Today in history ...

[YellowRose]

bubbabod said:

Today in history, not a darned thing worth mentioning happened in my life.

Now wait a minute, Bubbabod, weren't you in that Coors Brewery in Colorado three years ago today???

[bubbabod]

Ya know, Yellow Rose, you're very close there. Western author Terry C. Johnston passed away in I think 2001. I was honored to have been invited to his celebration of life by his wife, which was held at The Fort restaurant just outside Denver. And what a celebration it was. During that trip myself and another of Terry's friends toured the brewery in Golden. Another fine moment! Life is good.

[El Crab]

Today in history, I got paid. And so did Custer's troopers, 130 years before me.

[bubbabod]

Crab, lotta good it did them.

[crzhrs]

Did the troopers ever get a chance to spend the money? Indian testimony from the LBH battle say they found "paper" with writing on it and made it into toys for the children. We now know it was the money from soldiers. I wonder how much cash there was and if any of that money is still "hidden" away by Indian descendants.

[elisabeth]

I believe the sinister John Smith, sutler, went along as far as the first night's Heart River camp, so no doubt managed to pocket a fair bit of it almost as soon as the troopers received it! And he turned up again, with another trader, at one of the column's rendezvous with the Far West -- when some of the guys took the opportunity to buy sensible straw hats. Others probably went for purchases of a more liquid nature. The irony is that the provident, prudent men didn't get to enjoy the money, as they'd either sent it home in the mail (probably losing it when that mailbag got sunk) or given it to their sergeant for safe-keeping. Seems likely that only the feckless ones got any enjoyment out of it!

[Tricia]

One of the most poignant images in the short film, Last Stand, is the scene directly after the end of Custer's battalion, and steams of paper money flutter by the camera.

[elisabeth]

You might be interested -- or not! -- to know that this day, May 29th, was for many years a public holiday in England too. (It is today, too, as it happens, but only by coincidence, as it's the last Monday in May.)

It was officially abolished by the Victorians, but a few people still celebrate it: Oak Apple Day. It commemorates King Charles II's escape from Cromwell's victorious army after the Battle of Worcester (1651) by hiding in the branches of an oak tree. On his restoration to the throne, he declared his birthday -- May 29th -- a holiday in perpetuity, to celebrate "the overthrow of tyranny".

There is a tenuous link to Memorial Day -- as one of Charles' many enlightened acts was to found the Royal Hospital at Chelsea as a home for old soldiers. (I'd like to claim it was the first in the world, but it wasn't quite; he got the idea from France.) It's still going strong today, and the "Chelsea Pensioners", as they're known, are a proud and respected bunch. Here's a glimpse of the place:

tinyurl.com/mp5ek

and another:

tinyurl.com/r87a2

[Diane Merkel]

The Royal Hospital Chelsea certainly sounds better than what we used to call the Old Soldiers' Homes!

Thanks for the interesting link to another time. I find English history fascinating!