A view of the St Anne Shell Chapel on the campus of St Mary of the Woods College in Indiana. The current chapel was built in 1875, and the walls decorated with hundreds of mussel shells in various designs. The shells were harvested from the local Wabash River which flows through western Indiana. Much of the artwork on the shell chapel was done by Sister Mary Joseph Le Fer de la Motte. And the inspiration for the original chapel was from Mother Theodore and Sister Mary Cecilia Bailly, after a successful return voyage from Europe, where they were seeking donations. It was from St. Anne that they asked for protection on their voyage home.
Christmas wreaths decorate the graves of military veterans at Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky. Wreaths Across America is an event that occurs each December, and honors veterans that have served in all branches of the US Armed Forces.
The cemetery is named after Zachary Taylor, a military veteran, and the 12th president of the United States. As the former cemetery of the Taylor family, Zachary’s tomb is located at the site along with those of more than 14,000 veterans.
Originally born in Italy, and a solider for the French in New Orleans, Francis Vigo (born Giuseppe Maria Francesco Vigo) became a fur trader first in St. Louis and then in Vincennes, Indiana. It was in Indiana, that Vigo became an informant for George Rogers Clark, an American General during the Revolutionary War. It was through his efforts that George Rogers Clark knew the British had occupied Vincennes, and prompted him to take the city back from the British in 1779. Vigo was also a significant funder of the war effort at the time, and is credited with helping found Vincennes University, which at that time was known as Jefferson Academy.
