For years, legends blamed Mrs. O’Leary’s cow, Daisy, for starting Chicago’s Great Fire of 1871.
The story was that Daisy kicked over a lantern in her stall, setting the straw on fire and starting the tremendous blaze. No proof exists of Daisy’s involvement, but the fire did break out near the O’Learys’ barn on Sunday night, October 8, 1871. The O’Leary’s lived in the southwestern quarter of Chicago, divided by the North and South branches of the Chicago River.
Cow or no cow, the city was all too vulnerable to fire. Beginning in the 1830s, Chicago had grown quickly into a rough and bustling metropolis. The buildings in the city were built hastily and carelessly. While the more prosperous residents had built a few brick homes, most of the structures were wooden cottages, sheds, barns, and crowded slums. The city was filled with wooden sidewalks, and many of the streets also were paved with wood. To make things worse, the summer of 1871 had been very, very dry.
This story is from the January 2017 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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This story is from the January 2017 edition of Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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Putting the Pieces Together
Americans needed to begin to put the past behind them, come together, and plan for the future in the spring of 1865. But Abraham Lincoln, the man best equipped to lead them and who had hoped to restore the country as smoothly and peacefully as possible, had been assassinated.
LAST SHOTS
The last Confederate forces in the Civil War didn’t surrender in the spring of 1865 or on a battlefield.
AND IN OTHER 1865 NEWS
A group of African Americans stop at the White House’s annual public reception on January 1, where they shake hands with President Abraham Lincoln.
A Plot to Kill President the
For several months, actor John Wilkes Booth’s band of conspirators had plotted to capture President Abraham Lincoln and hold him hostage in exchange for Confederate prisoners.
Let the Thing Be Pressed
In June 1864, Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant began a nearly 10-month campaign in Virginia.
HEALING THE NATION
President Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office for the second time on March 4, 1865.
A Helping Hand
The spring season is hard in any agricultural society. Plants and animals are too small to eat.
WAR SHERMAN-STYLE
As far as Union Major General William T. Sherman was concerned, the Civil War had gone on long enough.
PEACE TALKS
The fall of Fort Fisher made clear that the Confederacy’s days were numbered. Southerners were tired and hungry.
FORT FISHER'S FALL
Outnumbered Confederate soldiers inside Fort Fisher were unable to withstand the approach of Union troops by land and the constant Union naval bombardment from the sea.
