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Made for the 250thOn this day › August 23
What happened on August 23 in American history
August 23 is the 235th day of the year (the 236th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 6 stories from August 23 spanning 1775 to 1994. Among them: in 1775, George III declares the colonies in "open and avowed rebellion"; and in 1784, Frontier counties break from North Carolina, declare themselves the State of Franklin.
1775
George III declares the colonies in "open and avowed rebellion"
The proclamation lands weeks after Congress asked the king to intervene, not crack down.
1784Member story · 1776 Club
Frontier counties break from North Carolina, declare themselves the State of Franklin
Delegates at Jonesborough elect a reluctant John Sevier as governor of a state that does not yet exist on any map Congress recognizes.
1864
Fort Morgan falls; Page breaks his sword rather than hand it over
The last major fort guarding Mobile Bay surrenders after two weeks of siege fire, leaving Galveston as the Gulf's only open Confederate port.
1944Member story · 1776 Club
French troops close on Marseille; the Resistance seizes the Prefecture
The German garrison could have crushed the uprising but seemed fixed instead on the regular army advancing outside the city.
1966Member story · 1776 Club
A robot camera aimed at the Moon turns and photographs Earth instead
NASA's scouting probe, sent to find Apollo landing sites, comes home with an unplanned photograph of Earth.
1994
Thirty-three years after his death, the Air Force finally makes Eugene Bullard an officer
France called him a hero and gave him a pilot's license in 1917; his own country waited until 1994 to make it official.
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