APRIL 21 — 1836 Remember the Alamo!; 1961 White flies X-15 to Mach 4 and 5;. 1863 Union col. Streight leaves for Eastport, Miss; 1965 World’s largest tire goes on display in NYC
APRIL 21
1836-Remember the Alamo!
Sam Houston and his tattered group of 910 pioneers routed Mexican El Presidente/General/Dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The so-called proud Napoleon of the West got his butt handed to him by the Americans in a skirmish that lasted about 20 minutes. Let me back up.
Mexico gained independence from Spain in the 1820s, and Americans started moving into a territory that had a scattered population. Soon, the American settlers began to outnumber the natives, and by the 1830s the Mexican government tried to regulate these semi-self-governing American neighborhoods, which led to a Texan rebellion. Santa Anna came in and squashed the insurrection, slaughtering 183 defenders.
Houston’s army retreated and Santa Anna pursued them, and on the 19th believed he had Houston cornered and decided to rest his men and prepare to attack on April 22nd. But on 3:30 of the 21st, Houston disposed his forces in battle in San Jacinto, attacked the Mexican army, yelling Remember the Alamo! Remember the Goliad!
Within 20 minutes Santa Anna was captured, and the Lone Star was now independent. It didn’t join the US right away because of slavery conflicts, and finally on December 29, 1845, Texas joined America as the 28th state.
1961- Our hero tribute of the day goes to USAF Gen. Robert Michael White.
I could go over all the awards and decorations he earned, but that would take all day. His plane was shot down by the Germans in 1945, and he was a prisoner of war until his release two months later. After the war, he flew the X-15 experimental aircraft and basically broke more records than a disco backlash.
On April 21 1961, he took the X-15 pretty much into outer space. Yeah. 32,000 miles. He’s also the first man to fly at Mach 4 and then later, Mach 5, according to nationalaviator.org. L
Like a boss!
1863- Abel Straight proceeded either by foot or by boat through Eastport, Mississippi.
Union Col. Sleight’s intention was to destroy the railroad lines that were supplying the Confederate army. It did not go well for Col. Streight and his men. In fact it was an abysmal failure as a result of inadequate supplies, poor communication among Federal commanders, and just bad luck. His intel as far as how many Confederate forces and loyal Alabama locals, especially Emma Samson, went bad, when the wizard of the saddle tricked Streight.
Confederate Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest paraded his men back and forth and back and forth in front of Streight, leading Streight to believe that Forrest’s forces were larger than they were. I think that’s where Bugs Bunny gets his inspiration.
1965 – The world largest tire goes on display at the New York’s World Fair. Starting out as a Ferris wheel, this 12-ton 80-foot giant round thing started out with 64 gondolas which carried two million people throughout its years at the fair, including Jacqueline Kennedy and her two kids as well as the shah of Iran. Then tire treads replaced the gondolas and it was wheeled to Michigan where it sits to this day. OK, so it wasn’t actually wheeled, it was disassembled and then reassembled in Detroit. If you’re a visitor to the area, welcome to Motor City. If you’re a local, you don’t need me to tell you you are halfway between Detroit and the airport. It’s really a giant round billboard for Uniroyal, but an effective one. For instance, in 1998, a 250-pound nail was pierced into the round fiberglass symbol for rubber in order to promote the new puncture-resistant Tiger Paw Nailguard tire. USA! USA! USA!
1984- The Footloose Soundtrack dethrones Michael Jackson’s Thriller
…as the number one album in the country. Thriller’s run of 37 weeks was beaten, and it took a powerful team featuring Kenny Loggins, Denice Williams, Ann Wilson of Heart and Mike Reno from Loverboy, Bonnie Tyler, Shalamar, and more Kenny Loggins.