Myth and History: the John Ross House Through Time, April 2007

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Myth and History: the John Ross House Through Time, April 2007 Myth and History: The John Ross House through Time The National Park Service and The John Ross House Association, Inc. 2007 JOHN ROSS HOUSE CCSP – BISHOP -- 2007 Myth and History: The John Ross House through Time by William J. Bishop Vice-President Trail of Tears Association, Georgia Chapter Under a joint partnership between The National Park Service and The John Ross House Association, Inc. Funded in part by The National Park Service Challenge Cost Share Program April 2007 2 JOHN ROSS HOUSE CCSP – BISHOP -- 2007 Acknowledgements This project was managed by the John Ross House Association, Inc. and its president, Larry Rose, whom I thank for allowing access to the John Ross House to conduct field research and for providing numerous helpful documents, such as the Ruskin correspondence and the scrapbooks of the John Ross House Association. Carey Tilley, the original historian on this project, laid the groundwork, defined the scope, and prepared the research questions. The University of West Florida’s Special Collections Department was especially helpful in providing access to the papers in the Panton, Leslie & Co. Collection. The state of Georgia’s GALILEO project was crucial in providing access and leads to numerous relevant historical documents. Likewise, Google and its associated websites, Google Books and Google Earth, are tremendous tools for the modern researcher and should be acknowledged. Dr. Georgina DeWeese of the University of West Georgia deserves special recognition for establishing a definitive date of construction for the John Ross House through dendrochronology. Dr. Sarah Hill provided information on Cantonment Wool and has been a staunch advocate and supporter in all my research-related endeavors, for which I am extremely grateful. I also wish to thank the National Park Service for making such projects possible and the Trail of Tears Association’s Georgia chapter for its many contributions to research in this area. I am thankful for the gracious assistance of my four daughters, who helped supervise my three-year-old son at various times so that I could work. The completion of this project would not have been possible without the aid and love of my wife, Barbara. 3 JOHN ROSS HOUSE CCSP – BISHOP -- 2007 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................3 Table of Contents .................................................................................................................4 List of Illustrations ...............................................................................................................5 An Introduction to the John Ross House Project .................................................................8 Sacred Space ....................................................................................................................11 Gertrude McDaris Ruskin, “Princess Chewani” ................................................................13 The Myth of the John Ross House .....................................................................................20 John McDonald and the Chickamauga ..............................................................................27 Inheritance: The Rosses, Will Shorey, and the Coodys .....................................................57 The Civil War: Before, During and After ........................................................................109 North Georgia’s “Most Historic Home,” Nearly Lost to Oblivion ..................................143 Rescue and Restoration: The John Ross House Association ...........................................162 The Myth of the John Ross House Re-Examined ............................................................184 The John Ross House Today............................................................................................192 “Sacred Space” Revisited (The Power of Place) .............................................................227 References Cited ..............................................................................................................234 4 JOHN ROSS HOUSE CCSP – BISHOP -- 2007 List of Illustrations John Ross House in 2006 ...................................................................................................11 Gertrude McDaris Ruskin and the Ross Descendants .......................................................13 AS IT WAS… ....................................................................................................................14 Mrs. Sidney Ruskin as “Princess Chewani” ......................................................................15 Past Successes ....................................................................................................................18 John Ross Home Inspected ................................................................................................22 Purcell Map (1792) ............................................................................................................28 Thomas Jefferson to George Washington ..........................................................................29 Tardieu Map (1790) ...........................................................................................................30 Tanner Map (1795) ............................................................................................................31 John McDonald’s Signature ...............................................................................................32 Doolittle Map (1796) .........................................................................................................33 Daniel Ross Portrait ...........................................................................................................49 Russell Map (1800) ............................................................................................................53 Melish Map (1814) ............................................................................................................60 Three Sites via Google Earth (2007) .................................................................................62 Melish Map (1815) ............................................................................................................63 Arrowsmith Map (1817) ....................................................................................................63 Lucas Map (1922) ..............................................................................................................64 Finley Map (1923) .............................................................................................................64 Finley Map (1924) .............................................................................................................65 Lucas Map (1927) ..............................................................................................................65 McMinn Letter with Rossville Postmark ...........................................................................87 Young John Ross ...............................................................................................................88 Original Rossville Plat .......................................................................................................94 Ross House Notching .........................................................................................................95 Notch Chart ....................................................................................................................96 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map (1917) ..................................................................................97 A View of Chattanooga Valley / Tennessee River from Lookout Mountain ....................99 G. W. Featherstonhaugh ..................................................................................................103 “The General” ..................................................................................................................111 “Park Leader of Posse” ....................................................................................................112 The Route of the Great Locomotive Chase ......................................................................113 Keaton’s “The General” ...................................................................................................116 The Disney Version .........................................................................................................118 William Pittenger .............................................................................................................119 James Andrews ...............................................................................................................122 Ambrose Bierce ...............................................................................................................123 Garfield’s Famous Ride ...................................................................................................127 5 JOHN ROSS HOUSE CCSP – BISHOP -- 2007 James B. Garfield .............................................................................................................128 “One Poor Victim” ...........................................................................................................130 Gordon Granger ...............................................................................................................131 Battle of Chickamauga .....................................................................................................133
Recommended publications
  • See It Big! Action Features More Than 30 Action Movie Favorites on the Big
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ‘SEE IT BIG! ACTION’ FEATURES MORE THAN 30 ACTION MOVIE FAVORITES ON THE BIG SCREEN April 19–July 7, 2019 Astoria, New York, April 16, 2019—Museum of the Moving Image presents See It Big! Action, a major screening series featuring more than 30 action films, from April 19 through July 7, 2019. Programmed by Curator of Film Eric Hynes and Reverse Shot editors Jeff Reichert and Michael Koresky, the series opens with cinematic swashbucklers and continues with movies from around the world featuring white- knuckle chase sequences and thrilling stuntwork. It highlights work from some of the form's greatest practitioners, including John Woo, Michael Mann, Steven Spielberg, Akira Kurosawa, Kathryn Bigelow, Jackie Chan, and much more. As the curators note, “In a sense, all movies are ’action’ movies; cinema is movement and light, after all. Since nearly the very beginning, spectacle and stunt work have been essential parts of the form. There is nothing quite like watching physical feats, pulse-pounding drama, and epic confrontations on a large screen alongside other astonished moviegoers. See It Big! Action offers up some of our favorites of the genre.” In all, 32 films will be shown, many of them in 35mm prints. Among the highlights are two classic Technicolor swashbucklers, Michael Curtiz’s The Adventures of Robin Hood and Jacques Tourneur’s Anne of the Indies (April 20); Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai (April 21); back-to-back screenings of Mad Max: Fury Road and Aliens on Mother’s Day (May 12); all six Mission: Impossible films
    [Show full text]
  • Shakers and Jerkers: Letters from the "Long Walk," 1805, Part I Douglas L
    University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Religious Studies Faculty Publications Religious Studies 2017 Shakers and Jerkers: Letters from the "Long Walk," 1805, Part I Douglas L. Winiarski University of Richmond, dwiniars@richmond.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.richmond.edu/religiousstudies-faculty- publications Part of the Christianity Commons, and the New Religious Movements Commons Recommended Citation Winiarski, Douglas L. "Shakers and Jerkers: Letters from the "Long Walk," 1805, Part I." Journal of East Tennessee History 89 (2017): 90-110. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Religious Studies at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Religious Studies Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact scholarshiprepository@richmond.edu. Shakers and Jerkers: Letters from the “Long Walk,” 1805, Part 1 By Douglas L. Winiarski*a Reports of a bizarre new religious phenomenon made their way over the mountains from Tennessee during the summer and fall of 1804. For several years, readers in the eastern states had been eagerly consuming news of the Great Revival, the powerful succession of Presbyterian sacramental festivals and Methodist camp meetings that played a formative role in the development of the southern Bible Belt and the emergence of early American evangelicalism. Letters from the frontier frequently included vivid descriptions of the so-called “falling exercise,” in which the bodies of revival converts crumpled to the ground during powerful sermon performances on the terrors of hell. But an article that appeared in the Virginia Argus on October 24, 1804, announced the sudden emergence of a deeply troubling new form of convulsive somatic distress.
    [Show full text]
  • [Pennsylvania County Histories]
    HEFEI 1ENCE y J^L v &fF i (10LLEI JTIONS S —A <f n v-- ? f 3 fCrll V, C3 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018 with funding from This project is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Education through the Office of Commonwealth Libraries https://archive.org/details/pennsylvaniacoun61unse M tA R K TWAIN’S ScRdP ©GOK. DA TENTS: UNITED STATES. GREAT BRITAIN. FRANCE. June 24th, 1873. May i6th, 1877. May i 8th, 1877. TRADE MARKS: UNITED STATES. GREAT BRITAIN. Registered No. 5,896. Registered No. 15,979. DIRECTIONS. Use but little moisture, and only on ibe gummed lines. Press the scrap on without wetting it. DANIEL SLOPE A COMPANY, NEW YORK. IIsTIDEX: externaug from the Plymouth line to the Skippack road. Its lower line was From, ... about the Plymouth road, and its vpper - Hue was the rivulet running to Joseph K. Moore’s mill, in Norriton township. In 1/03 the whole was conveyed to Philip Price, a Welshman, of Upper Datef w. Merion. His ownership was brief. In the same year he sold the upper half, or 417 acres, to William Thomas, another Welshman, of Radnor. This contained LOCAL HISTORY. the later Zimmerman, Alfred Styer and jf »jfcw Augustus Styer properties. In 1706 Price conveyed to Richard Morris the The Conrad Farm, Whitpain—The Plantation •emaining 417 acres. This covered the of John Rees—Henry Conrad—Nathan Conrad—The Episcopal Corporation. present Conrad, Roberts, Detwiler, Mc¬ The present Conrad farm in Whitpain Cann, Shoemaker, Iudehaven and Hoover farms.
    [Show full text]
  • Talking Stone: Cherokee Syllabary Inscriptions in Dark Zone Caves
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2017 Talking Stone: Cherokee Syllabary Inscriptions in Dark Zone Caves Beau Duke Carroll University of Tennessee, bcarro17@vols.utk.edu Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Recommended Citation Carroll, Beau Duke, "Talking Stone: Cherokee Syllabary Inscriptions in Dark Zone Caves. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2017. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4985 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact trace@utk.edu. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Beau Duke Carroll entitled "Talking Stone: Cherokee Syllabary Inscriptions in Dark Zone Caves." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. Jan Simek, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: David G. Anderson, Julie L. Reed Accepted for the Council: Dixie L. Thompson Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Talking Stone: Cherokee Syllabary Inscriptions in Dark Zone Caves A Thesis Presented for the Master of Arts Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Beau Duke Carroll December 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Beau Duke Carroll All rights reserved ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis would not be possible without the following people who contributed their time and expertise.
    [Show full text]
  • Mission to Jupiter
    This book attempts to convey the creativity, Project A History of the Galileo Jupiter: To Mission The Galileo mission to Jupiter explored leadership, and vision that were necessary for the an exciting new frontier, had a major impact mission’s success. It is a book about dedicated people on planetary science, and provided invaluable and their scientific and engineering achievements. lessons for the design of spacecraft. This The Galileo mission faced many significant problems. mission amassed so many scientific firsts and Some of the most brilliant accomplishments and key discoveries that it can truly be called one of “work-arounds” of the Galileo staff occurred the most impressive feats of exploration of the precisely when these challenges arose. Throughout 20th century. In the words of John Casani, the the mission, engineers and scientists found ways to original project manager of the mission, “Galileo keep the spacecraft operational from a distance of was a way of demonstrating . just what U.S. nearly half a billion miles, enabling one of the most technology was capable of doing.” An engineer impressive voyages of scientific discovery. on the Galileo team expressed more personal * * * * * sentiments when she said, “I had never been a Michael Meltzer is an environmental part of something with such great scope . To scientist who has been writing about science know that the whole world was watching and and technology for nearly 30 years. His books hoping with us that this would work. We were and articles have investigated topics that include doing something for all mankind.” designing solar houses, preventing pollution in When Galileo lifted off from Kennedy electroplating shops, catching salmon with sonar and Space Center on 18 October 1989, it began an radar, and developing a sensor for examining Space interplanetary voyage that took it to Venus, to Michael Meltzer Michael Shuttle engines.
    [Show full text]
  • Modeling and Adjustment of THEMIS IR Line Scanner Camera Image Measurements
    Modeling and Adjustment of THEMIS IR Line Scanner Camera Image Measurements by Brent Archinal USGS Astrogeology Team 2255 N. Gemini Drive Flagstaff, AZ 86001 barchinal@usgs.gov As of 2004 December 9 Version 1.0 Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1. General 1.2. Conventions 2. Observations Equations and Their Partials 2.1. Line Scanner Camera Specific Modeling 2.2. Partials for New Parameters 2.2.1. Orientation Partials 2.2.2. Spatial Partials 2.2.3. Partials of the observations with respect to the parameters 2.2.4. Parameter Weighting 3. Adjustment Model 4. Implementation 4.1. Input/Output Changes 4.1.1. Image Measurements 4.1.2. SPICE Data 4.1.3. Program Control (Parameters) Information 4.2. Computational Changes 4.2.1. Generation of A priori Information 4.2.2. Partial derivatives 4.2.3. Solution Output 5. Testing and Near Term Work 6. Future Work Acknowledgements References Useful web sites Appendix I - Partial Transcription of Colvin (1992) Documentation Appendix II - HiRISE Sensor Model Information 1. Introduction 1.1 General The overall problem we’re solving is that we want to be able to set up the relationships between the coordinates of arbitrary physical points in space (e.g. ground points) and their coordinates on line scanner (or “pushbroom”) camera images. We then want to do a least squares solution in order to come up with consistent camera orientation and position information that represents these relationships accurately. For now, supported by funding from the NASA Critical Data Products initiative (for 2003 September to 2005 August), we will concentrate on handling the THEMIS IR camera system (Christensen et al., 2003).
    [Show full text]
  • Role of the Archives in the Future
    … You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time…” Abraham Lincoln ( 1809 – 1865 ) FACTS AND FICTION- ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE HISTORICAL EVENTS AND TELEVISION AND FILM PRODUCTIONS Media Archeology Movies and television productions are released and transmitted each year dealing with historical events or public personalities like politicians , military leaders, revolutionaries, and people with a record of special achievemments. The aim of my presentation is to make you aware of different possibilities in reusing archival footage in movies. It is my intention to inform you about the importance of the audiovisual archives and how to reuse transmitted programmes or real shots of life in new productions. It is not my intention to evaluate real shots in historical movies and to report about facts and fiction in those films. The subject is dealt with in the book called: PAST IMPERFECT. History According to the Movies. 1995, and my own paper on the same subject: HISTORY AND MOVIES: An evaluation of the information of historical events, of international known personalities and of famous sites and buildings describes in movies. External links: ( Contact: http://www.baacouncil.org/ or office@fiatifta.org for copy of the paper) Television companies should be proud of their collections of transmitted programmes. Because I have worked for televison archive for about 29 years I have viewed a lot of television programmes and movies. Some years ago I started to question the reuse of transmitted television programmes and also the active reuse of news in new productions.
    [Show full text]
  • The North Carolina Booklet
    I VOL. IV DECEMBER, 1904. NO. 6 I THE North CflROLiNfl Booklet. GREAT EVENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA HISTORY RUTHERFORD'S EXPEDITION AGAINST THE INDIANS, 1776, CAPTAIN S. A. ASHE. I Price 10 Cents $1 THE Year entjered at the post-office at rai/Eigh, n. c, as second-class matter. The North Carolina Booklet Great Events IN /iORTHCflROUNn History VOIi.. IV. 1. May—The Lords Proprietors of the Province of Carolina. Kemp P. Battle, LL.D. 2. June—The Battle of Eamsour's Mill. Major William A. Graham. 3 July—Rejection of the Federal Constitution in 1788, and it's Subse- quent Adoption. Associate Justice Henry G. Connor. 4. August—North Carolina Signers of the National Declaration of Inde- pendence: William Hooper, John Penn, Joseph Hewes. Mrs. Spier Whitaker, Mr. T. M. Pittman, Dr. Walter Sikes. 5. September—Homes of North Carolina—The Hermitage, Vernon Hall. Colonel William H. S. Burgwyn, Prof. Collier Cobb. 6. October—Expedition to Carthagena in 1740. Chief Justice Walter Clark. 7. November—The Earliest English Settlement in America. Mr. W. J. Peele. 8. December—The Battle of Guilford Court House. Prof. D. H. Hill. 9. January—Rutherford's Expedition Against the Indians, 1776. Captain S. A. Ashe. 10. February—The Highland Scotch Settlement in North Carolina. Judge James C. MacRae. 11. March—The Scotch-Irish Settlement in North Carolina. 12. April—Governor Thomas Pollock. Mrs. John Hinsdale. One Booklet a month will be issued by the North Carolina Society OF THE Daughters op the Revolution, beginning May, 1904. Price, $1 per year. Parties who wish to renew their subscription to the Booklet for Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Dot 16550 DS1.Pdf
    DRAFT NOTES ON THE SEMINOLE TRAIL (U.S . 29) Ill VIRGIBU Howard Newloa, Jr. October 28, 1976 According to McCary the indians that inhabited Virginia prior to English settlement were linguistically Algonquian, 'Iroquoian and Siouan- The general areas are indicated on his map attached as Figure 1.") Harrison in his extensive work on Old Prince William which extended as far west as Fauquier County likewise describes the indians as Algonquian and Iroquois. Specific tribes associated with Piedmont Virginia are largeiy Sapoai, Hanahuac, Tutelo, and Occaneechi. No mention is made in any county or state histories consulted of habitation or travel in the Virginia area by Seminoles. Despite this, U.S. 29 between Warrenton and the Horth Carolina line in 1928 was designated "TIie Seminole Trail". This designation was apprwed as Senate Bill 64 on February 16, 1928, which stated 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia that that part of the Virginia State highway system, beginning at the Borth Carolina line and leading through Danville , Chatham, Alta Vista, Lynchburg, Amherst, Lovingston, Charlottesville, Ruckersville, Nadison and Culpeper to Warrenton, be, and is hereby designated and shall. be, here- after , known as the "Seminole Trail.". No supporting arguments were found in the Senate Journal or other public documents in the University of Virginia Library. Like- wise no documentation or descriptions were found in tourist oriented publications. Thus a question remains as to the origin and validity of the designation. Attempts to find supporting evidence in published sources on American Indians were likewise unsuccessful. The mo8t extensive -1- documentation of Southeastern indian trails was published by Myer in 1928!3) His map is attached as Figure 2.
    [Show full text]
  • South Chickamauga Creek Headwaters Management Plan
    2012 SOUTH CHICKAMAUGA CREEK HEADWATERS MANAGEMENT PLAN A local stakeholder and Georgia EPD approved Watershed Management Plan that outlines the framework for improving water quality in South Chickamauga Headwater Streams Acknowledgements The Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc., would like to express its appreciation to the many organizations and individuals that assisted with the research and compilation of information presented in this plan. First and foremost, Limestone Valley wishes to thank the Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division for funding the preparation of this document. Additionally, the council would like to thank the many individuals associated with the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Tennessee Valley Authority that contributed many hours by providing resource information and guidance. Other organizations that contributed to this plan include the Catoosa County Commission, Catoosa County Environmental Health Department, Catoosa County Stormwater Department, Catoosa Soil and Water Conservation District, City of Ringgold, City of Tunnel Hill, City of Varnell, Envision Ecology, Kennesaw State University, South Chickamauga Creek Greenway Alliance, Tennessee Valley Canoe and Kayak Club, and the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. It is the hope of Limestone Valley RC & D that the information presented here, as well as the cooperative partnerships formed during this process, will work to improve the water quality in South Chickamauga Creek headwaters. Prepared by: Limestone Valley RC & D Council Joshua Smith Daniel Huser 105 Laurel Creek Road Suite 6 Calhoun, GA 30701 Revised: 10/15/12 The preparation of this document was financed in part through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Provisions of Section 319(h) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended.
    [Show full text]
  • A Thirtieth Anniversary Gathering in Memory of the Little Tennessee
    Boston College Law School Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School Boston College Law School Faculty Papers 1-1-2010 Setting It Straight: A Thirtieth Anniversary Gathering in Memory of the Little eT nnessee River and its Valley Zygmunt J.B. Plater Boston College Law School, plater@bc.edu Follow this and additional works at: http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/lsfp Part of the Environmental Law Commons, and the Land Use Planning Commons Recommended Citation Zygmunt J.B. Plater, Setting It Straight: A Thirtieth Anniversary Gathering…in Memory of the Little Tennessee River and its Valley. Newton, MA: Z. Plater, 2010. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College Law School Faculty Papers by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact nick.szydlowski@bc.edu. SSSeeettttttiiinnnggg IIIttt SSStttrrraaaiiiggghhhttt::: aaa TTThhhiiirrrtttiiieeettthhh AAAnnnnnniiivvveeerrrsssaaarrryyy GGGaaattthhheeerrriiinnnggg ......... iiinnn MMMeeemmmooorrryyy ooofff ttthhheee LLLiiittttttllleee TTTeeennnnnneeesssssseeeeee RRRiiivvveeerrr aaannnddd IIItttsss VVVaaalllllleeeyyy Created: 200,000,000 BC — eliminated by TVA: November 29, 1979 R.I.P. AAA RRReeeuuunnniiiooonnn ooofff TTTeeelllllliiicccooo DDDaaammm RRReeesssiiisssttteeerrrss::: fffaaarrrmmmeeerrrsss &&& lllaaannndddooowwwnnneeerrrsss,,, ssspppooorrrtttsssmmmeeennn,,, ttthhheee EEEaaasssttteeerrrnnn BBBaaannnddd ooofff CCChhheeerrroookkkeeeeeesss,,, &&& cccooonnnssseeerrrvvvaaatttiiiooonnniiissstttsss Vonore Community Center, Vonore, Tennessee, November 14, 2009 The Little Tennessee River: A Time-Line 200,000,000 BC — God raises up the Great Smoky Mountains, and the Little T starts flowing westward down out of the mountains. 8000 BC — archaic settlements arise in the meadows along the Little T in the rolling countryside West of the mountains. 1000-1400 AD — Early proto-Cherokee Pisgah culture; villages are scattered along the Little T.
    [Show full text]
  • Men-On-The-Spot and the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1917-1920 Undergraduate
    A Highly Disreputable Enterprise: Men-on-the-Spot and the Allied Intervention in the Russian Civil War, 1917-1920 Undergraduate Research Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for graduation "with Honors Research Distinction in History" in the undergraduate colleges of The Ohio State University by Conrad Allen The Ohio State University May 2016 Project Advisor: Professor Jennifer Siegel, Department of History The First World War ended on November 11, 1918. The guns that had battered away at each other in France and Belgium for four long years finally fell silent at eleven A.M. as the signed armistice went into effect. "There came a second of expectant silence, and then a curious rippling sound, which observers far behind the front likened to the noise of a light wind. It was the sound of men cheering from the Vosges to the sea," recorded South African soldier John Buchan, as victorious Allied troops went wild with celebration. "No sleep all night," wrote Harry Truman, then an artillery officer on the Western Front, "The infantry fired Very pistols, sent up all the flares they could lay their hands on, fired rifles, pistols, whatever else would make noise, all night long."1 They celebrated their victory, and the fact that they had survived the worst war of attrition the world had ever seen. "I've lived through the war!" cheered an airman in the mess hall of ace pilot Eddie Rickenbacker's American fighter squadron. "We won't be shot at any more!"2 But all was not quiet on every front.
    [Show full text]