The Battle of Gonzales was the first military engagement of the Texas
Revolution. It was fought near Gonzales, Texas, on October 2, 1835,
between rebellious Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army
troops. In 1835, several Mexican states revolted. As the unrest spread,
Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, the commander of all Mexican troops in
Texas, asked the settlers of Gonzales to return a cannon that the army
had previously given them. When the initial request was refused,
Ugartechea sent 100 dragoons to retrieve the cannon. For two days
colonists used a variety of excuses to keep the soldiers at bay,
allowing up to 140 Texians reinforcements to gather. In the early hours
of October 2, Mexican soldiers opened fire as Texians approached their
camp. After several hours of desultory firing, Mexican soldiers
withdrew. Although the skirmish had little military significance, it
marked a clear break between the colonists and the Mexican government.
The battle, considered to have been the start of the Texas Revolution,
has been referred to as the "Lexington of Texas". The cannon’s fate is
disputed.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gonzales>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1535:
French explorer Jacques Cartier sailed along the St. Lawrence River and
reached the Iroquois fortified village Hochelaga on the island now
known as Montreal.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Cartier>
1835:
Mexican dragoons dispatched to disarm settlers at Gonzales, Texas,
encountered stiff resistance from a Texian militia in the Battle of
Gonzales, the first armed engagement of the Texas Revolution.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gonzales>
1928:
Saint Josemaría Escrivá founded Opus Dei, a worldwide organization of
lay members of the Roman Catholic Church.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_Dei>
1941:
World War II: Nazi German forces began Operation Typhoon, an all-out
offensive against Moscow, starting the three-month long Battle of
Moscow.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Moscow>
1967:
Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African-American Justice of
the Supreme Court of the United States.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurgood_Marshall>
1992:
In response to a prison riot, military police stormed the Carandiru
Penitentiary in São Paulo, Brazil, killing at least 100 prisoners.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carandiru_massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
heterographic (adj):
1. Misspelled; of or pertaining to an incorrect spelling or a spelling
that differs from accepted standards.
2. (linguistics) Of a writing system in which a particular symbol
represents more than one possible sound
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heterographic>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
There is but one means to extenuate the effects of enemy fire: it is to
develop a more violent fire oneself.
--Ferdinand Foch
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Foch>
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