CSS Baltic was a casemate ironclad that served in the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. A towboat and cotton lighter before the war, it was purchased by the state of Alabama in December 1861 for conversion into an ironclad. After being transferred to the Confederate Navy in May 1862, it served on Mobile Bay off the Gulf of Mexico. Its condition in Confederate service was such that naval historian William N. Still Jr. has described her as "a nondescript vessel in many ways". Over the next two years, parts of the ship's wooden structure were affected by wood rot. Her armor was removed to be put onto the ironclad CSS Nashville in 1864. By that August, Baltic had been decommissioned. She was taken up the Tombigbee River near the end of the war, where she was captured by Union forces on May 10, 1865. An inspection the next month found that her upper hull and deck were rotten and that her boilers were unsafe. She was sold on December 31, and was likely broken up in 1866.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_Baltic

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1769:

Dartmouth College was established by royal charter in present- day Hanover, New Hampshire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmouth_College

1937:

Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese forces, capturing the Chinese city of Nanjing, began committing numerous atrocities over the next several weeks, including looting, rape and the execution of prisoners of war and civilians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Nanking

1981:

Polish prime minister Wojciech Jaruzelski declares martial law, suspending the trade union Solidarity and imprisoning many of its leaders. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martial_law_in_Poland

2011:

A man threw grenades and fired a rifle at crowds in Liège, Belgium, causing 6 deaths and injuring more than 120 others, before killing himself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Li%C3%A8ge_attack

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

saddle: 1. A seat for a rider, often made of leather and raised in the front and rear, placed on the back of a horse or other animal, and secured by a strap around the animal's body. 2. A similar implement used to secure goods to animals; a packsaddle. 3. Synonym of harness saddle (“the part of a harness which supports the weight of poles or shafts attaching a vehicle to a horse or other animal”) 4. A cushion used as a seat in a cart or other vehicle. 5. The immovable seat of a bicycle, motorcycle, or similar vehicle. 6. (by extension) 7. Chiefly preceded by the: horse-riding as an activity or occupation. 8. Synonym of saddle brown (“a medium brown colour, like that of saddle leather”) saddle brown: 9. Something resembling a saddle (sense 1) in appearance or shape. [...] 10. (transitive) 11. To put a saddle (noun sense 1) on (an animal). 12. To put (something) on to another thing like a saddle on an animal. 13. (figuratively) 14. To enter (a trained horse) into a race. 15. (often passive) Chiefly followed by with: to burden or encumber (someone) with some problem or responsibility. 16. Chiefly followed by on or upon: to place (a burden or responsibility) or thrust (a problem) on someone. 17. (archaic) To control or restrain (someone or something), as if using a saddle; to bridle, to harness, to rein in. 18. (obsolete, rare) To get (someone) to do a burdensome task. 19. (woodworking) To cut a saddle-shaped notch in (a log or other piece of wood) so it can fit together with other such logs or pieces; also, to fit (logs or other pieces of wood) together with this method. 20. (obsolete) 21. To put something on to (another thing) like a saddle on an animal. 22. (intransitive, chiefly Canada, US) Often followed by up. 23. To put a saddle on an animal. 24. Of a person: to get into a saddle. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/saddle

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Pluralist societies are not accidents of history. They are a product of enlightened education and continuous investment by governments and all of civil society in recognizing and celebrating the diversity of the world’s peoples.   --Aga Khan IV https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aga_Khan_IV