Trivia 12-16-17 & Bonus

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Question credit. The question says @lelliott19 submitted the question, however that is my question word for word. That question just went to scheduled in my conversation with Ami. Ami should be able confirm. In case of any confusion, this was a relic cannon from the war of 1812 and her name is Penelope. She is partially buried in front of the local home of the Democratic Party, the Compiler.

Bonus.

He should be Richard Meade. Died in 1862 of typhoid.

http://www.civilwarsignals.org/1st/epalexander/epalexander.html
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/un...who-later-became-a-confederate-officer.63663/
 
Penelope is a cannon that was used to signal Democratic victories until it blew up in 1855 when it was embedded in the sidewalk outside the offices of "The Compiler", voice of the Democratic Party and home of Henry Stahle, at 126 Baltimore Street
Stahle10260812_s.jpg


Bonus:
Richard Kidder Meade Jnr.
 
Regular Q: It's a great Q, but, since I don't recall submitting it, Ill answer it.
"Penelope" was the name of a War of 1812 cannon that was used to celebrate Democratic victories in Gettysburg up until 1855, when an over-enthusiastic celebratory load of powder exploded her barrel. The breach was preserved and buried out front of the office of The Compiler, where she remains today. http://www.gettysburgbattlefieldtours.com/penelope/

BONUS: Richard Kidder Meade (Aug 1835 - 31 July 1862)
He was EP Alexander's roommate and one of four West Point graduates who initially fought for the Union but switched sides to join the Confederacy.* He died of typhoid fever July 31, 1862 at Petersburg, Va and was buried at Blandford Cemetery. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11930185 and http://www.ohiocivilwarcentral.com/entry.php?rec=1552

*The other three who switched sides were Manning M. Kimmel, William T. Magruder, and Donald C. Stith.
 
What am I doing there? What am I and what is my name?
I was owned by a Democrat. I celebrated loudly after each Democratic win. However in November 1855, I celebrated too heavily and was silenced forever. To honor my Democratic loyalty, I was given a prominent home in the sidewalk of the little town of Gettysburg, Pa.
During the Battle, troops from both armies had to run around me. My owner was
imprisoned for allegedly arranging for a Confederate doctor to help a wounded Lieutenant-Colonel, William Dudley of the 19th Indiana, during the battle. But he was later released from jail on baseless charge of disloyalty concocted by a local Republican for political revenge.
Remarkably, if you visit Gettysburg today, just like the soldiers of 1863, you will have to run around me. What am I and what is my name?
credit: @lelliott19
Penelope, the cannon that the local Democratic Party fired during celebrations until it exploded in 1855. It is embedded muzzle-down in the sidewalk at what is now 126 Baltimore Street. In 1863, this building housed the Gettysburg Compiler, a newspaper associated with the Democratic Party.
<https://www.gettysburgdaily.com/henry-j-stahle-gettysburg-newspaper-editor-was-he-disloyal/>

Bonus: This Union office was stationed at Fort Sumter during the opening action in the war. He had been a roommate of Confederate artillerist Edward Porter Alexander at West Pont and when Virginia seceded shortly after Sumter's surrender he joined the Confederacy. He died of disease early in the war.
credit: @kholland
Richard K. Meade (1835-1862) of Petersburg, Virginia.
At West Point, Alexander had two room mates his first year, both Southerners: Meade and Robert Houston Anderson. Meade was stationed at Fort Sumter as an Engineer during the siege and later joined the rebel cause.
Robert Houston Anderson (1835-1888),
Meade can be seen in this photograph of Fort Sumter's officers. He is second from the right in the second row. Others are (First Row) Abner Doubleday, Robert Anderson, S. W. Crawford, J. S. Foster; (Second Row) T. Seymour, G. W. Snyder, J. C. Davis, Meade and T. Talbott.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2013651855/>
While at West Point, Alexander also roomed with were Thomas J. Berry, Richard Henry Brewer, Edward E. Burnet, Lawrence Kip and Charles Hale Morgan.
<Gary W. Gallagher, Editor, Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander. (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1989), pp. 7-8, 557.>


William Lee Steadman, Private, Company G, 98th Ohio Volunteer Infantry; his brothers George W
 
Politics and “Penelope”


Photo59897.jpg

By Craig Swain, April 4, 2009
1. Politics and "Penelope" Marker
Inscription. This is the 1863 site of the COMPILER newspaper office, Gettysburg's weekly "voice" of the Democratic party, and the home of its outspoken publisher Henry Stahle.

During the Battle of Gettysburg Stahle took into his home a badly wounded Union officer and persuaded a Confederate surgeon to come and perform a life-saving leg amputation. This humanitarian act led to Stahle's temporary incarceration at Ft. McHenry in Baltimore for aiding the enemy to capture a Union officer, a baseless charge of disloyalty concocted by a local Republican for political revenge.

The breech of the cannon "Penelope," is seen protruding from the pavement nearby. Traditionally, "Penelope" was fired in Gettysburg's streets to celebrate Democratic election victories but was abruptly silenced in 1855 when an over-charge of powder ruptured her barrel. Fittingly the old political cannon was memorialized in front of the "voice" of the Democratic party.

Bonus
Maj Richard Kidder Meade, Jr
  • Birth Aug 1835 Brunswick County, Virginia, USA
  • Death 31 Jul 1862
  • Burial Blandford Cemetery Petersburg, Petersburg City,
  • . On July 31, 1862, a disease ended his life in Petersburg, Virginia.
 
After re-reading the question - I’m changing my answer to “Penelope,” an artillery piece that represented the Democrats and it is embedded in the sidewalk where the Gettysburg Compiler was located and since the original building is no longer standing, it's only thing you can “run around me today”. Same sources.
 
Penelope, a War of 1812 Cannon. "The town Democrats also owned a War of 1812 cannon nicknamed “Penelope,” which they fired during election season. But in 1855, their prized piece of artillery imploded. Retaining it as a trophy, however, Stahle embedded the gun in the sidewalk in front of his shop on 26 Baltimore Street, where Penelope still sits today.(The Blog of Gettysburg National Military Park)

Bonus: Richard Kidder Meade, Junior
 
Cannon from the war of 1812 and my name is Penelope.

https://www.gettysburgdaily.com/henry-j-stahle-gettysburg-newspaper-editor-was-he-disloyal/

bonus Answer: R. K Meade Jr.

Edit - The first question was a bit confusing, since it began by indicating that it was going to be a three-part question but ended by indicating that it was a two-part question. The official answer makes it clear that it was only a two-part question. Nobody will be penalized for failing to answer the "What am I doing there?" question.

hoosier
 
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