Day: December 18, 2023

Preparedness Notes for Monday — December 18, 2023

On this day in 1865, by proclamation of the U.S. Secretary of State, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery, officially entered into force, having been ratified by the requisite states on December 6.  As a footnote, the slaves in Texas only belatedly got the word of their liberation in the middle of the following June — in 1866. Hence, the origin of the annual “Juneteenth” celebrations — recently enshrined as a Federal holiday. — On December 18, 1737, famed Italian violin maker Antonio Stradivari died in Cremona. A rare Stradivarius violin sold for near-record $15.3 million, in 2022. …


Uberti 1866 Yellowboy Short Rifle in .45 Colt, by Thomas Christianson

Looking more like a work of art than a highly functional firearm, the Uberti 1866 Yellowboy Short Rifle in .45 Colt is an elegant combination of both art and function. With a distinctive brass receiver, a 20-inch octagonal barrel, walnut furniture, a tubular magazine capable of holding 12 rounds, and a smoothly operating lever action, the Uberti Yellowboy Short Rifle is a fitting tribute to the very first Winchester rifle, of which it is a replica. With a manufacturer-suggested retail price of $1,329 it is not the cheapest rifle on the market, but it is one of the prettiest. Background …


The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

“The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or be cheated out of …