Sunday · September 27, 2026
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American history, reported as it happened
Made for the 250th
On this day › August 27

What happened on August 27 in American history

August 27 is the 239th day of the year (the 240th in leap years). Patriot Compass has published 7 stories from August 27 spanning 1776 to 1985. Among them: in 1776, Howe crushes Washington's army on Long Island; Brooklyn Heights now under siege; and in 1832, Black Hawk surrenders; the Sauk war chief is handed to Lieutenant Jefferson Davis.

1776

Howe crushes Washington's army on Long Island; Brooklyn Heights now under siege

A flanking march through Jamaica Pass catches the Continental Army's left wing off guard.
1832Member story · 1776 Club

Black Hawk surrenders; the Sauk war chief is handed to Lieutenant Jefferson Davis

Weeks after the killing at Bad Axe, Black Hawk emerges from hiding to end a war his people could no longer fight.
1859

The crevice gives way, and Drake's drill strikes oil at 69.5 feet

Townsfolk had been calling the operation Drake's Folly for over a year.
1918Member story · 1776 Club

A carpenter freezes on the border line, and Nogales erupts in gunfire

A customs stop over an unopened parcel leaves two American and Mexican officers dead within minutes.
1928Member story · 1776 Club

In Paris, fifteen nations sign a treaty renouncing war itself

France's foreign ministry hosts a pact meant to make war illegal, not just unwise.
1962

Mariner 2 lifts off for Venus, five weeks after its twin veered into the Atlantic

An Atlas-Agena rocket carries the patched-together probe off Launch Complex 12 before dawn.
1985Member story · 1776 Club

Discovery clears the pad on third try, storm closing in

Two scrubs in three days couldn't hold the shuttle down; now it's chasing three satellites and a broken one.