August 28: ON THIS DAY in 1945, Yank troops ready for mass landings

August 28, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle History

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ON THIS DAY IN 1876, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, “Mr. John McNevin, the well-known artist of this city, has just finished a picture of grand size, representing the Pennsylvania and Maryland Militia, led by General [John] Sullivan, in the Battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776, surrounded by the Hessians and Forty-second British Highlanders, in their desperate attempt to force a passage to the American lines at Fort Greene, near Freck’s Pond, Gowanus Creek. Mr. McNevin has lived in Brooklyn more than twenty years, and has made the topography of the battlefield a subject of earnest thought and study. The readers of Revolutionary history will remember that General Sullivan and his command were stationed at what was known as the Flatbush Pass, and that when his position was cannonaded by [Gen. Leopold] de Heister and the Hessians, he perceived his peril and ordered a retreat to the American lines at Brooklyn.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1918, the Eagle reported, “Nogales, Ariz. — Profound regrets for yesterday’s clash between Mexican and American soldiers were expressed by General Elias Calles, military governor of Sonora, to Brigadier General De Rosey Cabell, in a telegram received from General Calles at Magdalena, Sonora, today. General Calles stated he had been ordered to proceed to the border by President [Venustiano] Carranza to express these regrets personally … According to latest reports, two Americans — one officer and one enlisted man — were killed, and twenty-nine Americans, ten of them enlisted men, were wounded. Unofficial estimates placed the number of Mexican dead and wounded at 150, but the Mexican Consul asserted this figure was probably an exaggeration. Among the Americans wounded is Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Herman, commander of the border patrol here. His wound is not serious. The fighting began at 4:15 yesterday afternoon, when a Mexican attempted to cross into the United States. A.A. Barber, a United States customs guard, twice ordered the Mexican to halt, and when the latter failed to comply, Barber drew his pistol but did not fire. Two Mexican customs guards, according to Barber’s account, resented his interference with the Mexican and opened fire.”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1945, the Eagle reported, “The safety of Gen. Douglas MacArthur when he makes his first appearance in Japan is one of the chief worries for officers in charge of occupying the Nip homeland. But leave it to Pfc. Daniel B. Bartram, 20, of 1313 Bedford Ave., among the members of the guard of honor to accompany MacArthur to the conquered country. ‘He’ll do a good job,’ his mother said today when she heard Daniel was among those chosen to see that no harm comes to General MacArthur during the occupation. Daniel’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel D. Bartram, Sr., are happy about the honor bestowed upon their son, but to quote Mrs. Bartram, ‘I wish he were home.’ The news came as a surprise to the family. Then Mrs. Bartram remembered a recent letter Daniel wrote, in which he said, ‘We’re briefing for something special.’”

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ON THIS DAY IN 1948, the Eagle reported “(UP) — Charles Evans Hughes, former chief justice of the United States, died at the exclusive Wianno Club, Osterville, Mass., last night and his body was brought immediately here for private funeral services, to be held in Riverside Church, Manhattan … Death came to the 86-year-old jurist and elder statesman at 9:15 p.m., a few hours after his son, Charles Evans Hughes Jr., a Manhattan attorney, announced he was sinking. Death resulted from a heart attack and the debilities of old age … Since his retirement from the bench on July 1, 1941, the distinguished man with the trim white beard — by choice — faded quietly from the public eye. He never again returned to the Supreme Court Building and he made only one public appearance, attending the funeral of his successor — Chief Justice Harlan F. Stone — in April 1946 … Rooted in the years of the Civil War, Hughes’ life was woven in and out of modern United States history, through economic collapse and recovery, through wars and through internal crises. His actions, his success and his failures had a moving effect on world events.”