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Artifacts Fifteen
Following his graduation from Harpeth Academy,
Franklin, Tennessee native Matthew Fontaine Maury joined the U.S.
Navy. Maury went on to help found the U.S. Naval Academy and revolutionize
sea navigation when he proved the existence of the Gulf Streams.
He resigned his Commander's commission in 1861 to join the Confederate
cause. Maury helped fellow Tennessean H.L. Hunley design the C.S.S.
Hunley, worked on torpedo developments, and aided the Confederate
Navy as a diplomat in England. Maury's books on meteorology and
geography earned him international fame. Matthew Maury spent his
later years teaching physics at Virginia Military Institute.
Marquis de Lafayette
French journalist and secretary to Marquis de Lafayette, Auguste
Levasseur writing on the efforts of Tennessee Governor William Carroll
when the steamboat Artisan wrecked on the Cumberland River.
Lafayette, his son, and passengers escaped injury and were rescued
the next day by the steamboat Paragon.
"Layfayette In America" Pub. 1829 Paris, France
Gov. William Carroll
East Knoxville businessman William Hooper volunteered in WW II as
a civilian instructor to train the all-black "Red Ball Express".
The U.S. Convoy Unit became one of the most decorated in Europe.
While training at Fort Lee,VA, Hooper invented a device that permitted
a single man to change tandem tires. The reduced manpower allowed
the Army to increase the number of trucks in a supply line and was
featured in numerous military magazines and newspapers. The United
States Army paid Hooper the sum of $1.00 for the device's patent.
Governor Aaron Brown
 When
President James Polk called for American volunteers to fight the
Mexican War, Tennessee Governor Aaron Brown's quota was 2,600 men.
30,000 Tennesseans responded to his request and forever earned the
state the "Volunteer" nickname.
President James Polk's Proclamation of War on Mexico.
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