Author: James Wesley Rawles

On June 24, 1314, with the victory at the Battle of Bannockburn (pictured), Scotland regained its independence from England. — June 24th is the birthday of rifle-toting abolitionist pastor Henry Ward Beecher. (Born 1813, died March 8, 1887.) He and his adherents from his church smuggled so many Sharps rifles to Bleeding Kansas that the Sharps rifles picked up the nickname “Beecher’s Bibles.” The Infogalactic wiki states: “Several of his brothers and sisters became well-known educators and activists, most notably Harriet Beecher Stowe, who achieved worldwide fame with her abolitionist novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” — I may be biased, but …

On June 23, 1925, landslides created the three-mile-long “Slide Lake”, at Gros Ventre Wyoming. Today, nearly a full century later, there are still standing tree trunks in the lake. On June 23, 930, the world’s oldest parliament, the Icelandic Parliament was established, the Alþingi. (Anglicised as Althing or Althingi). — June 23, 1713:  The French residents of Acadia were given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada — Today’s feature article is a short but important piece by precious metals market analyst Hubert Moolman. The article was selected by JWR, and it is reposted with …

On June 22, 1476, the army of Charles the Bold of Burgundy invaded Switzerland. Their first engagement was the Battle of Morat (pictured), which was fought about 30 kilometers from Bern. The successive Burgundian invasions were successfully repelled by the pike tactics of the well-trained and organized Swiss militias. — On June 22, 1940, France surrendered to Nazi Germany, with the northern half of the country occupied and the south established as the Nazi client state Vichy France. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this …

On this day in 1788, the US Constitution came into effect when New Hampshire was the 9th state to ratify it. — June 21st is the birthday of Rex Applegate (June 21, 1914 – July 14, 1998), author of Kill or Be Killed. He was a friend and mentor of SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor Emeritus, Pat Cascio. — All of the percussion revolvers in our Elk Creek Company inventory are now on sale.  No paperwork is required. These can be mailed right to your door, in most states.  Cartridge conversion cylinders are available for many models. This sale ends on …

On June 20, 1840, American inventor Samuel F.B. Morse patented his telegraph. — Today marks the Summer Solstice, here in the Northern Hemisphere. — On June 20, 1867, US President Andrew Johnson announced the Alaska Purchase. — On June 20, 1921, there was 11.5″  of rainfall the town of Circle, Montana (a state record.) — June 20th is the birthday of Audie L. Murphy. He was born in 1925. He died in a plane crash on May 28, 1971. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 113 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for …