The Stampede at First Manassas – Today In Southern History
21 July 1861
21 July 1861
On this date in 1861…
Confederate troops routed the invading federal army at the First Battle of Manassas, Virginia. The federal hopes for a quick and decisive defeat of Confederate troops ended in an embarrassing stampede back to Washington D.C. that left a trail of discarded guns and equipment all the way.
Other Years:
1669 – John Locke’s Constitution for the English colony of Carolina was approved
1865 – Bill Hickok killed Confederate veteran Dave Tutt in the first recorded showdown of the Wild-West era across the public square in Springfield, MO
1873 – The James–Younger Gang was blamed for the first successful train robbery at Adair, Iowa.
1925 – In Dayton, Tennessee, John T. Scopes was convicted and fined $100 for violating the state prohibition on teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution.
1957 – Althea Gibson of Clarendon County, South Carolina became the first black woman to win a major U.S. tennis title, the Women’s National clay-court singles competition.
2002 – WorldCom Inc. (MCI) headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia filed for what at the time it was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.
2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, ending NASA’s space shuttle program with mission STS-135
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