This Day In Texas History - May 6

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This Day In Texas History - May 6

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1838 - The oldest active missionary Baptist church in Texas was organized north of Nacogdoches. It was originally called Union Baptist Church because settlers from various religious denominations made up the first congregation, but was later renamed the Old North Baptist Church. The church was officially organized at a meeting at Liberty School House when ministers Isaac Reed and Robert G. Green preached and invited people with church letters who wanted to constitute a church to come forward. Twenty people were baptized at the church in June and July; these were the first Baptist baptisms in East Texas. In 1839 the Texas Woman's Missionary Union, the first Baptist women's group in Texas, was organized at the church. The congregation met in the school house until 1852, when a frame building was constructed on the same foundation.

1864 - In one of the most moving incidents of the Civil War, Confederate general Robert E. Lee ordered the celebrated Hood's Texas Brigade to the front, and they in turn ordered him to the rear. During a critical moment of the fierce Battle of the Wilderness, as the Southern battle line was crumbling, Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, was heartened to see the Texas Brigade, under the command of John Gregg, arrive on the field as reinforcements. With a cry of "Hurrah for Texas!" Lee ordered them forward against the Union army and, carried away by his enthusiasm, began to lead them into the charge. The Texans, unwilling to risk their idol in battle, stopped and gathered around him, yelling "Lee to the rear!" and held onto his horse until he withdrew. The Texas Brigade suffered severe losses, but the Union army was once more fought to a standstill.

1864 - Former Texas merchant Leonard Karpeles won the Medal of Honor for his actions at the battle of the Wilderness. Karpeles was born in Prague, Bohemia, in 1838. In 1849 he emigrated to Texas, settling with his older brother in Galveston, where he worked as a merchant. In 1861 his opposition to slavery and secession led him to leave Texas for Massachusetts. He enlisted in the Fifty-seventh Massachusetts Infantry in the spring of 1864. At several crucial stages of the battle of the Wilderness, during which his regiment lost 262 of its 548 men, Karpeles exposed himself to enemy fire by climbing up on stumps and rallying the regiment around its colors. He was badly wounded a few weeks later and spent most of the next year in military hospitals before being discharged in May 1865. In 1870 he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Wilderness. Karpeles died in 1909.

1907 - A tornado hit north of Sulphur Springs in Hopkins County, killing 5, injuring 19.

1910 - James Earl Rudder, soldier, land commissioner, and president of Texas A&M, was born on this day in Eden, Texas. He attended John Tarleton Agricultural College in 1928–29. He went to Texas A&M in 1930 and graduated in 1932 with a degree in industrial education. After graduation he was commissioned a second lieutenant of infantry in the United States Army Reserves. He was called into active duty in 1941 and had a celebrated military career during World War II. In 1943, as a lieutenant colonel, he became commander and trainer of the Second Ranger Battalion, which had a major role in the D-Day invasion.

Rudder's Rangers stormed the beach at Pointe du Hoc and, under constant enemy fire, scaled 100-foot cliffs to reach and destroy German gun batteries. The perilous mission resulted in a higher than 50 percent casualty rate in the battalion. Rudder himself was wounded twice during the course of the fighting. Six months later he was assigned to command the 109th Infantry Regiment, which saw key service in the Battle of the Bulge. By the end of the war he was a full colonel and was promoted to brigadier general of the United States Army Reserves in 1954 and major general in 1957. Rudder was one of the most decorated soldiers of the war, with honors that included the Distinguished Service Cross, Legion of Merit, Silver Star, French Legion of Honor with croix de guerre and palm, and others.
In 1958 he became vice president of Texas A&M University. He became president in 1959 and president of the entire A&M system in 1965. In 1967 President Lyndon Johnson presented Rudder the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest peacetime service award.

1930 - On this date in 1930, at least three tornadoes ripped through Texas, killing dozens in their wake. Early in the morning, storms began pounding Abilene, Austin and Spur, starting off a string of storms that did not end until around 9:30 p.m. and struck more than 16 separate locations. A mid-afternoon tornado that swept through Hill, Ellis and Navarro counties killed 41 people. In Frost, one of the only buildings to fully withstand the winds was the jail. Another tornado that made its path through Karnes and DeWitt counties killed 36, pushing the day's death toll to 77. But the storms were not over yet. That night, a tornado in Bronson killed two more people, and more deaths were reported in San Antonio, Spur and Gonzales. By the end of the day, 82 people were dead. The storms also caused about $2.5 million in damage. Texas, located in "Tornado Alley," ranks first in the U.S. for the frequency of tornadoes, injuries and deaths caused by tornadoes and for cost of tornado damages. At the time, this is the worst single day of tornadoes in Texas history.

1936 - Journalist Hugh Nugent Fitzgerald died in Austin. The South Carolina native moved to Texas in 1889, where he began newspaper work, first as a sports writer and later as a political commentator. He became managing editor and staff correspondent on the Dallas Morning News, with which he was associated for fourteen years. In the early 1900s he was employed as editor of the Dallas Times Herald for ten years. He later edited the Fort Worth Record and was owner, publisher, and editor of the Wichita Falls Record News, before he joined the Marsh-Fentress interests and established his home in Austin in 1921; there he was chief editorial writer for the Austin American, the Austin Statesman, and allied newspapers for more than ten years.

1976 - Tickets went on sale for the upcoming performance by John Denver at the Tarrant County Convention Center. Tickets for the Fort Worth concert were sold out within minutes! At the time, Denver had several hit albums and singles, as well as several hit television specials. To meet the tremendous demand for tickets, it was soon announced that John Denver would give back-to-back concerts on the same day in at the Convention Center. Both sell out performances took place on this date in 1976. [John Denver attended Arlington Heights High School on Fort Worth's west side.]

1999 - Whataburger opened their flagship "Whataburger by the Bay" in Corpus Christi, TX. The 6,000 square foot tribute to founder Harmon Dobson has water views, and a life-size bronze statue of Mr. Dobson near the entrance at the bay side
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Re: This Day In Texas History - May 6

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Letters From The Past: COMMISSION TO BRIGADIER GENERAL TO THOMAS J. RUSK :

"To Thomas J. Rusk, Esq.:

In the name of the Republic of Texas, the President of the Republic of Texas by and with the advice and consent of the cabinet, reposing special confidence in your patriotism, valor, conduct and fidelity, do by these presents constitute and appoint you a brigadier general in the army of the Republic of Texas, and for Texas, and for repelling every hostile invasion thereof.

And we do also enjoin and require you to regulate your conduct in every respect by the rules and discipline adopted by the United States of North America in time of war or such laws as have been or may hereafter be adopted by this government; and punctually to observe and follow such orders and directions from time to time as you shall receive from your superior officers.

And we do hereby strictly charge and require all officers and soldiers under your command, to be obedient to your orders, and diligent in the exercise of their several duties. This commission to continue in force until the end of the next session of congress or during the will of the government and no longer. Done at headquarters on Buffalo Bayou the 6th day of May, A. D. one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six and of the independence of Texas the first.

David G. Burnet. By: Mirabeau B. Lamar, Secretary of War."
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