How To Use This Site




How To Use This Site


This blog was updated on a daily basis for about two years, with those daily entries ceasing on December 31, 2013. The blog is still active, however, and we hope that people stopping in, who find something lacking, will add to the daily entries.

The blog still receives new posts as well, but now it receives them on items of Wyoming history. That has always been a feature of the blog, but Wyoming's history is rich and there are many items that are not fully covered here, if covered at all. Over time, we hope to remedy that.

You can obtain an entire month's listings by hitting on the appropriate month below, or an individual day by hitting on that calendar date.
Use 2013 for the search date, as that's the day regular dates were established and fixed.

Alternatively, the months are listed immediately below, with the individual days appearing backwards (oldest first).

We hope you enjoy this site.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

September 26

1736  Carlos Benites Franquis de Lugo arrived in San Antonio to begin his period as ad interim governor of Texas for Spain.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1872  Part of the Wind River Reservation ceded to the United States.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1876  Additional Wind River Reservation lands ceded to the United States.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1904  Pinedale founded.  Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

1908  Wyoming State Bankers Association organized.  Attribution:  On This Day.

1911 This item from the Natrona Tribune, as later reprinted by the Casper Star Tribune:

William A. Ford was run into at noon yesterday [Sept. 26] by a run-away team hitched to a wagon, and sustained injuries from which he died half an hour later. He was working on a cement cross walk in Park addition near W. F. Henning’s residence, when the electric light whistle was blowing for 12 ‘o’clock. His son Arlie was with the team unloading some dirt in the old oil pond. The team became scared at the whistle and ran up the road toward Mr. Ford, who had his back to the team and did not see them coming. Mrs. Henning saw the danger he was in and called to him, but he did not hear her. The team was soon upon him, the tongue of the wagon and the neckyoke striking him in the back and crushing numerous bones. He was then thrown under the wheels and was carried for about 60 feet, going around with the wagon wheel. ...

He was carried into the home of Ed. Davidson where he died in half an hour. ...

Mr. Ford was one of our most highly respected citizens; he was a member of the town council and has held a number of offices of trust, and he has a large circle of friends who sympathize with the beloved ones in their great sorrow.

1916   Wyoming National Guard leaves for service on the Mexican border.  It had been Federalized during the summer.   Attribution:  Wyoming State Historical Society.

Douglas Enterprise for September 26, 1916: State Fair in progress, Bryan speaks.
 

In Douglas, where the State Fair was going on, the Guard also didn't make the news.

Bryan did, however.  He spoke there as well, no doubt doing a whistle stop tour of Wyoming.
The Casper Record for September 26, 1916: Bryan speaks, fair a success.
 

Far to the north of Cheyenne, one of the Casper papers reported that William Jennings Bryan spoke in town, and that the county fair had been a big success.

Nothing on the Guard.

Fairs were apparently held later in the year at this time.
The Laramie Republican for September 26, 1916: Villa moves north.
 

One of the Laramie papers also managed to miss the entraining of the Guard, even though Laramie is only fifty miles from Cheyenne.  It reported Villa moving north, however.
Wyoming Semi Weekly Tribune for September 26, 1916: Wyoming Guardsmen to Entrain
 

The Wyoming Semi Weekly Tribune, which was published by the Wyoming Tribune, oddly did managed to note that the Guard was going to entrain today, even though its daily paper had omitted that news.

Entrain, I'd note, is a verb we don't use much anymore.  But it would have bee quite a bit more common then.
The Cheyenne Leader for September 26, 1916: Rousing farewell planed for Guard.
 


The less dramatic Cheyenne State Leader reported that there would be a rousing farewell for the Guard in Cheyenne.

The State Fair also had opened, much later, I'd note, than it does today.
Wyoming Tribune for September 26, 1916. Villa on the move, Pershing promoted
 

On the day of the anticipated move of the Wyoming National Guard the Wyoming Tribune, always somewhat dramatic, reported Villa advancing toward American troops, Pershing promoted, and even cannibals in gross acts, but nothing about the Guard on the front page.

It wanted every county represented at the State Fair, however.

The Punitive Expedition: The Wyoming National Guard departs for the Mexican border (or not). September 26, 1916
 
The Wyoming National Guard departed Wyoming for service on the Mexican border, according to some sources.  That this was to occur was reported several days ago in the local press, and there had been heightened action in Mexico over the past week showing that Villa was still very much an active player in Mexico.

 Some of those Guardsmen.  Members of Company C, raised from Park County Wyoming, 1916.

Because this was a significant event in the context of what we're looking at here, as well as in the history of the state, we're going to be looking at a few newspapers again from this and the following days to see how they treated the story.

And in doing that we are going to question whether this date is actually the correct one.  It's cited by some, but the period newspapers suggest it might have been the first day of a lot of waiting around expecting to entrain, in true military fashion. 
Theodore Roosevelt and Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. September 26, 1916
 



On this day in 1918 the U.S. Army launched its most significant, and final, offensive of the Great War.  The action would last from this day until the last day of the war.

Troops of the 23d Infantry firing a 37 mm trench gun during the Meuse Argonne Offensive.

The stage had been set for the effort in the argument that Gen. Pershing and Field Marshall Foch had some weeks back, which we earlier detailed here.  At that time, Foch had wanted Pershing to abandon the planned assault on St. Mihiel in favor of an attack upon Metz.  Pershing had resisted as this would have made the U.S. Army subordinate to a French effort, but he did agree, and indeed developed, an alternative plan which called for a rapid redeployment of US forces in a new direction. That change in direction required the U.S. to redirect its forces at a right angle and cover 60 miles in short order, which was amazingly accomplished.  The resulting offensive was massive in scale, involving 1,200,000 men on the US side, including French and Siamese troops, and it remains the costliest battle in American history.


D Day for the offensive started with a massive artillery bombardment which expended more ordnance in three hours than the U.S. had expended during the entire Civil War.  The cost of the bombardment amounted to an expenditure of $1,000,000 per minute.   The ground assault commenced at 05:30 on this day with the V and III Corps making their objectives but the with those assigned to the 79th and 28th Divisions failing to meet theirs, and the 91st division being compelled to withdraw from Epionville.  On the following day, the 27th, most of the 1st Army was stalled, although the 79th did manage to capture its objective of Montfaucon d'Agronne.


On the 29th the Germans committed an additional six divisions and they staged a local counter attack.  The 35th Division was so strongly countered that it was effectively destroyed and had to be withdrawn from combat although certainly elements would be redeployed.  Adjacent French units also faced stiff opposition but managed to make greater gains, in part due to the terrain.

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