Author: James Wesley Rawles

On December 18, 1888 Richard Wetherill and his brother in-law discovered the ancient Anasazi ruins of Mesa Verde, Colorado. — December 18th is the birthday of Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788). He wrote more than 1,700 hymns. — Today is also the birthday of Jørgen Haagen Schmith (born December 18, 1910, died October 15, 1944). He was better known under the codename “Citron” and was a famous Danish resistance fighter in occupied Denmark. — Today’s feature piece is a review written by SurvivalBlog staffer Tom Christianson. — We need more entries for Round 122 of the …

With the recent spike in spot silver, I’ve had a number of readers contact me about making trades. For any of my current Elk Creek Company inventory, I’m willing to accept in trade: Generic commercial bullion 1-ounce rounds right at the spot price of silver. ($66.29, as I’m writing this on Wednesday morning.) U.S. Mint American Eagle 1-ounce rounds at $1.50 over spot. And, since U.S. Silver dollars contain .7734 oz. of silver, I’m willing to accept: Non-professionally graded AU or Better $1 Morgan or Peace Dollars at $49.50 each PCGS or NGC graded (“slabbed”) AU 50 to MS60 (non-1921, …

December 16th is remembered as the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, in 1773. This destructive act of civil disobedience was led by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, in protest of the 1773 Tea Act, which had imposed a 3 pence tax per pound of tea. In contemporary valuation, that equated to an 18% tax on the value of tea. News of the Boston Tea Party prompted the British Parliament to pass The Intolerable Acts (a.k.a. The Coercive Acts, or the Insufferable Acts), which were a primary catalyst for America’s War of Independence. — The Romanian Revolution began on …

On December 15th, 1569:  While being hunted by Queen Elizabeth I (pictured) for treason in “The Rising of the North”, Charles Neville, Earl of Westmorland, escaped to Scotland. — December 15th is Bill of Rights Day. The Bill of Rights became law on this day in 1791, following ratification by the state of Virginia. We encourage our American readers to gather publicly and read the Bill of Rights aloud. — The 15th of December, 1923, was the birthday of Uziel “Uzi” Gal (born Gotthard Glas). He is, of course, remembered as the inventor of the famous Uzi submachine gun. — …

December 14, 1702: -The famed Forty-seven Rōnin (leaderless samurai), under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenged the death of their master in Japan. Pictured are the graves of the 47 Rōnin at the Sengaku-ji Sōtō Zen Buddhist temple, Tokyo, Japan. — December 14th is the birthday of the late John Warren Wadleigh (born 1927, died September 24, 2013). Wadleigh was better known to many SurvivalBlog readers by his pen name, Oliver Lange. He was the author of the best-selling resistance warfare novel Vandenberg. — This is also the birthday of Air Force General James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, who died September …