Month: July 2013

July 4: On this date in 1839, “a winding road traversing the cemetery, and passing through its most interesting parts,” 4 1/2 miles long, opened at Green-Wood; it would soon become known as “The Tour.”

July 3: On this date in 1863, the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg culminated with Pickett’s Charge, during which the Confederates were repulsed with great losses; Captain William Wheeler and his 13th New York Independent Battery helped meet that attack and turn the tide of battle in favor of the Union.

July 2: John Thomas Underwood, who pioneered the visible typewriter, allowing typists to see what they were typing, greatly improving accuracy and speed, and created a typewriter-manufacturing empire, died on this date in 1937.

July 1: Irish Patriot and Civil War General Thomas Meagher, serving as the territorial governor of Montana, disappeared on this date in 1867; his body has never been found and a cenotaph to him stands next to his widow’s Green-Wood grave.