JANUARY 8 — 1815 Jackson gets victory at New Orleans; 1992 Bush regurgitates on Japanese PM; 1877 Crazy Horse fights last battle; SPORTS: 1962 Jack Niklaus plays 1st pro tournament, 1993 Jordon scores 20,000th point
JANUARY 8
1815 – Old Hickory gets victory at New Orleans. Yes, the War of 1812 was technically over; the Treaty of Ghent had just been signed. But Andrew Jackson, commander of the southern forces, didn’t check his Facebook page that day and didn’t know that. Neither did the British, for that matter. The British decided at this last battle of the war to take America from the South, through Louisiana and West Florida. 45 British barges docked at Bayou Bienvenu in Mississippi with 1200 men and began a ground assault. They quickly captured the Viillere plantation, but an American opfficer managed to escape to warn General Jackson. The two sides fought, and the British were able to hold the line at Rodriquez Canal, and Jackson’s men had to disengage. As they prepared for battle, new commander Lt. Gen. Sir Edward Pakenham was sent in to lead the British troops and planned to attack on both sides of the river. However crossing the river was more difficult than he realized, and Jackson took charge on January 8 with a brutal attack. Pakenham continued to fight and tried to rally his troops through a losing battle, even though he had two horses shot out from underneath him. Pakenham wold get killed on the battlefield. The battle only lasted a few hours. Andrew Old Hickory Jackson had taken sloppy American ragtags and turned them into a fighting force good enough to beat, once again, quite possibly the most powerful military force in that day. If one didn’t know better, one might think the British simply gave up. If one didn’t know better, that is.
1992 – President HW Bush blows chunks on the Japanese prime minister. On January 8 1992 George HW Bush was attending a state event for 135 diplomats at the Japan’s head of state’s home, finishing a 12-day trade oriented tip through Asia. They played a little tennis, Bush lost the match, and quickly developed the 24 hour flu. That night, while being servied a dinner of cold salmon with caviar, a clear soup with mushrooms, medallions of beef with pepper sauce, and a bowl of passion fruit ice cream, for dessert, bush turned and vomited and passed out on the floor. Check please! Of course it was caught on video!For weeks, the world of satire wouldn’t let go of the footage of Bush tossing his cookies in Japan, where a new phrase was coined: Bushu-suru, which means literally to do the Bush thing.
1877 – Crazy Horse fights his last battle. Crazy Horse, who fought with Sitting Bull in the Battle of Little Bighorn against US Forces, finally came to realize the fight was getting pointless. His people were low on ammunition, and food and the winter cold blizzards raged. On January 8, 1877, the US army, led by General Miles caught up with Crazy Horse’s camp in Montana and opened fire. Crazy Horse and his group were able to retreat and seek shelter, but realized that he was fighting a losing battle.
1962 – Jack Niklaus plays his 1st po tournament, , finishe din 50th place and won 3 bucks. 1993 Michael Jordon scores his 20,000th point in his 620th game. The only player to do so faster than hat was Wilt Chamberlain.
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