SEPTEMBER 11.
1069. The Danes under Harold and Canute landed in England, at the mouth of the Humber, and laid waste the country.
1297. Battle near Cambuskenneth, on the Forth, between the Scots under Wallace, and the English, in which the latter were defeated with the loss of 5,000 slain. The victors, to show their utter detestation of that tool of Edward, Cressingham, flayed his body, and converted his skin into thongs for their horses.
1539. Date of the will of Henry Pepwell, a distinguished book publisher, who died this year.
1609. Hudson while at anchor in the harbor of New York, was visited by the natives, who made a great show of friendship, giving tobacco and Indian corn.
1649. Drogheda, in Ireland, taken by assault by the English, under Cromwell. A universal massacre was permitted during five days. "I believe we put to the sword," is the general's despatch, "the whole number of the defendants. This is a marvellous great mercy." The garrison alone consisted of 2,500 foot and 300 horse. There was scarce thirty lives saved in the whole town, and these were by Cromwell reserved to be sent to Barbadoes.
1677. James Harrington, an eminent English political writer, died; author of
the political romance of Oceana, in imitation of Plato's Atlantic Story.
1697. The famous peace of Ryswick proclaimed.
1709. Battle of Malplaquet, in Belgium; the allies under the duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene, defeated the French army of 120,000 men, under Villars and de Boufflers. This was a dear victory to the allies, who lost 20,000 of their best troops.
1745. Mary Chandler died; an English lady, distinguished for her poetic talent.
1776. Great tempest on the coast of Newfoundland; a large amount of shipping, and a great number of lives lost.
1777. Battle of Brandywine; the Americans under Washington and Green entirely defeated by the British, under Cornwallis. The Americans lost about 1,300 killed, wounded and prisoners. This was the first battle Lafayette was in; he was wounded in the leg.
1781. John Augustus Ernesti died; professor of theology at Leipsic, and author of numerous literary and theological works.
1798. The Sublime Porte, incensed at the invasion of Egypt, declared war against France, and joined with his old adversary, the emperor of Russia.
1799. Tortona surrendered to Suwarroff. Thus was Italy nearly reconquered.
1813. Running action between the United States commodore, Chauncey, on lake Ontario, and the British commodore, Yeo; the latter succeeded in getting into Amherst bay.
1814. The British, 8,000 strong, commenced disembarking their troops at North Point, about 12 miles from Baltimore, for the purpose of attacking that city.
1814. Battle of lake Champlain and Plattsburgh. The British fleet 95 guns, under commodore Downie, defeated and captured by the United States fleet, Com. Chauncey, 86 guns. British loss 57 killed, 72 wounded; American loss 52 killed, 58 wounded. At the same time the British troops under general Provost, about 14,000 veterans, the flower of the duke of Wellington's army, attacked the American lines at Saranac, Plattsburgh, and were defeated by general Macomb. American loss, killed 38; wounded 64; missing 20.
1820. Home Riggs Popham died; a distinguished British naval officer.
1823. David Ricardo, a celebrated English writer on finance and statistics, died. He was of Jewish descent, and abandoned by his father at an early age for marrying a quakeress. His talents however, procured him wealth and distinction.
1826. William Morgan, a freemason in western New York, abducted by his fellows of the craft for revealing their secrets.
1833. Deaths by cholera in the city of Mexico, from the 5th August to this date, 10,000.
1840. Long-Kiewa, a Chinese linguist, died at Calcutta, aged 59. He was inspector of the tea plantations established by an English company at Assam, but was obliged to exile himself on account of a family misdemeanor. He is represented to have been a man of immense knowledge. Besides his erudition in the sciences, he was proficient in all the principal languages spoken in Europe and Asia, as well as Hebrew, Greek and Latin. He made for the most part the Chinese translation of the scriptures published by Marshman, and left in MS. a Chinese-Latin-English dictionary. He bequeathed to the Asiatic society of Calcutta his library, containing 30,000 volumes, more than 20,000 of which are in the Chinese language.
1840. The town of Beyrout, in Syria, fired upon, reduced to a mass of ruins, and taken, by the British and Austrian fleets.
1842. A Mexican army 1,300 strong, took possession of Texas, but soon retreated.
1851. A riot at Christiana, Pa., upon the attempt to remove a fugitive slave. Mr. Gorsuch, the owner of the slave was killed and his son mortally wounded; the United States marshal and his posse were driven from the ground by armed negroes, and the slave escaped.