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View Full Version : On This Day 16 July



Coog
07-15-2012, 23:41
On 16 July 1790 The District of Columbia is established as the capital of the United States after signature of the Residence Act. The states of Maryland and Virginia donated land along the Potomac River to form the federal district; however, Congress returned the Virginia portion in 1846. The City of Washington, located east of the preexisting port of Georgetown, was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. Congress consolidated the whole District under a single municipal government in 1871.

Coog
07-15-2012, 23:50
On 16 July 1862 David Farragut is promoted to rear admiral, becoming the first officer in United States Navy to hold an admiral rank.

Through the influence of his adoptive father, at the age of nine, Farragut was commissioned a midshipman in the United States Navy on 17 December, 1810. Farragut fought in the War of 1812, serving under Captain David Porter on USS Essex. Farragut participated in capture of HMS Alert on 13 August, 1812 and then helped to establish America's first naval base and colony in the Pacific, named Madisonville during the ill-fated Nuku Hiva Campaign. At the same time the Americans battled the hostile tribes on the islands with the help of their Te I'i allies.

Farragut was 12 years old when, during the War of 1812, he was given the assignment to bring a ship captured by USS Essex, safely to port. He was wounded and captured while serving on the Essex during the engagement at Valparaiso Bay, Chile against the British on 28 March, 1814.

He served in operations against West Indies pirates and the Civil War. Farragut remained on active duty for life, an honor accorded to only six other US naval officers.