Bonus Army Marches on Washington, DC

Summer seems to be a prime time for protests, especially in Washington, D.C. Perhaps because of vacations, when people are free to travel, yet Congress is still in session. There have been civil rights marches, March for Life events, and huge prayer rallies.

I learned recently about the Bonus Army march of 1932, one of the first large scale, veteran-led, organized protests in American history, which set the standard for non-violent advocacy.

Bonus Army marching toward the Capitol on July 5, 1932.
Library of Congress photo

Veterans of the Great War (now known as World War I) had been promised bonuses, or “adjusted compensation,” for their service. In 1924, Congress approved giving each qualified veteran an additional $1 for every day served; for overseas service, the amount was $1.25. Certificates were issued which could be redeemed for the bonus amount with compound interest in 1945.

But when the Great Depression hit, many veterans struggled to make ends meet. Unemployment rose to more than 20%. Over a quarter million families lost their homes to mortgage foreclosure.

Veterans needed cash, not paper certificates promising a future payout.

In 1932, Congress considered a bill for early payment of the bonuses, sparking hope among veterans. Originating in Portland, Oregon, several hundred veterans began to travel to the nation’s capital to urge passage of the bill. By early summer, nearly 20,000 jobless veterans from all over the country, along with their families and supporters, joined. Called the Bonus Expeditionary Force, an allusion to the war’s American Expeditionary Force, the press nicknamed it the Bonus Army.

Bonus Expeditionary Force camp on Anacostia Flats had a military-style
organization. Library of Congress Photo

The demonstrators, totaling more than 40,000 at one point, set up camps and shantytowns, mostly across the river from the Capitol, in an area called Anacostia Flats, and on Pennsylvania Avenue. They demonstrated on the Capitol grounds, urging Congress to pass a bill allowing early payment of their bonuses. The House of Representatives approved the bill, but on June 17, it failed in the Senate due to lack of money in the government coffers.

Disappointed, the veterans sang “America” and returned peacefully to their camps, vowing to stay until their situation improved. One veteran said, “If they gave me a job, I wouldn’t care about the bonus.”

The movement’s leader, Walter W. Waters, urged non-violent protest. As the summer progressed, however, skirmishes with police occurred and officials grew concerned about public order. On July 28, skirmishes turned into a brawl and two vets were wounded and later died. President Herbert Hoover then ordered the Army to “put an end to rioting and defiance of authority.”

General Douglas MacArthur directing the
evacuation of Bonus Army marchers from
Washington, D.C. July 28, 1932.
Library of Congress photo

General Douglas MacArthur, with assistance from Major Dwight D. Eisenhower and Major George S. Patton, led infantry, cavalry, and tanks to forcibly evict the demonstrators from government property. Soldiers burned the camps and used tear gas, dispersing the marchers.

Images of veterans and their families under attack by their own government shocked the nation. The resulting public relations disaster for Hoover contributed to his landslide defeat by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the presidential election that fall.

A second, smaller Bonus Army in March 1933 disbanded when most of the group accepted jobs with the newly created Civilian Conservation Corps.

Finally, in 1936, Congress overrode a veto by President Roosevelt and paid veterans their bonuses nine years early. In subsequent years, support for funding veterans’ programs continued to increase and spurred the G.I. Bill after World War II.

According to one analysis, the Bonus Army’s “unwavering spirit and unrelenting determination left an indelible mark on American history, serving as a powerful testament to the power of collective action and the importance of honoring those who serve.”

SOURCES:

Bonus Army of 1932: Life Without a Safety Net - The Washington Post 

WWI Veterans Converge on Capitol Hill - Event Date: June 17th, 1932

The Bonus March (May-July, 1932) | American Experience | Official Site | PBS

Remembering the Bonus Army | The Wolfsonian | Florida International University | FIU

Bonus Expeditionary Forces March on Washington (U.S. National Park Service)

The Forgotten March · National Parks Conservation Association

The “Bonus Army” March – U.S. Capitol Historical Society

Multi-award-winning author Marie Wells Coutu finds beauty in surprising places, like undiscovered treasures, old houses, and gnarly trees. All three books in her Mended Vessels series, contemporary stories based on the lives of biblical women, have won awards in multiple contests. She is currently working on historical romances set in her native western Kentucky in the 1930s and ‘40s. An unpublished novel, Shifting Currents, placed second in the inspirational category of the nationally recognized Maggie Awards. Learn more at www.MarieWellsCoutu.com.

Her historical short story, “All That Glistens,” was included in the 2023 Saturday Evening Post Great American Fiction collection and is now available free when you sign up for Marie's newsletter here. In her newsletter, she shares about her writing, historical tidbits, recommended books, and sometimes recipes.

Presidential Bride: Marrying the President of the US

 By Tiffany Amber Stockton

Last month, the story of how my great-grandfather came to be sending clams and oysters to the White House during President Wilson's presidency received featured recognition here.

If you missed last month's post, you can view it here: https://www.hhhistory.com/2021/07/presidential-seafood-clams-and-oysters.html.

This month, I'll be delving further into my great-grandfather's 1st cousin by marriage, Edith Bolling Galt, the woman responsible for my White House connections. *grins*

EDITH BOLLING GALT WILSON -- 1st Lady and Washington Elite Society member

Edith
Bolling
Galt
Wilson

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson

I grew up hearing stories of my great-grandfather's 1st cousin and how I was loosely connected to United States "royalty." So much of that part of my family seemed like nothing more than an entertaining bedtime story. That is, until I went to college with a minor in history and became an author of historical fiction just six years after graduation. Details left out or forgotten in my childhood mind became somewhat of a passion for me.

It wasn't until recently, with the research associated with the series I'm pitching that's set on Chincoteague Island, that I realized just how fascinating my family history is on my mother's side of the family. My father's might be fascinating as well but with so many deaths during World War I and the Influenza Epidemic, specifics and details are quite difficult to find. I won't give up, though. For now, it's the family history I can research a bit more easily.

Galt & Bro. Jewelers

Edith Bolling was a descendant of Virginia aristocracy, so it's only natural that she remained immersed in elite society, wherever her life took her. She was born the 7th of 11th children in Wytheville in 1872. Her life intersected with my family history in 1895 when she visited one of her married sisters in Washington and met a businessman named Norman Galt (my great-grandfather's 1st cousin), who was the current owner of Galt & Bro. Jewelers, established in 1802.

Edith and Norman married in 1896 and she lived happily for 12 years. In 1908, Norman died unexpectedly, but Edith Galt chose a fantastic manager who operated the family's jewelry firm with financial success, giving her a good dose of added business sense which would serve her well for what was to come. Her shrewd decision is what helped that business continue serving the elite members of Washington society and politicians for 200 years, leading it to be Washington's oldest established business in the District.

President Woodrow Wilson &
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson

Edith & Woodrow Wilson
Valentine depiction

By a quirk of fate and a chain of friendships, Edith met the bereaved President Wilson in 1914, just 8 months after his beloved wife's passing. The president was still mourning profoundly for his first wife, but he took an instant liking to Edith, and that soon changed to love. Unlike Wilson's first wife who was shy and avoided politics, Edith shared Wilson's passion, leading to a whirlwind courtship and marriage. When he proposed, he said "in this place, time is not measured by weeks, or months, or years, but by deep human experiences..." They were married privately on December 18, 1915, at her home.

Remember, I mentioned above how Edith was descended from Virginia aristocracy? Well, that family legacy, upbringing, and culture prepared her quite well for the role of hostess as the new First Lady. Unfortunately, the war in Europe overshadowed just about everything else. Edith jumped right in and became a true helpmate to the President, working hard to keep him fit under tremendous strain.

President Woodrow Wilson

When a stroke left the President partly paralyzed in September 1919, this is where Edith stepped into her chosen role as First Lady and gained unusual significance through her hard work and support of her husband. Legend has labeled Edith as a "secret president" or even the "first woman to run the U.S. government." But according to Edith, considered her work as her "stewardship."

Edith Galt Wilson walking confidently
with her husband and security detail

She didn't try to control the executive branch, initiate programs, or make major decisions. She merely took over many routine duties and details, selected matters for her husband's attention, and let everything else go to the heads of departments or remain in abeyance. Everything she did was in full partnership with her husband, and it was done out of her deep and abiding love for him. I can only imagine how I'd handle such a responsibility! That oft-spoken inspirational quote, "God doesn't call the qualified; He qualifies the called" runs through my mind right now. Oh, to have been able to sit down and talk with Edith after her time as First Lady passed.

In 1921, the Wilsons retired to a comfortable home in Washington, where he died three years later. A highly respected figure in the society of the capital, Mrs. Wilson lived on to ride in President Kennedy's inaugural parade. She died later in 1961: on December 28, the anniversary of her famous husband's birth.

front face of $10 gold coin

rear face of $10 gold coin

I mentioned this last month, but as I featured Edith more thoroughly this month, I felt it bore mentioning again.

There was a $10 gold coin struck in the U.S. Mint at West Point commemorating Edith Wilson's time as First Lady. It was released in 2013, but uncirculated. The front is a replica of a sculpting done of Edith, and the back symbolizes Edith's support of President Wilson following his stroke. Her hand is resting atop his as he holds his cane.

I just love the symbolism of that image depicted. It would be an amazing keepsake to add to my heirloom and legacy collection, wouldn't you agree? With my 40th birthday coming in just 3 weeks, I'm going to try hard to find it for a birthday present. Will update you in next month's post.


NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* Do you have anything that has been passed down to you along the family line from generation to generation? What is it, and why is it so special?

* What would YOU have done in Edith's shoes as First Lady with the President partly paralyzed following a stroke?

* Select one unique fact from the post above that stood out to you and share why it appealed to you.

Leave answers to these questions or any comments on the post below. Next month, I'll be returning to the stories and history on Chincoteague Island. Come back on the 9th of September to find out more.

---

BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those skills to become an award-winning, best-selling author and speaker who is also an advocate for literacy as an educational consultant with Usborne Books. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help better their lives.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children, two dogs, and two cats in Colorado. She has sold twenty-four (24) books so far and is represented by Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

Living a Legacy + Book Giveaway

 By Tiffany Amber Stockton

Last month, the family from the famous book, Misty of Chincoteague, came to life in living color here on this blog, with facts you likely had never heard before, especially if you only read the book or saw the movie. If you missed last month's post, you can view it here: https://www.hhhistory.com/2021/05/the-beebe-legacy.html.

This month, it's time to get a little personal in sharing some of the tidbits from my family history. I'll also be giving away not one, not two, but THREE different books. Haven't done a giveaway in a while, so I'm making up for lost time. *winks* Read through the post to the bottom for further details.

MY GRANDFATHER, DANIEL WESLEY GAULT, JR.

When I was a little girl, my mother read me the story of Misty of Chincoteague, then regaled me with stories of her father and how he knew Grandpa Beebe, Paul, and Maureen. She also showed me a picture of her standing with Misty! You can imagine my wonder and awe at seeing my mother and her father as "famous." At least to a little girl, anyway. *grins*

Daniel W. Gault, Sr. &
Carrie (Jester) Gault

But let's go back a few years to 1919, when my grandfather (Pop-pop as I called him) was born on Chincoteague Island. His parents, Daniel W. Gault, Sr. and Carrie Jester Gault had both been married before but lost their respective spouses and brought one child each to their marriage. Pop-pop was the first of seven children to follow, nine altogether.

When Pop-pop was 6 years old, the very first official Pony Penning Day occurred. I can just imagine him as a young lad eager and anxious to race to the island's beach area where the water from the channel which separated Chincoteague from Assateague lapped against the sand. That very beach would be where the saltwater cowboys would drive the wild herd across the channel and onto Chincoteague to be sold at auction. The events surrounding that day will be a key highlight in the first book of my proposed trilogy for Harlequin. Stay tuned for 2022 for more information on that.

Daniel W. Gault, Jr. &
Esther Mae (Seiple) Gault

Through the 1920's and most of the 1930's, Pop-pop remained on the island with his family. As with everyone, times got extremely difficult during the Depression. My mother remembers stories told to her of how her grandfather would cut up old car tires to use the rubber in order to re-sole the shoes of his children. Talk about ingenious! I admire the true survivors from that era, the ones who did whatever it took to survive and never gave up. And from the time Pop-pop was thirteen, he took a position behind a barber chair in his father's barber shop to bring in additional money for the family, cutting hair like his father before him.

After Pop-pop graduated high school in 1937, the barbershop on the island was sold and his family moved to Washington, D.C., where he met Esther Mae Seiple, my future grandmother. Two years later, WWII began, and in 1941, Pop-pop enlisted in the Army, only to be sent to the Panama Canal. When he returned after 5 years, he married Esther and joined his father in business at the Father & Son Barber Shop on Pennsylvania Avenue, just south of Capitol Hill.

Galt Jewelers stamp on packages

Galt & Bro, Inc. Jewelers, est. 1802

Together, they cut the hair of many senators, congressman, and Washington elite. Their clientele was quite the "who's who" list in D.C. Makes sense, as another part of my family is Galt (name spelled without the "u") and they owned Galt & Bro, Inc Jewelers, which opened in D.C. in 1802, and served numerous presidents among other society members. The business was the "oldest business in the District" and remained open always near the White House for nearly two centuries before quietly closing its doors in 2001. Oh, the stories I could tell about President Abraham Lincoln's watch being repaired there when the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter, or Edith Galt taking over ownership after her husband died then going on to marry President Woodrow Wilson while he was president. But those are stories for a whole other series. *grins*

Senator barbershop

my older brother's first haircut

Back to my Pop-pop. Around 1952, not long after a barbershop for senators and representatives was opened in the basement of the Capitol building in the late 1940s, my great-grandfather retired and returned to Chincoteague island, leaving Pop-pop to run the barbershop alone. He did that until 1966 when the Safeway grocery around the corner decided they wanted to expand with a new loading dock and bought out the entire block where that barbershop sat. That's when he moved with his wife and daughter (my mom, born in 1950) out of the city to Suitland, Maryland, then rented a chair in a barbershop in Fairfax Village. That chair was where my older brother received his first haircut at about 2 years old.

Pop-Pop with me and older brother

Pop-pop remained there and worked until 1979 when he left Maryland and returned to Chincoteague Island, where he took over ownership of a barbershop there and rented an apartment across the street. That apartment holds very fond memories for me, as I remember visiting him and sitting on his knee making up stories about how my older brother and I were in danger in some way and he came to the rescue. See? I was telling stories even at the early age of 4. *winks* Unfortunately, that time together was short-lived, as a heart attack took Pop-pop's life in 1982. I was only 6 years old, but the memories have lasted, and now his legacy lives on through this blog as well as the upcoming books I'm writing.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

I don't have any books on my family history published YET, but I *do* have books celebrating family connections and generational stories. So, that's what I'm offering in the giveaway today.

For your chance at one (1) of three (3) FREE books from my Brandywine Brides trilogy (Bound by Grace, Stealing Hearts, Antique Dreams), answer one of the questions below in the comments and leave your email address as a way to get in touch with you if you win. Good luck!

* Select one unique fact from the post above that stood out to you and share why it appealed to you.

* What stories do you have of your own family ancestors surviving through the Depression? What did they do to feed themselves and their children or to avoid being evicted from their home?

* Is there anything in your family which has been passed down through the generations? Perhaps a skill, a trade, a legacy, a house, or a building?

Leave answers to these questions or any comments on the post below. Next month, I'll be sharing about how my great-grandfather provided clams and oysters to the White House and received personal thanks from the President himself. Come back on the 9th of July to find out more.

---

BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those skills to become an award-winning, best-selling author and speaker who is also an advocate for literacy as an educational consultant with Usborne Books. She loves to share life-changing products and ideas with others to help better their lives.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children, two dogs, and two cats in Colorado. She has sold twenty (24) books so far and is represented by Tamela Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook and GoodReads.

The Snow Riot of 1835

By Michelle Shocklee

As the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 1:9, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." (NIV) Sadly, that wisdom-filled statement is true when it comes to racial division, particularly in the United States. As I write this blog post, our country is experiencing violence, riots, protests, and hatred aimed at police following the senseless and horrific murder of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis, by a police officer. Like many of you, I'm praying for peace and protection of everyone involved, for Mr. Floyd's family, and for our nation.

Twenty-five years before the Civil War erupted, the capital city of Washington DC experienced riots of its own. In this case, it was white residents who rampaged through the city of approximately 20,000, terrorizing black residents. The difference between this riot and the ones taking place today, however, is they were not based on an actual crime. The basis for the Snow Riot of 1835, Washington's first race riot, was fear, rumor, and hatred.

A little back story.

Washington DC in the 1830s

Many free blacks lived in Washington DC, with some owning businesses, including Beverly Snow.

Mr. Snow was born a slave around 1799 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He was owned by Captain William Norvell. Norvell's will left Snow to his daughter with the provision that Snow would be freed at age thirty. Until then, he was allowed to run a small oyster house and keep some of the profits. In 1829, Snow received his freedom papers, and he and his wife moved to the District of Columbia, Washington City, escaping the severe restrictions on freed blacks in Virginia. Snow set himself apart as he was educated, wealthy, and an entrepreneur. Once in Washington, he opened an oyster restaurant, the Epicurean Eating House, which became very popular. This popularity lead to resentment from the pro-slavery white population.

Numerous factors left the city ripe for an outbreak of violence:

• The Nat Turner slave rebellion in Virginia in August 1831 was still fresh in the minds of Washington DC residents. 
• There was heightened tension in the city between abolitionists and people defending slavery.
• The Nation's first labor strike by federal employees began. The strike is known as the Washington Navy Yard Strike. 175 white workers went on strike and through intimidation forced black workers to join them.

Like a match to a powder keg, it only took one drunken man and one unfounded rumor to set the whole city aflame--figuratively and literally. 

Late on the night of August 4, 1835, 18-year old Arthur Bowen, a slave owned by Mrs. Anna Maria Thornton, arrived home after a night of drinking and political discussions with free blacks. According to Arthur (and later Anna herself), he found an ax lying on the basement steps and carried it inside. For unknown reasons (he was quite drunk), he went to the bedroom of his mistress where she, his mother, and Anna's elderly mother slept. Anna woke to find him standing in the doorway with the ax. She was able to get past him and went to the neighbors for help. By her own account, Arthur had not threatened her, and by the time she returned with a male neighbor, Arthur's mother had disarmed him and sent him away. However, word of the incident quickly spread, and Arthur was arrested on August 8. 

Epicurean Eating House owned by Beverly Snow

With the city in an uproar over the supposed attempted murder of a prominent white woman by a black man, slavery defenders pounced on it as an opportunity to rid themselves of anyone opposing them. On August 10, Reuben Crandall, a white physician, Quaker, and abolitionist, was arrested on charges of "seditious libel and inciting slaves and free blacks to revolt." Crandall was nearly killed by the angry mob and was only saved when the mayor called for the milita. The mob wanted Crandall hanged, but the mayor refused and a trial date was set. Denied a lynching, the mob turned their anger onto the blacks in the city, free and slave. 

Beverly Snow got caught up in the storm. It was rumored that he had made disparaging remarks about the wives of the striking naval yard men, and they sought to make him pay. When Snow heard the mob was coming for him, he and his wife made their escape, eventually settling in Toronto, Canada. His restaurant was completely destroyed, but not before the rioters drank all his whiskey and champagne. 

Like a terrible tidal wave, the rioters moved on. Ostensibly looking for abolitionist literature, they attacked and burned homes, businesses, and churches--all owned or associated with free black citizens. They vandalized all-black schoolhouses, destroying completely those operated by Mary Wormley and John F. Cooke, a black man who escaped to Pennsylvania on a horse provided by a white supporter. The rioting lasted a week, and it took an act by President Andrew Jackson to bring the violence to an end. The riot became known as the Snow Riot because it was Beverly Snow's restaurant that was first attacked.

When things finally settled down, the black community as a whole would continue to suffer. There was no compensation given for the destruction of their homes and property. Black Codes, restrictive legislation limiting the rights of free blacks in the city, became increasingly harsh.

A question that continues to resound in my heart and mind is, why haven't we learned from history that violence and hatred never win?

Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels. Her work has been included in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazines, and blogs. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two grown sons, she makes her home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about. Visit her online at www.MichellesShocklee.com or visit her Amazon page. 

UNDER THE TULIP TREE

Releasing 9.8.20; Available for PREORDER!

Sixteen-year-old Lorena Leland’s dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena’s banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writing job, Rena accepts a position interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writers’ Project. There, she meets Frankie Washington, a 101-year-old woman whose honest yet tragic past captivates Rena.

As Frankie recounts her life as a slave, Rena is horrified to learn of all the older woman has endured—especially because Rena’s ancestors owned slaves. While Frankie’s story challenges Rena’s preconceptions about slavery, it also connects the two women whose lives are otherwise separated by age, race, and circumstances. But will this bond of respect, admiration, and friendship be broken by a revelation neither woman sees coming?

https://www.tyndale.com/p/under-the-tulip-tree/9781496446077

German History and the Month of May

By Michelle Shocklee

May is such a pleasant month--flowers blooming, baby birds hatching, sunshine without the heat of summer. But the month of May has become a time in history--German history in particular--that doesn't foster warm, pleasant feelings.

RMS Lusitania (undated AP Photo)

May 7, 1915

By early 1915, a threat to British shipping began to emerge out of Germany. U-boats, or submarines, were being used to attack naval vessels. As they achieved  more successes, U-boats began to attack merchant vessels as well. Desperate to gain an advantage on the Atlantic, the German government decided to step up its submarine campaign. On February 4, 1915, Germany declared the seas around the British Isles a war zone. Beginning on February 18, Allied ships in the area would be sunk without warning. Efforts would be taken to avoid sinking neutral ships, but there were no guarantees.

Painting of sinking RMS Lusitania

The RMS Lusitania, a luxury liner, was scheduled to leave NYC on May 1, headed to Liverpool. In an interesting move, the German Embassy issued a warning to all passengers contemplating passage on the Lusitania. It appeared in 50 US newspapers, including New York. It read:

NOTICE! Travelers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travelers sailing in the war zone on the ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk.
IMPERIAL GERMAN EMBASSY
Washington, D.C. 22 April 1915

Benito Mussolini, Prime Minister of Italy
1922-1943

Despite the danger, the Lusitania embarked on its voyage. On May 7, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the British liner off the southern coast of Ireland, killing 1,198 people including 128 Americans, out of the nearly 2,000 on board. In the aftermath of the sinking, the German government tried to justify it by claiming in an official statement that she had been armed with guns, and had "large quantities of war material" in her cargo. They also stated that since she was classed as an auxiliary cruiser, Germany had had a right to destroy her regardless of any passengers aboard, and that the warnings issued by the German Embassy before her sailing relieved Germany of any responsibility for the deaths of American citizens aboard.

May 22, 1939

In May of 1939, Italy and Germany agreed to a military and political alliance, giving birth to the Rome-Berlin Axis.
Mussolini coined the nickname “Pact of Steel” (he had also come up with the metaphor of an “axis” binding Rome and Berlin) after reconsidering his first choice, “Pact of Blood,” to describe this historic agreement with Germany. He saw this partnership as not only a defensive alliance, protection from the Western democracies, with whom he anticipated war, but also a source of backing for his Balkan adventures. Both sides were fearful and distrustful of the other, but in September 1940, the Pact of Steel would become the Tripartite Pact, with Japan making up the third constituent of the triad. World War II became the deadliest military conflict in history. An estimated 70–85 million people perished, which was about 3% of the 1940 world population.

May 1945

General Alfred Jodl, Hitler’s military advisor, controller of German High Command and chief of the Operations Staff (center), signs the document of surrender (German Capitulation) of the German armed forces at Rheims in General Eisenhower’s headquarters. He is joined by Major Wilhelm Oxenius (left) and Hans Georg von Friedeburg, Admiral of the Fleet (right). Photo by Keystone/Getty Images

On May 7, 1945, Germany officially surrendered to the Allies, bringing an end to the European conflict in World War II. General Alfred Jodl, representing the German High Command, signed the unconditional surrender of both east and west forces in Rheims, France, which would take effect the following day. As a result, May 8 was declared Victory in Europe--VE--Day, a holiday still celebrated by many European countries. While this is certainly a day to celebrate, one can't help but think of all the lives lost through the long years of war.

(Pictured are the remnants of the German Army in Prague surrendering to Allied forces.)

As someone who has German roots, I'm thankful the evil powers of Germany's past are long gone. I hope to visit that beautiful country someday...and I think I'll go in May!



Your turn: Have you visited Germany? Tell me about it!

Michelle Shocklee is the author of several historical novels. Her work has been included in numerous Chicken Soup for the Soul books, magazines, and blogs. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of two grown sons, she makes her home in Tennessee, not far from the historical sites she writes about. Visit her online at www.MichellesShocklee.com or visit her Amazon page. 

UNDER THE TULIP TREE

Releasing 9.8.20; Available for PREORDER!

Sixteen-year-old Lorena Leland’s dreams of a rich and fulfilling life as a writer are dashed when the stock market crashes in 1929. Seven years into the Great Depression, Rena’s banker father has retreated into the bottle, her sister is married to a lazy charlatan and gambler, and Rena is an unemployed newspaper reporter. Eager for any writing job, Rena accepts a position interviewing former slaves for the Federal Writers’ Project. There, she meets Frankie Washington, a 101-year-old woman whose honest yet tragic past captivates Rena.

As Frankie recounts her life as a slave, Rena is horrified to learn of all the older woman has endured—especially because Rena’s ancestors owned slaves. While Frankie’s story challenges Rena’s preconceptions about slavery, it also connects the two women whose lives are otherwise separated by age, race, and circumstances. But will this bond of respect, admiration, and friendship be broken by a revelation neither woman sees coming?
 

https://www.tyndale.com/p/under-the-tulip-tree/9781496446077

 

Washington D.C. burned to the ground!

Did you know that our great capital, Washington D.C., was once burned to the ground by our enemies? When I first started researching the War of 1812 for a series I intended to write, I was stunned by what I found. I had never learned about this war in school, so it was all new to me. Some call it the Second Revolutionary War because it was Britain's second attempt to gain control of the fledgling new country called America.

The British plan was to destroy our capital city, perhaps even capture our president, which in turn they hoped would cause the United States to become so demoralized they would give up the fight. On August 24th, after British forces defeat American militiamen at Baldensburg, Maryland, they march completely unopposed into Washington D.C. Fortunately, most of the congressmen, officials, and the President himself had already evacuated the city. The President's wife, Dolly Madison had stayed behind and barely escaped just as the British arrived. (But that's a story for another time, perhaps next month!)

While the British troops ransacked every building in the city, British Admiral Cockburn and his officers dined at the White House at a table already set by Dolly for her husband. There, they mocked President Madison with a toast to his health as they indulged in a meal meant for him. Meanwhile he ordered the city burned to the ground in retaliation, some say, for the Americans burning down Canadian government buildings earlier in the war. The White House, a number of Federal buildings and several private homes were destroyed. The uncompleted Capitol building was also burned and the House or Representatives and Library of Congress were gutted.

The next day as the British troops went about destroying more of the city, a massive storm struck. Darkness fell upon the city, along with heavy rain and strong winds that tore off roofs. An eye witness reports


"The darkness was so great as if the sun had long set and the last remains of twilight had come on, occasionally relieved by flashes of vivid lightning streaming through it, which together, with the noise of the wind and thunder, the crash of falling buildings and the tearing of roofs as they were stript from the walls, produced the most appalling effect I ever have, and probably ever shall witness."


The storm lasted for two hours and killed thirty British troops who where buried beneath the ruins. General Ross ordered a retreat and the troops returned to their ships, many of which were badly damaged. Some say the storm saved Washington D.C. from being occupied, and thus saved the war, which America eventually won! But, I've run out of time for now.

A Christy Award finalist and winner of two Inspirational Readers’ Choice awards, MaryLu Tyndall dreamt of tall ships and swashbuckling heroes during her childhood years on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. Her books are filled with adventure and romance and themes that are guaranteed to touch your heart! She continues to pen her romantic tales on the California coast while managing a home, husband, little scalawag grandkids, and several stray cats who have decided that her keyboard is the best place to sleep! She believes that without popcorn and chocolate, life would not be worth living, and her sole motivation in life is to bring others closer to God.

MaryLu's Romance books set during the War of 1812!
Check out her books on her Amazon Page

Galt & Bro. Jeweler's - A Glittering Legacy

By Tiffany Amber Stockton

Last month, I shared about the Delaware's State Fair and the history of fairs throughout the "First State." If you missed that post, you can read it here: https://www.hhhistory.com/2019/02/the-first-states-first-state-fair-book.html.

Just last night, I was chatting with a friend about shared commonalities from living around the Chesapeake Bay for a time. We reminisced about places we visited, and in a part of that conversation, I shared about my family's ties to Washington, D.C., as well as some of the elite, including several presidents. Here's a little glimpse of my personal family history as seen through the eyes of one of the oldest and continuously operated jewelry stores in the nation.

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A Glittering Legacy

stamp on brown paper showing opening date
also etched on all packages delivered from the shop

George Washington didn't sleep here, but Abraham Lincoln shopped here.

So did Jefferson Davis and Alexander Graham Bell, J. Edgar Hoover and John F. Kennedy, and practically every well-heeled luminary who has passed through Washington, D.C., over the past 200 years.

In 1802, James Galt (a cousin of mine many times removed) opened his "clock and watch" business on the promise that he would "keep a few good watches and material for sale at reasonable prices." Sadly, in 2001, the store was forced to close its doors, but 200 years in continuous operation is quite impressive! Now, the Galt & Bro. legacy continues as Galt Couture!

1107 Pennsylvania Ave. storefront

Throughout its many years in business, leather-bound store ledgers documented the visits and recorded the accounts of people like "Hon. Abraham Lincoln," as well as the "Hon. Jefferson Davis," who in 1860 purchased charms, buttons, shawl pins, and a gold thimble, and "Gen. Ulysses S. Grant," who six years later purchased two butter knives and a sugar tong. These hand-written ledgers and yellowed customer cards became much more of a treasure than the Gorham silver or diamond-and-pearl adornments rumored to be quite favored by Mary Todd Lincoln...a woman whose much-criticized obsession with spending was documented in faded script in the ledgers.

Among some of these hand-written items are customer cards of "Mrs. F.D. Roosevelt," and "Mrs. Wm. H. Taft," and a copy of Washington's first phone directory -- a single page from 1878 with "Galt" as the only name listed under "Jeweler." How amazing is that? To be the only jeweler in the city and to boast a clientele that can only be described as city's elite!

interior of Galt & Bros. Jewelry

The shop reflected its posh patronage too. Chandeliers sparkled overhead, oriental carpets muffled footsteps, and heavy, ice-blue damask curtains blocked the sun, while a massive grandfather clock stood sentry. This place was much more than a jewelry store. Other inventory items included silver keychains, leather watchbands, linen napkins and tablecloths, a grand silver tea service, and a commemorative Bicentennial plate, added in 1976 (the year I was born).

Although I never stepped inside the shop when it was open, I do know the last Galt to operate the business was Norman Galt, whose wife, Edith Bolling Galt, inherited it upon his death and went on to become the wife of President Woodrow Wilson. I wrote a post a couple years ago about this, as she was my grandfather's first cousin on my mother's side.

Galt & Bros. storefront at 1107 Pennsylvania Ave.
(photo copyright Alamy)

Considering the notable list of names who frequented this shop, it's no surprise to also learn the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Washington Historical Society are all itching to inherit the Galt archives.

After 200 years in Washington, that's a pretty amazing legacy. One of these years, I intend to write a series focusing on this jewelry store and the people who were patrons and customers. It will be exciting to research not only the story but my own family's history too. Washington, D.C. elite in the 1800s and 1900s. Sounds like fun to me!!

* * * * *

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN:

* Do you have any notable names or stories like this in YOUR family history?

* What item or type of item would entice you to shop at Galt & Bros. if you were in Washington, D.C. during its years of operation?

* What was your favorite part about today's post?

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BIO

Tiffany Amber Stockton has been crafting and embellishing stories since childhood, when she was accused of having a very active imagination and cited with talking entirely too much. Today, she has honed those childhood skills to become an award-winning and best-selling author and speaker who is also an advocate for literacy as an educational consultant with Usborne Books. On the side, she dabbles in the health & wellness and personal development industry, helping others become their best from the inside out.

She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, along with their two children and two dogs in Colorado. She has sold twenty (21) books so far and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, and LinkedIn

Touching History in Washington DC: Historical Sites off the Beaten Path

Sandra and my sister at the Sotterley Plantation

Have you spent time in Washington D.C.? I went to our nation’s capital with my parents at age nine, but two springs ago I got to visit again, this time with my sister. It was partly a writing research trip for me, and we stayed with my dear friend and critique partner, Sandra Barnes, and her family.




While we still saw the White House, Washington Monument, and Smithsonian, Sandra also helped us find some places not as many tourists know about—partly because of my research about D.C.’s Civil War, African-American, and abolitionist history. And it was in some of these spots where our nation’s past came to life for me the most. So I thought it would be fun to share a few with you!

One of the first places we visited was the Sotterly Plantation in Maryland, about an hour outside Washington D.C. I’d been to a plantation once before, but the truth of what life there meant sank deeper into my heart seeing one with Sandra, who is African American—as we stood first in the sunny, attractive dining room of the family, and then in the dirt-floored, rough-roofed cabin of the slaves. When I gazed below the sloping grain fields sweeping down from the house to the river where slaves used to try and escape, I could almost picture the real people, black and white, who had lived here only a few generations ago.

Sotterley Plantation dining room

Sotterley Plantation slave cabin

Frederick Douglass's office

Next we toured the home of renowned abolitionist,speaker, American ambassador—and former slave—Frederick Douglass, located in the southeast corner of Washington D.C. itself and open only by guided tour. History sprang to life as we viewed grocery budgets and books belonging to Douglass and his wife, as well as his personal office and library, today set to replicate almost exactly an existing photograph of Douglass sitting at his desk. Many of the books and furniture are original. Perhaps most fun was discovering the “Growlery” out back, a little, windowless outdoor building where Douglass would go alone to write, and “growl,” if he needed to! I know some writers who might like to have a Growlery today. :)








Frederick Douglass's "Growlery" out back


In the heart of D.C., we arrived at Ford’s Theatre, where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. We walked through historical displays on that fateful night and then sat in the theater itself to see a musical production on the Civil War. The very box where the president and first lady sat for the show that evening—and where John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the head—rose to our right, draped in sober red, white, and blue.



Ford Theatre: Lincoln's box just below chandelier





But I think when history hit me most vividly was at the historic 15th Street Presbyterian Church, an African-American congregation founded in 1841 and involved in the Abolitionist movement I was researching. We met with Dr. Tressie Muldrow, the church historian. She gave us much valuable history on the church, but my sister and I sat most riveted when she began telling us some of her own story, of being one of the college students to participate in the Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960.


Sitting with Dr. Tressie Muldrow


Dr. Muldrow and the other students, black and white, had sat respectfully but firmly in their chairs at the counter, enduring mayonnaise and mustard smeared in their hair and other abuse from white customers simply for sitting outside the “colored” section. She told us how they, the demonstrators, met together every evening for training and debriefing, and of the satisfaction she feels today when she visits the site of that restaurant and sees it gone, a civil rights museum in its place.


When we visited the Smithsonian's Museum of American History a bit later, we saw those very stools they had sat on at the Woolworth’s counter. It still gives me chills a bit to think of it. 





Woolworth's counter stools at the Smithsonian




We made many other memories, though I don’t have space to detail them all: a chance visit at the Charles Sumner School, one of the first schools for African-American students in D.C.; seeing the “I Have a Dream” paving stone at the Lincoln Memorial where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous speech, as well as the MLK memorial itself; the Korean War Memorial, simple but moving, with its realistic statues of soldiers pushing their way through a living “jungle” of bushes; and Arlington Cemetery. Perhaps I can share more another time!



So, have you ever been to Washington D.C.? What unusual historical sites did you find? Please comment and share!



Kiersti Giron holds a life-long passion for history and historical fiction. She loves to write stories that show the intersection of past and present, explore relationships that bridge cultural divides, and probe the healing Jesus can bring out of brokenness. Kiersti has been published in several magazines and won the ACFW Genesis Award - Historical for her manuscript Beneath a Turquoise Sky. She is currently revising her third novel manuscript, a Civil War story set at Fort Tejon in frontier California. A high school teacher and member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Kiersti loves learning and growing with other writers penning God's story into theirs, as well as blogging at www.kierstigiron.com. She lives in California with her wonderful husband, Anthony.