The Second Battle of Independence was fought on October 22, 1864, near
Independence, Missouri, as part of Price's Missouri Expedition (map
pictured) during the American Civil War. In late 1864, Major General
Sterling Price led a Confederate force of cavalry into Missouri. Price
was opposed by Union Army and state militia forces to his west led by
Major General Samuel Ryan Curtis; Union cavalry under Major General
Alfred Pleasonton caught up to the Confederates from the east as Price
moved west along the Missouri River. On October 21, the Confederates
occupied Independence. The next day, while part of Price's command
broke through Curtis's line at the Big Blue River, Pleasonton attacked
the Confederates at Independence, pushing them back through town, and
after fresh troops arrived, towards the Big Blue River. By the end of
the day, almost all of Price's men were west of the river. On October
23, the Confederates were defeated in the Battle of Westport, and
Price's campaign ended in failure.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Independence>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1877:
Scotland's worst mining accident occurred when an explosion at
a colliery in Blantyre, South Lanarkshire, killed 207 miners.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blantyre_mining_disaster>
1907:
A bank run forced New York's Knickerbocker Trust Company to
suspend operations, triggering the Panic of 1907 (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panic_of_1907>
1936:
The Royal Navy cutlass was withdrawn from combat service.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Navy_cutlasses>
2015:
A sword-wielding man attacked students and teachers at a high
school in Trollhättan, killing three people in Sweden's deadliest
school attack.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trollh%C3%A4ttan_school_attack>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
megalith:
1. (archaeology)
2. A large stone slab making up a prehistoric monument, or part of such
a monument.
3. A prehistoric monument made up of one or more large stones.
4. (by extension) A large stone or block of stone used in the
construction of a modern structure.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/megalith>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The universe is an intelligence test.
--Timothy Leary
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Timothy_Leary>