September 27, 1864. Centralia, Missouri.

It began as another day of robbery.

It ended as one of the bloodiest episodes of guerrilla warfare during the American Civil War.

Approximately 80 pro-Confederate guerrillas led by William T. “Bloody Bill” Anderson rode into Centralia, Missouri. Among the riders were young men whose names would later become synonymous with the Old West—Jesse James, Frank James, and Cole Younger.

After looting the town, Anderson's guerrillas stopped a passenger train and discovered Union soldiers traveling home on furlough.

Twenty-four unarmed servicemen were ordered from the train.

Then they were executed.

But the bloodshed wasn't finished.

Union troops pursued Anderson's force later that day, only to be drawn into a devastating ambush near Centralia. The Union line collapsed, and the engagement descended into one of the most brutal encounters of Missouri's vicious border war.

The Centralia Massacre provides a disturbing glimpse into a different side of the Civil War—one fought not by massive armies on famous battlefields, but by guerrillas, militias, bushwhackers, and men whose wartime violence would follow them into the years that came afterward.

Also on this September 27 edition of The Write Team Daily:

🌎 We celebrate World Tourism Day and the ways travel connects people, cultures, and communities.

🔥 The Diamond Match Company patents the book match.

🚂 The tragic wreck of the Old 97 inspires one of America's enduring folk and country ballads.

🥛 We pour a glass for National Chocolate Milk Day.

🌍 Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact in 1940, formally establishing the Axis alliance.

🌕 A spectacular supermoon and total lunar eclipse create the 2015 “super blood moon.”

🧣 And National Scarf Day celebrates one of fashion's simplest and most enduring accessories.

🏃 SPORTS DAILY: Ben Johnson crosses the Olympic finish line in a stunning world-record 9.79 seconds. Days later, the gold medal is gone. We revisit the doping scandal that transformed one of track and field's greatest races into one of its most infamous.

🎉 BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: From Scream and X to the worldwide phenomenon of Wednesday, Jenna Ortega has become one of Hollywood's biggest young stars. She turns 24 today.

🌹 DAILY REMEMBRANCE: General Jimmy Doolittle was an aviation pioneer before leading one of World War II's most daring missions. We remember the man behind the famous Doolittle Raid.

📖 DAILY INSPIRATION: Our journey through Scripture reaches the 67th verse of Joel, found in Joel 3:15.

The sun can grow dark.

The moon can stop shining.

Everything that appears permanent can be shaken.

But God remains.

Don't anchor your life to things that can be shaken. Anchor your life to the One who cannot be shaken.

🎧 Join us for history, sports, culture, faith, and inspiration on The Write Team Daily.

✍The Write Team Podcast is a production of Write Team Services LLC.

🙏Thank you to our Write Team sponsors! Stiles Electric ⚡ Compressor Components 🗜 Elysian Fields ISD 🐝 Hallsville Independent School District 😾 Karnack ISD 🏹

#CentraliaMassacre #CivilWarHistory #September27 #TodayInHistory #JesseJames #TheWriteTeamDaily

Centralia Massacre, Centralia Missouri, Bloody Bill Anderson, William T Anderson, Jesse James, Frank James, Cole Younger, Civil War guerrillas, Missouri Civil War, September 27 1864, September 27 history, Ben Johnson, 1988 Olympics, Jenna Ortega, Jimmy Doolittle, Doolittle Raid, Joel 3:15, The Write Team Daily

September 25, 1875.

Before he became Billy the Kid, he was a poor, orphaned teenager named Henry McCarty living in Silver City, New Mexico.

After stolen property was discovered in his room, the teenager found himself locked inside the local jail. Then he spotted an unlikely escape route.

The chimney.

On September 25, McCarty somehow squeezed through the narrow opening, climbed onto the roof, and disappeared into the New Mexico night.

It was his first known escape from custody.

It would not be his last.

Over the next several years, Henry McCarty would become William H. Bonney—and eventually Billy the Kid, one of the most famous and romanticized outlaw figures in the history of the American West.

But the legend didn't begin with a gunfight.

It began with a teenager crawling through a chimney.

Also on this September 25 edition of The Write Team Daily:

👧 We celebrate National Daughters Day.

📜 The First Congress sends twelve proposed constitutional amendments to the states—ten of which would become the Bill of Rights.

🦸 National Comic Book Day celebrates generations of superheroes, artists, writers, and unforgettable stories.

🚗 Henry Ford announces the five-day, 40-hour workweek for Ford employees.

🍽️ National Food Service Workers Day recognizes the people who help feed our communities every day.

⛪ Billy Graham begins the 1949 Los Angeles Crusade that helps propel the young evangelist into the national spotlight.

⚾ SPORTS DAILY: Satchel Paige takes a Major League mound at age 60—and throws three scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox.

🎉 BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: We celebrate Anson Williams, who became a television favorite as Potsie Weber on Happy Days before building an impressive second career behind the camera.

🌹 DAILY REMEMBRANCE: We remember Erich Maria Remarque, whose All Quiet on the Western Front stripped away romantic notions of combat and exposed the devastating human cost of war.

📖 DAILY INSPIRATION: Our 6:7 journey reaches Daniel 6:7 and the plot designed to force Daniel to choose between obedience to God and obedience to man.

Daniel didn't panic.

He didn't compromise.

He prayed.

Be faithful when it's easy. Be faithful when it's difficult. And trust God with the outcome.

🎧 Join us for history, sports, culture, faith, and inspiration on The Write Team Daily.

✍The Write Team Podcast is a production of Write Team Services LLC.

🙏Thank you to our Write Team sponsors! Stiles Electric ⚡ Compressor Components 🗜 Elysian Fields ISD 🐝 Hallsville Independent School District 😾 Karnack ISD 🏹

#BillyTheKid #OldWest #September25 #TodayInHistory #SatchelPaige #TheWriteTeamDaily

Billy the Kid, Henry McCarty, William H Bonney, Billy the Kid escape, Silver City New Mexico, September 25 1875, Old West history, Bill of Rights, Henry Ford 40 hour workweek, Billy Graham Los Angeles Crusade, Satchel Paige, Anson Williams, Erich Maria Remarque, Daniel 6:7, September 25 history, The Write Team Daily

September 26, 2024.

Imagine waking up every morning not knowing whether it might be your last.

For decades, that was the reality for former professional boxer Iwao Hakamata.

Arrested in Japan in 1966 for the murders of four members of a family, Hakamata signed a confession after lengthy interrogations that he later said involved intimidation and abuse. He was convicted, sentenced to death, and spent decades living under the constant possibility of execution.

But one person refused to stop fighting for him.

His older sister, Hideko.

Year after year, she challenged the conviction and insisted her brother was innocent.

A breakthrough finally came in 2014, when Hakamata was released and granted a retrial amid serious questions about the evidence used against him.

Then, on September 26, 2024, the Shizuoka District Court acquitted him, concluding that crucial evidence had been fabricated and his confession obtained through coercive interrogations.

Hakamata was 88 years old.

His name had finally been cleared—but no verdict could return the decades he had lost.

His extraordinary story opens today's edition of The Write Team Daily.

Also on our journey through September 26:

🍎 We celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day and the remarkable life behind an American folk legend.

⛵ Francis Drake returns to England after his historic circumnavigation of the globe.

🎺 John Philip Sousa's newly formed Sousa Band makes its first public appearance.

🏝️ Gilligan's Island begins its three-season voyage into television history.

🥧 We celebrate National Key Lime Pie Day.

📺 And we remember the debut of The Brady Bunch.

⛵ SPORTS DAILY: For 132 years, the America's Cup belonged to the United States. Then came Australia II. We revisit the dramatic winner-take-all race that finally ended the longest winning streak in international sports.

🎉 BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: We celebrate Melissa Sue Anderson, remembered by generations of television viewers as Mary Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie.

🌹 DAILY REMEMBRANCE: Explorer, hunter, soldier and pioneer Daniel Boone helped blaze the Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap and became one of the enduring figures of the American frontier.

📖 DAILY INSPIRATION: Our journey through Scripture reaches Hosea 6:7 and a sobering reminder about the difference between merely practicing religion and faithfully walking with God.

God isn't interested only in what we do on Sunday.

He desires a heart that follows Him every day of the week.

🎧 Join us for history, sports, culture, faith, and inspiration on The Write Team Daily.

✍The Write Team Podcast is a production of Write Team Services LLC.

🙏Thank you to our Write Team sponsors! Stiles Electric ⚡ Compressor Components 🗜 Elysian Fields ISD 🐝 Hallsville Independent School District 😾 Karnack ISD 🏹

#IwaoHakamata #September26 #TodayInHistory #AmericasCup #DanielBoone #TheWriteTeamDaily

Iwao Hakamata, Hakamata case, wrongful conviction, Japan death row, September 26 2024, Johnny Appleseed, Francis Drake, John Philip Sousa, Gilligan's Island, Brady Bunch, America's Cup, Australia II, Melissa Sue Anderson, Little House on the Prairie, Daniel Boone, Hosea 6:7, September 26 history, The Write Team Daily