As we all observe the June 6th anniversary of the 1944 Allied landing at Normandy during World War II, Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the events from other June 6ths in history.
1775 – In New York City, 100 Sons of Liberty rebels attacked British soldiers who were escorting five wagonloads of arms and other supplies. The Sons of Liberty won and seized the supplies. Lt. Col Marinus Willett led the Americans.
1780 – Hessian General Wilhelm Von Knyphausen’s 6,000 British-allied troops boarded boats in preparation for the next day’s attack on American forces in New Jersey for the indecisive Battle of Connecticut Farms.
1782 – In the Ohio Country, American Rebel Colonel William Crawford’s 500 men were defeated in the wilderness by 750 British, Shawnee, Ojibwe and Potawatomi troops as the Revolutionary War continued despite Cornwallis’ surrender the previous October.
1787 – Franklin College, now part of Franklin & Marshall College, was founded in Lancaster, PA.
1813 – As the War of 1812 continued, British forces learned the password for the American troops at Stoney Creek, Ontario, Canada. That password, “Wil-Hen-Har”, as in the name of General (and later President) William Henry Harrison, enabled the British to take the Americans by surprise and win the battle in a rout.
1816 – The eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Tambora volcano earlier in the year spread so much ash and smoke into the atmosphere that this became known as “the year without a summer.” On June 6th, TEN INCHES OF SNOW fell in New England. Continue reading
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