He Wished He Was In Dixie

The famous battle song of the confederacy, "Dixie", was written in a New York city hotel room in 1859 by Daniel Decatur Emmett, from Ohio! When it was played for Jefferson Davis’ inauguration, the song quickly caught on throughout the south, much to the consternation of “damned Yankee” Emmett, who said “if I’d known what they were gonna do to my song, I’d have never written it!” Then we’d have been stuck with “Dueling Banjos” - so thank you, D.D.!

Ironically, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, sung by Union troops, was composed by a Southerner.

Plymouth Rock was a Beer Stop

The pilgrims sailing to America on the Mayflower were blown off course, and rather than turn and head south for Virginia as originally intended, they put ashore in Massachusetts because they were running low on beer. Water was considered suspect, due to contamination and disease, and one of the first things the pilgrims built up after landing was a brew house.

One pilgrim, named Samuel Adams, used triple hops in his brew, and it's still tasty today. A German brewer named Augustus "Augie" Busch, used twice as much water and was smart enough to buy the advertising rights to all sporting events, including witch hunts, tar-and-featherings, tea parties, pig races, mule pulls, and Sadie Hawkins day, when women who caught men could force them into marriage (still popular in the South).

Washington's Less-Known Quote

When George Washington was boarding the rowboat to cross the Delaware, he had to nudge 300-lb Colonel Henry Knox aside to make room, with these immortal words, “Shift that fat ass, Harry, but slowly or you’ll swamp the damn boat!” To me, these are much more inspiring fighting words than “full speed ahead” or “I regret that I have but one life to give.”

By the way, Washington was not the first President. John Hanson of Maryland was elected unanimously in 1781 by Congress after adopting the Articles of Confederation. He served one year, as did six others, before Washington became the eighth president, but the first under the new Constitution.