This Week in History
On September 8, 1664, the Dutch surrendered their colony of New Netherland, including New Amsterdam, to 300 English soldiers. Following the capture, New Amsterdam’s name was changed to New York, to honor the Duke of York, who had organized the mission.
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September 9, 1000: Battle of Svolder, Baltic Sea: King Olaf on board the Long Serpent was defeated in one of the greatest naval battles of the Viking Age. He leapt to his death, overboard.
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September 10, 1919: Treaty of Saint-Germain. Austria ended its incorporation with Germany. But its independence was short-lived. In the Austrian Anschluss of March, 1938. Germany again took control if Austria.
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On September 12,1683, in the Austro-Ottoman War: in the Battle of Vienna, several European armies joined forces to defeat the Ottoman Empire.
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And on September 12, 1857, 423 people died when the steamship SS Central America, the famed “Ship of Gold,” sank in a hurricane off Cape Romain, South Carolina, carrying tons of gold coins and bricks from the California Gold Rush. The wreck was rediscovered in 1988.
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For the next two weeks, I’m running a special sale on all of my pre-1899 antique Swiss rifles at Elk Creek Company. Take a look, for some great prices. That sale will end on September 22nd. BTW, I have a small supply of scarce factory boxes of .41 Swiss Rimfire cartridges exclusively available for the buyers of any of our Swiss Vetterli rifles. E-mail me for details. – JWR