Category: 1800s
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Abolitionist John Brown Guides a Small Group on an Assault Against a Federal Armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), in an Endeavor to Begin an Armed Insurrection of Enslaved Black People and Overthrow the Practice of Slavery. October 16, 1859.
Title: The Harper’s Ferry insurrection–The U.S. Marines storming the engine house–Insurgents firing through holes in the doors / from a sketch made on the spot by our special artist. (Public Domain) On this day in history, October 16, 1859, abolitionist John Brown guides a small group on an assault against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry,…
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Apache Warrior and Chieftain Victorio, One of the Most Notable Native Military Tacticians of all Time, Dies at the Battle of Tres Castillos in the Tres Castillos Mountains South of El Paso, Texas. October 15, 1880.
Image: Victorio (Public Domain) On this day in history, October 15, 1880, Apache warrior and chieftain Victorio, one of the most notable native military tacticians of all time, dies at the Battle of Tres Castillos in the Tres Castillos Mountains south of El Paso, Texas. The battle also resulted in the death or capture of…
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British and Indigenous Forces Under Sir Isaac Brock Conquered an American Army at the Battle of Queenstown Heights on the Niagara Frontier in Ontario, Canada. October 13, 1812.
Image: The death of General Brock at the Battle of Queenston Heights by John David Kelly (1862 – 1958) published 1896. (Public Domain) On this day in history, October 13, 1812, British and Indigenous forces under Sir Isaac Brock conquered an American Army at the Battle of Queenstown Heights on the Niagara frontier in Ontario,…
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The South African Boer War Began Involving Britain and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State. October 11, 1899.
Image: Clockwise from left: Frederick Roberts entering in Kimberley; Boer militia at the Battle of Spion Kop; Boer women and children in a British concentration camp. (Public Domain) On this day in history, October 11, 1899, the Second South African Boer War began involving Britain and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State.…
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Wild West Wednesday – Outlaw Dirty Dave Rudabaugh
Image: Dave Rudabaugh (Public Domain) Nicknamed “Dirty Dave” because he scarcely bathed and wore filthy clothes, Dave Rudabaugh was a cowboy, outlaw, and gunfighter in the American Old West. Dave Rudabaugh was born on July 14, 1854, and was a young boy living in his birth state of Illinois when his father was killed during the…
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The Great Chicago Fire Begins. October 8, 1871.
Image: The Currier & Ives lithograph shows people fleeing across the Randolph Street Bridge. Thousands of people literally ran for their lives before the flames, unleashing remarkable scenes of terror and dislocation. “The whole earth, or all we saw of it, was a lurid yellowish red,” wrote one survivor. “Everywhere dust, smoke, flames, heat, thunder…
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Brothers John and Simeon Reno and Frank Sparkes Hold the First Train Robbery in United States History, Stealing $16,000 From an Ohio and Mississippi Railroad Train in Jackson County, Indiana. October 6, 1866.
Image: The Reno Gang 1860s. (Public Domain) On this day in history, October 6, 1866, brothers John and Simeon Reno and Frank Sparkes hold the first train robbery in United States history, stealing $16,000 from an Ohio and Mississippi railroad train in Jackson County, Indiana. The Reno brothers’ influence on criminal history was to halt…
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The Dalton Gang Attempted to Hold Up Two Banks at the Same Time When Five Members of the Gang Rode Into the Town of Coffeyville, Kansas. It Ended Badly. October 5, 1892.
Image: Memento Mori of the Dalton Gang following the 1892 Coffeyville, Kansas raid. Left to right: Bill Powers; Bob Dalton; Grat Dalton, Dick Broadwell. (Public Domain) On this day in history, the Dalton Gang attempted to hold up two banks at the same time when five members of the Dalton Gang (Grat Dalton, Emmett Dalton, Bob Dalton,…
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Wild West Wednesday: Outlaw Belle Starr
(Image: A studio portrait of Belle Starr probably taken in Fort Smith in the early 1880s. Public Domain.) Belle Starr was born Myra Maybelle Shirley near Carthage, Missouri, on February 5, 1848. She was called May by her family. Her father, John Shirley, thrived raising wheat, horses, corn, and hogs, though he was viewed as…
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The United States Army Executed By Hanging Four Native Americans Found Guilty of Killing American Civil War General Edward Canby during the Modoc War in Oregon. October 3, 1873.
Image: Major General Edward Canby (Public Domain). On this day in history, October 3, 1873, the United States Army executed by hanging four Native Americans found guilty of killing American Civil War general Edward Canby during the Modoc War in Oregon. Canby was the highest-ranking army officer and the only general ever murdered by Native…
History Daily With Francis Chappell Black 