On October 2nd

The October 2, 1835 incident is documented. Gonzales' documented history is the record the rest of the file stands on. It's verified history: the dossier's load-bearing detail. 'Gonzales / Come and Take It' documents the entry. The record keeps it — history, not lore. The lore keeps its witness. The claim holds its place in the ledger.

On October 2, 1942, the zigzagging Queen Mary ran straight through her escort HMS Curacoa off Ireland, slicing the cruiser in half; 337 men drowned. Under orders not to stop — U-boats were presumed nearby — the liner steamed on while other escorts picked up survivors. It remains one of the war's most quietly buried naval tragedies.

In 1961, North Carolina schoolchildren's 'Save Our Ship' campaign — pennies and nickels totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars — rescued BB-55 from the scrapyard; she was towed to Wilmington on October 2 and dedicated as the state's WWII memorial. The battleship is now both monument and, by reputation, a berth that still holds some of her crew.