The First Foot Guards
We are a Revolutionary War
reenactment group based in Boston MA,
accurately portraying the royal household regiment that is now known as
The Grenadier Guards
This Date in History: September
Graeme Marsden's collection
of significant dates in American and European history,
organized by Month and by Day.
Most references are from the 18th century, and there is a preference for military occurrences, especially those of The First Foot guards.
Check out 'What happened
on this day?'
September
September 1720
The British government founded the South Sea Company in 1711 to trade with Spanish America, and to offset government debt. Money was freely invested in company stock because the trading privileges and monopolies granted to Britain after the Treaty of Utrecht (concluding Marlborough's Wars) were expected to prove enormously profitable. In fact, there were Spanish restrictions on trade that were overlooked. In 1720 a bill was passed enabling those who owned part of the national debt to exchange their claims for shares in company stock. The bill triggered an enormous burst of speculation in company stock. Shares rose in value from £100 to £1,000 within the year. By 1719 the directors of the Company outbid the Bank of England for the conversion of an additional £31,000,000 of debt, while unprincipled speculators took advantage of investors to obtain subscriptions for patently impossible projects, and when the bubble burst in September 1720 vast numbers of investors were entirely ruined. The whole episode was parodied in Swift's 'Gulliver's Travels'.
As a result of this crisis, Robert Walpole became First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, and started a series of measures to restore the credit of the company. The bursting of the bubble, which coincided with the similar collapse of the Mississippi Scheme in France, ended the belief that unlimited expansion of credit would naturally create prosperity.
1 September 1715
King Louis XIV of France died. Known as 'The Sun King', he had ruled since the age of five. He was succeeded by his 5-year-old great grandson Louis XV.
War against France 1803-1814
Assault of Burgos, 1812
In memory of the officers who died in battle:
Major-General William Wheatley, First Foot Guards, 1 September
Lieut-Colonel John Scrope Colquitt, First Foot Guards, 15 September
1 September 1897
The first section of Boston's new subway system was opened.
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2 September 1666
The Great Fire of London started; it destroyed 13,000 buildings in four days. Today you can still climb the large memorial column that was erected shortly after the fire. The column is near the Billingsgate Fish Market, and close to the site of the bakery where the fire started.
"Pish!
A woman might piss it out."
-The Lord Mayor of London, awakened
from sleep on the morning of 2 September 1666. He then went back to bed.]
2 September 1752
The Julian calendar was used in Britain and the Colonies 'officially' for the last time; as in the rest of Europe, the following day became 14 September in the Gregorian calendar. Great Britain changed calendars from the old style (OS) Julian, to the new style (NS) Gregorian, in the process jumping twelve days, when September 2nd became September 14th. September 10th, 1746, was to the British August the 30th. This situation has proven to be a great source of confusion to historians dealing with the period prior to 1752.
2 September 1898
The British, led by Lord Kitchener, defeated the Sudanese at the Battle of Omdurman and re-occupied Khartoum, the capital. Kitchener, who was something of a maverick, had previously died (26 January 1885) at the hands of the Mahdi's followers in Khartoum, an event that stunned the English-speaking world.
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3 September 1189
Following the death of his father Henry II Richard I "The Lionheart" was crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey in London. Before his coronation, he knew little of England since he had spent most of his life in France. Even while King of England he spent the vast majority of his ten-year reign abroad, devoting himself to the Crusades.
3 September 1650
Oliver Cromwell's great victory over the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar on this date delighted supporters of the
English Parliament. Despite their high hopes, Dunbar did not end the contest between the republican regime in England and the uneasy opposing alliance of Scottish Covenanters and Royalist supporters of Charles Stuart, son of the executed King Charles I. Paradoxically, the defeat of the Scots army at Dunbar actually strengthened the hand of Charles Stuart by discrediting the more extreme Covenanters. After entering into an agreement with the Scottish Presbyterians to accept their Solemn League and Covenant, the Stuart prince was crowned King Charles II at Scone (in Scotland) on 1 January1651.
3 September 1651
The English Royalist troops under Charles II were defeated by Oliver Cromwell at the second Battle of Worcester.
3 September 1658
Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England, died.
3 September 1752
Julian Calendar was dropped and the Gregorian Calendar adopted in England and
Scotland, making this September 14 –The year was standardized to end 31 December
(previously 24 March), making 1752 a very short year. [Scotland had previously
adopted this in 1600, and some other countries in Europe as early as 1582.
The rabble in London rioted, screaming, "Give us back our 11 days!"
3 September 1783
The Paris Peace Treaty was signed between the US and Great Britain, officially ending the American Revolutionary War for Independence. David Hartley (representing Great Britain) and John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay (representing the United States) signed the treaty. John Jay later became Governor of the State of New York.
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4 September 1939
"No
enemy bomber can reach the Rühr. If one reaches the Rühr my name is not Goering.
You can call me Meyer!"
- Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering
addressing the Luftwaffe, 4 September 1939.
4 September 1609
English navigator Henry Hudson, working for the Dutch East India Company, arrived at the island of Manhattan, before sailing up the river that now bears his name. In making his trip up the river, Hudson claimed the area for the Dutch and opened the land for the settlers who followed.
4 September 1781
The Mexican Provincial Governor of California, Felipe de Neve, founded "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula" (The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula [small portion]). Now simply called Los Angeles or LA, it started with less than 50 people. Located between the San Gabriel Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, El Pueblo remained independent of the United States until the Mexican War of 1846, when the city was taken in a bloodless effort by US forces. On April 4, 1850, the city was incorporated as Los Angeles and designated the county seat of Los Angeles County.
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5 September 1666
The Fire of London was finally extinguished after two days. It had destroyed over 80 churches, historic guild halls, houses and valuable archives.
5 September 1664
After days of negotiation, the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam surrendered to the British, who renamed it New York.
5 September 1698
Russia's Peter
the Great imposed a tax on beards.
5 September 1774
The first Continental Congress in America opened at Philadelphia.
5 September 1775 - 2 November 1775
St. John's, Chambly
and Montréal - Canada
By May of 1775, Congress had decided to authorize an attack on Montréal in order
to drive the British from Canada. Under Richard Montgomery, the American forces
conquered the city.
5 September 1781
The French Fleet took control of Chesapeake Bay, the necessary prelude to cutting off the Crown forces in Yorktown.
5 September 1781
The British held Eutaw Springs SC.
5 September 1792
Maximilien Robespierre was elected to the National Convention in France.
5 September 1800
French troops surrendered Malta to the British, following Nelson's naval blockade.
5 September 1804
In a daring night raid, American sailors under Lieutenant Stephen Decatur boarded the captured USS Philadelphia and burned the ship to keep it out of the hands of the Barbary pirates who captured her.
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6 September 1522
Ferdinand Magellan's 17 surviving crewmembers reached the Spanish coast aboard the Vittoria, having completed the first circumnavigation of the world.
6 September 1781
The Battle of
New London CT
Benedict Arnold proved his loyalty to the crown with a ferocious attack on a
small patriot fort in Connecticut, near the town of his birth. The massacre
served no purpose other than to quell his desire for revenge against an ungrateful
and undeserving nation.
6 September 1852
Britain's first free lending library opened in Manchester.
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7 September 1533
Queen Anne Boleyn (wife of King Henry VIII) gave birth to Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth I).
7 September 1571
At the Battle of Lepanto in the Mediterranean Sea, the Christian galley fleet destroyed the Turkish galley fleet. Galleys were an essentially Mediterranean ship. They were later used by the Spanish in an attack on Britain, but were not suitable for use in oceanic waters.
7 September 1630
The town of Trimontaine (Tremont) was renamed Boston, and became the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
7 September 1701
England, Austria, and the Netherlands formed an Alliance against France.
7 September 1812
On the advance to Moscow, Napoleon's forces defeated the Russians at the Battle of Borodino, 70 miles west of Moscow. This however, was a costly victory for the French: the beginning of the Russian debacle.
7 September 1813
The earliest known printed reference to the United States by the nickname "Uncle Sam" occurred in the Troy Post.
7 September 1825
The Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution, bade farewell to President John Quincy Adams at the White House.
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8 September 1565
Spanish explorers led by Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded St. Augustine in Florida, the first permanent European settlement in North America. St. Augustine was founded 42 years before the English settlement of Jamestown in Virginia, and 55 years before the founding of Plymouth in Massachusetts.
8 September 1664
The Dutch colony of New Amsterdam was surrendered to the British who renamed it New York in 1669.
8 September 1781
The Battle of
Eutaw Springs SC
The last of many skirmishes between Nathaniel Greene's army and the British
in the south. Though most of these battles ended either as a draw or in an American
defeat, Greene's tactic of "fight, flee and fight again" severely
weakened Cornwallis's force
8 September 1831
William IV was crowned King of Great Britain, upon the death of King George IV (the erstwhile Prince Regent).
8 September 1900
Galveston TX was struck by a disastrous hurricane that washed away most of the town, and killed about 6,000 people.
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9 September 1513
'The River Till ran red with blood'.
The Scots were defeated by the English at the Battle of Flodden Field, an event that is remembered to this day by the Scots. Flodden was a disastrous and unnecessary confrontation for Scotland. James IV of Scotland amassed twenty thousand men with ease, both Highlanders and Lowlanders. His fleet set sail and his army crossed the border into Northumberland.
The English defenders, led by the Earl of Surrey and his son, met the Scots west of the River Till, near Branxton. The Scots took the advantageous high ground. With slightly fewer numbers but superior equipment and artillery, the English moved around the Scots on their west and opened with cannon fire. They struck their target with great success and James ordered all to attack. Initially gaining the upper hand, the Scots were thwarted by England’s superior equipment, the long halberd with its axe, hook and spike. English losses were heavy but the dead Scots numbered between five and ten thousand. It is said that ‘the slaughter struck every farm and household throughout lowland Scotland’. There was an unusually high number of aristocracy who came down into combat that day and among the slain were dozens of lords and lairds, at least ten Earls, some abbots, an archbishop and the King James himself.
9 September 1755
William Johnson defeated the French at Lake George.
9 September 1919
Most of Boston's 1500-man police force went on strike.
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10 September 1087
King William I of England, better known as William the Conqueror, died in Rouen, France, from an injury he had suffered while riding his horse five weeks earlier. William fought in many battles, and in 1066, conquered England.
10 September 1608
John Smith was elected president of the Jamestown colony council in Virginia.
10 September 1850
California joined the US as the thirty-first state, only two years after the population boom of the California Gold Rush.
As part of the North-South Compromise of 1850, California was admitted as a free state.
10 September 1608
John Smith was elected president of the Jamestown colony council in Virginia.
10 September 1547
The Duke of Somerset led the English to a resounding victory over the Scots at Pinkie Cleugh.
10 September 1588
Thomas Cavendish returned to England, becoming the third man to circumnavigate the globe.
10 September 1623
Lumber and furs were the first cargo to leave Plymouth in North America for England.
10 September 1813
The nine-ship American flotilla unde Oliver Hazard Perry wrested naval supremacy from the British on Lake Erie by capturing or destroying a force of six English vessels.
10 September 1846
Elias Howe of Boston patented the first practical sewing machine in the United States.
10 September 1855
Sevastopol, under siege for nearly a year, capitulated to the Allies during the Crimean War.
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11 September 1297
Scots under William Wallace defeated English forces at Stirling Bridge. But Wallace's success was to be short-lived. The aging warrior-king Edward I annihilated Wallace's forces at Falkirk on 22 July 1298, and Wallace was subsequently handed over to Edward by the Scots lords.
11 September 1695
Imperial troops under Eugene of Savoy defeated the Turks at the Battle of Zenta.
11 September 1709
The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Austria defeated the French under Marshal Villars, at the Battle of Malplaquet. This was the bloodiest battle of the 18th century, and is one of the battle honors borne by the Grenadier Guards.
War against
France 1702-1713,
Battle of Malplaquet
In memory of the officer who died in battle:
Captain James Gould, First Foot Guards
11 September
1758
Seven Years War 1756-1763
Expedition to St. Cas
In memory of the officers who died in battle:
Major-General Alexander Dury, Lieutenant Colonel, First Foot
Guards
Captain James Walker, First Foot Guards
Captain Thomas Rolt, First Foot Guards
Ensign James Cocks, First Foot Guards
11 September 1777
Battles at Birmingham
Meeting House and Chadd's Ford, near Brandywine Creek PA
After Howe's army pulled out of New Jersey, the fleet dropped anchor off the
Chesapeake and marched to conquer Philadelphia. Washington built fortifications
to stop them at Brandywine Creek, but the British successfully pushed through.
Philadelphia was in British hands by the end of the month.
11 September 1802
Piedmont, in the northwest of Italy, was annexed by France.
11 September 1814
An American fleet scored a decisive victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Champlain in the War of 1812.
11 September 1850
Jenny Lind, the coloratura soprano known as 'The Swedish Nightingale' gave her first concert in the United States, at Castle Garden in New York.
11 September 2001
The WTC twin towers and The Pentagon were attacked.
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12 September 1609
Henry Hudson sailed the sloop Half Moon into New York Bay and up to Albany to discover the river named after him.
12 September 1779 - 9 October 1779
The Second Battle of Savannah
Although Washington wanted him to attack New York, the French Admiral d'Estaing instead chose British-held Savannah as his target. Unfortunately for d'Estaing, a mix of indecision and impatience allowed the British to reinforce their defenses well enough to prevent the French admiral from overtaking it.
12 September 1812
British forces disembarked at the mouth of the Patapsco River to begin an assault o Baltimore. The following day, Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane commenced a naval bombardment of the fort, the last remaining barrier to the city. The siege of Baltimore, which came close on the heels of the British attack on Washington DC, proved to be a turning point in the War of 1812 Turned back on land and at sea, the British abandoned their attempt to capture Baltimore on September 14. Four months later, they signed the Treaty of Ghent that brought an end to the war.
The rockets that were used against Fort McHenry were innovations of English munitions expert William Congreve. The Chinese had used rockets in warfare as early as the thirteenth century. In the 1790s, the British themselves had been the object of rocket fire in southern India. By the early nineteenth century, Congreve had not only significantly increased the firepower of rockets, but had also made it possible to vary the timing and range of launchings. The British put the new technology to use in the Napoleonic Wars and in the War of 1812 against the United States, inaugurating the widespread use of the weapon in nineteenth-century Europe.
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13 September 1759
In an outstanding and strategically important victory at Quebec City, General Wolfe was mortally wounded, along with his worthy opponent, General Montcalm, but the city was taken by a heroic attack by Crown Forces. Wolfe was badly wounded twice, but continued the attack until he received a third fatal wound.
13 September 1782
The British fortress at Gibraltar came under attack by French and Spanish forces.
13 September 1783
The Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War
13 September 1788
New York became the capital of the USA (until 1789).
13 September 1814
As the evening of approached, Francis Scott Key, a young lawyer who had come to negotiate the release of an American friend, was detained in Baltimore harbor on board a British vessel. Throughout the night and into the early hours of the next morning, Key watched as the British bombe Fort McHenry with military rockets. As dawn broke, he was amazed to find the Stars and Stripes, tattered but intact, still flying above Fort McHenry. Key's experience during the bombardment of Fort McHenry inspired him to pen the words to The start-Spangled Banner. He adapted his lyrics to the tune of a popular drinking song, "To Anacreon in Heaven," and the song soon became the de facto national anthem of the United States of America, though Congress did not officially recognize it as such until 1931.
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14 September 1402
The English defeated the Scots at the Battle of Homildon Hill.
14 September 1544
Henry VIII's forces took the city of Boulogne in France.
14 September 1638
John Harvard, a 31-year-old clergyman from Charlestown, died, leaving his library and half of his estate to a local college. The young minister's bequest allowed the college to firmly establish itself. In honor of its first benefactor, the school adopted the name Harvard College. Founded by the General Court of Massachusetts in 1636, Harvard is America's oldest institution of higher learning. From a college of nine students and one instructor, it has grown into a world-renowned university with over 18,000 degree candidates and 2,000 faculty members, including numerous Nobel laureates. With an endowment of $11 billion, the university is now the country's wealthiest.
14 September 1758
In Brigadier General John Forbes epic 1758 campaign to build a road from Fort Cumberland to the west, and capture Fort Duquesne, Forbes sent Major James Grant with 800 men to reconnoiter Duquesne. Instead of following his orders to act in secrecy, Grant engaged in a pitched battle, and was totally defeated on 14 September 1758. When Forbes took Duquesne on 25 November his force discovered the corpses of those killed at Grant’s defeat, and saw with horror and rage the corpses of numerous captured comrades fastened on stakes, where they had been tortured and murdered.
14 September 1759
'A Journey Through Europe, or the play of Geography', the earliest dated English board game, went on sale, priced 8 shillings (40p).
14 September 1791
Louis XVI swore his allegiance to the French constitution.
14 September 1812
Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Russia reached its climax as his Grande Armee entered Moscow: only to find the enemy capital deserted and burning, set afire by the few Russians who remained.
14 September 1901
President McKinley died in Buffalo NY of gunshot wounds inflicted by an assassin. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him
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15 September 1776
RevWar: Crown Forces occupied New York City.
15 September 1784
The first ascent in a hydrogen balloon in England was made by the Italian aeronaut Vincenzo Lunardi.
15 September 1812
The Russians set fire to Moscow in order to halt the French occupation.
15 September 1830
George Stephenson's Manchester and Liverpool railway was opened in England by the Duke of Wellington. During the ceremony, William Huskisson, MP, became the first person to be killed by a train.
Mr.
Huskisson, less active from the effects of age and ill health, bewildered, too,
by the frantic cries of 'Stop the engine! Clear the track!' that resounded on
all sides, completely lost his head, looked helplessly to the right and left,
and was instantaneously prostrated by the fatal machine, which dashed down like
a thunderbolt on him...
[A passenger describes the death of William Huskisson MP, the first person to
be killed by a train.]
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16 September 1498
"No-one expects the Spanish Inquisition…"
Tomás de Torquemada died in Avila. As the first Spanish Grand Inquisitor, he displayed a ruthless efficiency and zeal. His name has become synonymous with bigotry and hatred. Through his ministrations, the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492. The Inquisition lasted from 1478 through 1834.
16 September 1630
The Massachusetts village of Shawmut changed its name to Boston.
16 September 1638
France's 'Sun King', King Louis XIV was born.
16 September 1776
The battle of
Harlem Heights NY
Harlem Heights was the one ray of light in an otherwise bleak couple of months
for the American army during the British invasion of New York. Their victory
during this small skirmish helped improve diminished American morale.
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17 September 1630
The town of Boston was founded by John Winthrop as an extension of the colony at Salem. It was named after the town of the same name in Lincolnshire, England.
17 September 1787
The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia approved the constitution for the United States of America.
17 September 1796
President George Washington delivered his "Farewell Address" to Congress before concluding his second term in office.
17 September 1862
The Battle of Antietam
in Maryland commenced. Fighting raged all day as the Union and Confederate armies
suffered a combined 26,293 casualties.
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18 September 1740
George Anson set out on his voyage around the world, ending 15 June 1744.
18 September 1759
The French formally surrendered Quebec to the British.
18 September 1793
President Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.
18 September 1758
James Abercromby was replaced as supreme commander of British forces after his defeat by French commander the Marquis of Montcalm at Fort Ticonderoga during the French and Indian War. But 18 September was to prove Montcalm's Waterloo…
Abercromby replaced the earl of Loudoun; and was himself replaced by Lord Jeffrey Amherst. Amherst was to take Crown Point and Fort Ticonderoga, but he arrived too late to assist Wolfe in the capture of Quebec. In the Rev War, Amherst refused to fight in New England.
18 September 1759
Quebec surrendered to the British after a battle that saw the deaths of both James Wolfe and Louis Montcalm, the British and French commanders.
18 September 1830
Tom Thumb, the first locomotive built in the United States, lost a nine-mile race in Maryland to a horse.
18 September 1851
The New York Times was first published.
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19 September 1356
Led by Edward, the Black Prince, the English defeated the French at the Battle of Poitiers in the Hundred Years' War.
19 September 1692
During the Salem Witchcraft Trials, Giles Corey was pressed to death for standing mute and refusing to answer charges of witchcraft brought against him. He is the only person in America to have suffered this punishment.
19 September 1777
The Battle of Freeman's
Farm, near Saratoga NY
The first battle of Saratoga, between Generals Burgoyne and Gates, ended in
a virtual stalemate. The British held their ground, but without reinforcements
from the south, they could do nothing but fortify their position until the second
battle of Saratoga, three weeks later.
19 September 1783
The Montgolfier brothers sent up the first balloon with live creatures aboard; passengers included a sheep, a rooster, and a duck.
19 September 1777
After a series of discouraging military defeats continental soldiers fighting under General Horatio Gates defeated the British at Saratoga, New York. Within weeks, Gates joined forces with American General Benedict Arnold to vanquish the redcoats again at the Second Battle of Saratoga. On 17 Octobe, British General John Burgoyne surrendered his troops under the Convention of Saratoga which provided for the return of his men to Great Britain on condition that they would not serve again in North America during the war. American victory at the Battles of Saratoga turned the tide of the war in the colonists' favor and helped persuade the French to recognize American independence and provide military assistance outright.
Born at Malden, Essex, England in 1728, Gates' parents served as butler and housekeeper to the Duke of Leeds. Gates joined the army while a very young man. He first came to the North America to fight in the French and Indian War. Through distinguished service in Nova Scotia, New York, and Martinique, he achieved the rank of major. Encouraged by friend and former comrade-in-arms, George Washington, he returned to America a decade later and settled in western Virginia: the frontier at that time.
Sympathetic to the American cause, Gates' name was the first proposed by Washington when Congress asked him to nominate officers for the Revolutionary Army. In 1775, Gates accepted his nomination as adjutant general of the Continental Army and by 1777 had replaced General Philip Schuyler in northern New York.
After Saratoga, Gates, an able administrator, served as president of the Board of War. He had many friends in Congress and was, perhaps unwittingly, drawn into the "Conway Cabal" - an attempt to replace Commander-in-Chief Washington with Gates. Although criticized for his conduct during the battle of Camden, he continued to serve the American cause until the end of the war.
Troubled by the issue of slavery, Gates manumitted his slaves and relocated from Virginia to New York after the Revolution . He served one term in the state legislature but much of the General's time and money was spent aiding Revolutionary veterans. General Horatio Gates died on April 10, 1806.
19 September
1799
War against France 1793-1802
Battle of Bergen
In memory of the officers who died in battle:
Lieutenant Colonel Charles Dawkins, First Foot Guards
Captain Richard Gordon Forbes, First Foot Guards
Captain John Gunthorpe, First Foot Guards
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20 September 1258
Salisbury Cathedral in England was consecrated. It is one of the most important and beautiful examples of gothic architecture. Construction of the cathedral started in 1220 under the guidance of architect Elias de Derham, but it was not finished until 1315 when the slender soaring spire was completed.
20 September 1519
Ferdinand Magellan, with a fleet of five small ships, sailed from Seville on his expedition around the world.
20 September 1561
Queen Elizabeth of England signed a treaty at Hampton Court with French Huguenot leader Louis de Bourbon, the Prince of Conde. The English will occupy Le Havre in return for aiding Bourbon against the Catholics of France.
20 September 1643
English Civil War: The Battle of Newbury was won by the Parliamentarians.
20 September 1803
Irish nationalist and orator Robert Emmet was hanged by British authorities for his efforts to seize Dublin Castle. Emmet was a gentleman idealist. His arraignment came at a time when France had already invaded Ireland (unsuccessfully) and was threatening the same to England.
Emmet's last speech became a slogan of Irish nationalism: "Let no man write my epitaph... when my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then and not till then, let my epitaph be written."
20 September 1854
The Russian army was defeated by the Allied armies at the Battle of Alma in the Crimean War; the first six Victoria Crosses to be awarded to the British Army were won at this battle.
"Highlanders,
I am going to ask a favour of you; it is, that you will act so as to justify
me in asking permission of the Queen for you to wear a bonnet! Don't pull a
trigger till you're within a yard of the Russians! "
[Sir Colin Campbell addresses his troops at the Battle of The Alma, 20 Sept
1854.]
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21 September 1520
Suleiman (the Magnificent), son of Selim, became Ottoman sultan in Constantinople.
21 September 1529
The Turkish army under Suleiman the Magnificent was defeated at Vienna. Viennese bakers created pastries in the shape of the Muslim crescent. These proved to be popular, and are today known in the French for crescent, or 'croissant'.
21 September 1673
James Needham returned to Virginia after exploring the land to the west, which would become Tennessee.
21 September 1745
Bonnie Prince Charles and his Jacobite army defeated the English at the Battle of Prestonpans in Scotland.
21 September 1777
The British surprised the Continentals in a night attack near Paoli Tavern.
21 September 1784
The Pennsylvania Packet and General Advertiser, the first successful US daily newspaper, was published.
21 September 1938
A hurricane struck parts of New York and New England, causing widespread damage, flooding downtown Providence, and claiming more than 600 lives.
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22 September 1735
Sir Robert Walpole became the first Prime Minister to occupy 10 Downing Street, London.
22 September 1761
Coronation of King George III.
22 September 1776
Nathan Hale was hanged as a spy by the British during the Revolutionary War.
22 September 1792
France was declared a Republic.
22 September 1862
US President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, ordering the freeing of slaves.
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23 September 1779
The American warship "Bonhomme Richard" defeated the HMS "Serapis" off Flamborough Head. The American commander, John Paul Jones, is said to have declared, "I have not yet begun to fight!"
23 September 1780
British spy John Andre was captured along with papers revealing Benedict Arnold's plot to surrender West Point to the British.
23 September 1803
The British under Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington) defeated Scindia and the Rajah of Berar at Assaye in India.
23 September 1806
The Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis.
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24 September 1692
The infamous "Salem Witch Trials" came to an end when eight women accused of witchcraft were hanged in Salem.
The trials took place at a time when any person who behaved outside of the "norm" was accused of being an instrument of the devil, a crime punishable by death. While most of those killed were women, a few men (generally relatives of the accused) also suffered the same fate.
24 September
1697
War against France 1689-1697
Battle of Marsiglia, near Turin
In memory of the officer who died in battle:
General Charles, 2nd Duke of Schomberg, Colonel, First Foot
Guards
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25 September 1066
England's King Harold II defeated the King of Norway, Harald Hardrada, at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Then he had to trek south to beat off the attack of William the Bastard (later King William I).
25 September 1396
The last great Christian crusade, led jointly by John the Fearless of Nevers and King Sigismund of Hungary, ends in disaster at the hands of Sultan Bajazet I's Ottoman army at Nicopolis.
25 September 1513
Vasco Balboa, Spanish explorer, became the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean after crossing the Isthmus of Panama. He named it the South Sea, claiming it in the name of the King of Spain.
25 September 1690
The first newspaper in what is now the US was published, and after its first edition, colonial authorities suppressed it.
Benjamin Harris's "Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick," published in Boston, was considered improper for
further publication because it criticized the British Crown. Newspapers in Britain fared little better.
25 September 1780
Benedict Arnold joined the Crown Forces after his treason was exposed due to the capture of Major John Andre.
25 September 1775
British troops captured Ethan Allen, the hero of Ticonderoga, when he and a handful of Americans tried to invade Canada.
25 September 1818
The first blood transfusion using human blood, as opposed to earlier attempts with animal blood, took place at Guy's Hospital in London.
25 September 1956
One century after the first transatlantic telegraph cable was laid, the first transatlantic telephone cable began operation. How far we have come! The cable provided a princely 35 lines from Britain to Canada and the USA.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________26 September 1580
Sir Francis Drake, aboard The Golden Hind returned to England after a 33-month voyage to circumnavigate the globe.
26 September 1687
The Parthenon in Athens was severely damaged by mortar bombs fired by the Venetian army as it besieged the Turkish-held Acropolis.
26 September 1775
Ethan Allen was captured by the British as he led an attack on Montreal.
26 September 1777
Crown forces under General Howe occupied Philadelphia. forcing the Continental Congress, meeting in the Pennsylvania State House (later renamed Independence Hall), to flee to the interior of Pennsylvania. Washington and his Army had battled the British south of Philadelphia at Brandywine Creek on September 11. That evening, Washington sent a letter to the Continental Congress reporting the outcome:
I am sorry to inform you that in this day's engagement we have been obliged to leave the enemy masters of the field. Unfortunately the intelligence received of the enemy's advancing up the Brandywine, and crossing at a Ford about six miles above us, was uncertain and contradictory, notwithstanding all my pains to get the best . . . Our loss of men is not, I am persuaded, very considerable; I believe much less than the enemy's . . . Notwithstanding the misfortune of the day, I am happy to find the troops in good spirits; and I hope another time we shall compensate for the losses now sustained. . .
The Marquis La Fayette was wounded in the leg, and General Woodford in the hand. Divers other officers were wounded, and some slain, but the numbers of either cannot now be ascertained.
I have the honor to be, Sir, your obedient humble servant,
G. Washington
26 September 1779
John Adams was named to negotiate the Revolutionary War's peace terms with Britain.
26 September 1781
The siege of Yorktown began.
26 September 1829
Scotland Yard, the British police CID (Criminal Investigation Department) was formed. Scotland Yard was formerly the site of a house belonging to the Scottish king.
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27 September 1540
The Society of Jesus, a religious order under Ignatius Loyola, was approved by the Pope.
27 September 1669
The island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea fell to the Ottoman Turks after a 21-year siege.
27 September 1791
Jews in France were granted French citizenship
27 September 1821
Mexico achieved independence through the efforts of General Iturbide, who declared himself Emperor Augustin I.
27 September 1826
The Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first passenger rail service, opened in England, with its first steam locomotive travelling at 10 mph.
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28 September 490 BC
The Greeks defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon.
28 September 1066
William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the English throne. On October 13 William clashed with English King Harold at Hastings, where Harold was killed in battle, reputedly receiving an arrow to the eye. William marched on to London, where he was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day. Thus ended the dynasty of Anglo-Saxon kings. William brought the French tongue to England, and it ultimately blended with Anglo-Saxon to become the English language. William proved to be an effective king, taking a census, known as the Doomsday Book. When William died in 1087, his son William Rufus became William II, the second Norman king of England.
French ton
28 September 1542
Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived at present-day San Diego.
28 September 1745
At the Drury Lane Theatre, London, God Save the King, now the national anthem, was sung for the first time.
30 September 1777
The Congress of the United States, which had been forced to flee in the face of advancing British forces, moved to York PA.
28 September 1781
American forces in the Revolutionary War, backed by a French fleet, began their siege of Yorktown.
The arrival of the French fleet secured the fate of Cornwallis's army. With the Chesapeake blockaded and his men outnumbered two-to-one, a joint Franco-American attack on Yorktown captured over 8,000 British soldiers and effectively ended the Revolution. America was officially recognized as a free and independent nation, and England fought to keep its head above water in what was a world war against France and Spain.
28 September 1794
Britain, Russia, and Austria formed the Alliance of St Petersburg against France.
28 September 1850
Flogging was abolished as a form of punishment in the US Navy.
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29 September
Michaelmas Day in Britain.
Michaelmas Day was one of the four Quarter Days on which rents became due in Britain. (Lady Day, Midsummer's Day, Michaelmas Day, Christmas Day). It was the date of termination of employment for men and women who had been hired as laborers and servants at the fairs the year before, and the date of new hiring.
Forced into an abdication by the Lords Appellants, King Richard II of England was succeeded by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke, whose accession as King Henry IV began the Lancastrian dynasty. Richard was the first monarch in England's history to abdicate. Although he was largely ineffective as a monarch, Richard Plantagenet was a noted patron of the arts. The abdication sowed unrest in the upcoming wars of the Roses in which the House of Lancaster battled the House of York.
29 September 1758
Horatio Nelson was born at the rectory of Burnham Thorpe in Norfolk. Arguably Britain's greatest hero, he was killed at one of his greatest victories, the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805. Today he is commemorated by a tall memorial column that dominates Trafalgar Square in London.
29 September 1829
The first regular police force in London was inaugurated; the officers became known as 'bobbies' after Robert Peel, the Home Secretary who founded the modern police force.
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30 September 1630
John Billington, one of the first pilgrims to arrive at the American colonies, was hanged for murder in Plymouth. This was the first criminal execution during the colonial period of what is today the USA.
30 September 1791
Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" premiered in Vienna.
30 September 1846
Dentist William Morton used ether as an anesthetic for the first time on a patient in his Boston office.
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