Today in 1782 after 6-years, 3 separate committees, & a plethora of concepts, one man cut through the #redtape and submitted a design to the Continental Congress for the Great Seal of the #USA: It was accepted & adopted the same day #perseverance #AmericanEagleDay #HistoryBites

On July 4, 1776, the same day that independence from Great Britain was declared by the thirteen states, the Continental Congress named the first committee to design a Great Seal, or national emblem, for the country.

The original committee included Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and John Adams. ultimately, with the exception of the the “Eye of Providence”, and the motto E Pluribus Unum (Out of Many, One), Congress wasn’t impressed, and dissolved the committee.

It would take 6 more years and 2 additional committees before Congress scrapped the committees and turned the project over to its Secretary Charles Thomson.

Thomson took elements from all three previous committees, coming up with a new design which provided the basis for the final seal.

It was Thomson who chose to use the American bald eagle holding an olive branch and a bundle of thirteen arrows. The arrows were likely taken from a 1775 South Carolina currency bill that showed a bundle of arrows.

The design was submitted to Congress on June 20, 1782 and was accepted the same day. Thomson included a page of explanatory notes, but no drawing was submitted.

Today in 1864, The Battle of Cherbourg was fought during the American Civil War off the coast of France between the United States warship, Kearsarge, and the Confederate raider Alabama.

For 2-years, the Alabama, under the command of Captain Raphael Semmes, conducted commerce raiding missions around the globe.

From the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico, around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, and into the Pacific to the East Indies.

During her cruise, she captured 65 U.S. merchantmen and quickly destroyed the USS Hatteras, off Galveston.

When Alabama arrived in Cherbourg on June 11th, Captain John Winslow, and the Kearsarge were in hot Pursuit. Kearsarge Initiated a blockade.

When Alabama, exited the harbor on June 19th she charged Kearsarge with guns blazing. The onslaught from Both ships was heavy, but Kearsarge’s fire was more effective.

After just over an hour, the Alabama was finished. Captain Semmes struck the Confederate colors and surrendered. The battle was over and the greatest commerce raider in history slipped beneath the waves.

In November 1984 the wreck of Alabama was located. France and the United States signed an agreement recognizing the wreck as a common historic heritage for both nations and established a joint scientific team for its exploration.

Winston Churchill was one of the most gifted orators of the 20th Century, famous for his stubborn resistance to Hitler during the darkest hours of the Second World War. “This was their finest hour” was a speech he delivered TODAY in 1940 just 2-days after the fall of France. In the speech, he justified confidence in victory, even if it was not yet clear how that victory could be achieved. The Battle of France was over … the Battle of Britain was about to begin!

Who Said, “Don’t Fire Till You See the Whites of Their Eyes”? The Battle of Bunker Hill during the Siege of Boston yielded one of those quotations that every American is supposed to know: Sources are divided on the true identity of this famous quote, but the line will live forever in American lore.