Today In History; December 26

December 26, 2013

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Good Morning & God Bless To Everyone !!!

Today is December 26, the 360th day of 2013 and there are 5 days left this blessed year in which it is a pleasure to be working for our Lord here at:

For God’s Glory Alone Ministries !!!

It is another beautiful day here in Albuquerque and we are hoping everyone had a joyous and wonderful Christmas Day in which we celebrated the wonderful birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

So, What Happened Today In 1776:

General George Washington wins the first major victory in the Revolutionary War at Trenton, New Jersey

At approximately 8 a.m. on the morning of December 26, 1776, General George Washington’s Continental Army reaches the outskirts of Trenton, New Jersey, and descends upon the unsuspecting Hessian force guarding the city. Trenton’s 1,400 Hessian defenders were still groggy from the previous evening’s Christmas festivities and had underestimated the Patriot threat after months of decisive British victories throughout New York. The troops of the Continental Army quickly overwhelmed the German defenses, and by 9:30 a.m.Trenton was completely surrounded.

Although several hundred Hessians escaped, nearly 1,000 were captured at the cost of only four American lives. However, because most of Washington’s army had failed to cross the Delaware the previous day, he was without adequate artillery or men and was forced to withdraw from the town.

Although the victory was minor from a strategic perspective, it bore tremendous significance for the future of the Continental Army. Washington needed a success before his solders’ enlistments expired on December 31–without a dramatic upswing in morale, he was likely to lose the soldiers under his command and be unable to recruit new men to replace them. The victories at Trenton and a few days later at Princeton proved to the American public that their army was indeed capable of victory and worthy of support.

The image of ragged farm-boy Patriots defeating drunken foreign mercenaries has become ingrained in the American imagination. Then as now, Washington’s crossing and the Battle of Trenton were emblematic of the American Patriots’ surprising ability to overcome the tremendous odds they faced in challenging the wealthy and powerful British empire.

Other Memorable Or Interesting Events Occurring On December 26 In History:

1820 – Hoping to recover from bankruptcy, Moses Austin asks Spanish authorities in San Antonio for permission for 300 Anglo-American families to settle in Texas. He died shortly thereafter but his actions set off a series of events which eventually resulted in Texas becoming an American state;

1825 – Erie Canal opens;

1854 – 1st wood-pulp paper is exhibited in Buffalo, New York;

1861 – In the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln heads off possible war between the United States & Great Britain by releasing Confederate envoys James Mason & John Slidell who were arrested aboard a British mail steamer the Trent;

1865 – 1st U.S. coffee percolator is patented by James H. Mason;

1932 – More than 70,000 people are killed in a massive earth quake in China;

1933 – FM radio is patented;

1941 – Less than 3 weeks after the American entrance into WWII, Winston Churchill becomes 1st British Prime Minister to address the United States Congress;

1943 – In WWII, British warships sink the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst in the Artic after decoded German signals reveal it was on a mission to attack an Anglo-American convoy to Russia;

1944 – In WWII, General George S. Patton employs an audacious strategy to relive the besieged allied defenders of Bastogne, Belgium during the brutal Battle of the Bulge;

1946 – In Las Vegas, Nevada, mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel opens a 40-acre facility, ‘The Pink Flamingo Hotel & Casino’;

1953 – The United States announces the withdrawal of two army divisions from Korea;

1955 – In one of the most publicized cultural exchanges of the cold war, an American opera, “Porgy & Bess”, opens in Leningrad & performances were also staged in Moscow in January of the next year;

1967 – In the Vietnam War, Laotian Premier Souvanna Phouma reports North Vietnam troops have started a general offensive against government forces in southern Laos;

1972 – Former President Harry S. Truman dies in Independence, Missouri. Truman became the 33rd president upon Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death in 1945 & Just 4 months into his presidency made the decision to drop two atomic bombs on Japan to force Japan to surrender in WWII;

1973 – Considered one of the scariest movies in history, the movie “The Exorcist” makes its debut in theaters;

1991 – The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union formally dissolves the Soviet Union;

2004 – A powerful 9.3 earth quake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia sets off a tsunami that wreaks death & devastation across the Indian Ocean coastline. It was the 2nd largest earth quake ever recorded & the estimated 266,00 people killed made it one of the 10 worst disasters of all time;

2006 – Former President Gerald R. Ford dies at age 93. Ford was the only ‘unelected’ president in U.S. history;

2011 – Brazil overtakes the United Kingdom as the 6th largest economy.

Now We’re Off To The Fun Stuff:

Today’s Shopping Tip:

Today’s Word Of The Day:

Maim – means to cripple someone. It can also be used generally, where it means to damage something, making it defective.

Today’s Dog Who Doesn’t Realize How Big It Is:

Zeus joins Mom on the couch to watch some TV !

Today’s ‘Never Mind’ Comic:

Today’s Patriotic Quote:

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.” — John F. Kennedy

Today’s Eye Test: