Author Archive

Happy Mother’s Day from John MacDonald

When they come six days before an election, robocalls are annoying; when they come six months prior, they’re entertaining. Such was the case today when I pressed the “play” button on my home answering machine and heard city council candidate John MacDonald wishing all the mothers in hearing distance a…

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May 5, 1861: Butler takes Relay House

By May 6, 1861, Washington DC was safe from immediate capture by Confederate forces. When Fort Sumter was fired upon, Washington was without any organized and reliable military force while Confederate forces began gathering across the Potomac in Alexandria and Arlington. The Sixth Massachusetts Infantry, the unit from Lowell that…

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