a speed contest with the British steamer SS Great Western, beating the fastest recorded ship at the time easily.  The Princeton sailed for New York on January 1, 1844, where she received her two main guns, named Peacemaker and Oregon.

             In order to demonstrate the power of their new vessel, the Navy sent the Princeton to Washington D.C. in late January 1844, with the ship arriving on February 13.  The ship was extremely popular among the populace of the capital, with Stockton (now commander of the Princeton) giving three trial trips with passengers throughout the month.  Reporters who were invited to take part were glowing in their reviews.  A correspondent for the Ohio Statesmen wrote, “…it is impossible to tell you the half that we saw and heard and enjoyed in this excursion…” 

 The display was not without its critics however, with former president John Quincy Adams among the most ardent.  He accused Stockton of using the ship, “to fire their souls with a patriotic ardor for a naval war.”  Adams felt that the name of the guns “Oregon” and “Peacemaker” reflected the desire of some to settle the dispute in the Pacific Northwest with Britain in a less than peaceful fashion.

 

U.S.S. Princeton

            Despite Adam’s objections, the Washington elite were thrilled by the visit and lobbied Stockton to hold a ball on board his vessel.  Stockton refused, but as a compromise agreed to a final excursion on the Princeton, with entertainment on board.  The number of invitations sent out exceeded 400 with half of them being sent to ladies.  Among the luminaries invited was social icon Dolly Madison.  Not everyone was completely caught up in the festive nature of the event.  According to Congressman George Sykes, Capt. Stockton was concerned about having so many luminaries on board and had a feeling that something might go wrong.  Stockton wrote to his wife the night before the event, “Tomorrow – Tomorrow – Oh that tomorrow were past and I could say All is well.”

The Princeton at this time made a most beautiful appearance…

            Whatever trepidations Stockton might have had, they were not reflected among the revelers as there was a festive atmosphere on the morning of February 28.  Sykes would later write, “The day was mild and serene without a cloud – the company were all dressed in their very best and every one seemed pleased and happy.”  The quests were transported from the Washington wharf by steamboat to the Princeton, which was moored six miles downstream.  All the guests were onboard by noon and the fateful cruise got underway shortly after.

            For some two hours or more the quests were entertained by the repeated firing of the “Peacemaker,” and the other guns of the ship’s battery, afterward which they went below decks and were treated to a massive feast which was highlighted by generous amounts of champagne (Tyler’s favorite libation).  Amid the festive and alcohol fueled atmosphere, President Tyler began a series of toasts to the Navy, Stockton, and the Princeton and then guests broke into spontaneous song.  The atmosphere on the nation’s greatest warship was equal to any ball held in the capital at that time, with every guest enjoying the voyage to the utmost.

 The Princeton had come about for her return journey and at approximately four o’clock was passing Mount Vernon again when an officer whispered in Stockton’s ear that one of the guests wanted the gun fired again.  At first Stockton refused, but when he heard the request was from Secretary Gilmer, he consented.  Over one hundred of the guests made their way back on deck where Captain Stockton prepared to pull the gun’s lanyard himself.  President Tyler was making his way toward the deck, when his son-in-law William Waller began singing a “old-fashioned national song”, and turning to Congressman Sykes stated, “ When I was a young man that was one of the most popular songs in Virginia – and as I have not heard it for 20 years or more I prefer returning to the cabin and listening to it instead of seeing the gun fired again.”  It might be added that Tyler was also involved in an exchange with the beautiful Julia Gardiner* and one can understand his desire to remain in her company.  These momentary diversions may have very easily saved his life.

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* The widower Tyler was courting Miss Gardiner, a captivating beauty known as “Belle of Long Island.”  Gardiner was half Tyler’s age which resulted in much tongue-wagging among the Washington elite.

“Most Awful and Most Lamentable Catastrophe - President John Tyler and the U.S.S. Princeton" Pt. 1

President John Tyler

Whig Party candidate William Henry Harrison was elected the ninth president of the United States in 1840, however he did not have long to enjoy the fruits of his victory, as he had the sad distinction of holding that office for a mere 30 days.  The oldest man (until Reagan) to be elected president at 67 years old, Harrison was anxious to demonstrate his vitality after winning the presidency and decided to give his inaugural address without hat or coat.  Unfortunately, bad weather arrived and Harrison was forced to give the longest speech in inaugural history (2 hours) on a cold and rainy day.  The president developed a cold and the added stress of trying to deal with office seekers resulted in the cold becoming pneumonia.  Despite the ministrations of physicians, Harrison would die a short time later and Virginian John Tyler would replace him.     

            Harrison was the first president to die in office and in 1841, the Constitution was silent on the matter of succession.  Tyler, who had served as both a governor and senator, determined to be president-in-full – not merely an “acting president,” which was contrary to the wishes of most of the senior members of Congress.  In their view, another election should be held and a new president elected.  Tyler stood his ground though and seized the presidency when he took the presidential oath (April 6, 1841) as soon as he could get to Washington after Harrison’s death.  President Tyler moved into the White House and became “president-in-fact.”  Despite the fact that Tyler was often referred to as “His Accidency”, both the House and Senate soon passed resolutions recognizing Tyler as the tenth president.  Tyler, a former Democrat, elected on an official Whig ticket, remains the first and only practicing independent to hold the nation’s highest office.

President Tyler soon showed that he was a genuine independent and that he would not serve as a “puppet” for the powerful Congressional leaders Webster and Clay.  He appointed numerous Democrats to government positions and later vetoed as unconstitutional two bills in which Congress had tried to revive the second Bank of the United States.  His entire Whig cabinet resigned in protest (except Webster who was out of country).  Tyler immediately used recess appointments to avoid Senate confirmation proceedings and replaced all cabinet members within two days.  An enraged Whig Party was so furious by Tyler’s betrayal that they denounced him as a traitor and expelled him from the party two days later in a declaration published in newspapers around the nation.  Tyler was officially a political pariah in the capital.  

            President Tyler went on to wield the veto so often and so vigorously that a resolution to impeach him was introduced in the House of Representatives – another first in American history.  Despite the backing of John Quincy Adams, the resolution failed and Tyler continued to vex the Whigs and Democrats alike.

            The issue of Texas annexation was perhaps the most controversial of the issues facing Tyler while in office.  Factions within Texas, an independent republic, hoped to become part of the Union and they were supported by southerners within Congress.  Tyler hoped to draw support for a new political party he was attempting to form by leading the drive to annex Texas and make it a state.  As with all of his other political moves, this one was strongly opposed by political opponents – this time northerner abolitionists, who feared the prospect of another slave state upsetting the sectional balance in Congress.  Tyler saw Texas as his ticket back to political respectability and his new party, the Democratic Republicans, used “Tyler and Texas!” as their slogan.  Arguing that the annexation of Texas would serve the broad national interests, President Tyler hoped to avoid potentially divisive interests of sectionalism.

 

On Feb. 27, 1844, Secretary of State Abel Upshur successfully completed negotiations for a draft treaty with the emissaries of the Lone Star Republic.  Texas citizens were to be granted all the rights and privileges of American citizens, the institution of slavery was to remain intact, and all public lands were to be ceded to the United States in return for U.S. assumption of Texan public debt.  Finally, the treaty stipulated that both parties would ratify the agreement within six months after the initial signing.  Tyler’s supporters had canvassed the Senate and indicated that he was close to securing the two-thirds vote required for ratification.  This victory would redeem him and poise him to win another term. 

            It was within this context (the day after negotiations were completed) that Tyler, Upshur, Secretary of Navy Glimer, and almost 400 other guests prepared for a carefree cruise on the United States Navy’s newest and most powerful warship, the steam frigate U.S.S. Princeton.  The Princeton was a screw-propelled steam frigate and the most technologically advanced warship of her day.  She ran silent and smokeless on a high-grade Anthracite coal and the two vibrating lever engines drove a six-bladed screw 14 ft. in diameter.  The engine was small enough to fit below the waterline (making it impervious to enemy fire).  The ship also had a collapsible funnel, an improved range-finder, and improved recoil systems for her main guns.  This technological marvel was the work of John Ericsson (Swedish nautical engineer who later designed the U.S.S. Monitor).  The construction was partly supervised by Captain Robert F. Stockton, who had navigated the project through the pitfalls of Congressional budgeting.  The Princeton was commissioned on Sept. 9, 1843.

Killing Lincoln (Part II)

Dr. Luke Blackburn

After the war broke out in April, 1861, Pinkerton offered his services to President Lincoln who quickly accepted, “Your services are, I think, greatly needed by the government at this time.”  Pinkerton met with the president and his cabinet proposing the creation of a secret service department.  His idea was approved and he was soon selecting many of his best operatives for the new service, which was established in the Department of Ohio under the command of Major General George B. McClellan.  Pinkerton and his group moved to Washington D.C. after McClellan was given command of the Army of the Potomac a short time later.  While Pinkerton was on the job, no further attempts on Lincoln were attempted, however, he left Washington in 1862; disgusted that his friend McClellan had been removed from command of the army.

Dr. Luke Blackburn

Attempts on Lincoln’s life began anew in 1863.   In the summer of that year, as the Confederate military situation became desperate, Dr. Luke Blackburn allegedly devised a scheme to assassinate Lincoln by infecting him with yellow fever[i].  Blackburn’s scheme involved him traveling to Bermuda[ii] (supposedly to help treat victims of a yellow fever epidemic) where he gathered clothing from yellow fever victims, bringing five trunks full to Canada[iii].  In Canada, Confederate agents sought to employ Godfrey Joseph Hyams in distributing the trunks in Washington, Norfolk, Va., and New Bern N.C., and to plant a small valise containing infected dress shirts at the White House[iv].  They offered Hyams $100,000 ($60,000 to be given immediately upon delivery of the soiled clothing) for carrying out the mission, which he promptly accepted.  Hyams, an unemployed native of England and Southern sympathizer, managed to deliver the clothing to the cities, but refused to send the valise to Lincoln[v].  The operation was unsuccessful and its secrecy dissolved at the end of the war[vi].

President Lincoln spent much of the war residing at a cottage near the Soldier’s Home located in the hills overlooking Washington.  He enjoyed the secluded nature of the area and its proximity to wounded veterans whom he loved to converse with.  It was his nature to ride alone from the city to Soldier’s Home whenever he visited.  In August 1864, an unknown assassin took a shot at the president as he approached the grounds late in the evening.  The shot barely missed hitting Lincoln’s head, instead passing through his top hat.[vii]  While unsettled, the president later played the whole episode off claiming, “This whole thing seems farcical…”[viii]  Lincoln’s cabinet found the episode far from “farcical” and ensured Lincoln rode to the Soldier’s Home in a carriage surrounded by a troop of cavalry for the rest of the war.

“This whole thing seems farcical…”

The next unsuccessful attempt to kill Lincoln came in April 1865, in the form of plot to blow up the White House during a cabinet meeting.  The idea came about as a result of several failed Confederate government efforts to kidnap the president and the infamous Dahlgren Raid[ix].  Confederate explosive expert, Sergeant Thomas F. Harney, was dispatched from the Torpedo Bureau in Richmond to implement the bombing.  If successful, the plot would have decapitated the Federal government causing severe dislocation during the closing months of the war.  Fortunately for Lincoln and his advisors, Harney was captured by an Illinois cavalry patrol 15 miles from Washington ending the threat.

 

John Wilkes Booth

Tragically Lincoln could not avoid the final attempt on his life.  On April 14, 1865, after the war reached its conclusion, John Wilkes Booth (a Confederate agent) and small group of co-conspirators managed to assassinate Lincoln while he attended Ford’s Theater.  Perhaps even this effort would have come to naught had John Parker, the policeman assigned to guard the president, not left his post for a drink next door[x].

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[i] Dr. Luke Blackburn was a Southern agent from Kentucky.  Dr. Blackburn “specialized” in the treatment of yellow fever and had treated patients in previous yellow fever epidemics in Mississippi and Louisiana.  Later in the war, he was also involved in a unsuccessful plot to poison New York City’s water supply with arsenic.

[ii] Before leaving for Bermuda, Blackburn told associates that he had, “an infallible plan directed against the masses of Northern people solely to create death.”

[iii] Canada served as a major center for Confederate espionage as it allowed easy access for Confederate agents moving across the border into the North to conduct their clandestine operations.

[iv] The fine shirts were to be sent to the White House as a gift for the President Lincoln with a tag that said “To President Lincoln, from an anonymous admirer.”  The other clothes were sent to resale shops in the hopes that unsuspecting citizens and soldiers would purchase the clothing, become infected with the disease resulting in a pandemic that would cripple the Northern war effort.

[v] Any plot of this nature was destined to fail, however. In 1900, Walter Reed discovered that yellow fever is spread by mosquitoes, not by contact.

[vi] Hyams later reversed his allegiances and decided to approach the U.S. consul in Toronto (there is one source that said he actually approached U.S. officials in Detroit in exchange for immunity) claiming he had information about a plot by Blackburn to infect Northern cities with yellow fever (this occurred on April 12, 1865).  The reason for this turn of events resulted from Hyams not receiving the money promised him for his part of the operation. While there is some conjecture that Hyams was a double-agent -this seems to be highly unlikely.   Blackburn was later arrested by Canadian authorities for violation of Canada’s neutrality during the Civil War.  He was later acquitted and after a number of years in exile returned to the United States, eventually getting himself elected governor of Kentucky.  He later claimed the allegations against him were “too preposterous for intelligent gentlemen to believe.”  However, the evidence is overwhelming that Blackburn was the mastermind behind the plot.

[vii] While the identity of the shooter has never been discovered, there are some historians who believe it may have been John Wilkes Booth, who had a reputation as a crack shot.

[viii] Lincoln told the story of the attempt the day after – “Last night about eleven o’clock, I went to the Soldier’s Home, riding Old Abe, as you call him, and when I arrived at the foot of the hill on the road leading to the entrance of the Home grounds, I was jogging along at a slow gait, immersed deep in thought, contemplating what was next to happen in the unsettled state of affairs, when suddenly I was aroused – I may say the arousement lifted me out of my saddle as well as my wits – by the report of a rifle, and seemingly the gunner was not fifty yards from where my contemplations ended an my accelerated transit began…At break-neck speed we soon arrived in a haven of safety.  Meanwhile I was left in doubt whether death was more desirable from being thrown from a runaway federal horse, or as a tragic result of a rifle-ball by a disloyal bushwacker in the middle of the night.”

[ix] The Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid was an attempt to rescue Union prisoners held at Libby Prison just outside of Richmond.  Unfortunately for Union officials, the attempt was a disaster and Dahlgren was killed in an ambush.  When his body was examined by Confederate officers they found papers which ordered Dahlgren to kill Jefferson Davis and his cabinet as part of the raid.  As a result, the Confederate government began planning a retaliatory operation against Lincoln.

[x] Mystery surrounds why Parker, a notoriously unfit police officer with a drinking problem, was assigned the duty that evening.

 

 

 

Killing Lincoln (Part I)

John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln on April 14, 1865.  While Booth was successful in his effort to kill the president, Lincoln was a marked man before he even arrived in Washington D.C. in 1861.  There were at least six reported assassination attempts against the president before Booth managed to pull the trigger.  Lincoln’s life was in constant danger throughout his presidency and it is amazing that he managed to dodge so many attempts on his life, all of which were within a hair’s breadth from working.

The efforts to remove Lincoln began on his 1861 trip to Washington for his inauguration.  Railroad detectives found a train de-railer attached to the tracks near State Line, Indiana, and a bomb was left in a carpetbag in his passenger car when it stopped in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Both of these were removed before they could bring any harm to Lincoln.

President Abraham Lincoln photographed right before he died.

Allan Pinkerton

Even before these incidents, another plot had been discovered by Allan Pinkerton[i].  Pinkerton was hired in early 1861, to investigate rumors that secessionists planned to disrupt traffic on the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad.  In early February, Pinkerton and his operatives began infiltrating the secessionist movement around Baltimore.  After some good detective work they soon discovered a plot to assassinate Lincoln.  When Lincoln’s train from Philadelphia arrived at the Calvert Street Station in Baltimore, the President-elect and his party would have to get out and go across town to the Camden Street Station in order to board a Baltimore & Ohio train bound for Washington.  According to the operatives, just as Lincoln emerged from the narrow vestibule of the Calvert Street Station, Cypriano Ferrandini, a Baltimore barber, and a few associates would assassinate him.  An independent investigation led by New York City Police Commissioner John A. Kennedy also discovered the plot, which was scheduled for February 23^rd. 

On February 21, Pinkerton met with Lincoln at the Continental Hotel in Philadelphia to report his findings and urge the president-elect to take a night train and travel straight through to Washington D.C.  Lincoln, who was scheduled to raise the flag over Independence Hall the next day, was upset and refused to accept Pinkerton’s advice.  “I could not believe there was a plot to murder me,” Lincoln later stated.  Despite the urgings of Pinkerton, Lincoln was committed to his engagement at Independence Hall and an address to the Pennsylvania legislature at Harrisburg later in the day.  Lincoln was clear on the point and vowed to meet his commitments, “under any and all circumstances, even if he met with death doing so.”

On the 22^nd, Lincoln performed his duties in Harrisburg and was met by Frederick Seward.  Seward, son of Senator William Seward, was sent by General Winfield Scott to warn of the plot discovered by Kennedy.  Lincoln was finally convinced that an assassination attempt was imminent.  He and his most trusted advisors met to discuss the danger.  Pinkerton proposed that Lincoln should travel alone so as to avoid suspicion, taking a special train from Harrisburg before boarding the 11:00 P.M. train to Baltimore.  There he would pass unrecognized through the city at about 3:30 A.M. before arriving unannounced in Washington two and half hours later.

That evening the President-elect quietly slipped out his hotel in Harrisburg.  He was unrecognized, as he had traded his stovepipe hat for a soft felt one and to conceal his tall figure he wore his long overcoat thrown loosely over his shoulders without his arms in his sleeves.  Lincoln then took the special train from Harrisburg to Philadelphia.  To prevent word of his early departure from reaching the assassins, Pinkerton arranged with E.S. Sanford, general superintendent of the American Telegraph Company, to cut all the lines leading out of the city.  Pinkerton and Ward Hill Lamon, a personal friend and former law partner accompanied Lincoln.  These two men would serve as his bodyguards.  Lamon was especially well-armed as he carried two pistols, two derringers, and two large bowie knives.  Pinkerton had his men stationed along the railroad line with lanterns to signal him that all was well.   He watched for them from the rear platform and  Lincoln and his party passed through Baltimore without incident, arriving in Washington D.C. at 6 a.m. on February 23.

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[i] Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish immigrant to the United States who started his career as a cooper before becoming Chicago’s first detective.  In 1850, he partnered with Edward Rucker to form the private North-western Police Agency, later known as the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.  Pinkerton coined the company’s famous motto – “We never sleep.”  Pinkerton solved a number of train robberies during the 1850s which made his agency famous and brought him into contact with the future-president Lincoln.  Pinkerton developed several investigative techniques that are still used today. Among them are "shadowing" (surveillance of a suspect) and "assuming a role" (undercover work).

Welcome to Bearded Presidents

President James Garfield

Welcome to my new history blog - "Bearded Presidents!"  I thought it would be fun and interesting to look at some of America's historical mysteries through fresh eyes and to explore the world of the counterfactual.  The counterfactual is a history "laboratory" exercise which helps us gain a better understanding of a historical event by exploring what could have happened (but didn't) at critical moments in American history.  History is an exciting subject and full of possibilities which I hope to explore fully as the blog is developed.  Enjoy your time with the "Bearded Presidents!"