Mardi Gras – Today In Southern History
27 February 1827
On this date in 1827…
A group of masked and costumed students danced through the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, beginning the city’s first Mardi Gras celebration.
Other Years:
1699 – Fearing an English take over of the Mississippi Valley, Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d’Iberville began a voyage up the Mississippi River to establish a series of French forts.
1776 – The Continental Congress established the Southern Department of the Continental Army, consisting of Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia.
1836 – While attempting to cross the Withlacoochee River in Florida, General Edmund Gaines and 1,100 troops were attacked by a Seminole force of 1,500 warriors. Under fire, the troops built a stockade and fighting continued ten more days before both sides agreed to a truce.
1863 – Confederate President Jefferson Davis called for a national day of fasting and prayer.
1932 – A coal mine explosion killed 38 miners in Boissevain, Virginia.
1971 – Janis Joplin’s album Pearl is released posthumously.
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