Texans gather in Austin for their secession convention

The secession convention of the state of Texas met in the hall of the House of Representatives at the the State House in Austin.  Though its detractors later claimed it as unrepresentative, with less than half of the state's counties represented, the gathering voted in an Ordinance of Secession four days later and Texas left the Union.  (By John Osborne)
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The business district of Jamestown, New York heavily damaged in a late night fire

Just before midnight, a fire broke out in a store in the business district of Jamestown, in New York's Chautauqua County.  The blaze spread quickly and burned more than thirty businesses before being brought under control.  Loss were initially estimated at up to $200,000 but no deaths or serious injuries were reported.  (By John Osborne) 
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Burns Night, the birthday of Scottish poet Robert Burns celebrated around the globe

The one-hundred and second Burns Night, the celebrated anniversary of the birth of the celebrated Scottish poet Robert Burns, was celebrated around the country.  In New York City, for example, around a hundred and fifty members and guests assembled at the Burns Club for dinner, speeches, and toasts. (By John Osborne)
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Robert Burns, detail

Comments
 Events image
Scanned by
Library of Congress
Notes
Cropped, sized, and prepared for use here by John Osborne, Dickinson College, January 16, 2011.
Image type
print
Use in Day View?
No
Courtesy of
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Permission to use?
Public
Original caption
Portrait of Robert Burns, Ayr, Scotland
Source citation
Prints and Photographs Collection, Library of Congress

Robert Burns

Comments
 Events image
Scanned by
Library of Congress
Notes
Cropped, sized, and prepared for use here by John Osborne, Dickinson College, January 16, 2011.
Image type
print
Use in Day View?
No
Courtesy of
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Permission to use?
Public
Original caption
Portrait of Robert Burns, Ayr, Scotland
Source citation
Prints and Photographs Collection, Library of Congress

New York City police seize almost a thousand muskets bound for Alabama

Acting on a tip from a citizen that afternoon, New York City police raided the berth of the steamship Monticello just before it sailed for Savannah, Georgia.  They found thirty-eight cases of small arms containing 950 muskets, mostly of British manufacture, and consigned to Montgomery, Alabama being prepared for loading.  These were confiscated under protest from the ship's captain and taken to the New York Armory.  (By John Osborne)
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Steamboat with a cargo of sugar and coffee snags and sinks on the Mississippi

The four-year old, 658 ton, 256 feet long, side-wheel steamboat Cora Anderson snagged and sank in the Mississippi River at Eagle Bend, approximately forty miles above Vicksburg, Mississippi. She was carrying a cargo of 600 hogsheads of sugar and 400 sacks of coffee, all of which were lost. No injuries or loss of life were reported, however. The vessel was salvaged but sank again the following June on Lake Providence, Louisiana. (By John Osborne) 
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Militia and police in New York City respond to rumors of an assault on the Brooklyn Naval Yard

Rumors spread in New York city in the afternoon that southern sympathizers were intending that night to seize the Brooklyn Naval Yard. When they reached the mayor, and were deemed serious enough by the commander of the installation, several units of the New York City militia was called out along with U.S. Marines and hundreds of New York police and stationed at strategic points through the night.  No attempt was made.  (By John Osborne)
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