February Events in the American Revolution: Port Royal Island, Allies, Circular Letter, Kettle Creek and Moore's Creek

From the American Battlefield Trust.

FEBRUARY 3, 1779

**  Battle of Port Royal Island, South Carolina.

FEBRUARY 6, 1778

**  The United States and France become allies.

FEBRUARY 7, 1778

**  British General Howe replaced by Henry Clinton.

FEBRUARY 11, 1768

**  Massachusetts Assembly issues Massachusetts Circular Letter, denouncing the Townsend Acts.

FEBRUARY 14, 1779

**  The Battle of Kettle Creek, Georgia.

FEBRUARY 27, 1776

**  Battle of Moore's Creek, North Carolina.

--Cooter

In Case You're Wondering About the Submarine at the Top of This Blog

From Wikipedia.

This is the German submarine SM U-118, one of 329 submarines Germany had during World War I.

It was commissioned in May 1918.  During the war, it sank two Allied ships.  With the surrender of the German Imperial Navy later that year, the SM U-118 was transferred to Fraallience and was to be broken up.  As it was being towed through the English Channel to Scapa Flow a storm was encountered and the towing hawser broke and the ship ran aground at Hastings in Sussex, England.

Attempts to get her off or destroy her failed.  The ship then became a popular tourist attraction.  definitely something you don't see that often on a beach.  Tours were made of the interior.

It was broken up between October and December 1919.  Part of the keel may still be buried in the beach.

Anyone Have a Shovel?  --Cooter

WW I Ending-- Part 2: German Government Notified of Military Collapse and Wilson Asked

SEPTEMBER 29, 1918--

Bulgaria signs an armistice with the Allies, becoming the first  of the Central Power to quit the war.

OCTOBER 2, 1918--

Ludendorf  informs the German legislature in Berlin that the war is lost and that armistice negotiations should begin immediately.  The German politicians are shocked by the news, having been largely kept in the dark by the military and Kaiser until now.

OCTOBER 4, 1918

President Woodrow Wilson receives a request from the German government to start armistice negotiations.  The Germans figured he'd be more lenient than the British or French.  Wilson replies with a list of demands as prelude of discussion including  German withdrawal from all occupied territories and an immediate halt to U-boat attacks.

--DaCoot

WW I Hero Pigeon, President Wilson-- Part 3: Both Sides Used Pigeons in WW I

After his death, Wilson was taxidermied and presented to the Smithsonian Institution before being transferred to the custody of the U.S. Army in 2008.  Today he is in the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

Carrier pigeons were used by both Allied and Central Powers armies during World War I.  They would fly back to their coops bringing important military information.

When they weren't in use. pigeons would be housed in mobile units, often converted  horse carriages or even double-decker buses.

Military carrier pigeons were also used in World War II.  In that war, 32 pigeons were awarded the United Kingdom's Dickin Medal for their heroism.

--Cooter

About That War 100 Years Ago-- Part 5: This Means War!!

Given a free hand by Germany, Austria was determined to punish Serbia, and Russia, similarly encouraged by France, mobilized for defense of their fellow Slavs.

Mobilization, in the eyes of Germany, was tantamount to war, and, when Russia refused to order demobilization, Germany declared war (August 1).  Two days later she declared war on France, and, when the German army invaded Belgium, Great Britain entered the war (August 4).

Before many months, all of Europe, with the exception of Spain, Holland, Switzerland, Denmark, and the Scandinavian Peninsula, was involved.

Forsaking the Triple Alliance, Italy remained neutral until 1915, when she joined the Allies, followed by Romania and Portugal (1916) and Greece (1917).  Turkey (1914) and Bulgaria (1915) were brought into the war on the side of the Central Powers.

This Means War.  --DaCoot