February 27: Michael Wallace

February 27: Notorious prisoner of war camp Andersonville, run by the Confederates, opened on this date in 1864; 18 soldiers who are interred at Green-Wood would be released alive from there; one, Michael Wallace, would die from disease in 1865, just months after his release. 

February 26: Albert Anastasia

February 26: Born on this date in 1902 in Italy as Umberto Anastasio, he would come to America and become famous as Albert Anastasia, “The Lord High Executioner” of Organized Crime; in 1957, he would be murdered while getting his hair cut at the Park Sheraton Hotel.

From Vicksburg to Brooklyn

Henry Slocum (1827-1894) led quite a life. He was quite prominent during the Civil War. He wasn’t a Union general megastar like Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, or Meade. But he was a general who played an important role. Early on, he fought at the Battles of First and Second Bull Run, Virginia; South Mountain and Antietam, … Read more

February 25: Susan Rotolo

February 25: Susan Rotolo, Bob Dylan’s girlfriend 1961-1964, who appeared on the cover of his “The Free Wheelin Bob Dylan” album and inspired him to write “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” as well as “Tomorrow is a Long Time,” died on this date in 2011.

February 24: “Bill the Butcher” Poole

February 24: Nativist gang leader “Bill the Butcher” Poole, whose life would form the basis for the Daniel Day-Lewis character of William Cutting in the movie “Gangs of New York,” was fatally shot by a rival-gang member at a bar on Broadway on this day in 1855.