Grant's Canal was a military project to construct a canal through a bend in the Mississippi River opposite Vicksburg, Mississippi, during the American Civil War. Control of Vicksburg and the Mississippi was considered crucial by both the Union and the Confederacy. In June 1862, Union officer Thomas Williams was sent to De Soto Point with his men to dig a canal to bypass the strong Confederate defenses around Vicksburg. Disease and falling river levels prevented completion, and the project was abandoned until January 1863, when Ulysses S. Grant took an interest. The upstream entrance of the canal was moved, but heavy rains and flooding interfered with the project. Work was abandoned in March, and Grant eventually used other methods to capture Vicksburg. In 1876, the Mississippi changed course, cutting across De Soto Point near the route of the old canal and isolating Vicksburg from the river. The city's river access has since been restored. Only a small section of the canal survives.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant%27s_Canal

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1823:

Sailor Benjamin Morrell erroneously reported the existence of the island of New South Greenland near Antarctica. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Greenland

1916:

Six days after Pancho Villa and his cross-border raiders attacked Columbus, New Mexico, U.S. General John J. Pershing led a punitive expedition into Mexico to pursue Villa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancho_Villa_Expedition

1917:

Russian Revolution: Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate in the February Revolution, ending three centuries of Romanov rule. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_Revolution

1943:

The deportation of 50,000 Jews from the Greek city of Thessaloniki began. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust_in_Greece

1951:

The Iranian oil industry was nationalized in a movement led by Mohammad Mosaddegh. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationalization_of_the_Iranian_oil_industry

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

galamander: (Maine, mining, historical) A customized horse- or ox-drawn stoneboat or wagon once used for hauling stone from quarries, with smaller front wheels and larger rear ones, and a derrick to lift blocks of stone on and off the vehicle. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/galamander

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman's life, to her well-being and dignity. It is a decision she must make for herself. When Government controls that decision for her, she is being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for her own choices.   --Ruth Bader Ginsburg https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ruth_Bader_Ginsburg