About That Fort Wayne in Detroit-- Part 5: IN WW II, It Was the World's Largest Motor Supply Depot

In World War I, Fort Wayne became important in the acquisition of cars, trucks and spare parts for the military, of course, Motor City you know.  And that role really took off during World War II.

There was a "Red Scare" in the United States after World War I with the troubles going on in Russia, and Fort Wayne served as a temporary detention center for persons accused of being Communist.  In 1921, the world's first motorized  ride-on lawnmower was used at Fort Wayne, along with several other sites.

During the Great Depression the fort was opened to homeless families and it housed a local group of the Civilian Conservation Corps.

During World War II, Fort Wayne was designated Motor Supply Depot and additional buildings were constructed for warehousing and shipping.  At that time Fort Wayne was the largest motor supply depot in the world.  Its command center controlled the flow of materiel from the automobile factories   to the citywide network of staging facilities which included the Michigan State Fairgrounds and the Port of Detroit  terminal.

--Brock-Perry

Movie Watching on the 4th of July-- Part 2: "Lincoln" and "Red Dawn"

2.  "LINCOLN"  (2012)One of best-known presidents who led the nation through one of its roughest stretched.  Features his humanity as he strives to end the Civil War and slavery.  And, of course, Fort Fisher played a big role in the movie.  My Civil War fort.

3.  "RED DAWN"  (1984)  Midwest high school kids fight back a Soviet Union invasion of the United States.  If you can ignore some really sad acting and hokey lines.  Patrick Swayze and the Wolverines.  Lots of action and feeling good USA!!!

Continued in my Tattooed On Your Soul:  World War II blog.

--Brock-Perry

James A. Bayard, Delaware Senator and the Treaty of Ghent

From Wiipedia.

1767-August 6, 1815.

Politician from Wilmington, Delaware.  U.S. Representative and Senator.  As a Federalist, he opposed "Mr. Madison's War" and urged caution as the war approached.  he was particularly concerned with Delaware's lack of preparedness for war in both military and vulnerability of the coast.

On June 17, 1812, he was one of  the 13 U.S. Senators who voted against the declaration of war.  But after the war came, he supported it.

He was the only Federalist to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent.  President Madison afterwards offered him a post as minister to Russia, but Bayard declined it saying that a Federalist could hardly represent a Democratic-Republican government.

He spent several months in Europe, but became sick and died just five days after returning to the United States.

--Brock-Perry

George Washington Whistler's Grave

From Find-A-Grave.

I wonder whi he might have been named after?

Born May 19, 1800 in Allen County, Indiana,. where his father, John Whistler, was commandant of Fort Wayne.  Died April 7, 1849, in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Stonington, Connecticut, New London County.

--Brock-Perry

George Washington Whistler-- Part 5: Legacy

In 1830 they joined the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad and later others.  He went to Russia, where he died unexpectedly and evidently his body was returned to the United States as he is buried in Stonington, Connecticut.

LEGACY

Stone arch bridges he built in 1841 are still carrying trains in western Massachusetts..

He also was the first civil engineer in the United States to use contour lines to show elevation and relief on maps.

--Brock-Perry

George Washington Whistler-- Part 2: Major Mover in Early American Railroads and "Whistler's Father"

After major involvement in the development of U.S. railroads, in 1842, he went to Russia as a consulting engineer on the Saint Petersburg-Moscow Railway, the first large-scale endeavor by the Russian government.  He introduced the Howe truss bridge to Russia.

Sadly, he is probably best known for being the father of artist James McNeill Whistler, who painted the famous artwork referred to as "Whistler's Mother."

--Brock-Perry

Tennessee's George Washington Campbell-- Part 5: After the War and His Connection to Tennessee's Capitol

After the war, Campbell was a U.S. Senator and helped negotoiate the Jackson Purchase of Indian land.

Then he became the first Tennesseean to be an ambassador when he was appointed to Russia.  He helped adjust Denmark's claims against U.S. privateers for disruption of commerce during the War of 1812.  After that it was back to Tennessee as a judge.

On December 11, 1843, he sold a tract of land known as "Campbell's Hill" to the City of Nashville for $30,000.  It was transferred to the State of Tennessee and became the site of Tennessee's capitol.

He died in 1848 and is buried in the family plot in the Nashville City Cemetery.

--Brock-Perry