ON THIS DAY IN UNITED STATES HISTORY

September 19, 1676

The Colonial Capital is Burned to the Ground
in Jamestown, VA During Bacon's Rebellion

On this day in 1676, Nathaniel Bacon and his estimated 300 to 350 men moved into Jamestown, Virginia and burned down the Colonial capital building.

This uprising of mostly poor white and poor black farmers was prompted by repeated raids by Native Americans. The farmers felt Royal Governor William Berkeley did not act aggressively enough to stop it.

Although the farmers were not able to drive the Native Americans from Virginia, they did succeed in getting Berkeley recalled to England.

September 19, 1881

Games A. Garfield, 20th President Dies
Two Months After Being Shot in an Assassination Attempt

On this day in 1881, James A. Garfield became the second United States President to be assassinated (Abraham Lincoln was the first) after only six months in office.

Garfield was shot two months before on July 2 while walking through the Sixth Street Station of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (later to become the Pennsylvania Railroad). Robert Todd Lincoln (son of Abraham Lincoln) was Secretary of War and was present at the time of the shooting.

When doctors were unable to find the bullet, Alexander Graham Bell fashioned a metal detector specifically for the task. What Bell didn't realize is that Garfield was lying on a bed with metal springs (not common at the time), and therefore, the metal detector did not work.