On this day in 1898, Sarah Emma Edmonds, a Civil War veteran who served disguised as a man in the Union Army, passed away. Also, in 1964, Beatlemania hit Detroit's Olympia Stadium with two concerts during the Beatles' North American Tour. Fans could buy tickets for just $2 to $5, and a local radio station sold squares of the band's bedsheets to eager fans.
TRANSCRIPT
Today in 1898, a Michigan Civil War Veteran passed away. Certainly, many soldiers served, but none quite like a member of the quote Flint Union Greys, Franklin Thompson, the false name given by Sarah Emma Edmonds, who joined the men-only Union Army after the fall of Fort Sumter. Years later a battle-injury was causing paralysis on her left side and as she said in a complaint about her 12-per-month military pension: “It may be, that very soon, I shall not need a pension.” Sadly, that turned out to be prophetic as Sarah of the Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment passed away today in 1898.
Also, it was the 14th stop of their 1964 North American Tour, and today Beatlemania arrived at Detroit’s Olympia Stadium for two concerts, with tickets ranging between two-to-five dollars. After their night at the Whittier Hotel, a radio station purchased the bed sheets, cut them up and sold squares to the fans. Personally, I still prefer pledge drives.