For Kirk....Christmas, Louisville, KY 1866 "coonfingering accidents".......

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  • indiucky

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    I was perusing some Historical Journals I had and this comes directly from, "kentucky ancestors, geneaological quarterly of the kentucky historical society" Autumn 2003.(I have no idea why they didn't use capital letters...)

    Abstracts from the Louisville Daily Courier, December 27, 1866

    Listed under the title "Christmas Accidents" was the story of an orphan, "about fourteen years of age, by the name of John Kelser," who worked at the plow factory of B. F. Avery. Kelser was injured when a gun he held in his hand exploded when another boy pulled the trigger. It caused a severe wound in the boy's hand that would keep him from working for many weeks. Another fourteen-year-old, Willie Haddox, who resided with his mother on Third Street, near Walnut, was burned "in a shocking manner" when a pistol he was carrying in his pocket discharged "and the powder, which was in the same pocket" exploded and set fire to his clothes. "His limbs and abdomen were burnt to a crisp and his breast and skin badly scorched....It is feared he will not recover." James Burns, another fourteen-year-old, who lived with his parents on Preston Street, was injured when a firecracker exploded in his hand. Also, on Market Street between Clay and Shelby, a boy by the name of John Elbert had one of his hands badly torn by a pistol when he tried to prevent it from discharging. "One or two of his fingers were torn off....This happened about noon on Christmas, and terminated his pleasures for the remainder of the day."


    I would say accidents have been trending downward for the past decades but I was really shocked to see this many accidents happening over Christmas in 1866 in a town the size of Louisville.....

    I thought INGO would enjoy....
     
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    GodFearinGunTotin

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    Mitchell
    I love the language of former generations... beautiful and descriptive. Almost subtle, compared to the hyper-sarcastic and sensationalized language choices of today. :)

    Yeah the understated quality is accurate and yet humorous though I don't think they intended it to bel

    One or two of his fingers were torn off....This happened about noon on Christmas, and terminated his pleasures for the remainder of the day.

    Ya-think?
     

    BogWalker

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    On the first one, how did it explode having the trigger pulled, and on the last one, how does a gun rip your fingers off? What kind of shoddy shooters were they using!?
     

    indiucky

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    Louisville is still a pretty rough town.

    Here is a little tidbit about a shooting at the Galt House during the Civil War.......

    After recovering from his wounds, William Nelson arrived at Louisville in time to relieve General Jeremiah Boyle, then in command. By the time he arrived, Louisville was in turmoil. Braxton Bragg [CS] had left Chattanooga and advanced to Munfordville where a small garrison was protecting an important railroad bridge over the Green River. On September 17, 1862, after the garrison had surrendered, Braxton Bragg's Confederates were closer to Louisville than any Union army.

    As Bull Nelson ordered cannon to the heights across the river so he could bombard Louisville if Bragg took the key Kentucky city, Buell was desperately trying to swing around to the left of Bragg's army and bypass it. He didn't have much to worry about. For some reason unknown to this day Bragg decided to advance to Bardstown. Buell relieved Nelson at Louisville on September 24, 1862.

    Over the next 5 days Union brigades arrived in Louisville, Kentucky. One of the brigades from Indiana belonged to Union General Jefferson C. Davis, who had begun the war a captain inside embattled Fort Sumter. Nelson, viewing the Indiana brigade's efforts to entrench, reprimanded Davis for poor work. Davis rode to Indianapolis and returned to Louisville with a friend -- Indiana governor Oliver P. Morton. On September 29, 1862 Davis and Morton confronted Nelson in the lobby of the Galt House (then on Second and Main St.)

    Jefferson Davis and Oliver Morton approached Bull Nelson to "discuss" recent events. Davis accused Nelson of insulting him, which Nelson brushed aside. Continuing his tirade, Davis demanded "satisfaction" (a duel) and threw an object (probably a piece of paper) at Nelson. At this point Bull Nelson said something (the exact words are unknown), struck him in the face with the back of his hand and walked away. As he climbed the staircase Davis found a pistol and followed Bull Nelson to the second story hall where Davis fired a single shot, mortally wounding Nelson. According to one bystander, Nelson lived long enough for a local minister to baptize him. Buell appeared and arrested Davis, but he would never stand trial for the murder, protected by Governor Morton.
     

    littletommy

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    A holler in Kentucky
    Louisville is still a pretty rough town.
    I was born in Kentucky, and I love every part of the state......as long as it's outside of Jefferson Co. Louisvile, though, is just like any other larger city, there are parts of town that I feel comfortable in, and other parts I would not go into for any reason.
     

    Harleyrider_50

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    I was born in Kentucky, and I love every part of the state......as long as it's outside of Jefferson Co. Louisvile, though, is just like any other larger city, there are parts of town that I feel comfortable in, and other parts I would not go into for any reason.

    :):

    Yeah that......anythin West o' ....?......I'll say 9th St.....better have a backup fer yer backup.......


    An' '4th St LIVE'.......ain't all'at da*n safe.......:whistle:
     

    Tims87gn

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    These days those kids playing with guns in downtown would have been arrested and the parents too. Then the media would have talked about gun control for months citing the resent escalation in "youth violence". Back then you could carry and people behaved better because the threat was there that some might get shot. Thanks for sharing some history. I always enjoy it!
     

    Slawburger

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    Here is a little tidbit about a shooting at the Galt House during the Civil War.......

    After recovering from his wounds, William Nelson arrived at Louisville in time to relieve General Jeremiah Boyle, then in command. By the time he arrived, Louisville was in turmoil. Braxton Bragg [CS] had left Chattanooga and advanced to Munfordville where a small garrison was protecting an important railroad bridge over the Green River. On September 17, 1862, after the garrison had surrendered, Braxton Bragg's Confederates were closer to Louisville than any Union army.

    As Bull Nelson ordered cannon to the heights across the river so he could bombard Louisville if Bragg took the key Kentucky city, Buell was desperately trying to swing around to the left of Bragg's army and bypass it. He didn't have much to worry about. For some reason unknown to this day Bragg decided to advance to Bardstown. Buell relieved Nelson at Louisville on September 24, 1862.

    Over the next 5 days Union brigades arrived in Louisville, Kentucky. One of the brigades from Indiana belonged to Union General Jefferson C. Davis, who had begun the war a captain inside embattled Fort Sumter. Nelson, viewing the Indiana brigade's efforts to entrench, reprimanded Davis for poor work. Davis rode to Indianapolis and returned to Louisville with a friend -- Indiana governor Oliver P. Morton. On September 29, 1862 Davis and Morton confronted Nelson in the lobby of the Galt House (then on Second and Main St.)

    Jefferson Davis and Oliver Morton approached Bull Nelson to "discuss" recent events. Davis accused Nelson of insulting him, which Nelson brushed aside. Continuing his tirade, Davis demanded "satisfaction" (a duel) and threw an object (probably a piece of paper) at Nelson. At this point Bull Nelson said something (the exact words are unknown), struck him in the face with the back of his hand and walked away. As he climbed the staircase Davis found a pistol and followed Bull Nelson to the second story hall where Davis fired a single shot, mortally wounding Nelson. According to one bystander, Nelson lived long enough for a local minister to baptize him. Buell appeared and arrested Davis, but he would never stand trial for the murder, protected by Governor Morton.

    There is an historic marker on Hwy 31 in Memphis Indiana honoring General Jefferson C. Davis who was born in the Memphis area.
     
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