Remember the River Raisin? If you’re talking about the almost 200-year-ago battle between Americans and a combined force of British soldiers and their Indian allies — and not the polluted river that today flows through downtown Monroe and into Lake Erie — then not many folks do. Fought in January 1813 in and around the settlement then known as Frenchtown, it remains the bloodiest battle ever waged on Michigan soil. Of the 934 Americans engaged in the fighting, all but 33 were either killed or forced to lay down their muskets.
What made the Battle of River Raisin unforgettable, at least in its time, was the wholesale massacre of scores of prisoners — most of them Kentucky militiamen — who were too seriously wounded to be moved from Frenchtown. Despite British assurances to the surrendering Americans that these men would not be harmed, the Indians had other thoughts. Once the British left on the following day, the captives were stripped, tomahawked, and in some cases, burned alive in their beds as buildings were put to the torch. There were other brutal acts too gruesome to tell here. The few who were unharmed were ransomed off in Detroit. Some were never seen again.
The Niles Weekly Register called it “the most horrid assassination and cold-blooded butchery ever committed, or suffered to be done, by civilized man.” The atrocities caused avenging Americans throughout the Old Northwest Territory to rally to the cry “Remember the Raisin!” as they defeated the British and killed Chief Tecumseh at the Battle of the Thames nine months later.
The British Press had a different view.
A View of Winchester in North America. Dedicated to Mr. President Mad I Son! (London, 1813). Colored, copperplate engraving. Graphics Division.
Britons rejoiced in the American defeats of 1812-1813. A British cartoonist drew on a newspaper account of the battle of the River Raisin to ridicule the capture of General Winchester by his Native American opponents. He was turned over to Colonel Henry Procter (ca. 1763-1822) and sent to Québec as a prisoner of war. The palm tree is an artistic convention identifying the setting as America.
Sources :
Remember the Raisin, American Battlefield Trust.
Richard Bak, “River Raisin’s Bloody Banks”, Hour Detroit, June 2009.
Historical Society of Michigan
Courtesy of the Monroe Public Library
On January 23, 1837, the state’s second oldest newspaper, The Kalamazoo Gazette, hit the streets under its current name. It started as a weekly publication, but became a daily in March 1872. Previously, the newspaper was known as the Michigan Statesman and St. Joseph Chronicle. Now it’s part of MLive.
Source: Michigan Every Day
Lorinda Anna “Annie” Blair Etheridge (May 3, 1839– January 23, 1913 ) was a Union nurse and vivandière who served during the American Civil War. She was one of only two women to receive the Kearny Cross. She was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame in 2010.
Deserved Honor: Etheridge, one of only two women so honored, proudly donned her Kearny Cross in this postwar photo.
Anna Etheridge was born Lorinda Anna Blair in 1839 in Wayne County, Michigan. In 1860, Anna married James Etheridge. At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Etheridge enlisted in 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment, serving as a nurse and Vivandiere (Daughter of the Regiment). She had wanted to nurse, having cared for her father before his death. Before the war, Etheridge worked in a hospital with a poor reputation for patient care, which she had attempted to improve.
Etheridge was famous for her courageous work under fire. She was noted for removing wounded men from combat. Etheridge embodied the ideal daughter of the union. She was “brave, constant, tender possessed nerves of steel, and willing to join the fight as necessary, encourage[d] the men to greater valor, or remain[ed] in the rear treating wounds” In 1862 all women were ordered out of camp by General George B. McClellan temporarily. “Gentle Annie” then worked for the Hospital Transport Service, a subcommittee of the U.S. Sanitary Commission. Assigned to the Knickerbocker, under Amy M. Bradley, she aided in the transportation of wounded men from the ports of Alexandria, VA to Philadelphia, New York City, and Washington. By early 1863, she had returned to Vivandiere duties in the Army of the Potomac. For her work and courage, she received the Kearny Cross.
After the war she married and worked in the United States Treasury Department, eventually receiving a monthly pension of $25 for her unpaid military service. She died in 1913 and was buried with veteran’s honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
Gentle Annie: The True Story of a Civil War Nurse, a children’s book written by Mary Francis Shura, is a “fictionalized biography” of Anna Etheridge. Available through MelCat.
For further reading, see:
- Eggleston, Larry G. (2003). Women in the Civil War: Extraordinary Stories of Soldiers, Spies, Nurses, Doctors, Crusaders, and Others. McFarland. p. 134.
- Hall, Richard (2003). Patriots in Disguise: Women Warriors of the Civil War. New York: Paragon House.
- Leonard, Elizabeth D. (1999). All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
- Canon, Jill (2000). Civil War Heroines. Santa Barbara, CA: Bellerophon Books. On order.
Sources:
The price of coffee cream advanced four cents a quart in Lansing Friday, according to announcement of local dairy companies. The advanced price, effective January 22, was approved by the office of price administration to offset increased costs, it was explained. The price is now 12 cents for half-pints and 64(c)cents for quarts.
Source : Lansing State Journal, January 23, 1943
Malcolm X speaks at Erickson Kiva on January 23, 1963, on the MSU campus, to students and faculty about race problems and the Black Muslim religion and its ideas. The speech is followed by answers to questions from the audience. A recording available in the MSU Library Vincent Voice Library.
The MSU Vincent Voice Library also has a June 22, 1963 recording of Malcolm X speaking at a Michigan State University press conference about the race problem, aims of Black Muslims, the Meredith case and Mississippi followed by various takes of the interview for an MSU film.
Malcolm X was one of the most influential and most polarizing figures of the civil rights era.
Beginning in the late 1950s, Malcolm became the public face of the Nation of Islam, fluently articulating the rage many blacks felt toward the unjust system in which they lived, preaching racial separation where others sought integration, self-defense where others advocated nonviolence.
But Malcolm broke with the Nation of Islam in 1964, and, after a trip to the Muslim holy city of Mecca later that year, began to believe that racial divisions could be overcome. He was assassinated on Feb. 21, 1965.
During his childhood, Malcolm X, aka Malcolm Little, also lived in Lansing and Mason, Michigan. Not that Lansing was particularly good to the young Malcolm Little.
It was here, in 1929 when Malcolm was 4 years old, that the home his family had purchased in a whites-only subdivision northwest of the city was burned to the ground.
His father was run over by a streetcar two years later, and Malcolm would grow up with rumors that his father had been murdered by a local white supremacist group called the Black Legion.
By the time he was 13, Malcolm’s mother had been sent to the State Mental Hospital in Kalamazoo, and he and his brothers and sisters parceled out to foster homes.
Later in his life he returned for a short time at the end of World War II, making mattresses at Capital Bedding, sweeping floors at the Reo Motor Car Co., and working as a waiter at Coral Gables.
He also married his wife Betty X before a Justice of the Peace in Lansing on January 14, 1958.
Today there is one public marker of Malcolm’s presence here, at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Vincent Court, the site of one of his childhood homes. And there is also an unofficial marker, the El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz Academy uses his Muslim name as its own name.
Source : “Malcolm X: What is his Lansing legacy?”, Lansing State Journal, February 7, 2012.
[Collected speeches of Malcolm X] MSU Libraries Vincent Voice Library VVL-01-0021 : Malcolm X speaks at Michigan State University in three of these five recordings. Recordings also include Malcolm X speaking in Detroit after his split with Elijah Muhammed, and Malcolm X explaining his opposition to non-violence.
Malcolm X at Michigan State University, January 23, 1964 via YouTube.
On January 23, 1972 the University of Michigan WCBN-FM went on the air, a real, over-the-airwaves radio station broadcasting at 10 ambitious watts around the clock all week long.
Source : James Tobin, “Left of the Dial”, Michigan Today, January 16, 2013
Topping the charts as the snowiest university in the U.S., located in Houghton, Mich., along Portage Lake, Michigan Technological University receives almost 200 inches of snow every year. However, there have been many years in which the school has exceeded this; in the winter of 2000-2001, the university received nearly 303 inches of snow. Surprisingly Western Michigan University ranks 8th. Rankings were determined by average snowfall.
Photo depicts snow and ice sculptures from Michigan Tech. Winter Carnival, February 9, 2008
Kristen Rodman, “The 10 Snowiest Colleges in the US”, AccuWeather, January 23, 2014.
Maurice Cecil Mackey, Jr. (“Cecil”), who served as an official for several federal agencies and president of three major universities, including Michigan State University from 1979 to 1985, died on February 8 at age 89.
Following top-level stints at the University of South Florida and Texas Tech University, Mackey, an Alabama native, came to MSU amid a financial crisis for the state of Michigan and the university.
“Cecil Mackey led MSU during some of its toughest budget years and his training as an economist was fully tested,” Interim MSU President John Engler said. “But he conducted himself with a grace and civility that always left those he encountered amazed at his inner strength. His presence on campus in the classrooms and courtside will be missed. To his wife, Clare, and the Mackey family I offer my sincere condolences upon the passing of a true Spartan.”
Cecil Mackey at a MSU Board meeting in the Hannah Administration Building.
With MSU facing a nearly $30 million budget shortfall in the early 1980s, Mackey had to make unpopular budget cuts across campus, including downsizing the College of Nursing. Mackey initially proposed eliminating the college, but it was saved by an organized political effort that garnered national headlines.
“I was assistant to the president in Cecil Mackey’s early tenure. He came with a lot of experience and was extremely thoughtful and analytic,” former MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon recalled. “During some of the more difficult economic times for the state and the university, he demonstrated great personal courage in his approach to those sometimes-contentious challenges.”
But Mackey also oversaw a time of growth during his six years as MSU president. He started a program for establishing endowed chairs, increased private financial support to the university and opened the Wharton Center for Performing Arts, the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory and other academic and athletic facilities.
Colleagues described Mackey, Michigan State’s 16th president, as a soft-spoken Southern gentleman and a man of principle. An avid runner and tennis player, he and his wife, Clare, remained in East Lansing following his tenure and Mackey continued teaching economics courses at MSU.
Mackey was known for his love and respect for higher education.
“I think that anybody associated with a university realizes how fortunate you are to be a part of a university in the United States,” he once said. “The freedom and the opportunity that exists in our universities are unparalleled. It’s a privilege.”
Mackey was born January 23, 1929, in Montgomery, Alabama. His father was a musician and leader of a popular big band.
Mackey received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Alabama, and a doctorate in economics from the University of Illinois.
In 1953, Mackey married Clare Siewert, a Detroit native who grew up in Chicago and also went to the University of Illinois. The couple had three children: Carol, in 1956; John, in 1966; and Ann, in 1968.
His military service included the Alabama National Guard; the U.S. Army; the U.S. Navy—receiving the “Outstanding Cadet” honor as the top airman in his Naval Air Flight class; and the U.S. Air Force. While on active duty with the U.S. Air Force in 1956, Mackey developed the economics department and was associate professor at the United States Air Force Academy.
In 1957, he was an assistant professor of law at the University of Alabama. A year later, in 1958, he received his law degree from the University of Alabama and was admitted to the Alabama State Bar. Mackey studied post-graduate law at Harvard University until 1959, when he returned to the University of Alabama to be an assistant law professor from 1959 to 1962.
In 1962, Mackey became assistant counsel for the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust and Monopoly. In 1963, he became the director of the Office of Policy Development for the Federal Aviation Agency. There, he was in charge of long-range planning and economic research.
In 1965, he became the director of the Office of Transportation Policy for the U.S. Department of Commerce and developed programs and policies for transportation systems.
In 1967, he became assistant secretary for policy development for the U.S. Department of Transportation.
From 1971 to 1976, Mackey served as president of the University of South Florida. In 1976, he became president of Texas Tech University.
On Aug. 3, 1979 Mackey was inaugurated as president of MSU. He served until June 30, 1985. He also was a professor of economics.
During his MSU tenure, Mackey showed his commitment to diversity. He selected MSU’s first female vice president and first black vice president. He also appointed minorities and women to many other positions of leadership and oversaw an increase in minority students.
Simon also noted that Mackey “was a region-changer in the Middle East, as he worked in the United Arab Emirates to open higher education to women.”
He served on numerous boards and community organizations during his career, including stints as president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and on the Michigan Governor’s Commission on Jobs and Economic Development.
Reposted from MSU Today, February 14, 2018
“In Memoriam: M. Cecil Mackey (1929-2018)”, MSU Archives & Historical Collections Current Events Blog, February 14, 2018.
RJ Wolcott, “Cecil Mackey, Michigan State’s 16th president, died last week, the university announced today“, Lansing State Journal, February 14, 2018.
A once in a lifetime $1 billion Mega Millions ticket was sold at a Michigan Kroger in Novi, the biggest lottery prize ever won in this state and the third largest ever sold in the U.S.!
The lump-sum cash option for the jackpot was an estimated $739.6 million.
Source : Alta Spells, “The winning ticket in the $1 billion Mega Millions lottery was bought in Michigan”, CNN. January 23, 2021.
Celebrated annually on January 23rd, National Pie Day is an unofficial holiday to celebrate that baked dish made out of pastry dough and filled with a tasty and usually sweet filling (although the filling can be savory, as well) – otherwise known as the pie. This day has been celebrated since the 1970s. Today, it’s a great day to have a slice of pie or share one with your beloved.
History of the Pie
Pie can trace its roots all the way back to the Greeks. The Greeks created what is believed to be the first pastry shell by mixing together water and flour. They would then fill these pastries with a variety of different things – everything from honey to fruits to meats. The Romans adopted these pies and began to improvise with them by filling them with a variety of fruits and nuts, meats, fish, and even mussels.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the Ancient Greek and Roman dishes evolved into a more modern version of a pie. These dishes were called pyes and they were usually filled with meats. These meats could be filled with either beef or lamb, wild duck or even pigeons and vegetables. The whole dish was then spiced liberally and was baked in an oven. Encasing the meat and vegetables in a pie kept them from drying out during the cooking process. It also made it easier to transport and preserve the dish as well.
Of course, while the pies of the Middle Ages were closer to modern pies than what the Greeks and Romans offered, they would still probably be unrecognizable to most Americans or Europeans today. That’s because these early pies were covered in a ton of dough. This kept the food inside from drying out and preserved the food once it was done, but it made the pie crust just about inedible. No one would eat the dough of the pie, it was pretty hard so they just ate the fillings. Another interesting thing about these early pies is that sometimes the crust would be reused for another dish. Yes, that’s right, Medieval crusts were that tough.
During the 17th century, the pilgrims made quite a few pies – namely pumpkin and pecan. Like their Medieval fore bearers, they did so to preserve their food. As the colonists began to spread across the American continent, they took the idea of pie with them. This led to many new pies being created as the colonists used the natural resources around them. From about the 18th to the 21st centuries, there would be an explosion in the number of pies made in the United States and around the world.
Today, there are a dozens of pies available to the consumer. However, in the United States, there are a few pies that really stand out as being the most liked among Americans. These top ten pies include: 1) Apple, 2) Pumpkin, 3) Chocolate Creme, 4) Cherry, 5) Apple Crumb, 6) Pecan, 7) Lemon Meringue, 8) Blueberry, 9) Key Lime Pie and 10) Peach. Sweet Potato Pie is also a popular pie in the U.S as well.
History of National Pie Day
National Pie Day was born in 1975 in Boulder, Colorado, thanks to a school teacher named Charlie Papazian. On January 23, his birthday, he declared that this day would be forever remembered as National Pie Day. Why did he do that, you ask? Well, for one good reason: Charlie really loved pie. In fact, he loved it so much he would have a “birthday pie” instead of a birthday cake. Since then, his idea for a National Pie Day has spread all over the United States.
Delicious Pie Facts
- Pumpkin Pie wasn’t served at the pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving in 1621
- Originally, fruit pies were a breakfast food in the United States
- 20% of Americans have admitted to eating a whole pie by themselves
- 186 million pies are sold just in supermarkets and grocery stores each year
- In Kansas, it used to be illegal to serve ice cream on cherry pie
- “American Pie” was the name of the plane Buddy Holly died on
- Key Lime Pie is the official pie of Florida
- Peach Custard Pie is the official pie of Delaware
- Pumpkin Pie is the official pie of Illinois
- Sugar Creme Pie is the official pie of Indiana
Celebrating National Pie Day
If you’re looking for a way to celebrate National Pie Day, then you’re in luck because there are about a hundred different ways of celebrating this holiday. You can eat pie for breakfast, make your own pie, have a pie party or pie throwing competition or even watch movies such as American Pie, Labor Day or The Help.
In Michigan, the Grand Traverse Pie Company celebrates National Pie Day by offering a free piece of either apple or cherry pie with every purchase.
Source : National Pie Day via the Internet