The Battle of San Patricio was fought on February 27, 1836, between Mexican troops and Texians, rebellious settlers in the Mexican province of Texas. The battle marked the start of the Goliad Campaign, the Mexican offensive to retake the Texas Gulf Coast. By the end of 1835, all Mexican troops had been driven from Texas. Frank W. Johnson, the commander of the volunteer army in Texas, gathered volunteers for a planned invasion of the Mexican port town of Matamoros. After spending several weeks gathering horses, in late February Johnson and about 40 men led the herd to San Patricio. He assigned some of his troops to a ranch outside town to guard the horses. Unbeknownst to the Texians, on February 18 Mexican General José de Urrea (pictured) had led a large contingent of troops from Matamoros into Texas. Urrea's men easily followed the trail left by the horses, and surprised the sleeping Texians in San Patricio. After a fifteen-minute battle, all but six Texians had been killed or imprisoned.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1870:

The current flag of Japan was first adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Japan

1933:

The Reichstag building in Berlin, the assembly location of the German Parliament, was set on fire, a pivotal event in the establishment of the Nazi regime in Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_fire

1989:

A wave of protests, riots and looting known as the Caracazo resulted in a death toll of between 276 and 2,000 people in the Venezuelan capital Caracas and its surrounding towns. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caracazo

2015:

Russian statesman and politician Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, was assassinated in central Moscow. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Boris_Nemtsov

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

pronoia: 1. (philosophy, theology) Divine providence, foreknowledge, foresight. 2. (historical, Byzantine Empire) An imperial grant to an individual of temporary fiscal rights in the form of land, incomes or taxes from land, fishing rights, etc., sometimes carrying with it an obligation of military service. […] 3. (psychology) A belief (sometimes regarded as irrational) that people conspire to do one good. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pronoia

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

In every bit of honest writing in the world … there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love. There are shorter means, many of them. There is writing promoting social change, writing punishing injustice, writing in celebration of heroism, but always that base theme. Try to understand each other.   --John Steinbeck https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Steinbeck