JULY 7 — 1863 Kit Carson starts war with Indians; 1923 Indians beat Red Sox; 1930 Building Hoover Dam begins; 1777 Battle of Hubbardton
JULY 7
1863 – Kit Carson’s campaign against the Indians.
Christopher Carson was an explorer, scout, trapper, Indian agent, rancher and soldier in the old southwest. Carson was born December 24, 1809 in Madison County, Kentucky, and was the 9th of 14 children. He was cool with the Mesaleros and the Kiowas, but had a thing with Navajos.
According to legends ofamerica.com, beginning in 1863, under orders from his commanders in the US Army, Carson waged a brutal economic war against the Navajo in an attempt to relocate them, marching through the heart of their territory to destroy their crops, and rounding up their livestock, some of which was later given to those that surrendered.
When the Ute, Pueblo, Hopi, and Zuni, who for centuries had been prey to Navajo raiders, took advantage of their traditional enemy’s weakness by following the Americans onto the warpath, the Navajo were unable to defend themselves. In 1864 most surrendered to carson, who treated them well, but was ordered to force nearly 8,000 Navajo men, women and children to take what came to be called the Long Walk of almost 300 miles from Arizona to Ft. Sumner, NM.
The US military was unprepared for the large number of Navajo, and in only a couple of years, with the ground depleted, the ill-planned site became disease-0ridden. In 1868, the Navajos were allowed to return to land along the Arizona-New Mexico border.
1923 – Cleveland Indians beat Boston Red Sox 27-3 with 13 runs in the 6th
1930 – Building of Hoover Dam begins.
…According to usbr.gov, Hoover Dam is a testimony to a country’s ability to construct monolithic projects in the midst of adverse conditions. Built during the Depression, thousands of men and their families came to Black Canyon to take the Colorado River. It took less than five years, in a harsh and barren land, to build the largest dam of its time. Now, years later, Hoover Dam still stands as a world renounced structure.
Herbert Hoover, our 31st president, had a lot to do with making this happen by negotiating the Colorado River Compact, which broke the river basin into two regions with the water divided between them. He signed it into law, stating it was “the most extensive action ever taken by a group of states under the provisions of the Constitution permitting compacts between states.”
Like a boss!
1777 – Battle of Hubbardton.
…That’s in Vermont, folks, and it’s the only battle of the American Revolution to take place in Vermont. Col. Ebenezer Francis and the Green Mountain Boys v British General Simon Fraser. The result was a British tactical victory and an American strategic victory. The American were retreating after the July 5th withdrawal from Ft. Ticonderoga when Fraser caught up with the Continental rear guard. According to historicsites.vermont.gov, On these green hills, the Americans made a defiant stand. Though outnumbered, the Americans successfully halted the British and retreated southward, winning successful battles later that year at Bennington and Saratoga.