Curated playlist
19th-century American politicians
- Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest, then gave a 90-minute speech. It happened in Milwaukee in October 1912.
- William McKinleyWilliam McKinley won the presidency in 1896 campaigning from his front porch. Crowds came by train to Canton, Ohio.
- Alexander HamiltonAlexander Hamilton was still a teenager in 1771 when the owner of Beekman and Cruger, an import-export firm on the island of Saint Croix, sailed away and left him running the place for five months. The young man had been born out of…
- Winfield ScottWinfield Scott died on his own birthday, the 29th of May, at age 79. The general led the U.S. Army for twenty years.
- Frederick DouglassFrederick Douglass never knew his birthday, so he picked February 14. His mother had called him her Little Valentine.
- John SchofieldIn 1892, General John Schofield awarded himself the Medal of Honor. He was then Commanding General of the U.S. Army.
- Philip SheridanUnion general Philip Sheridan rose from captain to major general in six months.
- Leonidas PolkLeonidas Polk died with three small books in his pocket, each titled Balm for the Weary and Wounded. Each had been inscribed to a different general, Johnston, Hardee and Hood in turn, “with the compliments of Lieutenant General Leonidas…
- Francis Amasa WalkerCivil War officer Francis Amasa Walker nearly drowned swimming a river to escape, and was recaptured.
- Stand WatieStand Watie was the last Confederate general to give up the fight.