The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863, during the
American Civil War. Union Army forces commanded by Ulysses S. Grant had
failed several times to bypass or capture the Confederate-held city of
Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grant decided to move his army south of
Vicksburg, cross the Mississippi River, and then advance on the city. A
Confederate division under John S. Bowen prepared defenses—Forts Wade
and Cobun—at Grand Gulf, Mississippi. To clear the way for a Union
crossing, seven ironclad warships from the Mississippi Squadron of the
Union Navy commanded by Admiral David Dixon Porter bombarded the
Confederate defenses at Grand Gulf. Union fire silenced Fort Wade, but
the overall Confederate position held. Grant decided to cross the river
elsewhere. The next day, Union forces crossed the river at Bruinsburg,
Mississippi. The position at Grand Gulf was abandoned and became a Union
supply point. The Grand Gulf battlefield is preserved in Grand Gulf
Military State Park.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Grand_Gulf>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1903:
A rockslide buried part of the Canadian mining town of Frank
under 110 million tonnes of rock, killing around 70 people.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Slide>
1944:
Second World War: British agent Nancy Wake parachuted into
Auvergne, France, becoming a liaison between the Special Operations
Executive and the local Maquis group.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Wake>
1968:
The controversial Broadway musical Hair, a product of the
counterculture of the 1960s, opened, with its songs becoming anthems of
the anti-Vietnam War movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_%28musical%29>
2006:
Cyclone Mala made landfall near Thandwe, Myanmar, causing 37
deaths.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Mala>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
attend:
1. Senses relating to caring for or waiting on someone, or accompanying
or being present.
2. (transitive) To care for (someone requiring attention); specifically,
of a doctor, nurse, etc.: to provide professional care to (someone).
3. (transitive) To wait on (someone or their instructions) as an
attendant, servant, etc.; also (specifically of a gentleman-in-waiting
or lady-in-waiting to a member of royalty), to accompany (someone) in
order to assist or wait upon them; to escort.
4. (transitive) To be present at (an event or place) in order to take
part in some action or proceedings; also, to regularly go to (an event
or place).
5. (transitive) To take action with respect to (someone, or something
such as a concern, problem, or task); to deal with, to handle.
6. (transitive) Of a (chiefly immaterial) thing: to be consequent to or
present with (someone or something); to accompany.
7. (transitive, archaic or obsolete) To look after (someone or
something); to tend.
8. (intransitive) Followed by to: to look after someone or something.
9. (intransitive) To be ready to wait upon someone or their instructions
as an attendant, servant, etc.; also (followed by on or upon), to
accompany someone in order to assist or wait upon them.
10. (intransitive) Followed by at: to go to and be present at a place
for some purpose; also (obsolete), followed by on: to be present at and
take part in an event.
11. (intransitive) Followed by to: to take action with respect to
someone or something; to deal with.
12. (intransitive) Followed by on or upon: of a (chiefly immaterial)
thing: to be consequent on or present with. [...]
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/attend>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
When the night's here, I don't do tears Baby, no chance I could
dance, I could dance, I could dance Watch me dance, dance the night
away My heart could be burnin', but you won't see it on my face
Watch me dance, dance the night away I'll still keep the party runnin',
not one hair out of place.
--Dua Lipa
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dua_Lipa>