The Battle of Goliad was the second skirmish of the Texas Revolution.
Early on October 9, 1835, rebellious Texas settlers attacked the Mexican
Army soldiers garrisoned at Presidio La Bahía (pictured), a fort near
the Mexican Texas settlement of Goliad. It was halfway between the
Mexican garrison at San Antonio de Béxar and the major port of Copano.
Texians were plotting to kidnap Mexican General Martín Perfecto de Cos,
who was en route to Goliad, although they knew before their arrival that
he had departed for San Antonio de Béxar. The garrison at La Bahía was
understaffed and could not mount an effective defense of the perimeter.
Using axes borrowed from townspeople, the Texians chopped through a door
and entered the complex before the bulk of the soldiers were aware of
their presence. After a 30-minute battle, the Mexican garrison
surrendered. The majority of the Mexican soldiers were instructed to
leave Texas, and the Texians confiscated $10,000 worth of provisions and
several cannons, later used in the Siege of Béxar. The victory isolated
Cos's men in Béxar from the coast, forcing them to rely on a long
overland march to request or receive reinforcements or supplies.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Goliad>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1260:
Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, was assassinated by a fellow
Mamluk leader, Baibars, who then seized power for himself.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baibars>
1795:
As a result of the Third Partition of Poland, the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ceased to exist as an independent state
as its territory was divided between Austria, Prussia, and Russia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth>
1931:
The George Washington Bridge (pictured), today the world's
busiest motor vehicle bridge, connecting New York City to Fort Lee, New
Jersey, was dedicated.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Bridge>
1945:
The UN Charter, the constitution of the United Nations, entered
into force after being ratified by the Republic of China, France, the
Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and a majority of
the other signatories.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Charter>
2007:
Chang'e 1, the first satellite in the Chinese Lunar Exploration
Program, was launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang%27e_1>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
miniver:
A light gray or white fur used to trim the robes of judges or state
executives, used since medieval times.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/miniver>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
the poet, his presence ursine and kind, shifting his weight in
a chair too small for him, quietly says, and shyly: "The Poet never must
lose despair." Then our eyes indeed meet and hold. All of us know,
smiling in common knowledge — even the palest spirit among us,
burdened as he is with weight of abstractions — all of us know he
means we mustn't, any of us, lose touch with the source, pretend it's
not there, cover over the mineshaft of passion...
--Denise Levertov
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Denise_Levertov>