On this day in 1751, Samuel Prescott is born in Massachusetts. He is best known for riding with Paul Revere during the early morning hours of April 19, 1775. In fact, when Revere was captured by the British, Prescott was the one who finished the last leg of the ride.
In other words, the little-known Prescott, not Revere, warned Concord that the British were coming!
As the story goes, Prescott was in Lexington on April 18, courting his fiancé, Miss Lydia Mulliken. He left her family’s home in Lexington quite late, intending to return to his home in Concord. A romantic start, isn’t it? Unfortunately, not every historian is sure that Prescott was actually courting Lydia. Either way, Prescott was on the road from Lexington to Concord in the early morning hours of April 19.
At about that time, Paul Revere and another rider, William Dawes, were also just leaving Lexington. They’d delivered their warning to Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Now, they were moving on to Concord, intent on securing the weapons and supplies in that town.
Revere and Dawes soon ran into Prescott. What made them trust the young doctor? Revere simply wrote that they “were overtaken by a young Docter Prescot, whom we found to be a high Son of Liberty.”
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-samuel-prescott
On this day in 1967, a hero engages in an action that would earn him the Medal of Honor. Perhaps Frankie Molnar was destined to be a hero?
His mother would later remember Molnar’s early years in West Virginia, telling a journalist about a little boy that Frankie had saved from drowning. “He wasn’t afraid of anything,” she concluded proudly.
Molnar soon moved to California, where he ultimately joined the Army. He served one tour of duty in Vietnam, then returned home.
It seemed that all he could do was mope around the house. “He would sit there thinking, thinking,” his mother explained. “I said, ‘Frankie, what’s wrong?’ He said, ‘I’m going back in the Army.’ When he told me he was going back to Vietnam, he said ‘one of these days, I’ll make history.’”
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-frankie-molnar-moh
On this day in 1943, a B-17 Flying Fortress completes its 25th combat mission without losing a member of its crew. Memphis Belle would return to the United States, embark on a war bond tour, and become one of the most famous bombers to emerge from World War II.
She was nearly sold for scrap metal after the war, but Memphis mayor Walter Chandler saved her for $350. Today, she’s been refurbished and sits at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
Memphis Belle’s survival was no small feat.
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-memphis-belle
On this day in 1868, votes are taken in President Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial. Thirty-five Senators voted to convict, one vote shy of the 36 votes then needed to remove him from office.
That trial has since been labeled a “political circus” and “a contest for power.” Regardless, Johnson would survive the attempt against him.
Americans were then recovering from a brutal Civil War that had left hundreds of thousands dead or wounded. Johnson wasn’t supposed to be the President that got them through this trying period. He was President only because Abraham Lincoln had been killed just one month into his second term.
Needless to say, Johnson struggled.
The story continues here: https://www.taraross.com/post/tdih-johnson-impeached
