Yates Stirling Jr.
On July 20, 1924, he became Captain of the Yard, Navy Yard, Washington, D.C., with additional duty as Assistant Superintendent of the Naval Gun Factory. He was promoted to rear admiral on October 6, 1926 and in December that year Stirling was designated Chief of Staff to Admiral Charles F. Hughes, Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet, based at San Pedro, California. At the October 27, 1927 Navy Day Ceremonies at San Pedro harbor, despite an all-day downpour, thousands of Southern Californians gathered for the festivities, including ships' tours, band performances of patriotic music and the key-note address given by Stirling, "Merchant Marine, the Navy and the Nation".
Keytesville, Missouri
One of Keytesville's native sons, Sterling Price, was a key figure in Missouri during the Civil War, and violence would be visited on the community as well. As mentioned above, on September 20, 1864, a Confederate force of 250 men—among them George Todd and other members of Quantrill's Raiders —under Major John Thrailkill arrived at the edge of town. This was part of General Price's larger 1864 campaign through the Show Me state, as his forces advanced from eastern Missouri to the Kansas City area along the Missouri river. At the time, Thrailkill's force arrived Keytesville was defended by a small Union detachment of thirty-five men from the Missouri militia, commanded by Lieutenant Anthony Pleyer. Early on the morning of September 20, under a flag of truce, Major Thrailkill demanded the surrender of the Union troops, promising fair treatment. Seeing the situation as hopeless, Pleyer complied. Rather than being taken prisoner, the Union garrison was paroled. Confederate forces then briefly occupied the town, liberating supplies from various merchants, setting the courthouse ablaze and killing two citizens—Chariton County sheriff Robert Carmon and William Young, a Union scout and alleged spy.