Benedict Arnold led an expedition early in the American Revolutionary War from Cambridge, Massachusetts, through the wilderness of what is now Maine to the gates of Quebec City, setting out on September 11, 1775. Colonel Arnold's force of 1,100 Continental Army troops was part of a two-pronged invasion of the British Province of Quebec, along with Richard Montgomery's expedition pushing north from Lake Champlain. By the time Arnold reached the French settlements above the Saint Lawrence River in November, his force was reduced to 600 starving men. They had traveled about 350 miles (560 km) through poorly charted wilderness, twice the distance they had expected to cover. Assisted by the local French-speaking Canadiens, Arnold's troops crossed the Saint Lawrence on November 13 and 14 and attempted to put Quebec City under siege. Failing in this, they withdrew until Montgomery arrived to lead an unsuccessful attack on the city. Arnold received a promotion to brigadier general. His route through northern Maine has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Arnold Trail to Quebec.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benedict_Arnold%27s_expedition_to_Quebec

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1226:

The Catholic practice of Eucharistic adoration among lay people formally began in Avignon, France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharistic_adoration

1649:

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland: Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army ended the Siege of Drogheda, took over the town and massacred its garrison. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Drogheda

1924:

French composer Gabriel Fauré finished his last piece, a string quartet, before dying two months later. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Faur%C3%A9

1992:

The eye of Hurricane Iniki, the most powerful hurricane to strike the state of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Islands in recorded history, passed directly over the island of Kauai, killing six people and causing around US$1.8 billion dollars in damage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Iniki

2001:

Al-Qaeda used four hijacked passenger airliners to carry out a series of suicide attacks against targets in New York City and the Washington, D.C., area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

detritivore: (ecology) An organism that feeds on detritus; a saprophage. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/detritivore

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I'm amazed that there is such misunderstanding of what our country is about, that people would hate us. I am like most Americans. I just can't believe it, because I know how good we are, and we've got to do a better job of making our case. We've got to do a better job of explaining to the people in the Middle East, for example, that we don't fight a war against Islam or Muslims. We don't hold any religion accountable. We're fighting evil. And these murderers have hijacked a great religion in order to justify their evil deeds. And we cannot let it stand.   --George W. Bush https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush