November 27, 2023 • 11 mins
On this day in 1810, Theodore Hook the sent a multitude of goods and service providers to the home of Mrs. Tottenham at 54 Berners Street in London as a prank.
On this day in 1868, at dawn, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer led a surprise attack on a peaceful Cheyenne village along the Washita River in what is now Oklahoma.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey there, history fans. We're off through the end of November,
but we've got plenty of classic shows to tide you over.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hey, y'all, I'm Eves and welcome to this day in
History class, where we uncover a new layer of history
every day. The day was November twenty seventh, eighteen ten.
(00:29):
English writer Theodore Hook sent hundreds of service providers and
products to number fifty four Berner Street in London as
a prank. Fifty four Berner Street was located in a
wealthy part of London. It was the home of a
woman referred to as Miss Tottenham, who herself was wealthy
and lived near a bunch of influential people. At about
(00:49):
five in the morning, a chimney sweep arrived at number
fifty four, saying that he had been called to the address.
The maid who answered the door told the chimney sweep
that no chimney sweep was needed there and turned him away.
But soon after another jimney sweep showed up at the
house saying that he had also been called there. She
(01:10):
sent him away too, But people kept showing up at
Miss Tottenham's doorsteps, claiming their services had been ordered, and
they came with all kinds of goods. There were cake
makers carrying wedding cakes, doctors, apothecaries, surgeons, lawyers and vicars,
and priests who had been told that someone inside the
house was dying. Six men delivered an organ, butchers came
(01:34):
with legs of mutton. Fishmongers, boot makers and hat makers
showed up. Pianos and coal wagons were delivered to the house.
The Lord Mayor of London even showed up at number
fifty four with a couple of his servants, saying that
Missus Tottenham had written saying she was sick and would
appreciate his visit. Other big names showed up to enjoy
(01:55):
the spectacle, like the Governor of the Bank of England,
the chairman of the East India Company, and the Duke
of Gloucester and more. Random tradespeople were making an appearance
at the house. There were artists, auctioneers, grocers, barbers with whigs,
and an undertaker with a coffin. A crowd gathered in
the area to watch all the commotion. The police blocked
(02:18):
off the street, but it took a while for the
crowd to thin out. Many newspapers reported on the incident.
The morning posts even included some of the letters sent
in the name of Miss Tottenham. One read Miss Tottenham
requests mister Blank will call upon her at two tomorrow
as she wishes to consult him about the sale of
an estate fifty four Berner Street, Monday. At that point,
(02:41):
the perpetrator of the hoax was a mystery, and the
police offered a reward for finding them. But within a
couple of years, Theodora Hooke, known for his jokes, had
emerged as a suspect. Later accounts of the debacles said
that Hook and a couple of his friends had spent
weeks writing anywhere between one thousand and four thousand letters
to people asking them to show up at number fifty
(03:04):
four on that day. It's not completely clear why Hook
singled out Miss Tottenham. Some said it was a bet
between him and a friend, perhaps the architect Samuel Beasley,
to make the house the most famous one in London.
It could have been just for fun, as other hoaxers
have pulled similar stunts before. Either way, no criminal charges
(03:25):
were brought against Hook, and the story of the hoax
lived on in popular culture. I'm Eaves Chefcote and hopefully
you know a little more about history today than you
did yesterday. Thank you for listening to today's episode. We'll
see you again tomorrow with another one.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Hello, and welcome to This Day in History Class, a
show that pays tribute to people of the past by
telling their stories. Today I'm Gabe Lucier, and in this episode,
we're reflecting on one of the great shames of American
military history, the time when a group of soldiers made
no distinction between friend and foe. The day was November
(04:13):
twenty seventh, eighteen sixty eight. At dawn, Lieutenant Colonel George
Armstrong Custer led a surprise attack on a peaceful Cheyenne
village along the banks of the Washataw River in what
is now Oklahoma. Heralded as the first notable victory of
the American Indian Wars, the so called Battle of the
(04:37):
Washata would be more accurately described as a massacre. If
Custer and his troops had bothered to do any reconnaissance,
they would have found that the village was on reservation
soil and that the inhabitants were not hostile. There was
even a white flag flying above the dwellings, a sign
that the tribe was not inclined or prepared to fight.
(05:01):
The roots of the massacre can be traced back to
just after the Civil War, when white settlers headed west
and began forcing Native American tribes onto reservations. Many of
the Great Plains tribes fought back against the encroaching settlers
by attacking wagon trains as well as isolated farms and homesteads.
(05:23):
In October eighteen sixty seven, the U. S. Army tried
to put an end to the raids by negotiating peace
with several Native American chiefs from the Cheyenne and Arapaho nations.
As part of the proposed Medicine Lodge Treaty, the various
tribes would be provided with food and equipment and would
be relocated to reservations and what was called the Indian
(05:47):
Territory now the state of Oklahoma. One of the Cheyenne
chiefs present at the meeting was Black Kettle, a peace
inclined elder who had led a group of about two
hundred and fifty people. Black Kettle's village had been attacked
by the U. S. Army before, and he believed the
Cheyenne did not have the numbers or the fire power
(06:08):
to stand up to them for long. He signed the
treaty and agreed to move his people to a reservation
on the Washita River in what is now western Oklahoma.
Several other Cheyenne chiefs refused to sign and continued raiding
White settlements well into the next year. This put Black
Kettle in a tough spot, trying to live in peace
(06:31):
while American forces and other Cheyenne tribes waged war all
around him. Finally, on November twentieth, eighteen sixty eight, Black
Kettle paid a visit to the American commander at nearby
Fort Cobb. He was concerned his village might be caught
in the cross fire and requested that the U. S.
(06:51):
Army stationed troops to protect them, but the chief left
empty handed that day after being told that only General
Phillips Sheridan could grant that kind of protection, and he
wasn't there. When Black Kettle arrived back at his village
four days later, he did what he could to make
it clear that he and his people weren't part of
(07:12):
the fighting. He flew a white flag from the top
of his dwelling and made plans to try to meet
with General Sheridan in the coming days. However, unbeknownst to
Black Kettle, General Sheridan had already sent troops into that
part of the Indian territory, not to protect the people
on the reservations, but to attack the hostile native forces
(07:35):
who also lived in the region. Sheridan ordered his troops
quote to destroy villages and ponies, to kill or hang
all warriors, and to bring back all women and children's survivors.
He made sure his soldiers understood that cruelty was the point,
(07:55):
adding that he wanted quote all segments of Indian society
to expel experience the horrors of war as fully as
the warriors. The first group of soldiers to reach the
Indian territory was the US seventh Cavalry led by George Custer.
On November twenty sixth, his scouts came across Black Kettle's village.
(08:18):
They reported the findings to Custer, and he immediately ordered
an attack the next morning. It's unclear whether he and
his troops knew the village wasn't hostile and chose to
attack anyway, or if they just didn't care enough to
check in the first place. What we do know is
the Custer chose to attack unprovoked while most of the
(08:39):
village was sleeping. He offered no warning to the inhabitants
and made no offer of peace prior to opening fire. Instead,
at dawn on the twenty seventh, Custer divided his seven
hundred troops into two units and began the attack. The
first group of soldiers was sent to the far side
(08:59):
of the village in order to lure all the armed
warriors to one position. Custer then led the remaining soldiers
to the opposite end of the village, which was unguarded.
After just fifteen minutes, the fighting, such as it was,
was over. According to Custer, he and his men killed
over one hundred Cheyenne warriors, though other accounts report losses
(09:24):
ranging from thirty to one hundred and fifty, with many
casualties being women, children, and elders, including Black Kettle and
his wife. An additional fifty or so women and children
were taken prisoner, and roughly eight hundred horses and mules
were killed. Custer also burned all the dwellings and the
(09:46):
village food supply to ensure the village no longer posed
a threat, though of course it never had in the
first place. Custer's attack along with the rest of Sheridan's campaign,
shook the confidence of the w warring Cheyenne tribes. Their
armed resistance soon came to an end, and they gradually
moved to the reservations. As for Custer, his hollow victory
(10:11):
won him acclaim among the undiscerning, ensuring that he wouldn't
learn anything from what had happened. Eight years later, in
eighteen seventy six, Custer's recklessness caught up with him at
the famous Battle of the Little Big Horn. Once again,
he charged into a Native American camp without checking to
see who exactly he was fighting. This time, he found
(10:34):
himself vastly outnumbered and was killed on the battlefield. At
the time, the quote unquote Battle of the Washita was
viewed by many as a great American victory, but the
civil servants of the Indian Bureau saw through the patriotic spin.
Even then, they called it a quote massacre of the
(10:56):
innocent and cold blooded butchery. Even today, the Cheyenne people
continue to campaign for the battle to be called what
it really was, the massacre of Washitaw River. I'm Gabeluesier,
and hopefully you now know a little more about history
today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep
(11:19):
up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have
any comments or suggestions, you can send them my way
at this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler
Mays for producing the show, and thank you for listening.
I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day
(11:42):
in History class.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Hey there, history fans. We're off through the end of November,
but we've got plenty of classic shows to tide you over.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hey, y'all, I'm Eves and welcome to this day in
History class, where we uncover a new layer of history
every day. The day was November twenty seventh, eighteen ten.
(00:29):
English writer Theodore Hook sent hundreds of service providers and
products to number fifty four Berner Street in London as
a prank. Fifty four Berner Street was located in a
wealthy part of London. It was the home of a
woman referred to as Miss Tottenham, who herself was wealthy
and lived near a bunch of influential people. At about
(00:49):
five in the morning, a chimney sweep arrived at number
fifty four, saying that he had been called to the address.
The maid who answered the door told the chimney sweep
that no chimney sweep was needed there and turned him away.
But soon after another jimney sweep showed up at the
house saying that he had also been called there. She
(01:10):
sent him away too, But people kept showing up at
Miss Tottenham's doorsteps, claiming their services had been ordered, and
they came with all kinds of goods. There were cake
makers carrying wedding cakes, doctors, apothecaries, surgeons, lawyers and vicars,
and priests who had been told that someone inside the
house was dying. Six men delivered an organ, butchers came
(01:34):
with legs of mutton. Fishmongers, boot makers and hat makers
showed up. Pianos and coal wagons were delivered to the house.
The Lord Mayor of London even showed up at number
fifty four with a couple of his servants, saying that
Missus Tottenham had written saying she was sick and would
appreciate his visit. Other big names showed up to enjoy
(01:55):
the spectacle, like the Governor of the Bank of England,
the chairman of the East India Company, and the Duke
of Gloucester and more. Random tradespeople were making an appearance
at the house. There were artists, auctioneers, grocers, barbers with whigs,
and an undertaker with a coffin. A crowd gathered in
the area to watch all the commotion. The police blocked
(02:18):
off the street, but it took a while for the
crowd to thin out. Many newspapers reported on the incident.
The morning posts even included some of the letters sent
in the name of Miss Tottenham. One read Miss Tottenham
requests mister Blank will call upon her at two tomorrow
as she wishes to consult him about the sale of
an estate fifty four Berner Street, Monday. At that point,
(02:41):
the perpetrator of the hoax was a mystery, and the
police offered a reward for finding them. But within a
couple of years, Theodora Hooke, known for his jokes, had
emerged as a suspect. Later accounts of the debacles said
that Hook and a couple of his friends had spent
weeks writing anywhere between one thousand and four thousand letters
to people asking them to show up at number fifty
(03:04):
four on that day. It's not completely clear why Hook
singled out Miss Tottenham. Some said it was a bet
between him and a friend, perhaps the architect Samuel Beasley,
to make the house the most famous one in London.
It could have been just for fun, as other hoaxers
have pulled similar stunts before. Either way, no criminal charges
(03:25):
were brought against Hook, and the story of the hoax
lived on in popular culture. I'm Eaves Chefcote and hopefully
you know a little more about history today than you
did yesterday. Thank you for listening to today's episode. We'll
see you again tomorrow with another one.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Hello, and welcome to This Day in History Class, a
show that pays tribute to people of the past by
telling their stories. Today I'm Gabe Lucier, and in this episode,
we're reflecting on one of the great shames of American
military history, the time when a group of soldiers made
no distinction between friend and foe. The day was November
(04:13):
twenty seventh, eighteen sixty eight. At dawn, Lieutenant Colonel George
Armstrong Custer led a surprise attack on a peaceful Cheyenne
village along the banks of the Washataw River in what
is now Oklahoma. Heralded as the first notable victory of
the American Indian Wars, the so called Battle of the
(04:37):
Washata would be more accurately described as a massacre. If
Custer and his troops had bothered to do any reconnaissance,
they would have found that the village was on reservation
soil and that the inhabitants were not hostile. There was
even a white flag flying above the dwellings, a sign
that the tribe was not inclined or prepared to fight.
(05:01):
The roots of the massacre can be traced back to
just after the Civil War, when white settlers headed west
and began forcing Native American tribes onto reservations. Many of
the Great Plains tribes fought back against the encroaching settlers
by attacking wagon trains as well as isolated farms and homesteads.
(05:23):
In October eighteen sixty seven, the U. S. Army tried
to put an end to the raids by negotiating peace
with several Native American chiefs from the Cheyenne and Arapaho nations.
As part of the proposed Medicine Lodge Treaty, the various
tribes would be provided with food and equipment and would
be relocated to reservations and what was called the Indian
(05:47):
Territory now the state of Oklahoma. One of the Cheyenne
chiefs present at the meeting was Black Kettle, a peace
inclined elder who had led a group of about two
hundred and fifty people. Black Kettle's village had been attacked
by the U. S. Army before, and he believed the
Cheyenne did not have the numbers or the fire power
(06:08):
to stand up to them for long. He signed the
treaty and agreed to move his people to a reservation
on the Washita River in what is now western Oklahoma.
Several other Cheyenne chiefs refused to sign and continued raiding
White settlements well into the next year. This put Black
Kettle in a tough spot, trying to live in peace
(06:31):
while American forces and other Cheyenne tribes waged war all
around him. Finally, on November twentieth, eighteen sixty eight, Black
Kettle paid a visit to the American commander at nearby
Fort Cobb. He was concerned his village might be caught
in the cross fire and requested that the U. S.
(06:51):
Army stationed troops to protect them, but the chief left
empty handed that day after being told that only General
Phillips Sheridan could grant that kind of protection, and he
wasn't there. When Black Kettle arrived back at his village
four days later, he did what he could to make
it clear that he and his people weren't part of
(07:12):
the fighting. He flew a white flag from the top
of his dwelling and made plans to try to meet
with General Sheridan in the coming days. However, unbeknownst to
Black Kettle, General Sheridan had already sent troops into that
part of the Indian territory, not to protect the people
on the reservations, but to attack the hostile native forces
(07:35):
who also lived in the region. Sheridan ordered his troops
quote to destroy villages and ponies, to kill or hang
all warriors, and to bring back all women and children's survivors.
He made sure his soldiers understood that cruelty was the point,
(07:55):
adding that he wanted quote all segments of Indian society
to expel experience the horrors of war as fully as
the warriors. The first group of soldiers to reach the
Indian territory was the US seventh Cavalry led by George Custer.
On November twenty sixth, his scouts came across Black Kettle's village.
(08:18):
They reported the findings to Custer, and he immediately ordered
an attack the next morning. It's unclear whether he and
his troops knew the village wasn't hostile and chose to
attack anyway, or if they just didn't care enough to
check in the first place. What we do know is
the Custer chose to attack unprovoked while most of the
(08:39):
village was sleeping. He offered no warning to the inhabitants
and made no offer of peace prior to opening fire. Instead,
at dawn on the twenty seventh, Custer divided his seven
hundred troops into two units and began the attack. The
first group of soldiers was sent to the far side
(08:59):
of the village in order to lure all the armed
warriors to one position. Custer then led the remaining soldiers
to the opposite end of the village, which was unguarded.
After just fifteen minutes, the fighting, such as it was,
was over. According to Custer, he and his men killed
over one hundred Cheyenne warriors, though other accounts report losses
(09:24):
ranging from thirty to one hundred and fifty, with many
casualties being women, children, and elders, including Black Kettle and
his wife. An additional fifty or so women and children
were taken prisoner, and roughly eight hundred horses and mules
were killed. Custer also burned all the dwellings and the
(09:46):
village food supply to ensure the village no longer posed
a threat, though of course it never had in the
first place. Custer's attack along with the rest of Sheridan's campaign,
shook the confidence of the w warring Cheyenne tribes. Their
armed resistance soon came to an end, and they gradually
moved to the reservations. As for Custer, his hollow victory
(10:11):
won him acclaim among the undiscerning, ensuring that he wouldn't
learn anything from what had happened. Eight years later, in
eighteen seventy six, Custer's recklessness caught up with him at
the famous Battle of the Little Big Horn. Once again,
he charged into a Native American camp without checking to
see who exactly he was fighting. This time, he found
(10:34):
himself vastly outnumbered and was killed on the battlefield. At
the time, the quote unquote Battle of the Washita was
viewed by many as a great American victory, but the
civil servants of the Indian Bureau saw through the patriotic spin.
Even then, they called it a quote massacre of the
(10:56):
innocent and cold blooded butchery. Even today, the Cheyenne people
continue to campaign for the battle to be called what
it really was, the massacre of Washitaw River. I'm Gabeluesier,
and hopefully you now know a little more about history
today than you did yesterday. If you'd like to keep
(11:19):
up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook,
and Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have
any comments or suggestions, you can send them my way
at this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks to Chandler
Mays for producing the show, and thank you for listening.
I'll see you back here again tomorrow for another day
(11:42):
in History class.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
This Day in History Class News
Host
Gabe Luzier
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