May 14, 1846: The New Hampshire Patriot advises Concord that the United States has declared war on Mexico. New Hampshire will enlist a battalion of 389 men, including Concord’s Fire Engine Co. No. 2 and three Patriot printers.
May 14, 1864: On the march with the 2nd New Hampshire Cavalry in Louisiana, Lt. George S. Cobbs of Exeter is captured by a rebel force during a skirmish. When his men attack in an effort to rescue him, a Confederate officer shoots Cobbs in the head. His men later bury him on the banks of the Red River under a wooden cross and Masonic emblem.
May 15, 1726: At Sugar Ball in East Concord, Enoch Coffin, a Congregationalist minister, preaches at the first Christian service in the future Concord. His congregation is a group of men who have come from Massachusetts Bay Colony to survey the Plantation of Penny Cook.
May 15, 1908: Unable to keep up with the Concord City Auditorium for live shows, Manager Ben White of White’s Opera House begins showing continuous motion pictures and illustrated songs every day but Sunday. Admission is a dime for adults a nickel for children. The songs are by Fred Rushlow. This venture will prove an immense success.
May 15, 2003: Merrimack Valley High school is named the 2003 New Hampshire High School Representative of Excellence by the New Hampshire Excellence in Education Awards Program (the “ED”ies for short). Speaking at a school assembly, Principal Pam Burke says “This has got to be the most wonderful day in my professional career. You kids, year after year, are the reason we’re here. We’ve always been so proud of you. I’m just so glad the entire state knows who you are.”
May 16, 1893: After a sensational trial in the killing of a young woman who jilted him, Frank C. Almy, also known as George Abbott, is executed at the state prison. He is the ninth man hanged in New Hampshire and the last before capital punishment is repealed. It will be resumed in 1916. The execution is botched, the rope slipping over Almy’s head as he falls. Over his protests, he is quickly hanged again – and efficiently. There are rumors afterward that Almy’s body has been stolen, but Warden George W. Colbath assures the public that he knows precisely where it is buried.
May 17, 1851: For a second time, Concord voters refuse to turn their town into a city. The vote is 582 against and 139 in favor. Two years later, they will change their minds.
May 17, 1861: Private Arthur Cline of Lyme, a member of the First New Hampshire Infantry Regiment, dies of disease. At sunset, his regiment forms a funeral procession in Concord. Cline was 19 years old. His is the first of four deaths the regiment will suffer, all of illness, before it returns from its three-month enlistment without having fought a battle.
May 17, 1943: A bill is introduced in the New Hampshire House to dump all conscientious objectors “on an island in the middle of the Pacific ocean.”
May 18, 1860: In Concord, a 100-gun salute is fired in response to news that the Republicans have nominated Abraham Lincoln. “They were very feeble reports, the caliber of the guns corresponding with that of the candidates,” reports the city’s Democratic newspaper, the New Hampshire Patriot.
May 18, 1977: Three men escape from the state prison by sawing through the kitchen roof. They join two killers on the lam, bringing to five the number of prisoners who have escaped from maximum security in the last five days. Three of the five are murderers. The warden declines to talk to reporters.
May 19, 1780: This day becomes known as the “Dark Day” in central New Hampshire. A local history reports: “The shades of night fell at noon and a deep gloom settled on the people, many fearing that the end of the world was coming. This darkness continued for several days and was undoubtedly caused by forest fires in the northern part of the state and in Canada.”
May 19, 1944: Mrs. Charles A. Morin of Monroe Street in Concord hopes a new postal policy aimed at improving communication with prisoners-of-war in Germany will bring word from her son. Lt. Antoine Robert Morin, a pilot, was shot down in February, and his mother received this note, dated Feb. 28: “Dear Folks: Am prisoner of war in Germany. Well and safe. No need for worry. Will write as often as possible. We’ll be together after victory. Will see you all in six months. Bob.” Mrs. Walker has not heard from her son since.
May 20, 1983: A crowd of women gather at a public hearing in Concord to describe the sorrows of alimony, child support and high legal fees as the state contemplates reforms to porce laws. “We have to start with the girls and tell them this business about living happily ever after – that is a fantasy. It’s a fairy tale. They must face the world knowing they’re responsible for their own support,” says Susan Caldwell, head of the state Commission on the Status of Women.
