Lincoln is shot on April 14, 1865

Lincoln is shot On this day in 1865, John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer, fatally shoots President Abraham Lincoln at a play at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his massive army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War.

Booth, a Maryland native born in 1838, who remained in the North during the war despite his Confederate sympathies, initially plotted to capture President Lincoln and take him to Richmond, the Confederate capital. However, on March 20, 1865, the day of the planned kidnapping, the president failed to appear at the spot where Booth and his six fellow conspirators lay in wait. Two weeks later, Richmond fell to Union forces.

In April, with Confederate armies near collapse across the South, Booth hatched a desperate plan to save the Confederacy. Learning that Lincoln was to attend a performance of “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater on April 14, Booth masterminded the simultaneous assassination of Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William H. Seward. By murdering the president and two of his possible successors, Booth and his conspirators hoped to throw the U.S. government into disarray.

On the evening of April 14, conspirator Lewis T. Powell burst into Secretary of State Seward’s home, seriously wounding him and three others, while George A. Atzerodt, assigned to Vice President Johnson, lost his nerve and fled. Meanwhile, just after 10 p.m., Booth entered Lincoln’s private theater box unnoticed and shot the president with a single bullet in the back of his head. Slashing an army officer who rushed at him, Booth leapt to the stage and shouted “Sic semper tyrannis! [Thus always to tyrants]–the South is avenged!” Although Booth broke his leg jumping from Lincoln’s box, he managed to escape Washington on horseback.

The president, mortally wounded, was carried to a lodging house opposite Ford’s Theater. About 7:22 a.m. the next morning, Lincoln, age 56, died–the first U.S. president to be assassinated. Booth, pursued by the army and other secret forces, was finally cornered in a barn near Bowling Green, Virginia, and died from a possibly self-inflicted bullet wound as the barn was burned to the ground. Of the eight other people eventually charged with the conspiracy, four were hanged and four were jailed. Lincoln, the 16th U.S. president, was buried on May 4, 1865, in Springfield, Illinois.

History Channel / Wikipedia / The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation.org / Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

More References / Images   ● Lincoln Memorial an American national monument built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln - located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. across from the Washington Monument.
● Battle of Antietam / Stone Bridge at Antietam Battlefield - Sharpsburg, Maryland
● First Battle Between Ironclads: CSS Virginia/Merrimac (left) vs. USS Monitor, in 1862 at the Battle of Hampton Roads.
● Although photography was still in its infancy, war correspondents produced thousands of images, bringing the harsh realities of the frontlines to those on the home front in a new and visceral way. The Atlantic.

Wikipedia  Image: Battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863) by Thure de Thulstrup American Civil War: 1913 - Veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913.

Understanding Military Terminology - Hasty breach

(DOD) The creation of lanes through enemy minefields by expedient methods such as blasting with demolitions, pushing rollers or disabled vehicles through the minefields when the time factor does not permit detailed reconnaissance, deliberate breaching, or bypassing the obstacle. Defense Technical Information Center - Operations, Series 3-0 Publications, PDFs (Joint Publication 3-15)

The Old Salt’s Corner

Battlegroup Platforms

Typical platforms found in the battlegroup include:

Carrier (CV/CVN) The carrier’s primary mission is air power projection, either to targets ashore or at sea. The carrier is the center around which the other ships in the battlegroup evolve. CVN indicates a nuclear powered carrier.

Cruiser (CG/CGN) Cruisers attached to a battlegroup primarily perform air-warfare (AW) missions to protect the carrier and other ships from air threats. Cruisers are also equipped with missiles for surface-warfare (SUW), and Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System (LAMPS) helicopters for undersea-warfare (USW). CGN indicates a nuclear powered cruiser.

Destroyer (DD/DDG) Most modern destroyers are optimized for a particular warfare task, such as USW, AW or SUW; typically, they also have some capability to conduct the other two as well. DDG indicates the destroyer can fire guided missiles.

Frigate (FF/FFG) TThe main mission of the frigates is USW, although they usually have some capability for conducting AW and SUW. FFG indicates the frigate can fire guided missiles.

“I’m Just Sayin’”

What is "Soft Liquor"?

“Thought for the Day”

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”

~ Albert Camus

“What I Have Learned”

“Your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”

~ Abraham Lincoln

Bizarre News (we couldn’t make up stuff this good – real news story)

“No Wonder They Hate Us”

Caught with their pants down: (1) American sisters Lindsey, 22, and Leslie Adams, 20, were convicted, fined, and deported by Cambodia’s Siem Reap Court in February after taking several nude photos of each other at the Preah Khan temple, apparently for their social-media “friends.” The Angkor Archaelolgical Park, where the temple is located, is reportedly the world’s largest religious monument. Phnom Penh Post (2-9-2015)

U.S. tourists arrested for carving initials into wall at Rome's Colosseum: (2) Two other American women were arrested in March for carving eight-inch initials into a wall outside Rome’s ancient Colosseum and then snapping selfies for their friends. Examiner (3-9-2015) CNN (3-9-2015)

Mr. Answer Man Please Tell Us: When you order a sandwich almost anywhere, why does it usually come with a pickle?

With any sandwich you buy in the United States you will receive an all too familiar side dish without any explanation -the pickle. But why? How did the pickle become such an iconic part of our deli experience?

Pickles have been around for thousands of years and were considered a delicacy as early as 2400 BC. The pickle became popular in the U.S. though when the first Jewish immigrants came to New York from Eastern Europe. Famous for their unique combinations of meat, Jewish delis in the city used the pickle as a palate cleanser. The acidity allows you to experience the sharp contrast in flavors and more fully appreciate the taste of your sandwich. The specific deli that was first to place a pickle alongside a sandwich is unknown, but the practice quickly spread beyond Jewish delis.

Across the city of New York, the pickle’s popularity grew and by the 1930s entrepreneurs became pickle vendors across the Lower East Side. In fact, there were famous “Pickle Wars” that occurred between the vendors competing for a monopoly on the sour sensation. Today the pickle has even been given its own festival in New York that is celebrated in October.

Once the pickle became a staple in New York, the tradition of including the pickle with a deli sandwich grew in appeal and it quickly became a popular choice for an easy-to-prepare side dish across the U.S. In fact, the pickle is now the most commonly used side dish for a sandwich and the combination makes up the majority of all pickle consumption. It has become so standard that restaurants no longer list it on the menu. Originally a Jewish tradition, the pickle has grown into a deli staple that has made its way onto every sandwich plate across America.

Mental Floss • PBS • Wikipedia • Reddit

Where Did That Saying Come From?

“Doubting Thomas:” This phrase comes from John 20: 24-27.

After his resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples. However one of them, named Thomas, was absent. When the others told him that Jesus was alive Thomas said he would not believe until he saw the marks on Jesus’ hands and the wound in his side caused by a Roman spear. Jesus appeared again and told Thomas “Stop doubting and believe!” Wikipedia

NAVSPEAK aka U.S. Navy Slang

Bosun's Punch: New sailors on ship are sometimes assigned to find this mythical tool in the office of one of the ship's Bosuns (Boatswains). The sailor is then typically punched very hard in the shoulder by the Bosun in question.

FNG: F**kin' New Guy - self-explanatory. Pronounced “effin-g”.

Holy stone: The stone or the act of using one. A pumice stone for cleaning a wooden deck on battle ships, which is generally done while the sailor is on his knees. Sailors figured that anything that put them on their knees so often must be holy.

Shit in a Seabag: Stuffed green peppers.

Just for you MARINE

Dink: (Vietnam) Enemy or, generically, Vietnamese.

Dinky Dau: A Vietnamese term translated by Americans to mean crazy.

Disneyland: The 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, SC in the 1960. So named because it was the only one with the new brick, three deck barracks. The 1st Battalion was called Frontier land and the 2nd Battalion was called the Twilight Zone. The 4th Battalion was then officially called Woman Marine Battalion.

Ditty Dot: Radio operator, from Morse Code, dit and dot.

Naval Aviation Squadron Nicknames

VT-2 - Training Squadron 2: “Doerbirds”
NAS Whiting Field, Florida

The Strange, Mysterious or Downright Weird

World Famous Jack Daniels Tennessee Whiskey is made in only one place:

The small town of Lynchburg, Tennessee, population 361. Though the town supplies the world with the famous libation, not a drop may be purchased for consumption anywhere in town. Moore County is a “dry” county, meaning that the sale and consumption of alcohol is illegal. Flask