October 5th, 2005
in 1813, British and Shawnee troops under the command of the Shawnee chief Tecumseh are decimated by William Harrison’s American Army at the Battle of the Thames near Ontario, Canada. Before his own death, Tecumseh battles his way to Harrison and they fight hand-to-hand. Tecumseh, already mortally wounded, dies in the struggle, but chops off Harrison’s left hand and horribly scars his face. Harrison spends the rest of his life in seclusion after the horror of the Thames.
in 1877, Chief Joseph of Idaho’s Nez Pierce engages U.S. General Nelson Miles in Montana’s Bear Paw Mountains. Disgusted with the American habit of behaving as if treaties were nothing more than paper, he had just declared to his people that, “My heart is filled with anger. From where the sun now stands, I will fight forever.” The Nez Pierce defeated General Miles, and continued to harass Americans as they attempted to settle in the Pacific Northwest.
in 1890, Colonel Beauregard T. Jackson and his men ride into Salt Lake City and attempt to restore some semblance of order. It is an impossible task, but Jackson’s men perform heroically. Many Mormons come over to their side because of Jackson’s troops; but not enough to give them control of the city. The Mormon elders organize their own welcome for Jackson and the troops coming to reinforce him.
in 1910, the situation on the Mlosh homeworld continues deteriorating as Congress of Nations peacekeepers attempt to separate the Mlosh and Q’bar and keep the Q’Bar moving offworld. They are caught up in the struggle when a Q’Barian activist blows up himself and several hundred others in the center of the Mlosh capitol.
in 1941, Jewish Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis is lynched by American Bund brownshirts in Washington, D.C. Although the event occurred in broad daylight, in front of hundreds of witnesses, no one was ever brought to justice for the crime. This event led the American Jewish and African-American communities to find common ground, forming the Semitic-African Resistance movement.
in 1978, Joshua Singer, a Polish writer who had immigrated to America to escape the Nazis, won the Nobel Prize in Literature for his huge body of work detailing Jewish life in old Europe. He dedicated the prize to his brother Isaac, who had been killed along with their mother and another brother in concentration camps.
in 1989, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is arrested by security forces of the People’s Republic of China. His last act of freedom is to blow up his home with hidden explosives. The Dalai Lama had advocated violent overthrow of the People’s Republic since his first public speech in 1951.
in 4697, New Beijing on Feng-Huang is overrun and converted into a Y’T’T’li city. Chinese forces abandon the planet, moving as many people off-world as they can stuff into the ships available. It is a horrific retreat, leaving hundreds of thousands of people behind.
in 2002, two objects appear over Edwards Air Force base and come to a hard landing. Professor Thomas and Dr. Courtney emerge from the objects, looking triumphant. The pilots they had led on the raid cheer them on, and carry them to debriefing on their shoulders. The scientists allow the euphoria to continue the rest of the day, but they know that much work remains to be done.
in 2003, a riot erupts in London when police attempt to arrest a gathering of Estellians. The affront of heretics in the heart of the Holy British Empire draws Pope Righteous I from Buckingham Cathedral, and he publicly rebukes the Estellians before ordering the police to take them to the Tower to await execution.
TIAH HALLOWEEN CONTEST - no donation required, just send us your stuff! Only 15 days left!
In order to give us a tad more time for Halloween, Today In Alternate History is sponsoring its first contest - email us up to 3 alternate history entries for October 31st, 2005. The best 10 entries will make up the entire content of the post on October 31st, Halloween day. Entries must be received by October 20th! Boring contest information was available on our Forum link below, but since the forum has been hacked, we'll email it back to you if you want to know what it is. Enter early and often!
Also, we still have our standard offer - everybody who donates $10 or more through our Paypal link will become alternate history entries on the site. When you donate, I will email you asking your preference for a day & timeline; if you don't reply to me, I'll place you in a day that seems to fit your name :) Thanks for your continued support!
Forum Link not working for now - Forum has been hacked! We're working on getting it back, and will let you know once it's back up.
Fresh New Poll - Shall we use future dates in our entries?
Warp and Protocols still available; also, see the script I submitted for Bravo's Situation: Comedy. Speaking of which, the winning writers have been announced; not the ones I voted for, but you can see the one I did at http://www.marktreitel.com
Still wishing...
As your humble alternate historian enters the downhill slope of the 40's, he still has his birthday wish - a contract with a publishing company like Workman Publishing to produce a page-a-day calendar of TIAH. If you are an editor for such a company, or can place us in touch with one, please fulfill this belated birthday wish!
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