July 23, 1764, James Otis (pictured) published The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved, in which he argued against taxation without representation.
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On July 23, 1777 Polish military leader Casimir Pulaski arrived in Marblehead, Massachusetts, to volunteer in the Continental Army cavalry.
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On July 23, 1944 Battle of Kursk (Koersk) ended. This was the largest tank battle in history. It was a defeat for the Nazis, with thousands of German tanks and self-propelled anti-tank guns destroyed.
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In honor of the birthday week of Samuel Colt, we are running a special sale at Elk Creek Company. Many antique and percussion replica gun prices have been reduced — including all of our Colts. I’ll also include the bonus of an autographed hardback copy of my novel Expatriates with the first 10 orders. The sale will end on Saturday, July 26th, 2025. If you’d like to pay in pre-1965 U.S. silver coinage, I’ve just increased our divisor to 29 times face value! Just take the total for your order, including postage, and divide by 29. Then round down to the nearest 10 cents. That is what you’ll pay in “junk” silver. Say, for example, you want to order a $275 antique rifle, plus $55 postage. That would be $330, if paid by check or credit card. OR, it would be just $11.30 face value in 90% junk silver coins.
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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest
Today we present another entry for Round 119 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
- A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a $1,095 value),
- A Peak Refuel “Wasatch Pack” variety of 60 servings of premium freeze-dried breakfasts and dinners in individual meal pouches — a whopping 21,970 calories, all made and packaged in the USA — courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
- American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses. Their course catalog now includes their latest Survival Gunsmithing course.
- HSM Ammunition in Montana is providing a $350 gift certificate. The certificate can be used for any of their products.
Second Prize:
- A SIRT STIC AR-15/M4 Laser Training Package, courtesy of Next Level Training, that has a combined retail value of $679
- A $269 retail value survival-ready power package from Solar Power Lifestyle. This includes two Solar Power Lifestyle 25W Portable Solar Panels, plus a $150 gift card to use for any purchase at solarpowerlifestyle.com.
- Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from TOUGHGRID.com (a $287 value).
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun. There is no paperwork required for delivery of pre-1899 guns into most states, making them the last bastion of gun purchasing privacy!
Third Prize:
- A Berkey Light water filter, courtesy of USA Berkey Filters (a $305 value),
- Two sets of The Civil Defense Manual, (in two volumes) — a $193 value — kindly donated by the author, Jack Lawson.
- A $200 credit from Military Surplus LLC that can be applied to purchase and/or shipping costs for any of their in-stock merchandise, including full mil-spec ammo cans, Rothco clothing and field gear, backpacks, optics, compact solar panels, first aid kits, and more.
- A transferable $150 FRN purchase credit from Elk Creek Company, toward the purchase of any pre-1899 antique gun.
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More than $960,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. Round 119 ends on July 31st, 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