1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,840
Speaker 1: Hello everyone, it's Eves checking in here to let you

2
00:00:02,880 --> 00:00:04,920
Speaker 1: know that you're going to be hearing two different events

3
00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,280
Speaker 1: in history in this episode, one from me and one

4
00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:09,720
Speaker 1: from Tracy V. Wilson. They're both good, if I do

5
00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:13,480
Speaker 1: say so myself. On with the show. Welcome to this

6
00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:16,200
Speaker 1: Day in History Class from how Stuff Works dot Com

7
00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:18,800
Speaker 1: and from the desk of Stuff You Missed in History Class.

8
00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:21,120
Speaker 1: It's the show where we explore the past, one day

9
00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:23,160
Speaker 1: at a time with a quick look at what happened

10
00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:30,440
Speaker 1: today in history. Hi, I'm Holly Fry. This week I

11
00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:34,120
Speaker 1: am sitting in for Tracy V. Wilson. Today is December

12
00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:38,279
Speaker 1: and it is the day that Silent Night was performed

13
00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:42,040
Speaker 1: for the first time in eighteen eighteen still in Knocked.

14
00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,239
Speaker 1: Known in English speaking places as Silent Night, has of

15
00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:49,199
Speaker 1: course become a standard at Christmas celebrations. This song was

16
00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,920
Speaker 1: originally written not as a song but as a poem

17
00:00:51,960 --> 00:00:56,760
Speaker 1: by an assistant priest named Joseph Moore in eighteen sixteen. Moore,

18
00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:00,000
Speaker 1: who was born in Salzburg, was ordained in eighteen fifteen

19
00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:02,920
Speaker 1: and he moved to mary A far in Lungau in

20
00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:07,280
Speaker 1: the Austrian Alps the following year. The words of Stelenacht

21
00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:09,640
Speaker 1: were written by More at a time when the occupation

22
00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,200
Speaker 1: of the area by Bavarian troops was ending, which may

23
00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:16,880
Speaker 1: have contributed to the song's themes of salvation and peace.

24
00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:22,520
Speaker 1: In eighteen More moved to Obendorf by Salzburg, one thirty

25
00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:25,120
Speaker 1: kilometers northwest of where he had been staying on the

26
00:01:25,120 --> 00:01:28,160
Speaker 1: Austrian border, and he served at the Church of St.

27
00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:31,440
Speaker 1: Nicholas there. And the church of St. Nicholas had an

28
00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:35,480
Speaker 1: organist named Franz Gruber, who worked primarily as a teacher,

29
00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:37,920
Speaker 1: but he had other side jobs in addition to playing

30
00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,840
Speaker 1: music at St. Nicholas, including as a church caretaker and

31
00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:46,119
Speaker 1: also as an organist for another church. More still had

32
00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:48,480
Speaker 1: this poem that he had written while he was living

33
00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,360
Speaker 1: in the Austrian Alps, and he had an idea that

34
00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:53,800
Speaker 1: it could be set to music, and he also wanted

35
00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,240
Speaker 1: something that the choir could sing with a couple of

36
00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:01,280
Speaker 1: solo parts, preferably accompanied by guitar, and so to accomplish

37
00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:05,560
Speaker 1: this task, More asked Gruber to write music for the poem.

38
00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:08,960
Speaker 1: He had made this request on Christmas Eve of eighteen eighteen,

39
00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,840
Speaker 1: and Gruber was very very fast. He had this whole

40
00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:16,560
Speaker 1: thing turned around the very same day, and so later

41
00:02:17,240 --> 00:02:20,960
Speaker 1: again that same day, when Gruber showed more the simple composition,

42
00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:22,960
Speaker 1: as he called it, of music that he had come

43
00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,440
Speaker 1: up with to go with the words of Stelen, Nacht

44
00:02:26,160 --> 00:02:28,720
Speaker 1: More was really pleased with it. He thought it was lovely,

45
00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:31,360
Speaker 1: so much so that he decided that it should just

46
00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:33,880
Speaker 1: be part of the mass that evening. And beyond the

47
00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:36,320
Speaker 1: fact that the performance at the Church of St. Nicholas

48
00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,240
Speaker 1: in eighteen was well received, we really don't know much

49
00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:42,000
Speaker 1: about it, but that was the first time it was

50
00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,560
Speaker 1: performed at a Christmas Eve Mass, and it continued to

51
00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,959
Speaker 1: be performed after that debut, first in the surrounding area

52
00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,880
Speaker 1: in Austria and then slowly spreading through a progressively wider

53
00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:56,720
Speaker 1: geographical footprint. In just a little more than a decade

54
00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,480
Speaker 1: after the poem was first set to song, Stelen was

55
00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:04,440
Speaker 1: being performed outside of Austria. From there it traveled with

56
00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,720
Speaker 1: performers not only across Europe, but beyond Europe. It was

57
00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,520
Speaker 1: sung by a family singing group called the Rayner Family

58
00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:15,560
Speaker 1: Singers in North America on Christmas Day in eighteen thirty nine.

59
00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:20,560
Speaker 1: But as the song gained popularity, its origin was obscured

60
00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:23,960
Speaker 1: after a number of years. Eventually, at the end of

61
00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,919
Speaker 1: eighteen fifty four, Franz Gruber, who had heard that attribution

62
00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,040
Speaker 1: had been lost as this song took flight and spread

63
00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:33,919
Speaker 1: around the world, actually wrote down the story of its

64
00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,920
Speaker 1: inception in a document which he titled Authentic Account of

65
00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,680
Speaker 1: the Origin of the Christmas carol Silent Night, Holy Night.

66
00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:45,320
Speaker 1: At this point, stele Knot has been translated into more

67
00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:50,000
Speaker 1: than three hundred languages and dialects. It is on UNESCO's

68
00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:54,800
Speaker 1: Intangible Cultural Heritage List. More than one hundred years after

69
00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:58,720
Speaker 1: steele Knot was first performed, Bing Crosby recorded the English

70
00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:03,160
Speaker 1: language version Silent Night in n that is reportedly the

71
00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:07,360
Speaker 1: number three all time best selling single. And it all

72
00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:11,400
Speaker 1: started on Christmas Eve, eighteen eighteen, with a song written

73
00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,760
Speaker 1: and performed by an assistant priest and a church organist

74
00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,920
Speaker 1: in Bavaria. If you want to learn a slightly longer

75
00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:21,360
Speaker 1: version of this story, you can get that on Stuff

76
00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:23,800
Speaker 1: You Missed in History Class, which has a new episode

77
00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,480
Speaker 1: out called Christmas Triple Feature Steel A, Nacht, st Nick

78
00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:31,360
Speaker 1: and Scrooge. Today's episode was researched by Tracy Wilson who

79
00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:35,080
Speaker 1: deserves thanks. It was handled on the audio end by

80
00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:39,400
Speaker 1: Casey Pigram and Chandler Maze. Tomorrow, you should hang back

81
00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:41,080
Speaker 1: out with us because they're going to talk a little

82
00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,640
Speaker 1: bit about some astronomical fun And if you would like

83
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:46,720
Speaker 1: to subscribe to This Day in History Class, you can

84
00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,640
Speaker 1: do that on Apple Podcasts, the I Heart Radio app,

85
00:04:49,760 --> 00:05:00,960
Speaker 1: or wherever you get podcasts. Greetings, I'm and welcome to

86
00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,800
Speaker 1: This Day in History Class, a show that believes no

87
00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:15,320
Speaker 1: day in history is a slow day. The day was

88
00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:21,000
Speaker 1: December eight A drunken Christmas party at the United States

89
00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:24,400
Speaker 1: Military Academy, also known as West Point, turned into a

90
00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:28,760
Speaker 1: conflict known as the Eggnog Riot. West Point opened in

91
00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,800
Speaker 1: eighteen o two. Up until the War of eighteen twelve,

92
00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,719
Speaker 1: the school was pretty lax. Students were admitted throughout the year,

93
00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:40,080
Speaker 1: and admission standards weren't the highest. Drinking was a big

94
00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,840
Speaker 1: part of the culture. Eggnog was often the drink of

95
00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:46,039
Speaker 1: choice at holiday celebrations in the US, especially from the

96
00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:49,559
Speaker 1: eighteenth century on, and that was the case at West Point.

97
00:05:50,480 --> 00:05:53,200
Speaker 1: But after the War of eighteen twelve, Congress was inspired

98
00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:56,880
Speaker 1: to funnel more money into the academy. In eighteen seventeen,

99
00:05:57,120 --> 00:06:01,400
Speaker 1: Colonel Sylvanus There became the superintendent of what Point they

100
00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,479
Speaker 1: are earned the Moniker father of West Point. He was

101
00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,320
Speaker 1: strict about discipline and academics at the school. He banned

102
00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:12,039
Speaker 1: playing cards, tobacco, and novels, and students could not leave campus,

103
00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:16,120
Speaker 1: cooking their dorms or duel. There did not allow cadets

104
00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:19,919
Speaker 1: to drink, purchase, or store alcohol except on the fourth

105
00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:24,799
Speaker 1: of July and on Christmas. That is, until that July

106
00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:28,640
Speaker 1: four cadets carried the school's commandant to their barracks. After

107
00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:32,920
Speaker 1: that they are banned the possession of alcohol, But instead

108
00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,960
Speaker 1: of following there's new rule, some of the cadets snuck

109
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,200
Speaker 1: in gallons of whiskey, brandy, rum, and wine from nearby

110
00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:43,719
Speaker 1: taverns for the holiday party. Benny Haven's tavern, where cadets

111
00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,200
Speaker 1: could barter for alcohol, was too expensive for the amount

112
00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:51,039
Speaker 1: of liquor they needed, so several nights before Christmas, three

113
00:06:51,080 --> 00:06:54,839
Speaker 1: cadets crossed the Hudson River to visit Martin's tavern. After

114
00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:57,200
Speaker 1: drinking at the tavern, they took liquor back to the

115
00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:00,360
Speaker 1: academy with them, paying off a guard on the back.

116
00:07:01,480 --> 00:07:03,520
Speaker 1: One of the cadets who took part in the revelry

117
00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:08,760
Speaker 1: was Jefferson Davis, future President of the Confederacy. Sayer knew

118
00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:11,400
Speaker 1: that the cadets might try to smuggle in alcohol since

119
00:07:11,440 --> 00:07:14,800
Speaker 1: they had done so before, so he sent two officers,

120
00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:19,200
Speaker 1: Captain Ethan Allen Hitchcock and Lieutenant William A. Thornton to

121
00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:23,240
Speaker 1: keep watch on the North Barracks. The officers went to

122
00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:27,040
Speaker 1: bed around midnight. At that point, things were pretty quiet,

123
00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,560
Speaker 1: but several hours later, Hitchcock woke up to the sound

124
00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:34,480
Speaker 1: of a party floors above him. When he went upstairs,

125
00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,600
Speaker 1: he found several drunk cadets and told them to go

126
00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,520
Speaker 1: to their rooms. He left to go back to his

127
00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:44,200
Speaker 1: own room, but he realized there was another party happening

128
00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:47,520
Speaker 1: in a nearby bedroom. When he attempted to break that

129
00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:49,560
Speaker 1: one up, too, he got into a spat with a

130
00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:53,239
Speaker 1: cadet who was trying to hide his identity. Hitchcock left,

131
00:07:53,320 --> 00:07:56,520
Speaker 1: but the cadets were still upset at the exchange, so

132
00:07:56,720 --> 00:07:59,440
Speaker 1: they turned to violence and called for the cadets to

133
00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:03,440
Speaker 1: arm them elves and murder Hitchcock, and the riot began.

134
00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,320
Speaker 1: About a third of the cadets, or ninety of them,

135
00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,920
Speaker 1: were involved in the riot. Another party popped up on

136
00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:12,600
Speaker 1: a lower floor, and as Hitchcock went to break it up,

137
00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,320
Speaker 1: he ran into Jefferson Davis. Davis ended up going back

138
00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,360
Speaker 1: to his room, but Lieutenant Thornton was also up and

139
00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,000
Speaker 1: trying to put an end to the commotion. A cadet

140
00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:24,480
Speaker 1: threatened him with a sword, and another hit him with

141
00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,880
Speaker 1: a piece of wood. A cadet tried to shoot Hitchcock

142
00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,120
Speaker 1: with his pistol, but missed when another cadet threw off

143
00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:34,960
Speaker 1: the aim. When Hitchcock called for the common Dot of cadets,

144
00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:38,319
Speaker 1: the cadets mistakenly thought he was summoning the artillery men,

145
00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:43,040
Speaker 1: so they got even more rowdy. They broke windows, dishes,

146
00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:47,840
Speaker 1: and furniture, and generally tore up the barracks. Eventually, the

147
00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:50,880
Speaker 1: common Dot showed up and the conflict came to an end.

148
00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:55,199
Speaker 1: After the riot, twenty two cadets were placed on immediate restriction.

149
00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,880
Speaker 1: Nineteen cadets and one soldier were court martialed. In the end,

150
00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,720
Speaker 1: many of the cadets were allowed to stay at West Point,

151
00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:08,120
Speaker 1: though some left anyway and some were dismissed. I'm eve deafcote,

152
00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,840
Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today

153
00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,960
Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. If you'd like to learn more

154
00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:15,839
Speaker 1: about the riot, you can listen to the episode of

155
00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:19,640
Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History class called Eggnog Riot. If

156
00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:22,280
Speaker 1: you'd like to follow us on social media, you can

157
00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:27,600
Speaker 1: do so at T D I h C Podcast on Instagram, Twitter,

158
00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,920
Speaker 1: and Facebook. If you prefer something a little bit more formal,

159
00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:34,880
Speaker 1: then you can write us at this Day at I

160
00:09:35,080 --> 00:09:39,200
Speaker 1: heart media dot com. Thanks for listening, and I hope

161
00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:49,959
Speaker 1: you'll be back tomorrow. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,

162
00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:52,679
Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

163
00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:53,880
Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows,