RiverDellPatch: 5 Things: Red Coats Claim Bunker Hill
Here are the Top 5 history facts for This Day In History: June 17.
The British Redcoats took Bunker Hill outside of Boston in 1775. Ironically, the battle actually took place at nearby Breed's Hill during the Siege of Boston. Taking the hill was not an easy job as over 800 British soldiers were wounded and 226 killed over three assaults.
General George Crook’s command was attacked and bested on the Rosebud River by 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne under the leadership of Crazy Horse in 1876. While not considered a major battle as part of the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, it did lead to delaying Crook's army from joining the the 7th Cavalry and Gen. Custer and his subsequent defeat at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
The Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City aboard the French ship Isere in 1885. The statue was orginally known as "Liberty Enlightening the World," to commemorate the Franco-American alliance during the American Revolution. It measures 151-feet high and was transported from France in over 200 boxes.
During the overnight hours, Virigilio Gonzalez, Bernard Baker, James McCord Jr., Eugenio Martinez and Frank Sturgis were arrested for burglarizing the Democratic Party Headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, DC in 1972. The men all worked for the reelection of President Nixon. The event was the beginning of the Watergate affair.
O.J. Simpson drove his Ford Bronco across Los Angeles with police in pursuit and millions of people watching live on television in 1994. After the slow speed chase ended with Simpson arrested and charged with the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman. The broadcast of the chase had actually interrupted Game 5 of the 1994 NBA Finals between the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks.
