Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Learn Our History Today: January 17

On January 17, 1781, the Battle of Cowpens took place in South Carolina .  An army of Redcoats and British loyalists faced off against Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and his Patriot forces.  In a matchup of roughly 1,100 troops per side, the Patriots scored a huge victory, killing 110 men, wounding 200 and capturing another 500 British troops and loyalists.  In contrast, the Americans lost only 12 men, with another 60 wounded.

And on this day in 1972, President Nixon warned South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu that it would be impossible for the United States to continue assisting South Vietnam if Thieu refused to sign any negotiated peace agreement.  This came about after Nixon’s National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, had been secretly negotiating with North Vietnamese representatives to reach a settlement that would end the war.  Initial negotiations were futile, and by March of 1972, the North Vietnamese launched a massive invasion of South Vietnam.  By December, Kissinger and the North Vietnamese were negotiating again and closer to an agreement.  In early January of the following year, Kissinger and the North Vietnamese negotiator, Le Duc Tho, worked out a settlement and on January 23rd, the Paris Peace Accords were signed and a cease-fire went into effect on January 28th.  Remaining stubborn, Thieu refused to sign the Accords, but finally acquiesced when Nixon promised to aid South Vietnam if the communists violated the peace treaty.

And on January 17, 1994, Paula Jones accused President Bill Clinton of sexual harassment, suing him for $700,000 in damages.

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