Author: James Wesley Rawles

September 21, 1776: The Great New York Fire. Five days after the British Army took New York City, one quarter of the city burned down. — September 21, 1931, Britain abandoned the gold standard. The Pound was devalued by 20%. — On this day in 1780, during the American Revolution, American General Benedict Arnold met with British Major John Andre to discuss handing over West Point to the British in return for the promise of a large sum of money and a high position in the British army. The plot was foiled and Arnold’s name became synonymous with the word …

On September 20, 1945, under OSS (and later CIA) Operation Paper Clip and Operation Overcast (1945 to 1959), German rocket scientists began to work in the United States. For the sake of expediency, more than 1,600 German scientists, engineers, and technicians were granted immunity from war crimes prosecution and transported along with their families from the former Nazi Germany to the United States for employment with various government agencies and later, with defense contractors. Under these secretive and later publicly acknowledged and very controversial programs, the German contingent was most conspicuously led by senior scientist Wernher von Braun. (Pictured above, …

On September 19, 1356, English forces under Edward the Black Prince defeated the French at the Battle of Poitiers and captured French King John II, during the Hundred Years’ War. Preceded by the Battle of Crécy in 1346, and followed by the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, it was the second of the three great English victories of the war. — September 19, 1778: The Continental Congress passed the first budget of the United States. — Also on this date in 1796, George Washington addressed the nation in his farewell address as President. — Today’s feature article is by JWR. …

In the midst of the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), on September 18, 1635, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II declared war on France. Above: Carl Friedrich Lessing’s painting The Siege. — The 18th of September is Chilean Independence Day. On this day, in 1810, Chile declared independence from Spain. — And, on September 18, 1914, South African troops landed in German South West Africa. (Later renamed South West Africa and then again, to Namibia.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 120 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite …

On September 17, 158, Dutch sailors claimed the island of Mauritius for the Netherlands. They named it after Maurice, Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau — September 17, 1776: The Fortress Presidio of San Francisco was founded in New Spain to gain a foothold in Alta California and secure the San Francisco Bay. — Today, September 17th, we celebrate Constitution Day in these United States.  This is in remembrance that on September 17, 1787, the US Constitution was signed by delegates at the Philadelphia Convention. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 120 of the …