When terrorist picked this day in 2001 to ram hijacked airliners into symbols of American power and prosperity, what they did not know is the significance September 11th has in American history.
Aside from the terrorist attacks 10 years ago today, three other significant historical events happened on this day, one in our back yard, another in our neighborhood, the other, far away in a meadow in what is now southern Utah.
Here's in chronological order, is a quick summation of those events and links to learn more about each event:
The Battle Of The Brandywine:
Also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of
Brandywine Creek, was a battle of the Philadelphia campaign of the American
Revolutionary War fought on September 11, 1777. It was fought in the area
surrounding Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and the Brandywine River. The battle,
which was a decisive victory for the British, left Philadelphia, the
revolutionary capital, undefended. The British captured the city on September
26, beginning an occupation that would last until June 1778. Learn more here, here and here.
The Christiana Riot
William Parker, a former slave from Roedown Plantation in
Anne Arundel County, Maryland, was renowned in the Christiana, PA area for his
activism against slavery and his bravery in the protection of his and other
blacks' civil and political rights. He assisted many runaway slaves and was one
of many people in the area involved in the underground railroad. Parker, and other members of Christiana
community, became well known for using whatever force necessary to prevent the
recapture of blacks in the area. One
such incident of resistance occurred on September 11, 1851 when Edward Gorsuch,
a slaveholder from Maryland came to Christiana bearing a warrant to recover his
slaves. There are conflicting stories of why and how the shooting started but
in the end Gorsuch was dead and his son severely wounded. The event, regarded by many historians as the
first battle of the Civil War, brought the attention of the country to the
perils and challenges of attempting to enforce the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.
The Mountain Meadow Massacre
On September 11, 1857, some 50 to 60 local Mormons in southern Utah, themselves recent immigrants to the area,
aided in small part by American Indian allies, massacred about 120 emigrants who were
traveling by wagon through Utah to California. The horrific crime, which spared only
17 children age six and under, occurred in a highland valley called the
Mountain Meadows, roughly 35 miles southwest of Cedar City in southern Utah.
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