On August 27, 2011, after causing extensive damage to various Caribbean islands, Hurricane Irene made landfall in the United States, striking North Carolina’s Outer Banks before moving along the Eastern Seaboard; property damage in the United States exceeded $7 billion, making Irene one of the most expensive Atlantic hurricanes in the country’s history.

August 27th was the birthday of Emory Upton (August 27, 1839 – March 15, 1881). He was a United States Army General and military strategist, prominent for his role in leading infantry to attack entrenched positions successfully at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House during the American Civil War, but he also excelled at artillery and cavalry assignments. His work, The Military Policy of the United States, which analyzed American military policies and practices and presented the first systematic examination of the nation’s military history, had a tremendous effect on the organization and modernization of the U.S. Army when it was published posthumously in 1904. He has rightly been called “The father of the modern U.S. Army.”

And August 27, 1917 was the birthday of American gun designer Robert Hillberg, best known as the designer of the C.O.P. four-barrel derringer, Winchester’s Liberator shotguns, the graceful Whitney Wolverine, and the Wildey .44 Magnum gas-operated pistol. He died in 2012.

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Today’s reader-written feature article is too short to qualify for the judging for the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. We are now seeking entries for Round 108. More than $840,000 worth of prizes have been awarded since we started running this contest. We recently polled blog readers, asking for suggested article topics. Refer to that poll if you haven’t yet chosen an article topic. Round 108 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how-to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.