Clinton: Four Dead in Mississippi

Clinton, Mississippi police were called to Foxhill Drive around 2:30 a.m. Saturday morning, February 16, 2019, following reports of a domestic disturbance at the residence. The situation soon escalated as officers received gunfire from the suspect when they arrived.

Law enforcement officers, over 50 in number, surrounded the house, as a hostage situation developed. At 11 a.m., children were released. At 12:30 p.m., gunfire was heard inside the home. About 90 minutes later, police discovered four people were dead. And they soon arrested the gunman. 

No identifying information has been released yet. (Watch for updates.)

This incident happened a day after the mass shooting in Aurora, Illinois, which left five employees of Henry Pratt Co. dead and six police officers injured. (See Aurora Effect Again.)

Clinton Name Game

The name Clinton is an English name, with a meaning that is: "Settlement on a hill," or "from the headland estate."

In the United States, historically, most place names given the name "Clinton" are due to DeWitt Clinton. His role in the construction of the Erie Canal created accessible Eastern seaboard markets for Midwestern agriculture and he was widely admired by settlers, especially those hailing from New York. Some of these places may have been named for both DeWitt Clinton and his uncle George Clinton, the fourth vice president in the USA, an important figure in the founding of the United States.

Several counties, cities, and towns are named after DeWitt Clinton:

Clinton County, Illinois
Clinton County, Indiana
Clinton County, Iowa
Clinton County, Kentucky
Clinton County, Michigan
Clinton County, Missouri
Clinton County, Pennsylvania
DeWitt County, Illinois
Clinton Charter Township, Michigan
Clinton Township, Lenawee County, Michigan
City of Clinton, Arkansas
City of Clinton, Indiana
City of Clinton, Illinois
City of Clinton, Iowa
City of Clinton, Missouri
City of Clinton, Mississippi
Community of Clinton, Pennsylvania
City of DeWitt, Arkansas
City of DeWitt, Iowa
Town of Clinton, Louisiana
Town of Clinton, Massachusetts
City of DeWitt, Michigan
Town of Clinton, New Jersey
Town of Clinton, Rock County, Wisconsin
Village of Clinton, Lenawee County, Michigan
Village of DeWitt, Illinois
Village of Clinton, Wisconsin
Village of Clintonville, KY
Town of Clinton, Connecticut
Town of Port Clinton, Ohio

Freemason and Society of the Cincinnati Member

DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769 – February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist who served as a United States Senator, Mayor of New York City and sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. Clinton was a major candidate for the American presidency in the election of 1812, challenging incumbent James Madison.

Clinton was a York Rite Freemason. He founded the New York Free School Society, forerunner of the public school system of education established in 1842 and also offered a $1000 reward for information on William Morgan during the (anti-Masonic) Morgan Affair (d. 1826).

He was initiated in the "Holland" Lodge No. 16 (now No 8), NY on September 3, 1790, and in 1806 he was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York Clinton was essential in establishing the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar in the United States, serving as its first, second, and third Grand Master from 1816-1828.. He retained this title until his death in 1828.

In 1813, Clinton became a hereditary member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati in succession to his brother, Lieutenant Alexander Clinton, who was an original member of the society. Each officer may be represented by only one descendant at any given time, following the rules of primogeniture.

The concept of the Society of the Cincinnati was that of Major General Henry Knox. The first meeting of the Society was held in May 1783 at a dinner at Mount Gulian (Verplanck House) in Fishkill, New York, before the British evacuation from New York City. The meeting was chaired by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton, and the participants agreed to stay in contact with each other after the war. Membership was generally limited to officers who had served at least three years in the Continental Army or Navy; it included officers of the French Army and Navy above certain ranks.

George Washington was elected the first President General of the Society. He served from December 1783 until his death in 1799. The second President General was Alexander Hamilton.

The Society of the Cincinnati continues to the present, and some call it "George Washington's secret society."

A specially commissioned [Society of the Cincinnati] "Eagle" worn by President General George Washington was presented to Marquis de Lafayette in 1824 during his grand tour of the United States. This badge remained in possession of the Lafayette family until sold at auction on December 11, 2007, for 5.3 million USD by Lafayette's great-great granddaughter. Together with what are believed to be the original ribbon and red leather box, the badge was purchased by the Josée and René de Chambrun Foundation for display in Lafayette's bedroom at Chateau La Grange, his former home, thirty miles east of Paris; it may also be displayed at Mount Vernon, Washington's former home in Virginia. This was one of three eagles known to have been owned by Washington, who most often wore the "diamond eagle," a diamond-encrusted badge given him by the French matelots (sailors). That diamond eagle continues to be passed down to each President General of the Society of the Cincinnati as part of his induction into office.

The Cincinnati Eagle is displayed in various places of public importance, including in Fountain Square in Cincinnati (named for the Society), Ohio, alongside the American and municipal flags. The flag of the Society displays blue and white stripes and a dark blue canton (containing a circle of 14 stars around the Cincinnati Eagle, representing the fourteen subsidiary societies, one each in the thirteen original States and France) in the upper corner next to the hoist. 

Mounds, Murders, and Mayhem

The mass shooting in Cincinnati's Fountain Square on September 6, 2018, caused some re-examination of the links between mass violence and mounds. Others have noted a connection between mounts and the Society of the Cincinnati.

Examples of Clinton in the news

The media-driven violence often pinpoints suicides and shootings in Clinton locations, just as they do with Fayette sites.

Almost exactly a year ago, on February 19, 2018, a "Clinton" location was the site of a dramatic suicide. A 26-year-old woman jumped from the 28th floor of a 39-story Hell’s Kitchen building at 6:50 a.m.. The woman, whose name was not released, plummeted from Clinton Towers on W. 54th St. at 11th Ave. and died at the scene.

Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas mass murderer, was born in Clinton, Iowa. On October 1, 2017, the death toll was 58 people being killed, over 500 injured. Police report the gunman, Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, who was holded up on the 32th floor in the Mandalay Hotel, died by suicide.