The Battle of Quebec was fought on December 31, 1775, early in the
American Revolutionary War, between American Continental Army forces and
the British defenders of the city of Quebec. The battle was the first
major defeat of the war for the Americans, and it came at a high price:
General Richard Montgomery (pictured) was killed, Benedict Arnold was
wounded, and Daniel Morgan and more than 400 men were taken prisoner.
The city's garrison, led by Quebec's provincial governor, General Guy
Carleton, suffered few casualties. Montgomery's army had earlier
captured Montreal, and then joined Arnold's forces. Carleton had escaped
from Montreal to Quebec, and last-minute reinforcements arrived to
bolster the city's limited defenses. Concerned that expiring enlistments
would reduce his force, Montgomery made the end-of-year attack in a
blinding snowstorm to conceal his army's movements. Montgomery's force
turned back after he was killed by cannon fire; Arnold was injured early
in the attack, and Morgan then led the assault until he became trapped
and had to surrender. Arnold and the Americans maintained an ineffectual
blockade of the city until spring, when British reinforcements arrived.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Quebec_(1775)>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
414:
Aelia Pulcheria proclaimed herself regent over her brother
Theodosius II and made herself Augusta and Empress of the Eastern Roman
Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulcheria>
1054:
Chinese astronomers recorded the sudden appearance of a "guest
star", which was in actuality the supernova that created the Crab
Nebula.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_Nebula>
1610:
Polish–Muscovite War: The outnumbered forces of the Polish-
Lithuanian Commonwealth defeated the Russians at the Battle of Klushino.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Klushino>
1945:
The Brazilian cruiser Bahia was accidentally sunk by one of
its own crewmen, killing more than 300 and stranding the survivors in
shark-infested waters.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_cruiser_Bahia>
1951:
William Shockley announced the invention of the junction
transistor, for which he, John Bardeen, and Walter Houser Brattain won
the 1956 Nobel Prize in Physics.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shockley>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
auteur:
A creative artist, especially a film director, seen as having a
specific, recognisable artistic vision, and who is seen as the single or
preeminent ‘author’ of their works.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/auteur>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Well, if I eat it, and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach
the key; and if makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door: so
either way I'll get into the garden, and I don't care which happens!
--Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland>