Today in History for Aug. 14, 2014

Edward DeWelden Brenneman

Aug. 14, 1828 – Frederick Williams became the postmaster at Burnt Corn.

Aug. 14, 1839 – Union surgeon Edward DeWelden Brenneman was born on this day in Lancaster, Pa. He would go on to receive his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1861. In July 1863 at the Battle of Gettysburg, Brenneman, who was serving as a Union Army surgeon, would amputate Confederate soldier Mitchell Burford Salter’s right arm. Salter was a member of the Conecuh Guards, and the bone from his amputated arm is currently on display at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Aug. 14, 1851 – John Henry “Doc” Holliday was born in Griffin, Ga.

Aug. 14, 1862 - Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith began an invasion of Kentucky as part of a Confederate plan to draw the Yankee army of General Don Carlos Buell away from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and to raise support for the Southern cause in Kentucky.

Aug. 14, 1879 – Former Monroe Journal publisher Horace Hood began publishing The Montgomery Journal in Montgomery, Ala.

Aug. 14, 1952 – The Evergreen Courant reported that two soldiers from Conecuh County – Master Sgt. A.D. Clark of Castleberry and Cpl. Franklin D. Smith of Castleberry – had been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge for service with the 25th Infantry Division in Korea. Clark, who joined the Army in December 1950, was the first sergeant of HQ Co., 14th Infantry Regiment. Smith, who joined the Army in January 1951 and arrived in Korea on May 1, 1952, was an automatic rifleman in Co. K of the 5th Regiment.

Aug. 14, 1952 – The Courant reported that an “extra large” egg, that weighed six ounces, from a hen owned by Ruby Wright, who lived on Main Street in Evergreen, was cracked and revealed another complete egg inside it. Between the two eggs, there were two yolks in addition to another two yolks inside the inner egg.

Aug. 14, 1959 - The first meeting was held to organize the American Football League.

Aug. 14, 1971 - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson threw the first no-hitter of his storied career, helping his team to an 11-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Aug. 14, 1973 – The William T. Shepard House in Opp was added to National Register of Historic Places.

Aug. 14, 1987 - Mark McGwire set the record for major league home runs by a rookie when he connected for his 49th home run of the season.