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Little known history


Forty  Rod SASS 3935

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Near the end of the Civil War a man by the name of Ira Tate realized then when the war ended there would be a sudden and great mass movement to the western regions of America.  The South was in shambles and the factories in the North were no longer on a war time footage, but land to the West was plentiful and cheap.

 

Tate also realized that there would be a need for maps with the top pointing west and compasses designed to point west, just for the convenience of those who may never have seen a map nor, for that matter, a compass.

 

Tate proceeded to find some backers and had several hundred maps and compasses made to his specifications.  He had his name on each item but neglected, however, to put instructions with them.  The compasses and maps often became separated and often those with one, but not the other, found them selves in Mexico and those who thought they had a Tates compass, but did, in fact, have a conventional compass wound up in Canada. It was a horrible mess and get worse over time.

 

The situation was known as Tate's Folly and gave birth to the expression "He who has a Tate's is lost".

 

There will be a quiz on Friday. 

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You got me too! Thanks for the chuckle.

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32 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

Though it WOULD explain some of the forced marches I was on in The Corps.

 

7 minutes ago, Texas Lizard said:

I thought that was offices with no sense of direction....

 

Texas Lizard

Officers were leading the march. With a map and compass.  The saying you're thinking of is "One of the most dangerous things in The Marine Corps is a Second Lieutenant with a map and compass".

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18 minutes ago, Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770 said:

 

Officers were leading the march. With a map and compass.  The saying you're thinking of is "One of the most dangerous things in The Marine Corps is a Second Lieutenant with a map and compass".

Did not have that problem in the Air Force...We flew and some was always on the radio telling then where to go....

 

Texas Lizard

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5 hours ago, Forty Rod SASS 3935 said:

Near the end of the Civil War a man by the name of Ira Tate realized then when the war ended there would be a sudden and great mass movement to the western regions of America.  The South was in shambles and the factories in the North were no longer on a war time footage, but land to the West was plentiful and cheap.

 

Tate also realized that there would be a need for maps with the top pointing west and compasses designed to point west, just for the convenience of those who may never have seen a map nor, for that matter, a compass.

 

Tate proceeded to find some backers and had several hundred maps and compasses made to his specifications.  He had his name on each item but neglected, however, to put instructions with them.  The compasses and maps often became separated and often those with one, but not the other, found them selves in Mexico and those who thought they had a Tates compass, but did, in fact, have a conventional compass wound up in Canada. It was a horrible mess and get worse over time.

 

The situation was known as Tate's Folly and gave birth to the expression "He who has a Tate's is lost".

 

There will be a quiz on Friday. 

Will you grade on the curve?

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6 hours ago, Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 said:

Will you grade on the curve?

Yeah, the one on South Montezuma right where it turns into White Spar.  We'll meet a Bill's Grill for lunch afterward..... or maybe The Lone Spur... or The Palace.

 

(I gotta get out in public more.)

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