Wednesday · November 11, 2026
Edited daily
American history, reported as it happened
Made for the 250th
On this day › October 18

What happened on October 18 in American history

October 18 is the 291st day of the year (the 292nd in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 6 stories from October 18 spanning 1775 to 2019. Among them: in 1775, Mowat's ships reduce Falmouth to ash after the town refuses to swear allegiance; and in 1779, Eight days after the failed assault, allied forces give up on Savannah and march away.

1775

Mowat's ships reduce Falmouth to ash after the town refuses to swear allegiance

Nine hours and 3,000 rounds later, more than 400 buildings are gone and winter is six weeks away.
1779Member story · 1776 Club

Eight days after the failed assault, allied forces give up on Savannah and march away

Lincoln's Americans and d'Estaing's French break camp. The city stays in British hands for nearly three more years.
1867

At Sitka, the eagle flag comes down and the stars and stripes go up over Alaska

Soldiers wrestle a snagged Russian flag off the spar as cannons fire from shore and ship.
1898

Spain's flag comes down in San Juan; the United States takes Puerto Rico

Four centuries of Spanish rule end quietly, ten weeks after the armistice that ended the war.
1989Member story · 1776 Club

Atlantis lifts off with Galileo bound for Jupiter

Six hours later the probe separates over the Pacific, starting a six-year detour through the inner solar system to reach the outer one.
2019Member story · 1776 Club

Two women step out together to fix the station's power grid

Jessica Meir and Christina Koch spend seven hours and 17 minutes outside the ISS; the president calls to say so.