On April 5, 1242, Russian Prince of Novgorod Alexander Nevsky [1] defeated the Teutonic Knights on the frozen Lake Peipus between Estonia and Russia. This became known as the Battle on the Ice.
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April 5, 1424 Scottish King James I [2] returned to Scotland after 18 years of detention at the English court. During his captivity in England, James married Joan Beaufort, a cousin of Henry IV. On 28 March 1424, a ransom agreement amounting to £40,000 sterling, after deducting a dowry payment of 10,000 marks, was established in Durham, with James affixing his personal seal to the document. The king and queen, accompanied by nobles from both England and Scotland, arrived at Melrose Abbey on April 5th, where they were greeted by his uncle Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, who surrendered his seal of office as governor.
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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest
Today we present another entry for Round 124 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest [3]. The prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
- A Gunsite Academy [4]Three-Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course [5] (a $1,095 value).
- American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) [6] is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses [7]. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course [8].
- HSM Ammunition [9] in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
- Heaven’s Harvest [10] is providing one of their Original Heirloom Seed Kits (a $139 value.)
- Harvest Guard [11] is providing a 200-Piece Bulk Mix Pack of their Regular and Wide-Mouth Reusable Canning Jar Lids & Gaskets. This is a $161 + shipping value.
Second Prize:
- A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training [12], that has a combined retail value of $679
- Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord [13] (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com [14] (a $287 value).
- Preparedness author Jennifer Rader [15] is providing a $200 purchase credit for any of her eight published food storage and medical preparedness books, including the
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company [16], toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!
Third Prize:
- A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters [17] (a $305 value),
- Two sets of [18]The Civil Defense Manual, [19] (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
- A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC [20] that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company [16], toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
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More than $984,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 124 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail [21] us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics [22]. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.