The Events of September 11

Say “the events of September 11” to someone and they’ll most likely refer to the deadly terrorist attacks on that day in 2001 perpetrated by al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Some people might even wonder why that specific day. Was it because the date 9/11 looked like the phone number 9-1-1, used to call for police and ambulances when there’s an emergency? Was there a special date in Islam that coincided with September 11?

The actual answer is that the date had no significance to al-Qaeda and bin Laden just wanted the attacks completed ASAP.

In the autumn of 2013, two years after Seal Team 6 finally killed bin Laden, while I was attending college, I recall watching a fascinating special on Smithsonian Channel On Demand (I think it was called The Heartland Tapes) that showed news footage from TV and radio on 9/11 as the attacks were happening, not just from New York and national media, but also from various local news sources from all around the nation.

Early in the special, as we get video and audio of what would be the 21st century’s last bit of normalcy, a local news report, possibly from somewhere in Pennsylvania, references September 11 as the anniversary of a local event from the 18th century.

Almost a decade later, I discovered some New York City footage from local channel NY1 explaining that on September 11, 1979, NYC teachers went on strike. The segment from NY1 was called “Today in New York City History.”

All of these had had me thinking what other famous or infamous events occurred on September 11 of various years. After doing some research, I had found a fair amount of notable events that happened on that day in a diverse amount of years, ranging from the Revolutionary War to the early 1990s, and chosen here for some irony and inadvertent echoes of American defeat and triumph.

In fact, a few of these events are particularly grim, mainly a comparatively recent one that would place it as…the second worst event to happen on this date, particularly through its consequences. For that reason, I’ve decided to mostly ignore the proper chronological order and place what would be an ironic event at the end, so that this writing will close on a lighter note, or as close to one as possible.

THE BATTLE OF BRANDYWINE (CREEK), 1777

In the warm and foggy morning, at 5 AM, British forces under the command of General Sir William Howe, and led by Hessian Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen, marched through Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania and attacked the American front.

While this bloodbath was going on, another group of Howe’s troops, led by General Charles Cornwallis, took a grueling 9-hour march to Trimble’s Ford and continuing towards Jeffery’s Ford, leaving the American forces outgunned, out-manned, outnumbered, out-planned.

General George Washington, leader of the American forces, had poor reconnaissance, mainly because of the foggy weather. He also thought that the lobsterbacks would be forced to confront them in the middle of the Brandywine Creek, Chadds Ford, where the future first President seemed to have the higher ground, having blocked practically all the fords at Brandywine, including the northern Wistar and southern Pyle.

The key word in the last paragraph there is “practically,” as Howe had discovered some unguarded fords from some local Loyalists, gaining an advantage over the Patriots, with an additional one from the fog the morning of the battle.

The conflict happened mainly near the Birmingham Friends Quaker Meetinghouse, with the Marquis de Lafayette engaging in combat for the first time in the Revolutionary War, getting wounded in the process.

After a whopping 11 hours of fighting, and with the American forces being easily outnumbered by Tory and Hessian forces, Washington called on his troops to retreat to nearby Chester, Pennsylvania, leaving behind some rather crucial cannons.

Shortly thereafter, Howe, who had his eye set on taking the then-nation’s-capital Philadelphia, invaded the city, feeling that its large Tory presence would be quick to join the British Army and remove the Pennsylvania colony from the War.

In the short term, this battle boosted British morale. However, Howe’s imagined rise of the Tories in the city never happened. The redcoats had also didn’t kill off any members of Washington’s Continental Army, as the Brits were too tired from their 9-hour march to Trimble’s Ford.

The British also totally didn’t occupy the city until September 26. giving the Continental Congress ample time to evacuate to York, PA. Finally, Washington’s retreat gave him an the Army enough time to recuperate and get reorganized before eventually winning the war.

Basically, it ended up being a Flight of the Valkyries situation for the British here.

THE STEALING OF THE HOPE DIAMOND (1792)

The Hope Diamond seems to be something everyone is familiar with, but also unaware of the specifics about it. In fact, I feel I could’ve first heard about it as a passing remark on a cartoon show or TV program I saw when I was in my single digits (though I don’t remember which one).

As for the diamond itself, it was originally a sapphire mined in India in the 17th century by Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Tavernier who sold it to King Louis XIV. For the following century and a half, it was trimmed from its original 112 carats to almost 67 carats. It became known as Le Bleu de France, or the French Blue.

In 1792, in the midst of the madness of the French Revolution, a year before the final royal owners of the diamond, King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, would have their reign fall down in a basket, under the cover of darkness, the French Blue and other jewels were robbed from the Parisian Garde-Meuble de la Couronne, home of the royal treasures.

The jewels and the perps seemed to have vanished without a trace. The culprits have never been properly identified or caught.

Twenty years after they were robbed (which just so happens to time with the ending of the statute of limitations in France), a smaller blue diamond appeared across the Channel in London and was acquired by the wealthy Hope banking family, getting the Hope part of the jewel’s name.

Gemologists are certain that this diamond is the original French Blue.

The Hope Diamond is alleged to be cursed, though no solid evidence confirms this. The Diamond went through a fair amount of owners, from the French royalty, to Henry Philip Hope of the Hope family, to the Smithsonian Institute, where it remains to the day since 1958.

THE REVOLUTION OF 11 SEPTEMBER 1852

The 19th century marked a tense, uncertain political time in Argentina. The powerful and controversial governor of Buenos Aires Juan Manuel de Rosas had dominated all and quickly removed most of the opposition. Tensions were high between him and the Argentine Confederacy, a loose organization of provinces in the country.

A series of intellectuals, wealthy merchants, and liberals joined together to usurp Rosas, with flares rising up from the liberals (naturally), who held secret conversations and distributed flyers to help spark the revolution.

On the 11th of September 1852, a very steamy day, the Provincial Legislature of Buenos Aires occurred under a very hostile atmosphere. There, the legislatures declared the State of Buenos Aires to be an independent republic. This new republic paved the way for freedom, self-governance, and liberal values, which bled into Buenos Aires’ culture. It gave the citizens hope against tyranny.

Critics of the revolution, however, lambasted it, accusing the liberal faction of elitism and hypocrisy (of course), and in a few years time, the republic of Buenos Aires and the Argentine Confederacy intensified, bringing a period of strife, violence, and instability.

THE CHILEAN COUP OF 1973

After socialist/Marxist Salvadore Allende was democratically elected in September 1970, he became the first Marxist in the Western Hemisphere to get elected through the ballot box. Upon hearing this, then-President Richard M. Nixon was frightened that the Domino Effect was already happening in Latin America, following Cuba in 1959.

Tricky Dick commanded the CIA to try to prevent Allende from being inaugurated and later try to remove him from office. His actual instructions to the CIA were: “Save Chile… Not concerned with risks involved… $10 million available, full-time job—best men we have.”

As Allende’s policies caused increased inflation and his left-wing Popular Unity party kept on in-fighting with one another (of course), right-wing forces and media, aided by Nixon’s CIA, organized strikes and violence. Even the seemingly-neutral military grew anxious.

Then, in 1973, the military junta, led by the once loyal General Augusto Pinochet, took over Chile. Military vehicles roamed the streets. The presidential palace was surrounded by tanks and bombed by jets. In mere hours, thousands of people were arrested and disappeared, while the National Stadium was transformed into a makeshift detainment and torture center.

With aid from American-trained economists known as the Chicago Boys, Pinochet privatized state industries, crushed unions (both doing a complete 180 from Allende), deregulated markets, and destroyed tariffs. While an inspiration for global free-market reformers, unemployment went up to 20% two years later, poverty kept on increasing, and inequality widened more and more.

During Pinochet’s reign, the citizenry were spied on by the secret police; the press was censored; the Chilean constitution, congress, and political parties were banned; and many people were disappeared. This was the way of life for Chile until March 11, 1990, a few years after there was a referendum by the public on whether or not to extend his rule.

CONTINENTAL EXPRESS FLIGHT 2574 (1991)

In 1991, Continental Express 2574, an Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia plane, crashed in Colorado County, Texas, near Eagle Lake (itself approximately 45 miles west of Houston).

The flight departed Laredo, Texas (close to the Mexican border) at 9:09 AM CT, headed for Houston International Airport. Almost an hour later, as the plane was descending 12,000 feet and approaching Space City, the craft suddenly exploded into flames! The craft crashed onto the ground near Eagle Lake, killing all 14 aboard.

Given that the plane seemed to be landing normally at first, there was some speculation that the aircraft was actually bombed. It turned out that 43 screws holding the left horizontal stabilizer were absent and not taken care of because of poor following of proper plane inspection and maintenance.

CONSTRUCTION STARTS ON THE PENTAGON (1941)

In 1941, ground was first broken for the construction of the US Military headquarters, the Pentagon. The building was originally meant to be a temporary structure for the military while it was preparing to enter the Second World War. The Pentagon’s construction was completed the following December.