The Most Significant Events That Occurred on the Ides of March

Andrew Jackson, the seventh U.S. president, was born in the Waxhaws region between North and South Carolina to Irish immigrants. The exact location of his birth is debated, with both states claiming Jackson as their native son. Jackson, however, said he was from South Carolina.

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse took place in North Carolina during the American Revolutionary War. British General Charles Cornwallis’ 1,900 soldiers defeated an American force of 4,500. This battle, however, proved key to the American victory in the war because the British suffered significant troop losses and changed tactics, leading to their surrendering to General George Washington in Virginia.

Main entered the Union as the 23rd state as part of the Missouri Compromise. A province of Massachusetts since 1647, Maine was allowed to enter as a free state. In exchange, southern senators were allowed to have Missouri enter as a slave state.

Pope Pius IX appointed John McCloskey as the first American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Born in Brooklyn, New York, McCloskey was the first president of St. John’s College, which later became Fordham University. Before being named the first American cardinal, he was appointed archbishop of New York in 1864.