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November 13, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Charles Lambert

Kalākaua had a great interest in science and he saw it as a way to foster Hawai‘i’s prestige, internationally.

The opportunity to demonstrate this interest and support for astronomy was made available with the astronomical phenomenon called the “Transit of Venus,” which was visible in Hawai‘i in 1874.

“The coming transit of Venus will be observed from about 75 stations, at many of which there will be a large number of instruments. … Wherever knowledge can be gained it is worth being gained … these expeditions will lead to most valuable results.” (George Forbes, Chief Astronomer)

The King allowed the British Royal Society’s expedition to set up three sites in the Islands, Honolulu’s waterfront in a district called Apua (mauka of today’s Waterfront Plaza,) Kailua-Kona at Huliheʻe Palace and Waimea, Kauai.

The mission of the British expedition was to observe a rare transit of Venus across the Sun for the purpose of better determining the value of the Astronomical Unit – the Earth-to-Sun distance – and from it, the absolute scale of the solar system.

The orbits of Mercury and Venus lie inside Earth’s orbit, so they are the only planets which can pass between Earth and Sun to produce a transit (a transit is the passage of a planet across the Sun’s bright disk.)

Professor George Forbes was the Chief Astronomer for the British expedition. He befriended Charles Lambert, eldest son of an English gentleman residing at Coqnimbo in Chile. (Lambert, not one of the astronomers, had been invited by his friend Captain Ralph P Cator, (Commander of the ‘Scout’) to accompany him in his cruise to the Hawaiian Islands.)

“(Lambert) had come out for his health on the ‘Scout,’ from Valparaiso, his father being one of the richest copper-mine owners in Chile. He intended to stay here a short time with the Venus Transit party (Prof. Forbes and Barnacle.) (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 5, 1874)

Then, the fateful day … not December 8, 1874 (the date of the Transit of Venus) – rather, November 13, 1874 when tragedy struck.

“During three days previously a Kona had been blowing into the bay, and having on Thursday seen the natives using the surf-board, Mr Forbes and his friend (Lambert) thought of trying their hands at it.”

“They were furnished by the Hon. Simon Kaʻai, Sheriff and Representative of the District, with surf-boards, he not considering that there was any danger in so doing.”

“Professor Forbes entered the water first. When it was up to his chest, being about thirty yards from the shore, he began to look out for a good wave to try to ride in upon.”

“Not having been successful and happening to look round he found that he was a hundred and fifty yards from the shore, having been carried out by the under current. He did not however at that time apprehend any danger.”

“A small native boy, an adopted son or Simon Kaai, now shouted to him, gesticulating and pointing to Mr Lambert, who was about fifty yards nearer to the shore than himself. He saw that Mr Lambert had let go of his surf-board, and was in difficulty.”

Forbes reached Lambert and tried to bring them both in to shore. “He made however no head way, but was drifted farther out, and it then occurred to him that there was no prospect of either of them being saved, and he resolved to hold up his friend until they should both go down together.” (Hawaiian Gazette, December 2, 1874)

Folks on shore were able to bring a canoe out through the surf. Henry Weeks, a carpenter putting up the astronomical buildings, and a local swam “out to their assistance, but (Weeks) was soon exhausted and was just able to reach the canoe.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 5, 1874)

“The surf was at this time dashing against the rocks at their side so that landing seemed impossible. … Ten minutes after Professor Forbes became absolutely exhausted; his arms lost their power, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that he was able to hold on to Mr Lambert, every wave engulphing them both.”

Lambert drowned.

“The Professor with the dead body of his friend was put into (the canoe,) and reached the shore in safety.”

“Great credit is due to Simon Kaʻai for his attempts to aid Professor Forbes and his friend, he (Simon Kaʻai) stated that he was much flurried, and that was why he did not think of a canoe sooner.”

“Thanks also are due to Mr Bergman, a German resident here, for coming off in the canoe, and likewise to the stepmother of Simon Kaʻai for the same service.”

“Mr Lambert met his end, as all who knew him must have felt that he would, with fortitude and resignation, it is believed that he died without pain; and the calmness of his expression showed that he died in peace.”

“The conduct of Professor Forbes, in whose arms Mr Lambert drew his last breath, and who, with unequalled courage and devotion, risked and would have sacrificed his life to save that of his friend, is beyond all praise.” (Hawaiian Gazette, December 2, 1874)

Lambert “was buried the next day, twelve natives carrying the coffin to the English Episcopal Church in South Kona. The case is all the sadder from the circumstance that Lambert was actually improving here with a good prospect of completely recovering his health.” (Pacific Commercial Advertiser, December 5, 1874)

On December 8, 1874, the transit was observed by the British scientists; however, the observation at Kailua-Kona was interrupted by occasional clouds. The Honolulu and Waimea sites were considered perfect throughout the event, which lasted a little over half a day.

Ironically, on December 8, 1874 the big day, the king was absent, being in Washington to promote Hawaiian interests in a new trade agreement with the United States.

When American astronomer Simon Newcomb combined the 18th century data with those from the 1874/1882 Venus transits, he derived an Earth-sun distance of 149.59 +/- 0.31 million kilometers (about 93-million miles), very close to the results found with modern space technology in the 20th century.

After the Transit of Venus observations, Kalākaua showed continued interest in astronomy, and in a letter to Captain RS Floyd on November 22, 1880, he expressed a desire to see an observatory established in Hawai‘i. He later visited Lick Observatory in San Jose.

Perhaps as a result of the King’s interest, a telescope was purchased from England in 1883 for Punahou School. The five-inch refractor was later installed in a dome constructed above Pauahi Hall on the school’s campus.

November 12, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

About 250 years ago … Thirteen Colonies

As we approach the semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary on the forming of the United States, here is a brief summary of issues and actions that led to the Revolution and the Revolutionary War … this is about the Thirteen Colonies.

After numerous conquests by the Spanish and French, in 1578 Humphrey Gilbert, the author of a treatise on the search for the Northwest Passage, received a patent from Queen Elizabeth to colonize the “heathen and barbarous landes” in the New World which other European nations had not yet claimed. It would be five years before his efforts could begin. When he was lost at sea, his half-brother, Walter Raleigh, took up the mission.

In 1585 Raleigh established the first British colony in North America with a group of colonists (91 men, 17 women and nine children) on Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina. The first act was to restore to their friends the two Indians who had been previously taken to England.

The colony was later abandoned. Sir Walter Raleigh fitted out another colony, which sailed in the spring of 1587; the second effort also proved a failure. Mysteriously, by 1590 the Roanoke colony had vanished entirely. Historians still do not know what became of its inhabitants.

The failure that attended all these efforts of the hopeful and energetic Raleigh was probably due, if not wholly, to the fact that he did not himself accompany and command any of his expeditions. And, the main reason that he did not go with the ships was, that he was a great favorite with Queen Elizabeth, and she was not willing to let him risk himself in such adventures. (Johnson)

British First Success at Jamestown

It would be 20 years before the British would try again. This time – at Jamestown in 1607 – the colony would succeed, and North America would enter a new era. (Alonzo L Hamby)

The early 1600s saw the beginning of a great tide of emigration from Europe to North America. Spanning more than three centuries, this movement grew from a trickle of a few hundred English colonists to a flood of millions of newcomers. Impelled by powerful and diverse motivations, they built a new civilization on the northern part of the continent.

Most European emigrants left their homelands to escape political oppression, to seek the freedom to practice their religion, or for adventure and opportunities denied them at home.

In 1606, King James I divided the Atlantic seaboard in two, giving the southern half to the London Company (later the Virginia Company) and the northern half to the Plymouth Company.

Just a few months after James I issued its charter, the London Company sent 144 men to Virginia on three ships: the Godspeed, the Discovery and the Susan Constant. They reached the Chesapeake Bay in the spring of 1607 and headed about 60 miles up the James River, where they built a settlement they called Jamestown.

Then, the first English emigrants to what would become the New England colonies were a small group of religious separatists, later called the Pilgrims, who arrived in Plymouth in 1620 on the Mayflower to found Plymouth Colony.

Ten years later, a wealthy syndicate known as the Massachusetts Bay Company sent a much larger (and more liberal) group of Puritans to establish another Massachusetts settlement. With the help of local natives, the colonists soon got the hang of farming, fishing and hunting, and Massachusetts prospered. As the Massachusetts settlements expanded, they generated new colonies in New England.

Between 1620 and 1635, economic difficulties swept England. Many people could not find work. Even skilled artisans could earn little more than a bare living. Poor crop yields added to the distress. In addition, the Industrial Revolution had created a burgeoning textile industry, which demanded an ever-increasing supply of wool to keep the looms running. Landlords enclosed farmlands and evicted the peasants in favor of sheep cultivation. Colonial expansion became an outlet for this displaced peasant population.

Later, more came and expansion was occurring across the Eastern Seaboard.

By 1750, some 80 per cent of the North American continent was controlled or influenced by France or Spain. Their presence was a source of tension and paranoia among those in the 13 British colonies, who feared encirclement, invasion and the influence of Catholicism.

In 1700, there were about 250,000 European settlers and enslaved Africans in North America’s English colonies. By 1775, on the eve of revolution, there were an estimated 2.5 million. The colonists did not have much in common, but they were able to band together and fight for their independence.

The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) was sparked after American colonists chafed over issues like taxation without representation, embodied by laws like The Stamp Act and The Townshend Acts. Mounting tensions came to a head during the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, when the “shot heard round the world” was fired.

It was not without warning; the Boston Massacre on March 5, 1770 and the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773 showed the colonists’ increasing dissatisfaction with British rule in the colonies.

The Declaration of Independence, issued on July 4, 1776, enumerated the reasons the Founding Fathers felt compelled to break from the rule of King George III and parliament to start a new nation. In September of that year, the Continental Congress declared the “United Colonies” of America to be the “United States of America.”

France joined the war on the side of the colonists in 1778, helping the Continental Army conquer the British at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The Treaty of Paris ending the American Revolution and granting the 13 original colonies independence was signed on September 3, 1783. (History-com)

Here is a list of the thirteen colonies (now states) with the year they were founded: Virginia (1607); New Hampshire (1623); Massachusetts (1630); Maryland (1633); Connecticut (1636); Rhode Island (1636); Delaware (1638); North Carolina (1663); South Carolina (1663); New York (1664); New Jersey (1664); Pennsylvania (1681) and Georgia (1732).

Vermont, which was not one of the 13 colonies, is named because, after seeing the Green Mountains, French explorer Samuel de Champlain referred to it as “Verd Mont” (green mountains) on a map in his native French.

Click the following links to general summaries about the Thirteen Colonies:

Click to access Formation-and-Naming-of-the-North-American-British-Colonies-SAR-RT.pdf

Click to access Thirteen-Colonies.pdf

November 11, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” – officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France.

However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words:

“To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

The United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:

“Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and”

“Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and”

“Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation …”

“… calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.”

An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.”

Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen in the Nation’s history …

… and later, American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting in its place the word “Veterans.”

With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Later that same year, on October 8th, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first “Veterans Day Proclamation” which stated:

“In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose.”

“Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance.”

“I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible.”

The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971. It was quite apparent that the commemoration of this day was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of our citizens …

… and so on September 20th, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479), which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978.

This action supported the desires of the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and the American people.

Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day:

Today, Veterans Day, is a celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

To all who served, Thank You.

Army-Navy-Air Force-Marines-Coast Guard-Merchant Marines-400

November 10, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Queen’s Quilt

Kalākaua was succeeded by his sister, Liliʻuokalani, who was proclaimed Queen on January 29, 1891. Her experience as Princess Regent during King Kalākaua’s nine-month journey around the world in 1881 and her visit to the United States in 1887 with Queen Kapiʻolani helped prepare her for her new role as Queen of Hawaiʻi.

Queen Liliʻuokalani was determined to strengthen the political power of the Hawaiian monarchy and, at the request of her people, to limit suffrage to subjects of the kingdom.

Her attempt to promulgate a new constitution galvanized opposition forces into the Committee of Safety, which was composed of Hawaiʻi-born citizens of American parents, naturalized citizens and foreign nationals; they later organized the establishment of a provisional government.

On January 17, 1893, Queen Lili`uokalani yielded her authority in a letter delivered to Sanford B Dole, “…Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the loss of life, I do this under protest …”

“… and impelled by said force yield my authority until such time as the Government of the United States shall, upon facts being presented to it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me in the authority which I claim as the Constitutional Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.”

“Weary with waiting, impatient under the wrongs they were suffering, preparations were undoubtedly made amongst some in sympathy with the monarchy to overthrow the oligarchy.” (Queen Liliʻuokalani)

In 1895, an abortive attempt by Hawaiian royalists to restore Queen Liliʻuokalani to power resulted in the Queen’s arrest. She signed a document of abdication that relinquished all her future claims to the throne. Following this, she endured a public trial before a military tribunal in her former throne room.

Convicted of having knowledge of a royalist plot, “at two o’clock on the afternoon of the 27th of February I was again called into court, and sentence passed upon me. It was the extreme penalty for “misprision of treason,” – a fine of $5,000, and imprisonment at hard labor for five years.” (Liliʻuokalani)

The sentence was commuted to imprisonment in an upstairs apartment in ʻIolani Palace.

“I was informed that I could bring Mrs. Clark with me if I wished, so she went for my hand-bag; and followed by her, I entered the carriage of the deputy marshal, and was driven through the crowd that by this time had accumulated at the gates of my residence at Washington Place. …”

“That first night of my imprisonment was the longest night I have ever passed in my life; it seemed as though the dawn of day would never come. I found in my bag a small Book of Common Prayer according to the ritual of the Episcopal Church. It was a great comfort to me, and before retiring to rest Mrs. Clark and I spent a few minutes in the devotions appropriate to the evening. …” (Lili‘uokalani)

“Outside of the rooms occupied by myself and my companion there were guards stationed by day and by night, whose duty it was to pace backward and forward through the hall, before my door, and up and down the front veranda. The sound of their never-ceasing footsteps as they tramped on their beat fell incessantly on my ears.”

“One officer was in charge, and two soldiers were always detailed to watch our rooms. I could not but be reminded every instant that I was a prisoner, and did not fail to realize my position.”

“My companion could not have slept at all that night: her sighs were audible to me without cessation; so I told her the morning following that, as her husband was in prison, it was her duty to return to her children. …”

“[I]n conference it was agreed between us that Mrs. Clark could return home, and that Mrs. Wilson should remain as my attendant; that Mr. Wilson would be the person to inform the government of any request to be made by me, and that any business transactions might be made through him.” (Lili‘uokalani)

Queen Liliʻuokalani’s “prison” room is on the makai-Diamond Head second-floor corner of ʻIolani Palace. If you visit the Palace today, the area where the Queen was held is clearly noted by its white covered-over window.

Contrary to urban legend, the Palace windows were not frosted and painted over to block the Queen’s ability to see out and others to see her inside.

In 1887, the Palace’s second story windows were opaque glass. When the Palace was attacked in 1889 during the initial Wilcox Rebellion, many of the Place windows were broken. When repairs were made (through 1890,) these windows were replaced with frosted glass.

There are apparently no photographs of the Queen’s room during her imprisonment. She describes the apartment as, “a large, airy, uncarpeted room with a single bed in one corner. The other furniture consisted of one sofa, a small square table …”

“… one single common chair, an iron safe, a bureau, a chiffonier (storage for odds and ends,) and a cupboard, intended for eatables … There was, adjoining the principal apartment, a bath-room, and also a corner room and a little boudoir …” (Queen Liliʻuokalani)

During her imprisonment, the Queen was denied any visitors other than one lady in waiting (Mrs. Eveline Wilson.) She began each day with her daily devotions followed by reading, quilting, crochet-work or music composition.

“Though I was still not allowed to have newspapers or general literature to read, writing-paper and lead-pencils were not denied; and I was thereby able to write music, after drawing for myself the lines of the staff.” (Liliʻuokalani)

The Palace has a quilt the Queen made; the center square of Liliʻuokalani’s quilt includes the embroidered words “Imprisoned at Iolani Palace … We began the quilt there …”

“Surrounding the Kalakaua coat of arms and framed by pairs of crossed Hawaiian flags, the center block outlines the sequence of events that changed the course of Hawaiian history …”

“… including the stitched date the Provisional Government was put in place, when Lili’uokalani was forced to step down, and the date of the aborted Wilcox revolution that precipitated the queen’s arrest.” (Star-Bulletin)

Embroidered dates indicate the quilt was completed after Liliʻuokalani’s release on September 6, 1895. “Held captive and sequestered in a small room at the Iolani Palace for a period of eight months, Hawaii’s last monarch and a small group of devoted attendants set about documenting the imprisonment.”

“The preservation of their cultural heritage and the unconditional show of support for one another during times of adversity are qualities attributed to Hawaiian women throughout history. … the Queen’s Quilt symbolized the resolution of a few women who were bound and determined to preserve a record of their Queen’s cultural heritage on behalf of all the Islands native inhabitants.” (Dwyer)

She spent 8 months in this room. After her release from ʻIolani Palace, the Queen remained under house arrest for five months at her private home, Washington Place. For another eight months she was forbidden to leave Oʻahu before all restrictions were lifted. Liliʻuokalani died of a stroke on November 11, 1917 in Honolulu at the age of 79.

The Queen’s Quilt is displayed in the very room where Queen Liliʻuokalani was imprisoned in 1895. It was here she and her companions would begin to create one of the most unusual forms of historic documentation in Hawaiian history. (Native Books)

November 9, 2024 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Merci Boxcar J58220

Britain and France entered WWII following the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. In expectation of a German advance westwards, the British Expeditionary Force, which grew to 390,000 men over the winter of 1939–40, deployed alongside the troops of its allies in France and Belgium.

Between May 9 and June 22, 1940, a German assault on north-west Europe, known as the Battle of France, resulted in the capture and overthrow of not only France but three other countries – Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium. (English Heritage)

The D-Day operation of June 6, 1944, brought together the land, air, and sea forces of the allied armies in what became known as the largest amphibious invasion in military history. The operation, given the codename Overlord, delivered five naval assault divisions to the beaches of Normandy, France. The beaches were given the code names Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.

By June 30, over 850,000 men, 148,000 vehicles, and 570,000 tons of supplies had landed on the Normandy shores. Fighting by the brave soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the allied forces western front, and Russian forces on the eastern front, led to the defeat of German Nazi forces. On May 7, 1945, German General Alfred Jodl signed an unconditional surrender at Reims, France. (Eisenhower Library)

After World War II came to a close, the country of France began the task of rebuilding a nation ravaged by war. Years of German occupation had left the French people in great need of life’s everyday necessities.

In his daily column, the Merry-go-round, noted Washington newspaperman Drew Pearson suggested that America come to the aid of its European friend.

“So my suggestion to the citizens’ food committee is that this time we take steps to see that the people of Europe evaluate this campaign for exactly what it is – a genuine sacrifice from the heart of America.”

“To that end I make the further suggestion that we arrange for the collection of this food direct from the heart of America in such a way that it can be visualized and dramatized and that the real story will be told the millions of people we are trying to help.”

“Why not dramatize the story of America’s sacrifice by running a ‘friendship train’ straight across the United States, straight through the heart of America, collecting food as it goes …”

“… inspiring the housewives and farmers of the nation to spare a bag of flour or a bushel of wheat and bring it down to the friendship train as their contribution toward friendship with the people of Europe?” (Pearson, Oct 10, 1947)

Inspired by Pearson’s idea of a Friendship Train, newspapers all across the country joined in the effort and supplies were collected to send to France. Seven hundred boxcars of food, fuel, medicine, and clothing left on a ship from New York City and arrived in France on December 18, 1947. (American Historical Society)

“Every package had this label: ‘All races and creeds make up the vast melting pot of America, and in a democratic and Christian spirit of good will toward men, we, the American people, have worked together to bring this food to your doorsteps, hoping that it will tide you over until your own fields are again rich and abundant with crops.’”

“Also on every label were these words, ‘This gift is sent to you by a tag which had these lines: ‘first and last name and address of donor’. This message was written in Italian and French and printed beside the American flag.” (Friendship Train 1947) “In the whirlwind seven day drive, Hawaii contributes nickels, dimes and dollars to send two boxcars of sugar to France.” (Star Bulletin, March 10, 1949)

“The American Friendship Train inspired a rail worker and war veteran named Andre Picard to suggest that France reciprocate. His original idea was to present the United States with a decorated train boxcar loaded with gifts representative of his country – wines from Alsace, Bordeau, Burgandy, Champagne and the Loire Valley; white lace headdresses from Paris; clay figures from Provence. A local veterans organization adopted the proposal, and a small committee was established to solicit gifts.”

“As press and radio spread the story, however, the project gained national momentum. The government announced its official approval; the French Academy issued an endorsement; and hundreds of professional, social, and fraternal organizations asked to participate. Clearly a single boxcar would not be enough.” (Hawaiian Railway)

“On Feb 2 [1949] the French freighter Magellan steamed into New York carrying 49 antique, narrow-gauge boxcars in her hold.” (Life, Feb 28, 1949)

The French boxcars were the kind that Americans soldiers were transported to the front on the French rail system during the war. Cramped into narrow gauge boxcars, each stenciled with “40 Hommes/8 Chevaux”, denoting its capacity to hold either 40 men or 8 horses. (La Société des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux (The Society of Forty Men and Eight Horses))

“These were the cars of the Gratitude Train [‘Merci’ (Thank you) Train], France’s reply to the American Friendship Train which in 1947 toured the US and collected $40million worth of food and clothing for the hard-pressed people of France.”

“Each boxcar was packed with 5 tons of gifts, and each was addressed to a separate state. (The contents of the 49^th car will be divided between the District of Columbia and Hawaii.) The gifts were of all varieties and value and they came, as the American gifts had come, from private citizens.” (Life, Feb 28, 1949)

Merci Boxcar J53220 was given to the territory of Hawai‘i and Washington DC. Washington DC unloaded the car and divided the gifts sending half the gifts to Hawaii and the boxcar. The gifts arrived in Hawaii in March 1949 aboard the APL freighter President Cleveland. The boxcar arrived in Hawaii on November 9, 1949 aboard the APL freighter President Monroe. (Hawaiian Railway)

The boxcar was originally given to the American Legion at 612 McCully St. When McCully St. was widened the boxcar was brought to the Hawaiian Railway Society for storage. After a number of years the American Legion donated the car to the HRS.

Plans and actions are underway to restore Merci Boxcar J58220 to its ca. 1949 configuration. During the restoration, every effort will be made to replace missing or broken parts with original parts. (Hawaiian Railway)

The restoration is a Hawaii Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) project.