November 17, 1774: First City Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry formed at Carpenter’s Hall, Philadelphia. It is one of the oldest US military units still in service.
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On this day in 1777, the Articles of Confederation were submitted to the states for ratification.
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Be sure to mark your calendar for February 1, 2026, to order your 20th Anniversary Edition of the waterproof SurvivalBlog Archive USB stick. The 2005-2025 edition will have at least 12 more bonus books. These will include the 4-volume Audel’s Carpenters and Builders Guide as well as Horace Kephart’s classic book on Woodcraft, and the USMC’s most recent photo-illustrated Hand and Arm Signals field manual. There will also be two more books authored by Lowell Thomas, an Army manual on Rigging, and a 645-page textbook on Practical Physics.
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Today’s feature article is a review penned by Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.
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We still need some articles for Round 121 of the blog’s writing contest. More than $970,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 121 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging. In 2023, we polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Please refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic.
Read the full article here