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Made for the 250thOn this day › October 9
What happened on October 9 in American history
October 9 is the 282nd day of the year (the 283rd in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 8 stories from October 9 spanning 1812 to 1992. Among them: in 1812, Under cover of darkness, American sailors cut out two British brigs on Lake Erie; and in 1861, Confederate raiders land on Santa Rosa Island; Union troops throw them back before dawn.
1812
Under cover of darkness, American sailors cut out two British brigs on Lake Erie
One prize is burned within hours; the other sails into American service.
1861Member story · 1776 Club
Confederate raiders land on Santa Rosa Island; Union troops throw them back before dawn
Fort Pickens holds, keeping the last Union stronghold on the Gulf Coast out of Confederate hands.
1864Member story · 1776 Club
Torbert's cavalry turns on its pursuers and chases Rosser's men twenty miles up the pike
Confederate horsemen break so fast near Woodstock that soldiers start calling it a race, not a battle.
1873Member story · 1776 Club
Fifteen officers meet at Annapolis and found a Naval Institute
Worden, the Monitor's old captain, takes the gavel as the Navy argues over what it's for now.
1888
The elevator starts running, and the Washington Monument finally opens to everyone
Nearly four years after its dedication, the world's tallest structure gets a working lift and an open door.
1936Member story · 1776 Club
Boulder Dam's generators spin up, and electricity starts moving to Los Angeles
The power lines run nearly 300 miles from the Nevada desert to a city that has been waiting for them.
1942
Marines cross the Matanikau and the Japanese line breaks
Three days of fighting end with Japanese forces falling back from the river they had held since late September.
1992Member story · 1776 Club
A 4.4-billion-year-old rock ends its journey in a Chevy Malibu's trunk
Michelle Knapp heard what she thought was a three-car crash; it was a stone that outdated the solar system's planets.
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