William Y. Slack (August 1, 1816 – March 21, 1862) was an American lawyer, politician and soldier. A peacetime lawyer, Slack served in the Missouri General Assembly from 1842 to 1843 and saw combat in the Mexican–American War. After the outbreak of the American Civil War in April 1861, Slack, who held pro-slavery views, supported the Confederate cause. When the Missouri State Guard was formed the next month to oppose the Union Army, he was appointed as a brigadier general, commanding its 4th Division. After participating in the Battle of Carthage in July, he fought in the Battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, where he suffered a bad hip wound. He transferred to the Confederate Army in late 1861 as a colonel. On March 7, 1862, during the Battle of Pea Ridge, he was wounded again. Infection set in, and he died on March 21. He was posthumously promoted to brigadier general in the Confederate Army on April 17; the Confederate Senate may not have known that he was dead.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Y._Slack

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1913:

More than 360 were killed and 20,000 homes were destroyed in the Great Dayton Flood in Dayton, Ohio, U.S. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Dayton_Flood

1968:

War of Attrition: The Battle of Karameh took place between the Israel Defense Forces and allied troops of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Jordanian Armed Forces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Karameh

1980:

The American soap opera Dallas aired the episode "A House Divided", which led to eight months of international speculation on "Who shot J.R.?" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_House_Divided_%28Dallas%29

2019:

A major explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng, China, killed 78 people and injured 640 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Xiangshui_chemical_plant_explosion

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

drift of the forest: (Britain, law, historical) The act of driving or herding cattle in a forest to a particular place in order to determine who they belong to and whether the owners have a right to common or pasture them in the forest, and whether any fines should be paid by those without such a right. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/drift_of_the_forest

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The last, best fruit that comes to perfection, even in the kindliest soul, is tenderness toward the hard; forbearance toward the unforbearing; warmth of heart toward the cold; and philanthropy toward the misanthropic.   --Jean Paul https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jean_Paul