Wednesday, January 22, 2020
The Night Santa Got His Ass Kicked. I Was Santa.
Alright. Toss a log in the fireplace and take a seat. I'm going to tell the story of the time I got my ass kicked in my Santa suit. It was 1990 something, the weekend before Christmas. I spent the day riding the fire truck thru town for the kids, so we decided to go into the city that night as Santa and score free drinks. I don't know how many bars we hit, but the last one was the issue. It's where Duke's is in Wormleysburg. It used to be a Gingerbreadman. I think I was already juiced when got there. The Martini Bros. Band was playing and asked me to come on stage and join them for a Christmas song. My memory is almost at blackout here. There must have been more drinking. A waitress had brought me a drink, I don't recall paying for anything, and I remember trying to read her name tag. She was VERY well endowed and I only remember touching her name tag. But then, this is me we are talking about here. Anyway, the next thing I remember, I'm outside and this big dude is punching me and bouncing my head off the wall. I was helped to the car with people watching Santa being beaten. I somehow get home and pass out in full costume. I wake up with blood in my beard and several loose teeth. Now, I had to get this mess cleaned up because I had a kid's party to do later that Sunday.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
The 2nd Amendment....in real data
There are 30,000 gun related deaths per year by firearms, and this number is not disputed.
U.S. population 324,059,091 as of Wednesday, June 22, 2016.
Do the math: 0.000000925% of the population dies from gun related actions each year.
Statistically speaking, this is insignificant!
What is never told, however, is a breakdown of those 30,000 deaths, to put them in perspective as compared to other causes of death:
• 65% of those deaths are by suicide which would never be prevented by gun laws
• 15% are by law enforcement in the line of duty and justified
• 17% are through criminal activity, gang and drug related or mentally ill persons – gun violence
• 3% are accidental discharge deaths So technically, "gun violence" is not 30,000 annually, but drops to 5,100.
Still too many? Well, first, how are those deaths spanned across the nation?
• 480 homicides (9.4%) were in Chicago
• 344 homicides (6.7%) were in Baltimore
• 333 homicides (6.5%) were in Detroit
• 119 homicides (2.3%) were in Washington D.C. (a 54% increase over prior years)
So basically, 25% of all gun crime happens in just 4 cities. All 4 of those cities have strict gun laws, so it is not the lack of law that is the root cause. This basically leaves 3,825 for the entire rest of the nation, or about 75 deaths per state. That is an average because some States have much higher rates than others. For example, California had 1,169 and Alabama had 1. Now, who has the strictest gun laws by far? California, of course, but understand, it is not guns causing this. It is a crime rate spawned by the number of criminal persons residing in those cities and states.
So if all cities and states are not created equally, then there must be something other than the tool causing the gun deaths.
Are 5,100 deaths per year horrific?
How about in comparison to other deaths?
All death is sad and especially so when it is in the commission of a crime but that is the nature of crime. Robbery, death, rape, assault all is done by criminals and thinking that criminals will obey laws is ludicrous. That's why they are criminals. But what about other deaths each year?
• 40,000+ die from a drug overdose–THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT!
• 36,000 people die per year from the flu, far exceeding the criminal gun deaths
• 34,000 people die per year in traffic fatalities(exceeding gun deaths even if you include suicide)
Now it gets good:
• 200,000+ people die each year (and growing) from preventable medical errors. You are safer in Chicago than when you are in a hospital!
• 710,000 people die per year from heart disease. It’s time to stop the double cheeseburgers!
So what is the point? If the anti-gun movement focused their attention on heart disease, even a 10% decrease in cardiac deaths would save twice the number of lives annually of all gun-related deaths (including suicide, law enforcement, etc.). A 10% reduction in medical errors would be 66% of the total gun deaths or 4 times the number of criminal homicides......Simple, easily preventable 10% reductions! So you have to ask yourself, in the grand scheme of things, why the focus on guns?
It's pretty simple: Taking away guns gives control to governments. The founders of this nation knew that regardless of the form of government, those in power may become corrupt and seek to rule as the British did by trying to disarm the populace of the colonies. It is not difficult to understand that a disarmed populace is a controlled populace.
Thus, the second amendment was proudly and boldly included in the U.S. Constitution. It must be preserved at all costs.
Sunday, January 29, 2017
White Privilege is bullshit
Friday, August 9, 2013
The day I died again (this time in 1991)
I have told this story many times but I have never sat down to write it out. I want to write a book and this story will be included and it will be weird to see it in words. As some of you know, back in 1981 I hit a stone wall at a 45 degree angle at about 45 mph. We don't know if I fell asleep or had the first seizure. I picked up a closed head injury that led to some big seizures and would be diagnosed as Epilepsy after many tests. This is important somehow but I forget why. Anyhow, I had been through a couple of near death experiences leading up to this day, but this one has a clarity and story that would be outright funny if not for the dying part. But the dying part comes back into play as the coolest thing that I can lay claim to.
I worked a lot of construction jobs after I moved to Harrisburg and I could always find a crew to sign onto, be it roofing or paving work. But in 1991 I hit a dry spell and I was able to get in as a temp contractor at the PP&L Brunner Island power plant with IBEW Local 299 during a plant refurb. I worked some crazy 3rd shift hours and when I proved my worth, I was able to go to daylight and work unsupervised.
The union guys liked me a lot but I had to slow down my work pace to fit in better. That's no disrespect, just how I worked when I was a young dude. They were so impressed that they let me be in charge of the re-spray of the control room panels in Unit 2....after I used my Vo-Tech training to teach them some body work skills. These were good times...before my name started showing up on ATF watch lists. Before a sitting president made getting a Beej in the Oval Office an acceptable thing. Before I let AT&T get into my blood, under my skin and over my head. These certainly were good times unless you were my 84 Ford Tempo. She had already taken a ghost ride through a neighbor's garage. I was about to finish her off.
This particular day, I do not remember the date but I remember it was a Monday, was about to become a huge piece of my being. I know it was chilly and it was early to be up and drive to York County for this job, but this was a gift and the money was the best I had ever made to this point. It was winter time as I remember it being very dark at 0530 as I drove to the island. We used a small 1 lane road in and out of the plant to save the main road for plant traffic.
I always remember looking at this one tree just off of the road and thinking, "that would suck to hit that big bitch" and I soon found out just how badly. It was a winding road to the Employee Entrance and it was dark. No lighting except from the car. I remember getting off of I-83 and heading towards the plant. I remember that winding road and that last turn with the big tree. And then everything just stopped. There was a period of nothing and then I remember being above the wreck, looking down. I could see my car flipped over on the driver side and I could see that I hit that big bitch tree head on. I don't know if I fell asleep or had a seizure but the hospital went with seizure, but that came later. I could see my neck bent at a severe angle with my body weight (I was a bit thinner then) on my neck and my skin was blue. I will swear to this day that God was standing beside me, just watching this mess unfurl. Seriously. The next thing I see is the first car on the scene, my supervisor. He surveyed the scene and I was blocking the road, sorry, my car and body were blocking the road. Suddenly a couple more cars showed up and everyone was out milling around trying to find a course of action. This was before cell phones and I was blocking the access to the closest phone for help. My supervisor sent a guy back to town to call 911. I was hearing and seeing all of this action. He made the decision to flip my car onto its' wheels so they could push it out of the road. Some of the guys objected, but the supervisor told them "He's already dead, what damage will it do?" In fact, I heard the whole thing. Once my car was on 4 wheels, I remember nothing else from the accident.
The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital, just sitting on the end of a bed. I saw no nurses or doctors the whole time I was there. My first wife, Linda, shows up in tears. I asked her what the big deal was and she told me where I was and that she was called to come to the hospital to identify my body. I'm alive, I said...what's the problem? Linda told me about the wreck and I told her that I was there and saw most of it. Apparently the EMTs got my heart going and got some breath into my lungs and I came around in the ambulance....without a scratch. Head on into a tree, flipped over and not breathing. But here I was, just fine. I told Linda that I was taking her home and taking her truck. I was going back to work. And the story gets better from here.
I drove back down the road which "claimed my life" just a few hours before and there was that big tree, no bark, and pieces of my car in the weeds. Clearly something bad had happened here and I was seeing the area from a new angle but I knew it was from me. I pulled into the employee lot and parked. None of the guys knew Linda's truck so nobody reacted....until I walked through the plant gate. Grown men saw me and were crying and some fell to their knees in shock. I remembered these guys helping to flip my car over and they saw me lifeless just awhile ago. I never saw people react this way before....as if they were seeing a ghost. Suddenly the supervisor came over the loudspeaker calling for me to get in his office immediately. As I took a seat, he closed the blinds. He looked at me and asked if I could see what was happening....work was grinding to a halt. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I'm here to work...you hired me to do a job and I'm here to fulfill my commitment.", was my response. He tried to tell me about my wrecked car and what was done and I told him, word for word, what he said at the scene. He was floored. He excused himself to make a phone call, not wanting me to step outside.He came back a few minutes later and said that he didn't know what to do with me. He called the Local and they went over the contract and had no way to address me standing there, in his office, after most of the workforce saw my lifeless body sitting along the road in my wrecked car.
In a move that had never been done before, he told me to go home and use my 3 days for bereavement. He needed to call an urgent meeting and attempt to explain what had just happened, to the guys, in order to bring a semblance of order to the plant. I was escorted out of the office via a back door so the guys wouldn't see me. Yes. You read that correctly. I got paid for my own death. I also lost my license for a year...the doctor I never saw forwarded my epilepsy info to the state and they pulled me for a year. I left PP&L and Brunner Island so I could work closer to home and still drive the shorter distance.
I worked a lot of construction jobs after I moved to Harrisburg and I could always find a crew to sign onto, be it roofing or paving work. But in 1991 I hit a dry spell and I was able to get in as a temp contractor at the PP&L Brunner Island power plant with IBEW Local 299 during a plant refurb. I worked some crazy 3rd shift hours and when I proved my worth, I was able to go to daylight and work unsupervised.
 |
| Brunner Island Power Plant |
This particular day, I do not remember the date but I remember it was a Monday, was about to become a huge piece of my being. I know it was chilly and it was early to be up and drive to York County for this job, but this was a gift and the money was the best I had ever made to this point. It was winter time as I remember it being very dark at 0530 as I drove to the island. We used a small 1 lane road in and out of the plant to save the main road for plant traffic.
I always remember looking at this one tree just off of the road and thinking, "that would suck to hit that big bitch" and I soon found out just how badly. It was a winding road to the Employee Entrance and it was dark. No lighting except from the car. I remember getting off of I-83 and heading towards the plant. I remember that winding road and that last turn with the big tree. And then everything just stopped. There was a period of nothing and then I remember being above the wreck, looking down. I could see my car flipped over on the driver side and I could see that I hit that big bitch tree head on. I don't know if I fell asleep or had a seizure but the hospital went with seizure, but that came later. I could see my neck bent at a severe angle with my body weight (I was a bit thinner then) on my neck and my skin was blue. I will swear to this day that God was standing beside me, just watching this mess unfurl. Seriously. The next thing I see is the first car on the scene, my supervisor. He surveyed the scene and I was blocking the road, sorry, my car and body were blocking the road. Suddenly a couple more cars showed up and everyone was out milling around trying to find a course of action. This was before cell phones and I was blocking the access to the closest phone for help. My supervisor sent a guy back to town to call 911. I was hearing and seeing all of this action. He made the decision to flip my car onto its' wheels so they could push it out of the road. Some of the guys objected, but the supervisor told them "He's already dead, what damage will it do?" In fact, I heard the whole thing. Once my car was on 4 wheels, I remember nothing else from the accident.
The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital, just sitting on the end of a bed. I saw no nurses or doctors the whole time I was there. My first wife, Linda, shows up in tears. I asked her what the big deal was and she told me where I was and that she was called to come to the hospital to identify my body. I'm alive, I said...what's the problem? Linda told me about the wreck and I told her that I was there and saw most of it. Apparently the EMTs got my heart going and got some breath into my lungs and I came around in the ambulance....without a scratch. Head on into a tree, flipped over and not breathing. But here I was, just fine. I told Linda that I was taking her home and taking her truck. I was going back to work. And the story gets better from here.
I drove back down the road which "claimed my life" just a few hours before and there was that big tree, no bark, and pieces of my car in the weeds. Clearly something bad had happened here and I was seeing the area from a new angle but I knew it was from me. I pulled into the employee lot and parked. None of the guys knew Linda's truck so nobody reacted....until I walked through the plant gate. Grown men saw me and were crying and some fell to their knees in shock. I remembered these guys helping to flip my car over and they saw me lifeless just awhile ago. I never saw people react this way before....as if they were seeing a ghost. Suddenly the supervisor came over the loudspeaker calling for me to get in his office immediately. As I took a seat, he closed the blinds. He looked at me and asked if I could see what was happening....work was grinding to a halt. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I'm here to work...you hired me to do a job and I'm here to fulfill my commitment.", was my response. He tried to tell me about my wrecked car and what was done and I told him, word for word, what he said at the scene. He was floored. He excused himself to make a phone call, not wanting me to step outside.He came back a few minutes later and said that he didn't know what to do with me. He called the Local and they went over the contract and had no way to address me standing there, in his office, after most of the workforce saw my lifeless body sitting along the road in my wrecked car.
In a move that had never been done before, he told me to go home and use my 3 days for bereavement. He needed to call an urgent meeting and attempt to explain what had just happened, to the guys, in order to bring a semblance of order to the plant. I was escorted out of the office via a back door so the guys wouldn't see me. Yes. You read that correctly. I got paid for my own death. I also lost my license for a year...the doctor I never saw forwarded my epilepsy info to the state and they pulled me for a year. I left PP&L and Brunner Island so I could work closer to home and still drive the shorter distance.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Why I am a Union member
People question why I am a Union member and yet I am still a registered Republican that feels equally passionate about my gun ownership rights. I have always been about helping someone with less than myself or fighting for the person that can't or just won't. But I was blinded by the way my Dad dealt with a corrupt Teamsters Union when I was a kid and it put me off for a while and left me with a bad taste.
I was in the roofing trade as a young man and I was making decent money because I was being paid for my performance. I busted my ass and got raises while others were lazy and sloppy and didn't care about their work. I was fine with what I made and working 14 hour days to get it. For a while.
This was the mid 80s and the alcohol made 14 hour days 7 days a week bearable. Plus I was putting my stepson thru private school and the money was coming in and I liked it. For a while.
Then, one day in 1988, I joined a crew with an 18 year old kid just out of school. Day 2 on the job for him. We were laying out the rubber and putting the sheet in place. I was across from him as we spread the roll out and when I looked over, he was gone. The boy fell 2 stories thru the factory roof via a 3ft by 3ft opening and hit the floor.
Dead.
There was no railing to bump into, not even CAUTION tape to mark the holes. We were off the job the rest of the day but were back 2 days later like nothing ever happened. I had never even heard of a fine from OSHA for this tragedy.
The roof was haunted by this kid and I didn't do anything
to keep him from being on a roof that wasn't even safe with nothing
marking the holes where the vent stacks and AC units were. (those big
metal deals behind me to the right) I went back to repair leaks on that roof many times and what happened
never left me. It seemed funny, I was the ONLY guy to ever go back there after the job was finished. That was a wake up call, I suppose.
We will fast forward after working at a power plant with IBEW making scale pay as a temp. I started to see what brotherhood was. Another jump put me at CellularOne, working on cellphones and putting them into cars, trucks, limos and fire trucks. I was very good and my star was on the rise and so was my pay, without a Union. I started a new department and created a job title and the money was good. Then when my wife died, I became a real asshole and forgot about what was right. So when IBEW came to organize my AT&T call center, I was the key to keeping them out. Actually, I was a management shill. THEY provided me with posters and buttons to lead the way as the voice to keep things as they were. I flipped the organizers off everyday when I left and cursed at them when they tried to talk to me. IBEW packed up their show and left. Some fellow reps decided to try again with CWA. Things started out the same as the first, failed organizing attempt....until the lead organizer asked to speak with me.
She had a list of all employees that were not management and would fall under a bargained contract. She asked me to show her where my name was since she only knew me as Hack. My name was not to be found. I was being played by management and once the CWA got into the building, I was going to be dumped. Cingular (they changed names more than I changed mailing addresses) was an organized company and the management knew it and when I told them that I wanted no further contact from them, they had no further use for me. I then woke up and realized that they were going to dump all of my hard work after using me. I immediately jumped on board and got CWA established and kept my job. I also got elected as Chief Steward, ran unopposed thru 3 elections and fought for my brothers and sisters and even created new job titles to keep us all employed.
I was invited to speak in Boston to tell my story. I was in Washington, DC prepared to testify before Congress to tell my story. I went on a cable access TV show with the AFL-CIO to tell my story. This company showed their true colors and I fought back. How many companies do this to their people and THIS is not the same result. Now I'm told by what is called my replacement that the reason I needed to be removed from office is because "I have nothing but contempt for the company". No shit?! These people are the enemy and should be treated as such. I will stand beside my brothers and sisters, no matter the state or company, and march with them and stand by them in support. Just as I always have.
Monday, July 4, 2011
The Battle of Fort Washington...and a Hackenberg was there
November 16, 1776 | Fort Washington, New York, New York
Fort Washington was a fort located at the northernmost tip and highest elevation of what is now the borough of Manhattan in New York City, overlooking the Hudson River, which was held by American forces. Along with Fort Lee forces located just across the river in New Jersey atop the Palisades, the twin forts were intended to protect the lower Hudson from British warships during the campaign around New York in the summer and autumn of 1776. The fort was defended by around 2,900 Continental Army troops and militia under the command of Colonel Robert Magaw. During the fighting on and around Manhattan, the American Army commanded by General George Washington—for whom the fort was named—was forced to withdraw northward, leaving both Forts Washington and Lee isolated.
After the Battle of White Plains, the British, under General William Howe turned back south and decided to take the forts.
On October 31, heavy rains spoiled Maj. Gen. William Howe's planned second attack on the American army near White Plains. On November 1, the Americans were found to be apparently well entrenched at North Castle Heights. The rebel earthworks were composed largely of cornstalks pulled from nearby fields, whose roots, full of clinging soil, faced outward. Howe may have been discouraged by these illusory defenses, but his goal remained the complete removal of American troops from Manhattan, not the annihilation of Washington's army. His attention returned to Fort Washington which the American commander in chief had left garrisoned under Col. Robert Magaw after a general rebel evacuation of the island.
On November 2, during the night, a defector, William Demont, entered the camp of Lord Hugh Percy at McGowan's Pass, south of Fort Washington. Demont had been Magaw's adjunct; the deserter placed the plans of the fort into Percy's hands. Although Howe had probably already begun to arrange operations against Fort Washington, exact knowledge of the fortification and its defenses would assist his attack. Fort Washington's works, built the previous July, covered a hill 230 feet high and a mile long. Vertical cliffs rendered the fort unassailable from the Hudson River below. Additional protection was provided by Fort Tyron on the north, Laurel Hill on the east, and the old Harlem Heights defenses on the south. Fort Lee stood opposite Fort Washington in New Jersey. Between the 2 forts ran a line of sunken obstructions to prevent British ships from passing up the Hudson.The natural defenses of Fort Washington's position were superior, but the fort itself was less than ideal. A pentagonal earthwork without ditches or palisades, the structure lacked barracks, bomb proofs, and an interior source of water. A captain stationed in the fort noted that it had none of "those exterior, multiplied obstacles and defenses, that...could entitle it to the name of fortress, in any degree capable of withstanding a siege." This weakness, recognized by some of the garrison went unnoticed by Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene, who was in charge of both forts.
Washington had been out of touch with Greene since October 22. Now, as Howe began moving south to direct the seizure of Fort Washington, the American commander had to consider the fort's defensibility. On November 5, 3 British vessels passed over the river barricades in the Hudson amidst rebel artillery fire and anchored, undamaged, at the northern tip of the island, Washington, in the process of deploying most of his troops in Westchester County, was much alarmed by this news and wrote to Greene on November 8, "I am inclined to think it will not be prudent to hazard the men and stores," but "as you are on the spot, I leave it to you to give such orders as to evacuating Mount Washington as you judge best." Greene replied that the fort served some purpose beyond th prevention of ship passage up the Hudson. It hampered British communication between the island and the country to the north, compelled the maintenance of British troops at Kingsbridge, and was clearly regarded as important by the British, or else they would not attempt its' capture.
These arguments were offset by Greene's assurance that if the situation grew dangerous, the stores and men could be shifted to Fort Lee at any time. Magaw said the garrison could hold out through December. But Washington's second in command, Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, expressed ominous concern. In a letter to Joseph Reed, the adjutant general, Lee wrote, "I cannot conceive what circumstances give to Fort Washington so great a degree of value and importance as to counterbalance the probability or almost certainty of losing 1,400 of our best troops." With some 2,000 of his troops, Washington moved down the west side of the Hudson and reached Fort Lee on November 13.
Meanwhile, Greene had reinforced Magaw's original garrison of about 2,000 men with an additional 900. Greene continued to favor a defense of the fort, and Washington finally relied upon his sub-ordinate's judgment. Washington would later write that Congress's desire to retain the area's defense and his own wish to keep an impediment in the way of the British "caused that warfare in my mind and hesitation which ended in the loss of the garrison." On November 4, Howe dispatched several brigades to march quickly south and reinforce Brig. Wilhelm von Knyphausen. His division had crossed the river at Kingsbridge on November 2 and began harassment of the rebels in the northern outpost of Fort Tyron.
On November 14, during the night, 30 British flatboats sailed up the river past Fort Washington undetected by the Americans. The following day the enemy approached the fort in force. Cornwallis and Brig. Edward Matthew were to approach from across the Harlem River on the east, and Percy was to strike from the south. A British officer was sent to summon Magaw to surrender with the threat of no quarter if the fort was stormed. Magaw flatly refused. He had dispersed his forces at the various outposts on the three sides of the fort, posting minor detachments in between. The Americans covered a large perimeter of 4 to 5 miles.
On November 16, early on the morning, Knyphausen opened the attack against Col. Moses Rawlings's Virginia and Maryland riflemen who managed to stall the Germans temporarily. Mr. Lossing, in his Field Book, says: "On the 15th, Howe was informed of the real condition of the garrison and works at Fort Washington, by a deserter from Magaw's battalion, and he immediately sent a messenger with a summons for the commander to surrender, or peril his garrison with the doom of massacre. Howe, confident of success, ordered a cannonade to be opened upon Magaw, in a brief note, promptly refused compliance,and sent a copy of his answer to Washington at Hackensack.
The cannonade commenced early on the morning of the 16th, to cover the landing of troops which crossed the Harlem there, preparatory to a combined attack at four different points. Expecting this, Magaw made a judicious disposition of his little force. Colonel Rawlings, with his Maryland riflemen, was posted in a redoubt (Fort George) upon a hill north of Fort Washington, and a few men were stationed at the outpost, called Cock-hill Fort. Militia of the Flying Camp under Colonel Baxter, were placed on the rough wooded hills east of the fort along the Harlem River, and others, under my grandfather, 5 times removed, Ensign Johann Peter Hackenberg* and Colonel Lambert Cadwalader, of Pennsylvania, manned the lines in the direction of New York. Percy advanced on Lt. Col. Lambert Cadwalader’s Pennsylvanians but halted his forces (to the Americans' surprise) to wait for a signal gun from Cornwallis or Mathew. Washington, Greene, Maj. Gen. Israel Putnam, and Brig. Gen. Hugh Mercer crossed to Fort Washington as the firing commenced, but they could do nothing to help Magaw and so returned to Fort Lee to watch the developing action. Mathew, who had been somewhat delayed by the tide pushed across the river and established a foothold on Laurel Hill. Cornwallis followed with more troops.
Once the signal had gone out to Percy, pressure on the Americans began to mount. Rawlings was forced back and Cadwalader withdrew. Confusion was rampant within the reduced perimeter; the retreating Americans poured into the fort. By 3:00 P.M., the Germans had reached Fort Washington from the north, and the British were in view on the east and south. Despite the original surrender terms, another flag was sent into Magaw to ask for capitulation. Realizing that to stand now would create a bloodbath within the crowded fort, Magaw surrendered. The attack cost the British and Germans 67 killed, 335 wounded, and 6 missing. The Americans suffered 54 killed and 2,858captured, including probably more than 1,000 wounded. The loss of all their arms and equipment was especially damaging. Fort Lee was now untenable and Washington began transporting the ammunition out of the fort.
On November 19, during the night, the British brought boats through the Harlem River and carried a force under Cornwallis across the Hudson in the rain. They landed about 6 mile north of Fort Lee and began marching southward. Washington and Greene roused the garrison to a hundred flight and led them to Hackensack, then toward Newark and New Brunswick. On November 20, Cornwallis marched into the empty fort and found tents, military baggage, 50 canon, and 1,000 barrels of flour. More than 100 skulkers (most were drunk) were rounded up in the neighborhood, a few were killed. Cornwallis pursued the Americans with some reinforcements sent from Howe and routed them at each New Jersey town where they stopped. Many of Howe's officers believed he would maintain this drive. Howe had begun preparations for an offensive in Rhode Island. He knew there was not time enough before winter's arrival to employ the same troop force in both New Jersey and Rhode Island. In addition, Howe was criticized by some for sparing the garrison at Fort Washington.
Capt. Lt. Archibald Robertson considered the American losses "trifling." Thomas Jones, a former justice of the New York Supreme Court being held prisoner in Connecticut, believed that a general slaughter would have struck panic through the rebel countryside and forced congressional submission. "The most rigid severity at the first would have been the greatest mercy and leniency in the end." Of the nearly 2,000 Americans captured in the fall of the fort, over 100 were officers (including Ensign Hackenberg). Many of these were paroled and walked the New York streets in their uniforms to the chagrin and even fear of the loyalists and British. The soldiers were eventually put aboard prison ships in the harbor to languish; large numbers of them died under the atrocious conditions.
But Howe's victory had been decisive, and for the Americans, the after effects were serious. The loss of the garrison troubled Washington because the enlistments of many of his remaining troops were to expire in less than two months. An alarming percentage of his men were unfit for duty from sickness or want of clothes and shoes. Perhaps even more significant was the tremendous loss of precious material.The British had seized 146 cannon, 12,000 shot and shell, 2,800 muskets, and 400,000 cartridges. American resources had been dispersed and inadequate before this capture; now they were stretched very thin indeed.
Washington would soon make his winter headquarters in New Jersey for a number of reasons, one of which was to protect the invaluable forges and furnaces in the northwestern part of the state. The blame for squandering the men and supplies in the 2 forts rested naturally with Magaw, Greene, and Washington. Greene recognized that the lines around Fort Washington had been too extensive for 2,900 men to defend, especially in a disordered state. Since Washington had some early doubts about the fort's impregnability, his vacillation, finally favoring Greene's discretion, was inexcusable. Washington's trusted friend Reed termed this a "fatal indecision of mind." Many British were light-headed after their successful New York campaign and felt that the end of the war must be near. But Washington's error was not fatal. Nor was his disappointment so deep that he rejected thoughts of raising a new army.
In seventy days Washington made his famous crossing of the Delaware and the successful Battle of Trenton where the aforementioned Colonel Rall commanding the local Hessian Forces met his death at the hands of the American Troops. The British occupied New York City for the remainder of the War and vacated it only after the final Treaty was signed in 1783. Many more New Yorkers became British Loyalists(Tories) after this Occupation.
One interesting side note about Loyalists (Tories). At Haw River, North Carolina, a battalion of Loyalists were tricked into believing that they were being reviewed by Lt. Col. Tarleton of the British Regular Army when they actually had encountered Lt. Col Harry “Light horse” Lee (Gen. Robert E. Lee’s father) whose Continental Legion wore green jackets as did Tarleton’s men. Lee ordered a saber attack as the Loyalists stood for Inspection and butchered the Loyalist. This tended to intimidate other Loyalists in that area in the future. That battle had very severe American casualties since both sides were American.
Some Genealogy reports have stated that Ensign Johann Peter Hackenberg served throughout the entire Revolutionary War, however all that has been documented officially and found is that he remained a prisoner on British Prison Ships and on Long Island until at least 1780 (possibly much longer) as stated in the publication “Revolutionary War Officers“. His release and further participation in the War is unknown in the genealogical reports that have been reviewed. He died in Snyder County in 1820 and is buried at Saint Peters Cemetery , Freeburg, Snyder County.
*"Peter Hackenberg enlisted in Richland Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania under Captain Valentine Opp, First Sergeant, 1st Battalion of Col. Hart's Flying Camp. In August of the same he was commissioned Ensign and Quarter-master of the Battalion of the same company. Captain Opp was cashiered. The company marched to Fort Lee, where Colonel Baxter commissioned him to act as Captain. He was promised a commission but was taken prisoner before receiving it.
In the Archives of Pennsylvania, Second Series 15:652 his name is among the list of Officers who absented themselves from the "Camp" contrary to their parole but returned to captivity agreeable to orders. A list of officers belonging to the Continental Army Flying Camp of the Militia of the State of Pennsylvania who were prisoners and not exchanged since - list Peter Hackenberg (Hachenberg). Pennsylvania Archives 6th Series 2:88-884 gives Baxter's Regiment.wing."
This book is located in the DAR Library, Washington, D.C., the Midwest Genealogy Center of the Mid-Continent Public Library, Independence, MO, and the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, Fort Wayne, IN. This book includes the complete descendant linage of Johann Peter Hackenberg (Hachenberg).
Fort Washington was a fort located at the northernmost tip and highest elevation of what is now the borough of Manhattan in New York City, overlooking the Hudson River, which was held by American forces. Along with Fort Lee forces located just across the river in New Jersey atop the Palisades, the twin forts were intended to protect the lower Hudson from British warships during the campaign around New York in the summer and autumn of 1776. The fort was defended by around 2,900 Continental Army troops and militia under the command of Colonel Robert Magaw. During the fighting on and around Manhattan, the American Army commanded by General George Washington—for whom the fort was named—was forced to withdraw northward, leaving both Forts Washington and Lee isolated.
After the Battle of White Plains, the British, under General William Howe turned back south and decided to take the forts.
On October 31, heavy rains spoiled Maj. Gen. William Howe's planned second attack on the American army near White Plains. On November 1, the Americans were found to be apparently well entrenched at North Castle Heights. The rebel earthworks were composed largely of cornstalks pulled from nearby fields, whose roots, full of clinging soil, faced outward. Howe may have been discouraged by these illusory defenses, but his goal remained the complete removal of American troops from Manhattan, not the annihilation of Washington's army. His attention returned to Fort Washington which the American commander in chief had left garrisoned under Col. Robert Magaw after a general rebel evacuation of the island.
On November 2, during the night, a defector, William Demont, entered the camp of Lord Hugh Percy at McGowan's Pass, south of Fort Washington. Demont had been Magaw's adjunct; the deserter placed the plans of the fort into Percy's hands. Although Howe had probably already begun to arrange operations against Fort Washington, exact knowledge of the fortification and its defenses would assist his attack. Fort Washington's works, built the previous July, covered a hill 230 feet high and a mile long. Vertical cliffs rendered the fort unassailable from the Hudson River below. Additional protection was provided by Fort Tyron on the north, Laurel Hill on the east, and the old Harlem Heights defenses on the south. Fort Lee stood opposite Fort Washington in New Jersey. Between the 2 forts ran a line of sunken obstructions to prevent British ships from passing up the Hudson.The natural defenses of Fort Washington's position were superior, but the fort itself was less than ideal. A pentagonal earthwork without ditches or palisades, the structure lacked barracks, bomb proofs, and an interior source of water. A captain stationed in the fort noted that it had none of "those exterior, multiplied obstacles and defenses, that...could entitle it to the name of fortress, in any degree capable of withstanding a siege." This weakness, recognized by some of the garrison went unnoticed by Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Greene, who was in charge of both forts.
Washington had been out of touch with Greene since October 22. Now, as Howe began moving south to direct the seizure of Fort Washington, the American commander had to consider the fort's defensibility. On November 5, 3 British vessels passed over the river barricades in the Hudson amidst rebel artillery fire and anchored, undamaged, at the northern tip of the island, Washington, in the process of deploying most of his troops in Westchester County, was much alarmed by this news and wrote to Greene on November 8, "I am inclined to think it will not be prudent to hazard the men and stores," but "as you are on the spot, I leave it to you to give such orders as to evacuating Mount Washington as you judge best." Greene replied that the fort served some purpose beyond th prevention of ship passage up the Hudson. It hampered British communication between the island and the country to the north, compelled the maintenance of British troops at Kingsbridge, and was clearly regarded as important by the British, or else they would not attempt its' capture.
These arguments were offset by Greene's assurance that if the situation grew dangerous, the stores and men could be shifted to Fort Lee at any time. Magaw said the garrison could hold out through December. But Washington's second in command, Maj. Gen. Charles Lee, expressed ominous concern. In a letter to Joseph Reed, the adjutant general, Lee wrote, "I cannot conceive what circumstances give to Fort Washington so great a degree of value and importance as to counterbalance the probability or almost certainty of losing 1,400 of our best troops." With some 2,000 of his troops, Washington moved down the west side of the Hudson and reached Fort Lee on November 13.
Meanwhile, Greene had reinforced Magaw's original garrison of about 2,000 men with an additional 900. Greene continued to favor a defense of the fort, and Washington finally relied upon his sub-ordinate's judgment. Washington would later write that Congress's desire to retain the area's defense and his own wish to keep an impediment in the way of the British "caused that warfare in my mind and hesitation which ended in the loss of the garrison." On November 4, Howe dispatched several brigades to march quickly south and reinforce Brig. Wilhelm von Knyphausen. His division had crossed the river at Kingsbridge on November 2 and began harassment of the rebels in the northern outpost of Fort Tyron.
On November 14, during the night, 30 British flatboats sailed up the river past Fort Washington undetected by the Americans. The following day the enemy approached the fort in force. Cornwallis and Brig. Edward Matthew were to approach from across the Harlem River on the east, and Percy was to strike from the south. A British officer was sent to summon Magaw to surrender with the threat of no quarter if the fort was stormed. Magaw flatly refused. He had dispersed his forces at the various outposts on the three sides of the fort, posting minor detachments in between. The Americans covered a large perimeter of 4 to 5 miles.
On November 16, early on the morning, Knyphausen opened the attack against Col. Moses Rawlings's Virginia and Maryland riflemen who managed to stall the Germans temporarily. Mr. Lossing, in his Field Book, says: "On the 15th, Howe was informed of the real condition of the garrison and works at Fort Washington, by a deserter from Magaw's battalion, and he immediately sent a messenger with a summons for the commander to surrender, or peril his garrison with the doom of massacre. Howe, confident of success, ordered a cannonade to be opened upon Magaw, in a brief note, promptly refused compliance,and sent a copy of his answer to Washington at Hackensack.
The cannonade commenced early on the morning of the 16th, to cover the landing of troops which crossed the Harlem there, preparatory to a combined attack at four different points. Expecting this, Magaw made a judicious disposition of his little force. Colonel Rawlings, with his Maryland riflemen, was posted in a redoubt (Fort George) upon a hill north of Fort Washington, and a few men were stationed at the outpost, called Cock-hill Fort. Militia of the Flying Camp under Colonel Baxter, were placed on the rough wooded hills east of the fort along the Harlem River, and others, under my grandfather, 5 times removed, Ensign Johann Peter Hackenberg* and Colonel Lambert Cadwalader, of Pennsylvania, manned the lines in the direction of New York. Percy advanced on Lt. Col. Lambert Cadwalader’s Pennsylvanians but halted his forces (to the Americans' surprise) to wait for a signal gun from Cornwallis or Mathew. Washington, Greene, Maj. Gen. Israel Putnam, and Brig. Gen. Hugh Mercer crossed to Fort Washington as the firing commenced, but they could do nothing to help Magaw and so returned to Fort Lee to watch the developing action. Mathew, who had been somewhat delayed by the tide pushed across the river and established a foothold on Laurel Hill. Cornwallis followed with more troops.
Once the signal had gone out to Percy, pressure on the Americans began to mount. Rawlings was forced back and Cadwalader withdrew. Confusion was rampant within the reduced perimeter; the retreating Americans poured into the fort. By 3:00 P.M., the Germans had reached Fort Washington from the north, and the British were in view on the east and south. Despite the original surrender terms, another flag was sent into Magaw to ask for capitulation. Realizing that to stand now would create a bloodbath within the crowded fort, Magaw surrendered. The attack cost the British and Germans 67 killed, 335 wounded, and 6 missing. The Americans suffered 54 killed and 2,858captured, including probably more than 1,000 wounded. The loss of all their arms and equipment was especially damaging. Fort Lee was now untenable and Washington began transporting the ammunition out of the fort.
On November 19, during the night, the British brought boats through the Harlem River and carried a force under Cornwallis across the Hudson in the rain. They landed about 6 mile north of Fort Lee and began marching southward. Washington and Greene roused the garrison to a hundred flight and led them to Hackensack, then toward Newark and New Brunswick. On November 20, Cornwallis marched into the empty fort and found tents, military baggage, 50 canon, and 1,000 barrels of flour. More than 100 skulkers (most were drunk) were rounded up in the neighborhood, a few were killed. Cornwallis pursued the Americans with some reinforcements sent from Howe and routed them at each New Jersey town where they stopped. Many of Howe's officers believed he would maintain this drive. Howe had begun preparations for an offensive in Rhode Island. He knew there was not time enough before winter's arrival to employ the same troop force in both New Jersey and Rhode Island. In addition, Howe was criticized by some for sparing the garrison at Fort Washington.
Capt. Lt. Archibald Robertson considered the American losses "trifling." Thomas Jones, a former justice of the New York Supreme Court being held prisoner in Connecticut, believed that a general slaughter would have struck panic through the rebel countryside and forced congressional submission. "The most rigid severity at the first would have been the greatest mercy and leniency in the end." Of the nearly 2,000 Americans captured in the fall of the fort, over 100 were officers (including Ensign Hackenberg). Many of these were paroled and walked the New York streets in their uniforms to the chagrin and even fear of the loyalists and British. The soldiers were eventually put aboard prison ships in the harbor to languish; large numbers of them died under the atrocious conditions.
But Howe's victory had been decisive, and for the Americans, the after effects were serious. The loss of the garrison troubled Washington because the enlistments of many of his remaining troops were to expire in less than two months. An alarming percentage of his men were unfit for duty from sickness or want of clothes and shoes. Perhaps even more significant was the tremendous loss of precious material.The British had seized 146 cannon, 12,000 shot and shell, 2,800 muskets, and 400,000 cartridges. American resources had been dispersed and inadequate before this capture; now they were stretched very thin indeed.
Washington would soon make his winter headquarters in New Jersey for a number of reasons, one of which was to protect the invaluable forges and furnaces in the northwestern part of the state. The blame for squandering the men and supplies in the 2 forts rested naturally with Magaw, Greene, and Washington. Greene recognized that the lines around Fort Washington had been too extensive for 2,900 men to defend, especially in a disordered state. Since Washington had some early doubts about the fort's impregnability, his vacillation, finally favoring Greene's discretion, was inexcusable. Washington's trusted friend Reed termed this a "fatal indecision of mind." Many British were light-headed after their successful New York campaign and felt that the end of the war must be near. But Washington's error was not fatal. Nor was his disappointment so deep that he rejected thoughts of raising a new army.
In seventy days Washington made his famous crossing of the Delaware and the successful Battle of Trenton where the aforementioned Colonel Rall commanding the local Hessian Forces met his death at the hands of the American Troops. The British occupied New York City for the remainder of the War and vacated it only after the final Treaty was signed in 1783. Many more New Yorkers became British Loyalists(Tories) after this Occupation.
One interesting side note about Loyalists (Tories). At Haw River, North Carolina, a battalion of Loyalists were tricked into believing that they were being reviewed by Lt. Col. Tarleton of the British Regular Army when they actually had encountered Lt. Col Harry “Light horse” Lee (Gen. Robert E. Lee’s father) whose Continental Legion wore green jackets as did Tarleton’s men. Lee ordered a saber attack as the Loyalists stood for Inspection and butchered the Loyalist. This tended to intimidate other Loyalists in that area in the future. That battle had very severe American casualties since both sides were American.
Some Genealogy reports have stated that Ensign Johann Peter Hackenberg served throughout the entire Revolutionary War, however all that has been documented officially and found is that he remained a prisoner on British Prison Ships and on Long Island until at least 1780 (possibly much longer) as stated in the publication “Revolutionary War Officers“. His release and further participation in the War is unknown in the genealogical reports that have been reviewed. He died in Snyder County in 1820 and is buried at Saint Peters Cemetery , Freeburg, Snyder County.
*"Peter Hackenberg enlisted in Richland Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania under Captain Valentine Opp, First Sergeant, 1st Battalion of Col. Hart's Flying Camp. In August of the same he was commissioned Ensign and Quarter-master of the Battalion of the same company. Captain Opp was cashiered. The company marched to Fort Lee, where Colonel Baxter commissioned him to act as Captain. He was promised a commission but was taken prisoner before receiving it.
In the Archives of Pennsylvania, Second Series 15:652 his name is among the list of Officers who absented themselves from the "Camp" contrary to their parole but returned to captivity agreeable to orders. A list of officers belonging to the Continental Army Flying Camp of the Militia of the State of Pennsylvania who were prisoners and not exchanged since - list Peter Hackenberg (Hachenberg). Pennsylvania Archives 6th Series 2:88-884 gives Baxter's Regiment.wing."
This book is located in the DAR Library, Washington, D.C., the Midwest Genealogy Center of the Mid-Continent Public Library, Independence, MO, and the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center, Fort Wayne, IN. This book includes the complete descendant linage of Johann Peter Hackenberg (Hachenberg).
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Do you remember when Harrisburg was a wasteland?
This image shows Market St at Second St in 1982. When I moved to this hole in 1982, that area had the pawn shop, an adult theater, (anyone remember the Senate?) and when you turned right onto Strawberry Alley, there was a little strip joint tucked away. Steven Reed was elected in 1981 after George Gekas did nothing to make the city better and try to make this city move away from the bad image that it had for too long. City Island used to have a great concert stage and had national acts each summer in the early 1980's. However, you had to rouse the gays having sex in the bushes to get them on their way, although they may have enjoyed the Judas Priest show in '82. Sadly, the concerts went away as did the haven for gay sex and in the center of an island of weeds and trees, a baseball park appeared and flourished with some great teams early on. The Island became a family friendly environment. Say what you will about Steve Reed, but the man had a vision for Harrisburg and what it could be.Next slide please.........
If you weren't here before 1982, sit back and watch as we go back in time instead of forward.
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