Chick-fil-A comes to the rescue of stranded drivers in Birmingham

This is one of the nicest stories I've seen on the national news in a long time.

A Chick-fil-A owner and his employees came to the rescue for hundreds of motorists stranded with no food in the ice and snow that hit Birmingham, Alabama. It was a remarkable act of kindness.

They deserve all the blessings I'm sure they will receive.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/01/29/chick-fil-gives-free-food-to-motorists-stranded-in-southern-snowstorm/

The Atamaha-ha - Sea Monster of the Georgia Coast!

Home of the Altamaha-ha?

One of my favorite Southern monsters is the Altamaha-ha.

A massive sea monster or river monster that is said to inhabit the waters around the mouth of the Altamaha River in Georgia, the Altamaha-ha has been seen for hundreds of years.

The oldest documented account I could find, in fact, dates back to 1826. A sea captain named named Delano was sailing his schooner, the Eagle, through Doboy Sound on the Georgia Coast that year when he saw a creature that must have been the Altamaha-ha.  He didn't tell anyone about it at the time, but then he saw it again four years later off St. Simons Island, Georgia:

...He repeated the...particulars precisely, describing the animal he saw as being about 70 feet long, and its circumference about that of a sugar hogshead, moving with its head (shaped like an Alligator's) about 8 feet out of the water. - Savannah Georgian, April 22, 1830.

Altamaha River in Georgia, home of a Monster?

This time Captain Delano reported his sighting and his account was backed up by five other eyewitnesses on his ship, all of whom were willing to sign legal affidavits as to what they had seen.

Doboy Sound, where the first sighting took place, separates Sapelo Island from the Georgia mainland and connects to the Altamaha River. St. Simons Island borders the Altamaha to the south.

From the time of Captain Delano's first sighting in 1826 until today, people have claimed to see a monster in the waters around the mouth of the Altahama or up the river in the various channels and abandoned rice fields and canals of its delta. They describe the Altahama-ha as being around 30 feet long, with flippers like a seal and a head like a snake or alligator.

Read the full story of the Altamaha-ha and seem some video taken by an amateur photographer at: www.exploresouthernhistory.com/altamahaha.

And be sure to check on a host of other Southern monster and ghost stories at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ghosts.

The Battle of the St. Mary's (Last Battle of the War of 1812) - Georgia & Florida

Sailing Vessel on the St. Mary's River

Although numerous engagements have claimed the distinction, current research indicates that the Battle of the St. Mary's on the border of Florida and Georgia was the last land battle of the War of 1812.

Fought on February 24, 1815, the battle involved British Royal Marines and sailors, riflemen from the U.S. Army and revolutionaries from Spanish Florida.  The encounter took place when, even though he already knew of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent that ended the war, Rear Admiral George Cockburn sent a party of barges and boats up the St. Mary's River on one final raid.

Carrying 52 Royal Marines and commanded by Commander Charles George Rodney Phillot of HMS Primrose and Commander David Ewen Bartholomew of HMS Erebus, the seven barges and one gig were ordered to break up the American outpost of Camp Pinckney near present-day Folkston, Georgia.  They almost made it.

St. Mary's River

When the little flotilla was with 3/4 mile of its objective, a force of "Patriot" revolutionaries opened fire from the Florida shore.  Florida was then a colony of Spain and the Patriots were trying to seize control of the future U.S. state from its Spanish leaders.

Captain William Mickler soon joined in the fight with 20 U.S. soldiers from the Georgia shore and both American soldiers and Patriot riflemen poured tremendous volleys of fire on the British vessels, which were caught in the middle of the St. Mary's River. By the time the British made it back to their ships off Cumberland Island, they had been badly bloodied.

The Battle of the St. Mary's took place after the Battle of New Orleans, Second Battle of Fort Bowyer and the Battle of Point Petre (Point Peter), all of which have been recognized as the final battle of the War of 1812 by various historians.  So far as is known, it was the last exchange of fire between American and British forces.

To read about this fascinating engagement, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/stmarysbattle.